Board Members
President
Jamison has been with the Denver Sheriff Department (DSD) for 25 years and is currently assigned to the Classification unit for the DSD. Jamison is currently a Peer Support Officer and represents the DSD in the Emergency Operations Center for Denver. Jamison has commanded the Intake Unit, the Emergency Response Unit and the DSD’s Award Committee. Jamison has been an Internal Affairs Investigator Sgt., Denver Health Medical Center Sgt., member of the Transition Team for the construction of the Downtown Detention Center (DDC), Field Training Officer (FTO), FTO Coordinator, and worked on the DSD’s Credentialing Unit. Jamison has been involved with the CJA for the past 16 years and has been on the board for the past 15 of those 16 years. Captain Jamison Brown is a Colorado Native and third generation Law Enforcement Officer and is the proud father of three, two of whom are First Responders. Jamison has a deep passion for Colorado, Jails and furthering the services that the jails provide the community across the state and the country.
Vice-President
Hello, My Name is Brian Wade Pacheco, I began my career in 1996 with Colorado Department of Corrections and lateraled to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office in 2004. I currently hold the position of Lieutenant in the jail division.
I am a graduate of the National Jail Leadership Command Academy / Class #1 and the FBI Rocky Mtn. Command Institute.
Throughout my career, I have had the honor of holding leadership positions in a variety of specialty roles, such as; Managing the Work Release Program, Commander of Mesa County Sheriff's Special Operations Response Team (SORT), the current Lieutenant over the Honor Guard program and I am proud to serve as an agency liaison for LETR/Special Olympics Colorado.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends as well as being in the outdoors: camping, fishing and hunting.
It is an honor to be appointed as the CJA Vice President. As a board member, I look forward to working with and serving the CJA members.
Treasurer
Sergeant John Burkard
jburkard@jeffco.us
303-271-5539
John has been with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office since 2006, was promoted to Sergeant in 2018, and is currently assigned to Operations within the Detention Services Division. He is a graduate of the Rocky Mountain Jail Leadership Academy (Class #1), has attended the IACP Leadership in Police Organizations, and is recognized as a Certified Jail Supervisor (CJS) through the American Jail Association. John has been a Field Training Instructor (FTI), is a member of the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), and currently oversees the Alternative Sentencing Program in Jefferson County. John holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a specialization in Criminal Justice as well as a minor in French. He has been a member of the Colorado Jail Association (CJA) since March 2018 and was elected to the Executive Board as its Treasurer in November 2023.
Secretary
Lieutenant Jesse Alcantara has proudly served the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office since 2006. He has worked as a detention deputy, master control deputy, and then promoted to the rank of sergeant in February 2011. Lieutenant Alcantara has been assigned as detention, intake supervisor and the classifications section sergeant. He earned his associate degree in criminal justice from Pueblo Community College and was recognized as the Southeastern Colorado Law Enforcement Association uniformed officer of the year in 2014. Lieutenant Alcantara was elected as CJA Secretary in 2017.
Immediate Past CJA Officers
Treasurer
Commander David Walts is a 30-year police veteran with a distinguished career at Broomfield Police Department in Colorado. Cmdr. Walts has a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University. During his years with Broomfield, he has served in Patrol, Investigations, Special Operations, Administration and Detention. He has also served as a Field Training Instructor, Senior Liaison Officer, Public Information Officer, and Commander of the Broomfield Honor Guard. Cmdr. Walts has a passion for teaching and serves as an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice for Front Range Community College.
Presently, Cmdr Walts is the Operations Commander for the Broomfield Detention Center, where he also serves as the PREA Coordinator.
Cmdr. Walts serves as a Peer Reviewer for the Department of Justice and is also a Department of Justice certified PREA Auditor.
Immediate Past President
Jeff is currently a Division Chief with the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, overseeing the Jail and has been employed by the BCSO since 1990. He is an American Jail Association Certified Jail Manager as well as a County Sheriffs of Colorado instructor. Jeff is a graduate of Northwestern University Police Staff and Command Class #304. He is a third generation Deputy with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office. I’ve held the positions of Lead Firearms and Lead Defensive tactics instructor and currently assigned as one of the lead Riot Team Commanders. I enjoy fishing and spending time with my family and friends.
Past Secretary/Current Web Master
Shawn is the Commander of the Broomfield Police Department Detention Center. He has been in corrections for 23 years. He holds a Masters Degree from the University of Colorado and has been a Certified Jail Manager since 2005. Commander Laughlin is a graduate of the National Jail Leadership Command Academy (class #3) and has attended the IACP Leadership in Police Organizations along with the Supervisory, Command and Executive FBI-LEEDA classes, receiving the Trilogy Award in 2016. He is a graduate of the Northwestern Center For Public Safety- School of Police Staff and Command Class #405. He has been a Department of Justice PEER Reviewer since 2009. Commander Laughlin is an instructor for County Sheriff's of Colorado and is an evaluator for the Colorado Association of Chief's of Police.
Immediate Past Vice Presidents'
Susan has been employed by the Adams County Sheriff’s Office since 1988 and is currently the Support Services Manager over seeing many of the support sections of the Jail Division. Susan has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, in addition to being a graduate of the Northwestern Center For Public Safety- School of Police Staff and Command Class #216 where she was the recipient of the Franklin M. Kreml Leadership award for high ethical and professional values and dedication to public service. She is also a graduate of the North Metro Chamber Leadership Academy. Susan has been involved with CJA for much of her career and was elected as CJA Vice-President in 2017.
Captain Dawn Ballas is a 13-year veteran of the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office where she started her career as a Detention Deputy in 2002. Captain Ballas has served as a Detention Deputy, Detention Sergeant, Patrol Deputy, Patrol Training Officer (PTO), as well as a Detective. In September of 2012, Captain Ballas was promoted to the rank of Security Captain and transferred back to the Detention Bureau from the Law Enforcement Bureau. Captain Ballas is a 2001 graduate of Colorado State University Pueblo with a Bachelor of Science Degree and a 2005 graduate of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs with a Master of Criminal Justice Degree.