Here at the museum we run on a volunteer system, and at the moment we have five volunteers taking the time out of their busy lives to share the History of the museum to the pubic. Get to know them better!

Nell Mitchell

In 1962, Nell Mitchell started working at the Colorado State Hospital, where she had put 36 years in. She had started as a secretary in the Personnel Department and five years later she was promoted to an administrative assistant and later, worked as a Public Information officer. In 1979, the hospital celebrated its 100th year with three days of activities, however she was more interested in the many displays of patient ledgers and the different forms of treatments at the time. She had decided that these artifacts should be saved and preserved so that future generations would know more about the treatments used than and the different medications used now. She decided then that there should be a place for these priceless artifacts and asked the superintendent at the time, Dr. Haydee Kort, if she could use the former superintendent’s house. She agreed and the house is now used as a museum. Nell had then obtained the National Register of Historic Places status so that it would not be torn down. Nell is the reason the museum is where it is today, when you come in to see us make sure to say hi, and she can answer all of the questions you have!

Nancy Hall

On one Tuesday afternoon in February of 2022, Nancy Hall came in to take a look around the museum with a friend. It didn’t take very long for her to fall in love with the facility as that following Tuesday she came back and asked Nell if she needed any help, and to this day Nancy has been volunteer with us at the museum. Nancy Hall went to school at Bowling Green State University where she got her bachelors degree in business and accounting. She then went on to get her masters degree from Indiana University and studied instructional systems technology and marketing and a minor in Radio and T.V. Nancy has traveled and lived all over the world. She has lived in 11 states and 3 countries. Make sure to come say hi to Nancy and hear some of her stories!

Richard Guenther

Richard is an active volunteer for both the Colorado State Hospital Museum and the Pueblo County Historical Society.

Richard taught Computer Science for 18 years primarily in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Longmont. He is a fan of open-source software and likes to work on various projects like designing databases.

Richard can usually be found in the basement of the Museum. It’s pretty much his favorite place … EVER.

Stephanie Miller

Stephanie’s our awesome research volunteer who always dreamed of visiting the CSH museum and finally made it happen—now she can’t stop volunteering! She’s super into local history, especially anything to do with psychiatry and medicine. After moving to Pueblo, Colorado in 2011, she worked in mental health facilities before jumping into her current career. Stephanie absolutely loves hanging out in the archives, piecing together the stories and struggles of all those who walked through the State Hospital’s doors. If you’re around, you can usually find her on Tuesdays, tucked away with the archived record books in the basement—definitely stop by and say hi!

Bethany Wood

Hey there! I’m Bethany Wood, and I’m super excited to be one of the new volunteer tour guides at the Colorado State Mental Health Museum. I jumped on board in August 2024, and I’m loving it! The folks here are really friendly, and there’s always something cool to discover! I’ve also started diving into Anthropology lately, so this is an awesome chance for me to gain some practical and hands-on experience! Bethany is here on Tuesday’s, and has quickly become an asset giving tours! Stop in and say hi!