About Us

Bikram, or Bik as some call him, is a Colorado native with over 35 years of business experience in the Denver Metro Area. He holds four university degrees, three of them being from Colorado’s own Adams State University in Alamosa, Colorado, where he is currently an Adjunct Professor of Business for undergraduate level business courses, as one of his many job titles. His degrees include an MBA in Leadership, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management, a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in Entrepreneurship, and an Associate of Science.

These along with his 16 years of leadership and management experience, simultaneous 35+ years of small business start-up and management, and various certifications including one in customer communications and management, make him quite the cadre of information. With his knowledge and experience, Bikram has been blessed to travel around the world and help family and friends build their businesses as well.

Bikram also has many exemplary soft skills such as being a problem solver, communicator, team player, public speaker, and he is fluent in English, French, and Spanish. He is a two-time TEDx presenter in Winter Park, Florida, and even goes into correctional facilities to speak and teach to the youth, women, and men in incarceration.

But, if you ask him what his biggest accomplishments are, all the above mentions do not matter, and in fact you can hardly find this full bio anywhere. Furthermore, he will humbly respond with the fact that has been blessed with a character, personality, and outlook on life that have been forged through processing self-inflicted trauma. And he uses all of his essence to give back to his communities, without which, he would be nothing. He credits these blessings, attributes that anyone can obtain, for his current and future accomplishments.

In addition to his teaching role with Adams State University, he holds numerous positions with various firms, across several industries, including the non-profit sector.

Alana Kohl is a Deaf educator, fashion enthusiast, and creative community builder who brings heart, humor, and purpose to everything she does.

With a degree in Fashion Merchandising from CSU and a deep love for helping people feel good about themselves, Alana blends style and soul into every space she’s part of. Here at The MoonBass her warmth and positive energy make people feel right at home. And she offers fashion shopping and image consulting, helping clients express their unique identity with confidence and joy.

As a fluent ASL user and teacher, Alana shares her passion for communication through private lessons and workshops, especially with children and community members eager to learn. Her experience in Deaf education, paired with her belief in the power of connection, allows her to create inclusive environments where everyone can thrive.

She’s also collaborating with Bikram (Bik) to help bring MoonBass events and DarkGhost Entertainment back to life…investing her creativity in bold new ways to bring people together. And at the center of it all, Alana is a devoted mother of three…which inspires everything she does.

As a partner, Mony has assisted in funding measures for the land acquisition that is now the site of the MoonBass. As an artist and mental health advocate, DJ LLANAS (pronounced: yah-nahs) has been a music lover for as long as he can remember. His musical direction was significantly influenced after attending his first event featuring Electronic Dance Music (EDM). The event was “Rave on the Rocks” at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, where the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd and artists for the music captivated him.

As he worked to develop his craft as an EDM artist/DJ, his first major milestone came when he was selected as a finalist in the 93.3 FM (KTCL – Denver) “Best DJ in Denver” competition. As a finalist, he performed at the world-renowned Church Nightclub, where he has returned to perform several times. Over the years, he continued to achieve additional milestones while performing at countless nightclubs and multi-stage events in the Denver area under the stage name “Vitall.” He has also lived in Las Vegas, Nevada, performing his high-energy sets in nightclubs both on and off the Strip.

Mony has experienced several personal life events that have helped him channel this passion into healing for himself and others. At the MoonBass, he will focus on ways to enhance this connection between passion and healing and extend these efforts to the communities we serve.

Hello! I’m Callie Preston, and I will be heading up MoonBass’s Educational Programming as Commander of Curriculum and Mission Development.

I grew up in the wilds of Idaho and Montana, developing a love for the outdoors, mountains, fishing, and farming/ranching from an early age. My backyard playground was the mountains, and my parents instilled in me a deep appreciation for nature and animals. I moved to Colorado in 7th grade and graduated from Olathe High School (fewer than 100 students in my graduating class) in 1984. From there, I traveled to Tokyo, Japan, for a summer as a foreign exchange student through Youth for Understanding. It was a major culture shock—but one I wouldn’t trade for anything. Learning about a culture through books is one thing; experiencing it firsthand is life-changing.

After returning to the U.S., I went straight to college, earning a degree in History and Writing with teaching certification—and I even learned how to scuba dive on the side! I spent the next ten years teaching in public education, returning to school twice to earn master’s degrees in Curriculum and Instruction, and in General Psychology. My first teaching job was in Rio Blanco County. After two years, I moved to Teller County, where I met my husband (a Pennsylvania native). We’ve now been married for over 20 years and are blessed with two daughters and two stepdaughters.

I transferred from teaching in Teller County to teaching middle school in Fremont County and jumped at the opportunity to be on the steering committee to get the Boys and Girls Club started there. When a teaching position opened through the Department of Corrections, I applied and began a career as a teacher at the prisons. I taught courses that were basically Life Skills, but THIS was my calling, I discovered. I LOVED teaching inmates by utilizing my emotional intelligence and intense creative skills and truly felt like I made a connection with them and was helping make a difference in not only their lives, but the lives of their families and relatives.

When a position opened in Grand Junction for a job as a Clinician, where the company would help support me in getting my counseling licensure in substance use and addiction along with general counseling, I jumped on it. At age 56, to go through a career change was a bold move, but one I knew was necessary. I discovered while teaching in the prison that I had a knack for advising and encouraging the inmates and helping them laugh, and this is where I felt like God was leading me—to pursue my newfound passion of counseling. In February of 2023, I should be licensed as a CAS/LPC and am looking forward to using this new skill to fuel my passion of helping The MoonBass get off the ground and going.I am now a grandmother to 10 grandbabies and will be celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary this October with a wonderful man who forgives all my flaws. I have an indescribable passion for animals, mainly dogs and horses. I’ve always sworn that if I were to win the lottery, I would open a humane shelter for abused and abandoned old dogs and horses, where they could spend the rest of their lives being loved on and feeling free and happy. I love to paint, scuba dive, garden, fish, camp, and play board games. One day, I hope to travel to Jerusalem and walk in the footsteps of history. Until then, my weaknesses are spiders and cake.

Hi! My name is Jasmine Saxon, and I’m the co-founder of Community Connections, LLC.

When I was about 12 years old, I had the opportunity to participate in an ambassador program that allowed me to travel to England, Ireland, and Wales for a little over a week. While I was there, I stayed with host families, attended school in England for a day, kissed the Blarney Stone, touched the water flowing through the Roman Baths, and explored all kinds of magical stone castles. I absolutely fell in love with the history and adventure that sparked my imagination at every new place we visited.

When I came home from that trip, I had no idea what kind of job would allow me to experience things like that again—I just knew I had to figure it out. My dad is a pretty smart guy, so when I shared all my ideas with him, he found a kids’ archaeology magazine for me. I looked forward to every single month when a new edition arrived. I quickly discovered that exploring human history and how past people lived is exactly what archaeology is all about. From that point forward, I knew I was meant to be an archaeologist.

Fast forward a couple of decades: I completed my B.A. in archaeology from Southern Adventist University, and then went on to earn my M.A. in anthropology, with a concentration in archaeology, from the University of Denver in November 2018.

During my studies, I’ve been fortunate to travel all around the world, including spending six weeks in Israel excavating Tel Hazor and a 10-day study abroad tour of Turkey. I’ve worked in a variety of museums, assisting with curation and creating exhibitions. In graduate school, I served as a graduate teaching assistant and was a member of the ground-penetrating radar research group with Dr. Larry Conyers. I completed my thesis titled, “An Archaeological Exploration of Agriculture, Trade, and Indigenous Relationships at a Seventeenth-Century New England Site.” This work further fueled my passion for becoming more involved in community-driven archaeological projects, due to the incredible collaboration among historical societies, local boys’ and girls’ clubs, and individual families that Dr. Brian Jones encouraged for this project.

My passion for public archaeology grew when I had the opportunity to conduct historical research and background work for the University of Denver’s Campus Archaeology Project. During this project, I was honored to be involved in recording oral histories and witnessing the excitement as we located the original descendants of the old houses that used to stand on DU’s campus. It was amazing to see faces light up as stories were told about the old cable cars that used to run through the neighborhood and how kids would catch bugs in the wide-open fields for the DU science department. 9News did a special segment on this project, where I had the privilege of sharing the excitement of being a part of a local family’s heritage! These experiences have fueled my passion for creating Community Connections, LLC, with Jess.

Hi, I am Jess! Growing up, I loved hearing stories about my family’s history, exploring, and finding cool rocks.

Not much has changed. I still adore hearing stories about anyone’s history and family background. Becoming an archaeologist has allowed me to explore countries and places I never dreamed of visiting. I still love finding cool rocks.

When deciding what I wanted to study in college, I kept looking into archaeology courses, remembering how much the subject always excited me as a kid. Thoughts like, “Who does that though?” and “Do archaeologists even make any money?” crossed my mind. But after drooling over various excavations, recent finds, and talking to more and more archaeologists and avocational archaeologists, I knew I had to go for it and follow my dreams.

During my time at Colorado State University, I learned many valuable skills and met some amazing people. My schooling there set me up for some incredible life experiences. One of these big events was getting my first paid archaeology gig out of Fairbanks, Alaska. Working there was no joke. It wasn’t armchair archaeology. It was getting deep into the work, getting dirty, crying because I was so out of my element, and truly learning what being an archaeologist was all about.

After a season of transects, walking, digging, and being devoured by mosquitoes, I had the opportunity to work with my boss and crew chief to present our seasonal findings at the Society of American Archaeology’s annual conference in San Francisco, CA.

This presentation, along with several school projects, gave me a major taste of what public archaeology is really about. If we don’t talk about archaeology and share our findings with the public, most people will likely never know about it—unless they seek it out themselves. Public archaeology became a new dream of mine. This marked the beginning of several years spent figuring out how best to engage with the public and spark their interest in archaeology and history.

I became both a tour guide and an archaeologist, constantly looking for ways to involve the public in archaeology. I worked with local archaeological groups and companies in Colorado (my home state) to learn as much as I could about raising awareness for archaeology. The more I searched, the more I realized that archaeology really needed help with public engagement. After years of reflection and learning, Jasmine and I finally started… Community Connections, LLC!

Jasmine said it best: ” We are committed to using archeology in local communities to bring members of the community together in a meaningful way, demonstrating how heritage can be a valuable tool for exploring and preserving our stories. We can’t wait to explore the exciting stories in your community, too!”

Welcome to Community Connections LLC! We are thrilled to help create a better future for our past and get the public just as excited about archaeology and history as we are!

Hi! I’m Elizabeth Watts, Ph.D. I am an emeritus professor of journalism and mass communication, with 30 years of experience teaching at the college level. I retired in 2011.

I met Bikram Mishra at an Adams State University alumni event, and we have since worked together to support ASU as board members of its Denver/Front Range Chapter.

Hello! My name is Marie Cancino. I am a person of many trades, and I am also diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, Bipolar Type II, PTSD from rape, severe neglect, and child abuse, OCD, symptoms of psychosis, insomnia, recovering opiate addiction, and just an all-around psycho.

High school began my educational adventure when I was accepted into the computer magnet program, which is a program for young students to explore computer science or computer engineering. During those years, I also worked alongside staff to create an advanced jewelry class, which I led. Graduating high school at the age of 17, I was accepted into Metropolitan State University, where I studied Web Design for a year and was placed in accelerated math courses.

While attending Metro, I became close friends with a wonderful woman who had AIDS. Helping her through her struggles, I decided to take certification courses in the medical field. I carried certifications for peer counseling, STI testing, HIV testing, drug testing, and teaching sex education courses. From August 2007 to March 2009, I worked for two non-profits in Denver, Colorado: Sisters of Color United for Education and Prevention Before Infection. Both non-profits’ goals were to lower the STI rate in the Denver area, specifically in the zip codes 80204-80219.

Deciding to venture out of computer science, I discovered my interest in pharmaceutical compounding and enrolled in Emily Griffith’s trade degree program for Pharmacy Technician, graduating in July of 2009. Shortly after graduating trade school, I became pregnant with my son, and something told me to go back to school. So, I registered at the Community College of Denver, where I studied Arts in Applied Science with an emphasis in Accounting for two years.

In 2012, I started my own cleaning company because I saw that people with mental health issues could really use a house cleaner who understood what it was like—and who could offer comfort while cleaning. Plus, it was a good side job that allowed me to be a more present parent in my son’s life. I still own and operate The Clean Freak, LLC, and currently have contracts with Maid Complete.

Next, my love for animals and continued interest in the medical field led me to enroll at Pima Medical Institute in the Veterinary Assistant Program. I graduated in October 2017, top of my class. Sometime after graduating from Pima, I received a phone call from Primerica offering the opportunity to attend training and become licensed to sell life insurance in Colorado. I obtained my life agent license in March 2018 and worked with Primerica for a year, followed by a year with Alliance.

Recently, I accepted multiple roles at several companies owned and operated under the Evolution Laboratories brand—and I am now the owner of three of those entities. EvoLabs can take any individual or team, committed to a goal, from the idea phase all the way through execution… and beyond. Together in our Labs, we evolve your business, your life—your whatever! We look forward to bringing our life- and lab-tested body of experience and education to your lab, so we can help solve your organization’s—or life’s—most pressing experiments.