Erie coordinator named Colorado's 2026 Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist of the Year

Ronja Vaitaitis received Colorado's 2026 Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist of the Year award at the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association annual conference on Oct. 22, the Town of Erie said.

Vaitaitis joined the Town of Erie in 2024 and serves as its Therapeutic and Youth Coordinator. In two years, she built the town's therapeutic recreation program from the ground up, creating what the town describes as a respected, thriving and impactful community offering. She developed adaptive Special Olympics soccer, swimming, basketball and bocce opportunities and personally coaches all four.

Vaitaitis secured a $49,330 Boulder County IDD Mill Levy Grant to fund adaptive biking, climbing and ice skating programs, the town said. She then purchased adaptive bikes and a transport trailer.

Vaitaitis introduced adaptive indoor cycling and created inclusive movie and game nights, which she leads herself, the Town of Erie said. She also pioneered adaptive wind sailing and water skiing programs, which she envisioned and actively leads. She created a community-wide inclusion request form and has worked with others to make recreation areas more inclusive and adaptive.