About us

Learn more about The Alpine Square Team of professionals.
Let us walk alongside you in a judgment-free zone where you can adapt to the life you want to live.

Mary Lang Judy,

WIP-C, CESP, ACRE

Sarah profile image

Sarah Cuthbertson

JD, M.Ed., WIP-C, ACRE

Brian Clymer

WIP-C, VET-C

Flo Murray

WIP-C, ACRE

who we are

The Alpine Square Team assists Neurodiverse adults and their support systems to navigate those changes in light of the neurodivergent way of thinking.

The Alpine Square Team works with clients transitioning to independence and self-reliance with employment as the lynch pin to self-determination. Employment is not only our source of income but also the connection that binds us to our communities and provides a structure to balance our daily tasks of living and the emotional fulfillment necessary for a strong sense of self-worth.

My Story

I grew up in a Neurodiverse Family and that is my sense of normal. Not surprisingly, I married a man with a neurodivergent mind, and we have our own Neurodiverse Family. I was extremely fortunate to have the example of my mother Margaret’s support for my father and my brother who were the most impacted in our household while I was growing up. She was completely alone in her advocacy for our family, but she just did what was right because she loved us. My mom protected us all fiercely and meekly, using her gut to decide what was right and what was wrong. She was brilliant! After her death in 2008, my son was diagnosed with learning disabilities (2E) and eventually with Asperger’s Syndrome. When he was in high school, I realized that his father too has Asperger’s. There are only two choices you have when faced with this kind of knowledge; you can go all in or you can run. I went all in with the help of a wonderful network of friends and supporters that I had created for myself while raising my kids, and the example of my amazing mother who always showed me the way to love people unconditionally and with her whole being.

Now I’m helping other families bridge the gap to independence and adulthood professionally. When challenged daily with how to help my clients without enabling them, I think to myself “What would Margaret do?”

I earned dual degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Minnesota in 1990. After short stints working for congressional offices in Minnesota and Washington DC, I sought an opportunity to work in the burgeoning online technology markets out of Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. I spent the rest of the 1990s working with systems integrators and software companies in a variety of sales and marketing roles.

With the birth of our second child just prior to Y2K, I left the tech world to manage our significant real estate investments and educated myself about the residential design business and real estate management. We divested our North Carolina real estate holdings in 2005 to move to Chicago. There I earned my Illinois real estate and certified property management licenses. I renovated and flipped our family residences and managed the sales and renovation of client properties.

During these years our second child was identified as Twice Exceptional, eventually leading to an Asperger’s Syndrome diagnosis. I sought training through the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy, and became a contracted Parent Advocate for the Illinois State Board of Education. With my neighbors we started the Riverside Area Inclusion Network (RAIN) to support families and work with the school systems to create more inclusive educational and community opportunities for our exceptionally identified children. Public educators and the state systems were just adapting to this new normal and by high school we moved our exceptional child to a Catholic single sex high school with wonderful supports, and MOST importantly, a sense of belonging not experienced anywhere before. A wonderful priest (to whom I will always be grateful) also helped me to see that my husband is on the spectrum. This insight saved our marriage!

Recognizing a family dream to live in the Rockies, we relocated to Colorado in 2018. Here I went to work for state licensed program approved service agencies (PASA) to learn the supportive ropes for the Neurodiverse community. I earned my Association of Community Rehabilitative Educators (ACRE) certification, and have built a network within the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing (HCPF), the Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), Employment First Colorado, the Association for People Supporting Employment First (APSE), and the PASA and private provider networks. The greatest need I discovered in this culturally accepting region is with those who do not “look” disabled and often fall through the cracks. I’ve made it my mission to help those individuals attain their highest potential by assisting in the creation of their individualized support teams and access to services.

Sarah profile image

My Story

My experience with the neurodiverse world began when my daughter was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age 9.  This diagnosis did not come as a shock but rather as an answer and a path to solutions.  I have always believed that she had so much potential and that with the right support, she could reach that potential and live a full, vibrant life.  Through this process we have met and had to overcome many obstacles.  My daughter, currently employed with a multinational organization related to her degree, has entered the “transition phase” to adulthood and independence.  Having a team in place to support and guide her through this process has been instrumental.  Alpine Square has been an essential part of this team.  The end goal is that she take ownership of her own independence and success.  I am happy to be a part of Alpine Square and help other neurodiverse individuals reach their potential and achieve their goals.

I graduated from Boston College in 1990 with a degree in history.  I then received my J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and practiced law in Chicago for four years. Subsequently, I worked in the non-profit sector while earning my Master’s in Education at DePaul University.  I taught in the Chicago area full time and as a substitute. I also have taught as a substitute in the Denver area.

After moving with my family to Denver from Barrington, Illinois in August of 2020, I joined the board of the Autism Society of Colorado. As a board member I have worked on programs to promote Autism awareness and acceptance.

Since moving to Colorado, I have navigated some of the resources and supports that exist for neurodiverse adults including the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.  This experience will be invaluable as I strive to help other young adults through the transition to employment and independence.  I am certified with the Association of Community Rehabilitation Educators (ACRE).

My Story

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs to a lower-to-middle class family.  Though academically gifted and involved in traveling sports teams (baseball and soccer) I never really had my own “group” of friends.  I never paid much attention to how frequently friends and acquaintances entered and exited my life until my mid-20s.  Then, with the birth of my and my wife’s first child in 2023, I forced myself to focus on my own physical and mental health so I could be as present of a father as possible.  That investment in self lead to the ability to put a diagnoses to some of the struggles I have endured throughout my life including ADHD, OCD, and possibly Irlen Syndrome.

My nuclear family never spoke about mental health, never acknowledged its impact on everyday life; yet many substance addiction disorders are found on both sides of my extended family as well as bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, depression, and many more.  I believe that my upbringing and experiences shaped me to be, to this day, a fierce advocate for adults with disabilities, particularly those with invisible disabilities that accompany mental health diagnoses/disorders.

With the original intention of becoming a mechanical engineer, I attended the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.  A very long and complicated process of self-discovery and career-searching later, I found that working with people was my passion!  I graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville with a major in Psychology and a minor in Sociology with a focus in gender studies.

From there, I held various jobs trying to find the right fit: a direct care professional at a group home for adults with disabilities, administrative staff at a mental health clinic, and even a graduate student studying for my master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.  When the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown occurred, the opportunity to work at an independent living center in Colorado presented itself and I took it! I served as the agency’s only benefits planner and rapidly fell in love with the line of work.  In this position I served as the lead benefits planner for the Securing Employment and Economic Keys to Stability (SEEKS) research grant, a 5-year grant looking to make benefits planning services more accessible to adults with disabilities – among other goals.

My love for the career blossomed so quickly and so intently that I opened my own business, Frosted Peak Benefits Counseling, in 2022, where I continue to implement the SEEKS grant alongside my private caseload of clients through the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR).  Now I have the privilege of partnering with the great staff at Alpine Square LLC. as a benefits planner to help even more Colorado residents access benefits planning services. I am eager to help everyone I meet to the best of my ability and thank my never-ending desire to learn as the main reason why I am so proud of the work I do as a benefits planner.

My Story

I began working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Promise Ranch in Parker, Colorado.  I worked with individuals just becoming adults and starting their work lives.  The program at Promise Ranch was called Supported Employment and it is an SLS and DD waiver benefit.  The IDD individuals got to work under supervision of a Job Coach.  This program allowed many young people to work with the horses and other animals on the ranch doing feeding and cleaning chores.  Getting paid for perhaps the first time – and doing work they loved – was a joy to most of them! 

When the families of these individuals told me they had to limit the hours their young adults were willing to work – it was because they were afraid their children’s Social Security payments would be at risk.   I started looking into the laws and rules surrounding this.  It turns out there is a very comprehensive course through Cornell University which teaches most everything a person would want to know about Social Security and how Social Security benefits are affected by being paid at work. Cornell issues a certificate after one passes the course and does a Case Study (similar to a thesis in a college setting).  I did successfully pass the course and the Case Study and am therefore certified to do Benefits Planning (as the Medicaid waiver program calls it) and Benefits Counseling (as the Division of Vocational Rehab calls it). 

People tell me I am very patient and always willing to answer all questions presented to me.  What I tell them back is, if I don’t know the answer, I will find out the answer if at all possible.

I went to the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana directly out of high school.  I majored in Math Education and minored in Psychology. However, before finishing my degree, I caught the travel bug and traveled all over Europe and South America over the next few years.  When I came back to my hometown in the Chicago area, I started working full time in sales and sales management.  I then went to Roosevelt University and changed my major to Marketing.

I made a major life change after the winter storms of 1978 in Chicago. I moved to Southern California with some friends.  Got married, put my then husband through chiropractic school, and began running his office including doing the insurance billing.  Divorced a few years later, I built a chiropractic insurance billing company, owned a small ranch with my then business partner, sold the insurance billing company and had some other ventures, before moving to Colorado.

Colorado is where I learned about the neurodiverse community.  I built another insurance billing company, but this time for Mental Health Professionals. I developed a great appreciation for the therapists who were my clients and their struggles in treating neurodiverse patients.  After I sold this billing company, I went to work as the bookkeeper and subsequently Business Manager for a PASA whose clients were mainly SLS and DD Waiver clients.  I learned many important skills during this time and found I loved working with disabled individuals.  ACRE certification was attained during my time with the PASA.

Once my time with the PASA was coming to a close, I took the Cornell WIP-C course and am now a Benefits Counselor.  I also did Job Development and Coaching through DVR.  I have chosen to join Alpine Square and work with other Benefit Counselors instead of doing it all on my own.  Many minds and hands working together make us all stronger!

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My Story

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs to a lower-to-middle class family.  Though academically gifted and involved in traveling sports teams (baseball and soccer) I never really had my own “group” of friends.  I never paid much attention to how frequently friends and acquaintances entered and exited my life until my mid-20s.  Then, with the birth of my and my wife’s first child in 2023, I forced myself to focus on my own physical and mental health so I could be as present of a father as possible.  That investment in self lead to the ability to put a diagnoses to some of the struggles I have endured throughout my life including ADHD, OCD, and possibly Irlen Syndrome.

My nuclear family never spoke about mental health, never acknowledged its impact on everyday life; yet many substance addiction disorders are found on both sides of my extended family as well as bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, anxiety, depression, and many more.  I believe that my upbringing and experiences shaped me to be, to this day, a fierce advocate for adults with disabilities, particularly those with invisible disabilities that accompany mental health diagnoses/disorders.