Marilyn Bruce is currently the school health coordinator for Teller County Public Health.  She is a former health and physical education teacher who taught in Colorado schools for 31 years before retiring in 2003 to take a grant-funded position with Teller County Public Health through Steps to a Healthier US.  Since taking the school health coordinator position, Marilyn has worked successfully with schools, worksites, and community groups to initiate, develop, and implement activities which improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce the burden of chronic disease.

As an educator Ms. Bruce was an advocate for improving health and wellness.   While teaching health education at Woodland Park Middle School, she helped implement the “Sugar Smart School” guidelines in 1999.  Recognizing the current and future impact of new technologies on her students, she applied for and was accepted as one of the first 28 teachers in 2001 in Colorado to receive an Intel master teacher grant, Intel Teach to the Future.  This grant provided support for classroom instruction at the local level for teachers on integrating technology into the classroom curriculum. 

Marilyn has presented at state and national conferences on the success of integrating technology and health education.  More recently she has presented at the Colorado Worksite Wellness conference, COAHPERD state convention and the American School Health Association on the Teller County school districts’ Coordinated School Health Programs and The Flat 14ers Club, the program she developed to increase physical activity and improve nutrition throughout the community through the America on the Move.

She received her BS and MS in Health and Physical Education from Oklahoma State University and is active in the Colorado Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, The American School Health Association and the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.  She has been married for 32 years, has two adult daughters and 2 grandsons.