Hall of Fame
Celebrating our Community
The Colorado League of Charter Schools annual Hall of Fame is a celebration of members, leaders and supporters of the charter school movement. Each year, we solicit nominations from our community which are then vetted by a committee. Winners are announced at a special ceremony in conjunction with our annual conference, and we are thrilled to spotlight those who already shine as outstanding members of the charter community across Colorado.
Also be sure to check out our Charter Champions, a diverse group of charter high school students who aspire to be leaders in their community.
2023 Hall of Fame Winners
Dr. Gary Stueven
Lifetime Achievement Award
The Lifetime Achievement recognition is awarded to a charter school supporter or leader who has demonstrated dedication which grows, supports or protects the charter school movement. Nominees may be celebrated for a specific action, program or project OR may be nominated for a long-time approach or dedication to charter schools. Winners contribute to overall change in the charter movement.
After retiring from a 32-year career in public education, Gary returned to education to serve as the principal for Platte River Academy for 10 years. After retiring a second time, he continued serving charter schools—often under challenging circumstances. A true servant-leader, Gary has shown a dedication to supporting healthy charter schools. He spent four years conducting Colorado League of Charter Schools school governance training. He was also a member of the Charter School Support Initiative, served as a mentor in the Colorado Department of Education’s Administrator Mentoring Program for seven different charter school leaders, reviewed Charter Schools Program Grant Applications and reviewed new charter applications in both Douglas and Jefferson counties. Gary's service to charter schools continues today.
Sara Martin
Most Valuable Charter Contributor
The Most Valuable Charter Contributor Award recognizes a charter school staff member, volunteer or parent who is making a significant impact in their school. Nominees should demonstrate exceptional leadership in and commitment to charter school operational excellence in areas such as finance, human resources, accounting, facilities food services, student activities, etc.
As director of wellness at Atlas Prep Academy, Sara has been dedicated to securing grant funding and building partnerships with other community organizations, which enable Atlas Preparatory Academy to have a robust counseling and wellness team. Thanks to Sara’s efforts, the student population has access to high-quality, whole-person wellness in a way most schools cannot provide. This past year, Sara established partnerships with the Latino empowerment nonprofit Voces Unidas and with the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs school of social work, which added four interns to Atlas’ counseling and social work departments. Working with and mentoring young professionals has been a highlight of her time as director of wellness.
Megan Henry
Charter School Educator of the Year
The Charter School Educator of the Year Award recognizes a charter school educator who is exceptionally dedicated to closing the achievement gap and preparing students for success. Nominees should demonstrate a superior ability to teach and inspire in students a love of learning, and lead in collaboration with their colleagues and their charter school community to put student success in the forefront of their work.
Megan has been at Independence Academy for 11 years. Teaching art is her passion, and it shows. She teaches both middle school and elementary school and loves the potential of all students—especially the way they put their hearts into their art. She received her B.A. in art education at Colorado Mesa University.
Rebecca McLean
Charter School Leader of the Year
The Charter School Leader of the Year Award recognizes an individual directly involved with a charter school (e.g., board member, administrator). Nominees should demonstrate significant influence in developing or maintaining a charter school, improving school accountability and performance, or driving other aspects of school excellence.
At Academy 360, Rebecca champions health and wellness programming and strategies using the Whole School, Whole Child, Whole Community (WSCC) model, an evidence-based strategy originated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the past few years, she helped form the Montbello Collective, a community-based partnership with nine organizations all existing within Academy 360, offering various wraparound services for the Montbello neighborhood and greater Far Northeast Denver. Rebecca earned her B.A. in law and society and philosophy from American University in Washington, D.C., and her Master's in public health from the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, Colorado. Rebecca serves on the Montbello Organizing Committee board of directors.
Eric Hall
Advocate of the Year
The Advocate of the Year Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated significant influence in the public policy arena. The nominee may be working in advocacy, policy, organizing or other areas which grows, supports or protects the charter school movement. Nominees may be celebrated for a specific action, program or project OR may be nominated for a long-time approach or dedication to the space in advocacy and policy.
Eric Hall joined Sparks Willson, a Colorado Springs-based law firm, in July 2019. Eric’s practice focuses on business litigation, constitutional law, school law, church law and employment. Eric has extensive experience with both jury and bench trials. Eric earned his B.A. from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, his M.A. in 1994 from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School. Eric is a native of Colorado Springs and co-founder of Thomas MacLaren School, an award-winning charter school in Colorado Springs School District 11 serving students in grades K-12.
Class of 2022
Kelly Reeser
Kelly Reeser is an exemplary leader as executive director at Peak to Peak Charter School, whichU.S. News & World Report ranks as the second-best public high school in the state. Prior to becoming executive director, Kelly served as an elected member of the board of directors and co-chair of the first grant-writing committee that brought in more than $1 million in start-up funding and other resources to support staff professional development, literacy initiatives and classroom build-out. In addition to her work at Peak to Peak, Kelly served as a consultant with the Colorado Department of Education’s Schools of Choice unit, where she worked with charter schools across the state conducting trainings, grant writing workshops, and school evaluations through the Charter Schools Support Initiative program.
Bill Bethke
William Bethke represented charter school organizing groups and charter schools beginning in 1994 and much of his work in those early years was pro bono as the charter movement sought to gain a foothold in our state. And in the subsequent years, William’s extensive experience in education and civil rights law — especially, employment and labor law, special education and disability law – has been invaluable to charter schools across Colorado. William served as president of the board of directors of the Colorado League of Charter Schools (1995-99) and as an advisory board member at the Alliance of Public Charter School Attorneys (2013- present), and he has won several charter school awards for his work. He earned his B.A. degree from Colorado State University and his JD degree from Yale Law School
Caryn Gibson
Since consolidation in 1950, Delta County Joint School District 50J has fostered and enjoyed strong cooperative relationships among administration, faculty, Board of Education, and the charter community. Today, the district, which is led by Superintendent Caryn Gibson, serves approximately 5,000 students in Delta County through 16 schools in five communities. In addition to a wide variety of liberal arts, fine arts, extracurricular and athletic programs, Delta County School District 50J has outstanding programs in agriculture, business vocations, technology, Special Education, vocal music and band, and sequential learning. These programs are supported by continuing curriculum research and a dedicated staff of approximately 350 classroom and Special Education instructors, and approximately 350 support staff members.
Andrew Bradshaw
Andrew Bradshaw teaches seventh-grade Language Arts at Pinnacle Charter School, a school that was founded in 1997 and now serves approximately 2,000 students annually. He is being recognized for his efforts to challenge his students to deliver their best and excel, and the students in his literature classes generally exceed the projected academic growth on nationally normed assessments. He is a champion for his students and is quick to deflect credit for all their accomplishments to them. His students may call him demanding, but they also say he is their favorite teacher.
Heather Grantham
Heather Grantham is the principal at Jefferson Academy Secondary School, a charter school that was recently ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of the 30 best high schools in the Denver metro area. Heather is being recognized because she is an inspirational leader who exemplifies professionalism. She has led Jefferson Academy Secondary School through two incredibly challenging years during the pandemic with dignity, grace and a vision for the future. She not only expects greatness from herself, she motivates all of the staff to become more engaged, more effective educators. She is a tireless leader, a selfless motivator and a great educator.
Erin Burt
Erin Birt is the president of the board of directors at Mountain Middle School, a role she has held for seven years. Her leadership has helped Mountain Middle School distinguish itself as an award-wining school whose academic excellence and enrollment continue to grow. Birt was instrumental in cultivating a partnership with the local district on groundbreaking tax initiatives that helped the school receive mill levy equalization with the district in the 2016 mill levy measure and then achieved a $2.5 million award from the district bond initiative passed in 2020, making Colorado history for a non-district authorized charter. Erin has been a leader in charter school advocacy for a decade not only in her leadership of the Board at Mountain but as a speaker, trainer and consultant for the Charter School Institute and Colorado League of Charter Schools.
Class of 2021
Colin T. Mullaney
Colin is the executive director of The Vanguard School in Colorado Springs, and he has a distinguished 26-year career working at the charter school. He began his career in 1995 as a junior high mathematics and science, was named principal of the school in 1998, and went on be named the school’s Executive Director in 2005. He now plans, directs, and supervises the overall management of a K-12 school that has grown from 250 students to over 1,550 today and leads a staff of over 210 employees for a program that continues to receive the state’s highest awards year after year, including national recognition from Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report.
Joyce Schuck
Joyce Schuck was a tireless advocate for those in the community who needed a voice. As a board member at the Colorado League of Charter Schools, she was instrumental in ensuring that families had access to the information and resources they needed to make the best schooling decisions for their kids. She also advanced the interests of students by serving on the board of directors of the Charter School Institute and the Colorado Military Academy. Sadly, Joyce passed away in November 2020, but her legacy endures.
Teri Aplin
Teri currently serves as PCK’s School Director, a position she has held since 2002. In her role as School Director, Teri has overall responsibility for school operations, programs, facility, budget, safety, students, and staff. Additionally, Teri serves as the school’s Administrative liaison with Douglas County School District and as Chairman of the Alliance for Douglas County Charter Schools. She is passionately committed to PCK, and is proud to lead our Blue Ribbon school. Prior to joining PCK, Teri worked in the corporate world as a Training Consultant, Quality Trainer, and Director of Employee Communications. Her background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Human Development/Marriage & Family Counseling. Teri enjoys traveling and learning about new people/places/cultures, reading, hiking, snowshoeing, and spending time with her husband and family.
Wisdom Amouzou
Wisdom Amouzou’s life goal is infusing an African spirit and love ethic in all he does--whether it's writing tall tales or co-creating a community high school in Aurora,CO. He currently serves as Cofounder & Executive Director of Empower Community High School and is publishing his first collection of short stories in 2020.
Jennifer Holladay
Jennifer Holladay has been the Director of the Portfolio Management Team at DPS for 8 years. Prior to this she was a team member at DPS in PMT. She also served as Board member of Highline Academy supporting them in a successful replication. Before coming to Denver, Jen worked for the Southern Poverty Law Center creating content for teaching about equity. she is the mother of an amazing teen who currently attends DSA as a creative writing major.
Bentley Ryberg
Bentley Ryberg is one of the founding teachers of one of the first charter schools in Colorado, Jefferson Academy. Bentley is teaching at Jefferson Academy and is finishing her 26th year at JA and has been instrumental in the success of well over 1,500 students getting off to a great start in their educational careers. Bentley taught in the Cherry Creek School District for five years prior to coming to Jefferson Academy.
James Cryan
James Cryan is the founder and CEO of Rocky Mountain Prep (RMP). He is leaving RMP at the end of school year 2020-2021 to move to VT with his family. RMP is now a 4 school network serving ~1900 students in Denver and Aurora. James has lead the network since its inception and has been instrumental in creating the culture of love and rigour that is the cornerstone of the networks mission and is helping RMP close the opportunity gap. James has been a strong leader of RMP and in the Denver education system as a whole over the last 12 years and his legacy at RMP and Denver will continue for years to come.
Caryn Braddy
Caryn Braddy grew up in an Air Force family and spent her childhood living all over the country. She attended the University of Northern Colorado and earned a degree in Elementary Education. She began her teaching career in Durango, Colorado. She and her husband, Bryan, moved to his hometown in Delta County, Colorado. After the birth of her two children she became aware of an educational model supporting homeshool education. Her experience and personal passion to empower parental choice led her to the Vision Home and Community Program and a career of supporting individualized instruction.
Class of 2020
Jonathan Berg
For over twenty years, Jonathan Berg has been actively involved in developing, supporting, and establishing high-quality innovative charter schools that close the achievement gap and open opportunities to a broad range of students. Jonathan pioneered and developed each of the five James Irwin Charter Schools, starting in 1999 as one of the initial group of parents founding James Irwin High School. Hired as principal, he then led the charge to develop James Irwin Charter Middle School and James Irwin Charter Elementary. In 2007, he was hired as the CEO of James Irwin Charter Schools. Under his leadership, the charter school network added two more campuses and schools in 2013 (James Irwin Charter Academy) and in 2016 (Power Technical). Jonathan has mentored many other charter school leaders over the years. He led the way by example and showing outstanding character, hard work, and determination, often sacrificing personal time to insure school successes. His vision for achievement, equity, and accessibility has transformed the educational landscape in the state of Colorado. Jonathan Berg has been a steadfast advocate of many charter schools in the state and beyond.
Sabrina Suarez
Sabrina is a former student at New Legacy Charter School and was instrumental in defeating House Bill 19-1190 in March of 2019. The Bill would have stripped mill levy equalization funding from CSI schools and Sabrina advocated to ensure that Bill wasn’t passed. She delivered a personal and inspiring testimony with composure and patience. Due to the powerful testimony of Sabrina and others, the bill was defeated 12-1. Sabrina is an unwavering, effective advocate for school choice in our community and has demonstrated significant influence in the public policy arena.
Dr. Chris Fiedler
Dr. Fiedler has led the School District 27J and its Board of Directors to support and effectively partner with charter schools in an effort to provide the best education for all children. He has gone above and beyond as an advocate for all charters in the district. Under his leadership, the school district has offered special education support and training, professional development and Infinite Campus access for teachers, psychologists, therapists and administrators. Dr. Fiedler has prioritized communication of all charter boards to ensure cohesive interaction regarding key issues that are best for all students in School District 27J and beyond.
Alexa Brooks
As a passionate English teacher, Alexa Brooks is always trying new ways to ensure her students meaningfully engage with classics and develop confidence as writers. She has masterfully married rigorous academics with challenging and authentic experiential learning that requires her students to step outside of their comfort zone and realize their untapped potential. Her students find purpose in their work and her focus on their well-being means they leave her class mentally, academically and emotional healthier. Over 85% of her students grow in measures of well-being and 90% in measures of SEL and workforce skills. Alexa’s work in Big Idea Project’s curriculum has directly impacted over 1,300 students in two years. She has helped train 80 new teachers in coaching skills and how to incorporate mindfulness and well-being techniques in the classroom. She is described by her peers as “passionate, sacrificial, and the kind of innovator every school wants and every student needs.”
Katie Gustafson
Katie Gustafson is an experienced teacher and proud principal at Flagstaff Academy’s Middle School. During her time leading Flagstaff Academy, Katie has developed a whole child and leadership approach for students to help prepare them for high school and beyond. In June 2019, Flagstaff Academy was the first charter school in the State of Colorado to receive the Colorado Association of Middle Level Education (CAMLE) Colorado Trailblazer School to Watch award and the subsequent National School to Watch designation from the National Forum to Accelerate Middle Grades Reform. Katie's leadership and dedication to children has opened the door for future charter public schools to receive recognition and meet the rigorous standards of these awards and, in so doing, provide top quality educational and developmental programs for students to succeed now and in the future.
Dan Sherrill
Dan Sherrill is an original founder of Caprock Academy and has been an advocate from day one. In his 12 years of business and operations management at Caprock Academy, he has been a steady presence throughout the Colorado Charter Sector. His expertise in finance, facilities, and operations has made Caprock into one of the most successful and operationally sound charters in the state. He shares his vast charter operations and school finance expertise freely and never hesitates to offer support and partnership to other charters. This has been especially impactful since operating a school on the Western Slope comes with unique challenges and few experienced leaders to lean on. Dan is a continued source of expertise for educational choice and consistently represents what Caprock Academy was founded on.
Class of 2019
E.D. Hirsch
E. D. Hirsch, Jr. is the founder and chairman of the Core Knowledge Foundation and professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia. He is the author of several acclaimed books on education in which he has persisted as a voice of reason making the case for equality of educational opportunity.
A highly regarded literary critic and professor of English earlier in his career, Dr. Hirsch recalls being “shocked into education reform” while doing research on written composition at a pair of colleges in Virginia. During these studies he observed that a student’s ability to comprehend a passage was determined in part by the relative readability of the text, but even more by the student’s background knowledge.
This research led Dr. Hirsch to develop his concept of cultural literacy—the idea that reading comprehension requires not just formal decoding skills but also wide-ranging background knowledge. In 1986 he founded the Core Knowledge Foundation. A year later he published Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, which remained at the top of the New York Times bestseller list for more than six months. His subsequent books include The Schools We Need, The Knowledge Deficit, and The Making of Americans.
Hugh Fowler
Hugh founded and led first charter school effort in Littleton, 1969. Elected to State Senate from Arapahoe County, 1968. Chairman, Education Committee, 1970-80. Authored first step toward school choice: Accountability Act of 1970. Wrote first voucher bill (for Higher Education) in 1972; defeated. Authored various education bills including Handicapped Children’s Act, three Reading acts, BOCES act, many approaches to school finance reform including statewide teacher salary schedule.
Authored and led three efforts to pass a Constitutional Amendment creating universal choice and gold-standard vouchers (1980, 86, 92) which were defeated by teachers’ union.
Formed Classic Schools, Inc., to realize goal of new Charter School Act: “To create schools where motivated children and responsible parents work together with dedicated teachers for excellent education.” Emphasis on Core Knowledge, reading skill, uniform clothing, classroom environment, efficient management, and parent cooperation and support through contract.
Proposed first charter school for Denver Public Schools (1994); defeated by union. Founded Cherry Creek Academy, 1995. Founded Twin Peaks, Longmont, 1996. Consulted with many other charter applicants and authorizers.
Jesse Hutt
Jesse Hutt is a pediatric oncologist and founding parent at Animas High School. Jesse has a B.A. in Biology from Brown University, an M.D. degree from the University of Florida, and completed residency training at the University of Utah and Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic. She specializes in caring for children with cancer and blood related diseases at Southwest Oncology.
The vision to create Animas High School developed during her years working as a general pediatrician in Durango. At that time, she saw many teenagers who were apathetic or dissatisfied with the traditional school model. Along with other founders she drafted a charter to start a school that modeled High Tech High in San Diego– a school that used Project Based Learning to engage students to become passionate lifelong learners while preparing them for college and post-secondary success.
In 2009 Animas High School opened with 75 freshman students. Each successive year the school added a grade level and now serves 250 students. The school has created a draw for students all over the Four Corners and has successfully met the challenging goal of 100% of graduating students gaining college acceptance. Since its inception, Jesse remained involved, initially as founder, tour guide and evangelist, Parent Advisory Committee Chair, grant writer, fundraiser and now board member. She is extremely proud of the school’s success as it enters its 10th year and launches a capital campaign for a permanent facility.
One of her greatest joys has been to watch both of her children attend Animas High School and engage in their education. While they are very different learners, they were both able to discover their passions and become strong advocates for their education. Elliott recently completed a B.S. in Engineering Physics at the University of Colorado, and Avra will be completing a degree in Computer Science at the University of Colorado.
Jesse believes that we all can reach the common goal of providing the best education possible for our children through school choice. Jesse can be seen just about anywhere with her Diabetic Alert Dog, Cody who also serves as a Therapy Dog for her patients.
Terry Croy Lewis
My name is Terry Croy Lewis and I’m CSI’s Executive Director. Prior to my work here at CSI, I worked at the Colorado League of Charter Schools as the Vice President of School Quality and Support. Additionally, I was a founder of High Point Academy (HPA) which opened in 2006 and I served as the Executive Director/Principal at HPA for 8 years. Before my work at HPA, I helped to develop other charter schools in Colorado as an independent consultant and as a consultant with a national organization focused on the creation of new charter schools. In 1997, I helped found my first charter school, Platte River Academy. In total, I have 20 years of experience in the charter school sector working in urban, suburban and rural communities and I have served in a variety of capacities such as founder, school leader, governing board member, and consultant. Finally, I earned my doctoral degree from the University of Maryland and I’ve taught at several universities across the country.
Lauren Martinez
Lauren Martinez grew up in Ohio and earned her B.S. in Special Education from Ashland University. She has guided exceptional children for over 18 years as a special education teacher and behavior specialist in Ohio, Colorado, and New Mexico, working with students in Kindergarten through twelfth grades. Her focus has been on inclusive education and creating a positive learning environment for students with mild to severe needs, teaching academics, communication, social skills, and behavior management. She also educates colleagues and parents in inclusive approaches and accommodations. She holds a Special Education Generalist (5-21) Professional Teacher license in Colorado. Mrs. Martinez joined Mountain Song Community School, a public Waldorf charter school in Colorado Springs, when it opened in 2013. Since then, she has served as SPED Lead Teacher and Coordinator for the school. She has two beautiful children, Emma Rose and Matthew, who keep her busy at home. Reading is her primary hobby, and she also enjoys listening to music and going for outdoor hikes.
Mary Faith Hall
Mrs. Hall, co-founder and Head of School at Thomas MacLaren School, received her BA in Philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. While teaching Humanities, Latin and Drama at Trinity School, she received her MA in Liberal Studies from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM. Mrs. Hall is a mother of four, and amidst all the duties of Executive Director/Head of Upper School, enjoys teaching Humane Letters at Thomas MacLaren.
Violeta Apodaca
My name is Violeta Apodaca. I am an Immigrant, the oldest of 3 children, a spouse and a mother to two beautiful daughters. I grew up speaking Spanish at home and English at school. I am a FIRST generation LATINA. I attended and graduated from Colorado State University with a double major in International Relations and Languages, Literature and Cultures, with a minor in History and a certificate in Caribbean Studies!
After graduating from Colorado State University, my intention was to come back and continue building my community. My passion is to mentor our youth and help them grow and gain their power back so that they can see a better future. I have the honor of working at Pinnacle Charter School, a K-12 in Thornton. Our school's population is primarily Latino students. Every day, I am reminded of the struggles our students face and every day, I make it my goal to remind them of the great people that they are. That they too can be the FIRST in their family to make big moves. Therefore, it is imperative for me to stay active in the Latino community and serve our youth and families. As Steve Jobs said, "They only way to do great work is to love what you do."