Jen Palazzolo, RPh, Owner/CEO
Jen has been in pharmacy since she was 14 years old, working at the local independent in her hometown of Long Beach, NY. After spending all her career as a chain pharmacist, she got back into independent pharmacy and started to love going to work again. In August of 2013 she decided she wanted to open her own pharmacy and used her passion for independent pharmacy to get everything done and open the doors of Flatirons Family Pharmacy in April of 2014. Her strong belief in the pharmacist-patient relationship has led her and her staff to embrace functional medicine, wellness, and treating the whole patient. This focus has branded Flatirons Family Pharmacy as a wellness destination where Jen now shares her own journey to health, weight loss and burnout relief so others can live their best lives without the constant burden of being over-medicated. In her spare time, Jen likes to spend time with family, travel, explore fitness, and rescue dogs.
Rodney Diffendaffer, RPh, Clinical Pharmacist
Rodney Diffendaffer is proud to focus on preventative medicine that looks for the root cause of problems rather than just treating the symptoms. Holding various certifications, he has used this knowledge to build a Functional Medicine Practice at Flatirons Family Pharmacy. Rodney is currently enrolled in his second semester at The School of Applied Functional Medicine and just completed the A4M Hormone Therapy Training. In addition to these, he is a certified immunizer that runs all the pharmacy immunization clinics. He also oversees the dispensing and counseling of Medical Aid in Dying prescriptions through the Colorado End of Life Options Act. Rodney has been working with Medical Aid in Dying since 2017 to gather data and conduct studies to help both physicians and families improve the process of compassionate end-of-life choices.
He is proud to have helped the profession of pharmacy expand during COVID performing over 5,000 COVID tests, over 500 COVID antibody tests, and over 5,500 COVID immunizations to our local community. Rodney is now a CPESN Colorado Luminary who has facilitated Smoking Cessation classes, Birth Control prescribing, Diabetes Self-Management Education, and Diabetes Prevention Programs in the pharmacy all of which further the profession of pharmacy. He is passionate about everything he sets out to do.
Rodney lives in Berthoud, CO with his wife and 3 children, and their dog. He spends his free time working on house projects and his large garden.
Derrick Waller, Pharm.D., Director of Pharmaceutical Compounding
Derrick is a licensed pharmacist and oversees the formulation and preparation of compounded medications to meet the individualized needs of our patients. Derrick’s compounding experience began over 15 years ago in Austin, Texas as a compounding technician preparing both sterile and non-sterile compounds, eventually becoming the lab manager. He went on to obtain his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Regis University in Denver. He also has certifications and training in veterinary pharmacy, medication therapy management, and immunization delivery. Derrick joined Flatirons Family Pharmacy as a part-time pharmacy intern in 2014, transitioning to his current role after graduating in 2017.
Derrick is also active in several professional organizations related to veterinary pharmacy, public health, and infectious diseases; interests sparked during an earlier infectious disease fellowship at the CDC. When he is not working or learning, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Denise, and their shepherd mix, Duncan. They love traveling back to Texas to visit their family and friends whenever possible.
Angie Peterson, Pharm.D., Pharmacy Manager/Clinical Pharmacist
Angie is the pharmacy manager, supervising the front-end technicians and staff pharmacist. She also runs several of our clinical programs on the wellness side of our pharmacy. She has been in pharmacy since 2014, starting as a technician, and eventually graduating with her Doctor of Pharmacy in 2020 from Belmont University in Nashville, TN. Originally from St. Joseph, MO, she had always wanted to move to Colorado. Immediately after graduation, she settled right here in Longmont. Previously managing 2 other pharmacies since graduation, she finally found her home at Flatirons Family Pharmacy.
Angie has certifications in Hormonal Contraceptive Prescribing, Tobacco Cessation, Medication Therapy Management, Immunization Delivery, and a variety of mental health training. She is also an active member of the Colorado Pharmacists Society and is co-chair of the Pharmacy Workplace Taskforce.
In her free time, she enjoys binging Netflix documentaries and playing with her cats.
Melina Zuniga, CPhT, DPP Lifestyle Coach, Operations Manager
Melina holds many hats at Flatirons Family Pharmacy, while she is a certified pharmacy technician, she also runs our CDC-recognized Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and is a certified DPP Lifestyle Coach. She likes that she can see the impact her work has on helping improve the lives of others.
On her time off, she enjoys going to the gym or visiting with her family and friends. She loves a good hike during the nice weather and likes to clean.
Jess Hawkins, CPhT, Lead Compounding Pharmacy Technician
Jess has been a certified pharmacy technician since 2014. She has worked in long-term care, hospitals, and retail pharmacies. Her experience includes being an IV sterile compounding technician as well as a non-sterile compounding technician. Pharmacy is her passion. While I hold a graduate degree in psychology, pharmacy is where my heart is. The product that is given to the patient, whether it’s counting pills or a life-threatening IV bag, takes a competent individual like Jess.
Jess is a married mother to a 4-year-old, who consumes her life and says is the best job in the world. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors. Her interests include spending time at the stables with her horse, snowboarding, all water and lake activities, spending time with family and friends, and increasing her knowledge of pretty much anything, and whatever life throws at her.
She can confidently assure you the quality of products you receive from this pharmacy is exceptional.
Jaydon Nazarenus, CPhT, Compounding Pharmacy Technician
Jaydon Nazarenus has interests in both chemistry and medicine, and combined with his ability to provide custom medications to those in need is what ultimately got him into compounding. There is something about being able to create something by hand, then having that something impacts someone’s life for the better that intrigues Jaydon. He is ecstatic that working here at Flatirons has provided me with the ability to serve the community in such a way.
A fun fact about Jaydon is he has been a certified scuba diver since he was 13 years old.
Vidal Dominguez, CPhT, Pharmacy Technician
Vidal has been in the Pharmacy industry for the last 3 years. At Flatirons, he tries to help the people in the community by making sure their calls and pharmacy visits are as friendly and effortless as possible. He is part of the prescription intake process, fills medications, and communicates with patients so that they are satisfied with the services we offer. He enjoys seeing all the compounds that our team creates.
During his free time, he enjoys building computers, reading short stories, and taking naps.
Connie Maestas, Community Care Representative
Connie is our delivery driver and shipper. She works hard to make sure patients get their medications on time, even if it means driving to FedEx herself to drop off shipments. Connie served in the Navy before becoming a pharmacy technician, and then finally joined us here at Flatirons. Connie enjoys bowling, gambling, and spending time with my 3 adult children.