Meet Your Denver OM Ambassador, Lisa

We are so excited to have OM members and sisters - Lisa and Amanda Avram - as our new Denver OM Ambassadors. Their Live Big spirit is contagious, and they have some great ideas for fun and unique Meetup events in Denver! Thanks, ladies! Article below was submitted by Lisa Avram.

Hey Outdoor Mindset! I’m an Ohio native (Go Buckeyes!) who moved to Denver in 2001 and hasn’t looked back. I do miss my family in Ohio; but, I'm lucky to have a brother and sister and their families out here with me.  And, I’ve got some pretty amazing friends all over. I am a special education teacher working at Children’s Hospital Colorado. I teach in program called Project SEARCH- it’s a job development and employability training program for young adults with disabilities….And it’s awesome! I’ve been a special education teacher for 12 years now. Whoa. What? Where does the time go?  

Denver has so many things to do out here - camping, hiking, running, climbing, biking, snowboarding, snowshoeing….you get the idea! and it's all in my backyard. Camping and then climbing a 14er is one of my favorite things to do. (I’ve climbed 9 total, and Bierstadt twice and just want to keep checking them off the list!) I most recently completed the Ragnar Colorado Relay which is a 200 mile running relay that started in Copper, went to Breckenridge, over to Vail, then Glenwood Springs and FINALLY ended in Snowmass. I ran 3 legs of this relay- there was a team of 12- and although all of it was beautiful, my favorite part was running through Glenwood Canyon at 3:00 in the morning, with the sound of the rushing water and the stars above me. It. Was. Perfect. I’ve also ran 2 half marathons, countless 5k’s and 10k’s and one day would love to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and visit Germany.

I have epilepsy- but it hasn’t stopped me from doing things I love. I’ve had seizures as long as I can recall (I remember my first one at the age of 4), but wasn’t “officially” diagnosed and put on medication until 2000. I was in college. That’s a long time to live without knowing what kind of day you were going to have. It took a while to get used to having to take medications and trying a bunch of them to figure out what worked, (and even still things change and it’s like starting all over again) but now I’m an advocate and a supporter for myself and others with epilepsy. I don’t think it’s talked about enough and I’m all about bringing more awareness to the epilepsy community. 

Interesting facts? I've broken/seriously injured my left wrist 3 times in 3 years. The last time, I completely shattered it and I now have a metal plate and 12 pins in it! There was a stint of three years in a row, where I always had some sort of cast or brace on my wrist. It made for some great conversation starters at work, for sure.   

Favorite colors? Brown and green. 

Favorite season? Fall! (It’s here! It’s here!) 

Superpowers?! I've always wished to be invisible-even more than being able to fly.  And I definitely wouldn't want to be able to read people's minds! 

I hope that being a member of Outdoor Mindset allows me to meet and support others using my passion for awareness and my passion for the outdoors. I’m a huge believer in the healing powers of “just being” outside and making connections with others. I’m interested in organizing some more Denver meet-ups for OM, and meeting some great new friends! Let’s go Live Big!