Our Team
Barbara Andrea Garza Guzman, LCSW
(she/her/ella)
Executive Director – Operations & Programs
Barbs (she/her/ella) is Co-Executive Director of the Transformative Justice Project of Colorado, where she oversees operations and programs. She is a fierce advocate for system-impacted youth and a visionary leader committed to dismantling oppressive systems.
Rooted in both Matamoros, Tamaulipas, and Brownsville, TX, Barbs moved to Colorado to pursue her Master’s in Social Work at the University of Denver. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and over the past decade has dedicated herself to working at the intersections of child welfare, education, mental health, and the criminal legal system—always centering youth of color and pushing the work beyond surface-level reform toward true transformation.
As a late-diagnosed neurodivergent person with dyslexia, Barbs understands firsthand the barriers young people face in systems designed for conformity rather than liberation. Fluent in both Spanish and English, she builds deep, authentic relationships with youth, guardians, and community members, creating spaces where people feel seen, valued, and empowered.
Barbs is a bold, big-picture thinker who connects dots others overlook, seeing both the harm caused by systemic injustice and the possibilities for something better. She leads with love, fights with conviction, and stands firm against those who seek to uphold oppressive systems. She has co-authored articles on antiracism and abolishing whiteness and is deeply committed to healing, racial justice, and community care.
Barbs lives in Colorado with her husband and their two tuxedo cats—despite being highly allergic.
Erin Pier, Ed.S
(she/her)
Executive Director – Development & Communications
Erin is Co-Executive Director of the Transformative Justice Project of Colorado, where she oversees development and communications. She also provides court advocacy and case management support through the Community Cares program.
Prior to joining TJP, Erin spent 14 years as a school psychologist in Aurora and Denver Public Schools, where she became passionate about the need for systemic change in education. She earned her undergraduate degree in Special Education from Saint Louis University, began her teaching career at Savio House in Denver in 2007, and holds an Education Specialist degree in Child, Family, and School Psychology from the University of Denver.
Throughout her career, Erin has been guided by a core belief: there are no bad kids, only unmet needs. As a mother of three neurodivergent children navigating dyslexia, ADHD, and hearing loss—and as someone late-diagnosed with ADHD herself—she understands how systems prioritize conformity over creativity, often leaving neurodivergent individuals feeling ill-equipped or unseen. She recognizes the privileges that enabled her own success despite these challenges, privileges too often denied to system-impacted youth.
As a co-founder of the Community Cares program, Erin has led efforts to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline by providing holistic support to system-impacted youth. Her leadership integrates her background in mental health and education with an unwavering commitment to decentering whiteness and advancing antiracist practices in youth advocacy.
Erin lives in Denver, where she enjoys camping, traveling, hiking, baking, running, snowboarding, and playing drums with her husband, three kids, and two dogs.
Tiera Brown
(she/her)
Director of LYRIC and Believe in Youth; Community Cares Case Manager
Tiera, a dedicated public servant, has previously worked in Special Education Law with the Colorado Department of Education’s Dispute Resolution Unit. She was selected as the 2022 Gault Center Fellow where she helped strengthen the quality of legal representation for system-impacted youth. Tiera previously worked at the Colorado State Public Defenders Office, assisting in the representation of youth with felony and misdemeanor cases. Presently, Tiera provides pro bono legal representation to victims of domestic violence through Volunteer Legal Advocates, and to Colorado youth in need of expungement and deregistration assistance through TJP’s Believe in Youth program. She also provides legal research support to the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel.
Tiera currently serves as the Officer of Community Action and Advocacy for the Colorado Women’s Bar Association. She also volunteers for Learn Your Rights in the Community (LYRIC), a new program of TJP’s; LYRIC is led by passionate attorney volunteers that donate their time to educate and empower Colorado youth to exercise their constitutional rights. Tiera graduated from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in 2020 after receiving her bachelor’s from Boston College.
Tiera lives in Denver, Colorado with her son, their ball python, Kyle, and their growing collection of over fifty houseplants.
Michael Diaz-Rivera
(he/him)
Community Cares Case Manager
Michael is a community advocate, former educator, entrepreneur, and caseworker dedicated to supporting youth and families impacted by systemic inequities. Raised in a single-parent household and experiencing extreme poverty, Michael’s lived experience has shaped his lifelong commitment to service, mentorship, and community empowerment.
He graduated from Sierra High School in Colorado Springs in 2005 and earned a Bachelor of Arts from Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2014, with a focus on psychology, art, and supporting at-risk youth. Michael credits much of his success to the nonprofits and mentors who recognized his potential early on, inspiring his commitment to “pay it forward” through his work.
Michael began his career with Denver Parks and Recreation, facilitating programming in sports, arts, culture, and education. He later served as a Mentor Coordinator with Friends for Youth and went on to become an educator in the Denver metro area, where he focused on leadership development, mentorship, and creating opportunities for underserved students.
Over the years, Michael has worked across Colorado Springs and Denver with numerous nonprofit organizations, leading grassroots efforts focused on education, justice reform, and economic empowerment. As the founder of Better Days Delivery & SEED, he supported over 100 entrepreneurs and community members through programming, partnerships, and resource coordination.
Today, Michael serves as a case manager with the Transformative Justice Project of Colorado, where he supports system-impacted youth through trauma-informed, community-based care. His work is grounded in a deep belief in second chances, the power of relationships, and the importance of creating pathways for young people to define their own futures.
Elie Zwiebel
(he/him)
Contracted Attorney for Education First
Prior to attending law school, Elie Zwiebel taught a variety of subjects in the Detroit Area, Chicago, Portland, Shenzhen, and Nanjing. Through these experiences, Elie developed a passion for student and family advocacy. During law school, Elie engaged in experiential learning opportunities as often as possible: with movement and power-building nonprofit organizations, where he learned the importance of holistic and interdisciplinary approaches to legal advocacy; with the United States Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, where he gained experience and familiarity with special education law and other statutes regarding discrimination in schools; and with the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, where he contributed to investigating police departments, prisons, and mental health facilities for patterns and practices of discrimination.
While in the University of Denver Civil Rights Clinic, Elie successfully petitioned President Obama to grant clemency to two individuals serving life sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. After spending one year as a Judicial Law Clerk for Judge Norma A. Sierra in the 20th Judicial District, Elie is thrilled to now zealously represent students and their families in Colorado schools and courts.
Elie has represented students, parents, and guardians in educational and youth justice matters as Education First’s Director since 2018.
Our Leadership Philosophy
Our Leadership Model
Historically, nonprofits concentrate power in a single executive director, creating inequitable hierarchies that value one person’s decision-making at the expense of collective wisdom and diversity.
At TJP, we challenge this model. Erin Pier and Barbara Garza serve as Co-Executive Directors, sharing strategic leadership and organizational decision-making. Erin focuses on development, communications, and external partnerships, while Barbs oversees programs, services, and operations. Together, they lead in collaboration with the Board of Directors and in accountability to the communities we serve.
Our co-executive model is an intentional step toward decolonization and shared power—countering the racialized, gendered, ableist concentration of authority that Western leadership structures have historically embodied.