To avoid a conflict of interest, La Plata Youth Services plans to ask someone other than Christian Champagne to serve on its board of directors in January when the unopposed candidate for 6th District Attorney is expected to take office.

The youth group’s board of directors is typically made up of area law enforcement representatives, including the District Attorney’s Office. But Katy Pepinsky, executive director of the group, is married to Champagne, creating a potential conflict of interest, she said Monday in an interview.

Pepinsky said she discussed the issue with her board of directors at the time Champagne announced his candidacy for top prosecutor in a three-county region, including Archuleta, San Juan and La Plata counties.

The agency plans to ask the District Attorney’s Office to appoint a different representative, or it could ask another law enforcement group to join the board of directors, Pepinsky said.

“We’ve talked about that representative being someone other than Christian, certainly, once he starts his position,” Pepinsky said.

Pepinsky, who has worked with La Plata Youth Services since February 2014 and became director on Sept. 1, answers to the board of directors.

“I feel personally that that would not be appropriate for him to be one of my bosses, because that does definitely create a conflict,” she said.

District Attorney Todd Risberg, who is term limited, currently serves on the nonprofit’s board of directors.

La Plata Youth Services provides prevention and intervention programs to children in need of supportive services. Juveniles who end up in the criminal justice system are often “diverted” to the agency where they receive one-on-one case management from youth advocates for three to 12 months. The agency served 495 students last year, including almost 150 students in the diversion program.

The agency doesn’t receive funding from the District Attorney’s Office, and it is not funded on a per-pupil basis, Pepinsky said.

The current board of directors is made up of Leslie Mayer, director of La Plata County Human Services; Niles Bruno, with Durango High Noon Rotary; Jim Spratlen, chief of the Durango Police Department; Joe McIntyre, Bayfield town marshal; Mary Beth Miles, assistant to the Durango city manager; Todd Risberg, current district attorney, and Jackie Oros, executive director of student support services with Durango School District 9-R.

shane@durangoherald.com