STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — After five years spent building a partnership to help Northwest Colorado residents receive physical and mental health care, Stephanie Monahan, executive director of The Health Partnership, is leaving the Yampa Valley to move back to Alaska, where her husband is from and where she lived before moving to Colorado.

“It’s definitely a very bittersweet goodbye,” Monahan said.

Monahan started her work at The Health Partnership in 2016, working as a regional health coordinator, tasked with serving as a link between patients, providers and various community resources.

“If a primary care provider was talking to a patient about getting connected to food resources or housing resources, I was there to make sure that the patient knew community resources existed and how to access them,” Monahan explained.

In 2018, Monahan took over as executive director of The Health Partnership, which is when she said she was able to solidify a sustainable future for the group by developing a team and creating a greater presence in the community.

“It was about continuing to deliver on our mission statement, providing high quality services, really starting to develop the team and asking ourselves how we can make this sustainable, so we can continue to do this important work,” she said.

While Monahan led a nonprofit tasked with helping those in crisis and being compassionate toward community members in tough circumstances, other nonprofit leaders in the community said they remembered her primarily for her strategic business skills and persistent spirit.

“Stephanie is definitely a big-picture thinker, and she’s a strategic thinker,” said Lisel Petis, executive director of Advocates of Routt County. “Every nonprofit leader should be compassionate, but what sets Stephanie apart is her sharp thinking and her analytical skills.”

Petis said the two often found themselves in meetings together, as they both work to serve underrepresented populations and coordinate resources for people in crisis.

“The interesting thing about The Health Partnership is in the grand scheme of things: It’s a really new nonprofit, but Stephanie did a lot of great work pulling community partners together and really finding their place and creating a good team,” Petis added. “Stephanie had a lot of good connections in town, and she put a lot of effort into growing the programs, so it will be hard to replace her.”

As for finding a replacement, Monahan said The Health Partnership’s board has launched a national search and is “working diligently” to find someone who can match Monahan’s progress and continue her efforts to grow the group as the Yampa Valley continues to grow and has greater needs.

“The staff is poised for greatness,” Monahan said. “They’re headed down such an amazing path, and we wanted to make sure that’s supported and continued.”

As for The Health Partnership’s future, Monahan said she expects their list of resources to grow as more nonprofits and health centers are built in the community, and she is excited to see her work continue to be fruitful.

“They’re going to accomplish great things,” Monahan said. “They’re on a really great trajectory.”

Monahan’s last day is June 3, and the group will provide more details on its replacement process in the future, according to a letter Monahan sent to her staff.