Consultants

Alesha is the Founder and CEO of Unleashed, a coaching and consulting firm dedicated to implementing strengths-based practices through a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens for breakthrough results with individuals, teams, and organizations. Alesha recently led her team to conduct a Racial Equity Qualitative Analysis with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis to help the St. Louis Fed better understand the daily workplace lived experiences of their Black employees. Prior to founding Unleashed, Alesha was the former Chief Talent Officer and Head of Talent for an (11) school charter management organization, and a social venture capital firm. She also helped facilitate growth from five to seventy-six charter schools as the Senior Director of Strategy and Performance Improvement for Charter Schools USA. Alesha’s DEI work extends locally, where she co-created strategies to attract and retain more education professionals of color to Denver and facilitated monthly convenings focused on redefining power and influence in Denver’s K-12 community to ensure inclusive spaces where ALL talent can thrive.

John began his education career in Colorado as a science teacher for Eagle County Schools. Throughout his career, he has served as a Principal, Assistant Superintendent, Superintendent and Headmaster of a charter school. He has extensive experience in the development and implementation of education reform initiatives involving teacher training and evaluation systems designed to improve instructional effectiveness and student achievement. Additionally, he has led systemic efforts to restructure education compensation systems based on performance and results. His path into charter schools has been transformational as he found himself in the company of like-minded educators and parents dedicated to changing the way public schools educate students. He now serves as an independent leadership consultant who works with charter schools and nonprofit organizations. His current work is focused on improving the leadership capacity of nonprofit and charter school boards and school leaders in effective governance practices, strategic planning and problem solving.

Sarah Bridich is a life-long educator. She began her career as a high school history teacher and administrator, teaching in San Francisco, New York City, and the Denver area. She currently works as a researcher of school leadership through C-PEER at the University of Colorado-Denver and occasionally serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver. Sarah was a founding Board Member and a three-year Board Chair at New Legacy Charter School. Additionally, she currently serves on the boards of The Logan School and Colorado Youth Congress, and formerly served on Facing History and Ourselves' Denver Advisory Board. Sarah received her B.A. from Harvard University, her M.A. from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Denver.

Eric Dinnel is an award winning educator with over 22 years experience in the field.  He is an internationally recognized education visionary, global education catalyst, entrepreneur and speaker. Dinnel has received awards in each of his educational experiences as a superintendent, principal, assistant principal/athletic director, teacher and football coach. Dinnel has school leadership experience in all grade levels, urban and rural schools, traditional, private, online, turnaround, charter and international schools. His schools have been recognized on local, regional, national and international levels. Dinnel has directed an international student exchange program, international student council, and an international educator/administrator cultural exchange. He has trained school leaders and educators around the globe and is passionate about their growth and success. He has led and directed several new school and start up projects. 
 
Dinnel has conducted extensive work and trainings with charter school boards in Colorado, Arizona, California, Minnesota and Ohio. He is enthusiastic and dedicated to quality school governance, financial responsibility, academics and operations. Dinnel’s education network provides insight and perspective on best practices around the globe. His prior education work experiences include being a licensed financial representative for the Vanguard Group and an extensive internship with a law enforcement special operations team. Dinnel holds a B.A. from Colorado State University and a M.A in Education/Administration and Supervision from the University of Phoenix.

Michelle Fisher is an avid supporter of charter schools and innovative educational initiatives. Charter school leaders tend to be nimble and visionary thinkers. My work with charter schools is a catalyst for creative- problem solving, innovative initiatives, and an opportunity for meaningful work, doing good in the world. Michelle draws from 28 years of successful capital projects. Most recently, Michelle championed the 5-year expansion of a bond initiative for Colorado Early Colleges, including the delivery of 8 new schools, 5 renovation projects and optimization of revenue streams for 150,000 sf of tenant space. A licensed architect, Michelle founded M Fisher Collaborative Works in 2017 to provide professional services as an Owner Advocate to guide clients in making effective and value-based decisions for Strategic Development Planning and implementation of Capital Projects. Professional services include entitlement early planning with local and state jurisdictions, property assessment and procurement, architectural design oversight, project delivery method selection, construction project management and transition to school operations. Special projects offerings include graphic design, cultivating strategic partnerships, tenant and lease negotiation to optimize revenue.

Specializing in Instructional Coaching, MTSS, SPED, Diagnostic Review and Improvement Planning, and Data Driven Instruction/Data Teams. Sabrina is a Colorado native with over 17 years of experience working in Colorado schools as a special education teacher, school social worker, administrator, instructional coach and consultant. As the Director of Student Services, Sabrina developed and implemented special education and MTSS programming for a high-performing charter school network, managed six schools, and coached and evaluated over 20 special education teachers and 6 mental health providers. These practices resulted in some of the best academic growth in Colorado and highest special education MGPs in Denver Public Schools.
Since leaving this 5-year tenure for her independent consultancy, Sabrina has engaged in a myriad of support services including providing regular MTSS, special education and instructional coaching professional learning opportunities at the Colorado League of School Schools, assisting turnaround school design for Denver Public Schools, developing intake educational assessment practices and teacher training modules for the Colorado Division of Youth Corrections, and developing and coaching the implementation of academic and social emotional learning MTSS practices.

Lisa received a bachelor's degree from Colorado State University in Human Development and Family Studies and a master’s degree from the University of Colorado in Early Childhood Special Education. Recently, she received a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.

Lisa's career began in public PK-12 classrooms and the journey that followed included master teaching/training, charter school start-up, and staff recruitment. In all, she has worked to create 17 new public charter schools across the nation serving all grade levels. This work mirrors that of a small business and franchise entrepreneur and includes the recruitment and development of governing boards, foundations, and building corporations, as well as related advocacy efforts, financial planning, operations and facility acquisition/renovation. In addition, Lisa has ten years of administrative and leadership experience including consultant work managing local and state grant and evaluation programs. She worked for the Colorado League of Charter Schools for 5 years and for the Colorado Association of Charter School Authorizers for 2 years. Currently, Lisa is serving as the Director of Finance, Operations and Human Resources at SkyView Academy Charter School.

Kim McClelland is a native of Colorado Springs and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences, including an emphasis in Elementary Education. Kim holds a Master's in Education, Leadership, and Administration from Jones International University. She has worked as a teacher, principal, and executive director in all levels of education, from Pre-K through High School, throughout her career in education, with over 25 years of experience. Kim McClelland served as the Executive Director of the Colorado Digital BOCES in Colorado and founded the organization in 2013. Formerly, she served for four years as the Zone Superintendent of the iConnect Zone in Falcon District 49 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While serving as the iConnect Zone’s superintendent in District 49, Kim McClelland earned a national award for innovation and transformation in education and has been a speaker for the District Administration Leadership Institute, EdWeek, Colorado Blended, and Online Learning Conference, and other districts throughout the country. She has served on a statewide committee to support creating best practices for charter authorizers for the Colorado League of Charter Schools and NACSA and served on state-level legislative commissions for online and blended learning.

Kim’s passion for education in school and parent choice has led her to return to a school role as an Executive Director of two charter schools in the Colorado Springs area at New Summit Charter Academy and Monument Academy. In addition to her duties as the Executive Director, she is a year-round contract trainer and leadership coach for Capturing Kids Hearts, bringing her all over the country to train school leaders and all school-level staff in creating productive relationships with every student and member of their school community that makes a sustainable and quality school culture.She has created and led innovative Colorado state programs that reach out to high-quality school programs, from online and blended learning schools, homeschool programs, alternative education programs, credit recovery, summer school, and thriving charter schools. Kim McClelland has created an opportunity for every student and parent in Colorado to have access to quality choice in education options.

Keri Melmed is an experienced, innovative and passionate educational leader with a strong track record of empowering leaders and their organizations to create environments where all students thrive. Keri is driven by what is possible and she challenges the status quo to intentionally design equitable communities that elevate all members of the organization to support student success. As a school leader, she instituted deliberate and monumental changes in both the culture and the curriculum of the schools she led to create more equitable and engaging places of learning. These changes improved the educational experience of both students and staff.

As an educational leader, DEIA work is Keri’s biggest priority and by working to dismantle barriers, the schools she supports can become truly equity driven and focused. This comes from Keri’s belief that every student deserves opportunities to learn and grow and it is our responsibility to create the environment for them to do so. She has been working in education for over 28 years, both as a classroom teacher and in school leadership; in various organizations in California, New York, and Colorado. Prior to consulting, Keri was the Executive Director at High Point Academy. She established a professional learning community that focused on equity driven practices to improve the outcomes and lives of the students, staff, and families. Keri was the Principal of a “start-up, turn around” charter school in far Northeast Denver. Starting from ground zero, Keri modeled best practice through hands-on coaching with her teaching staff. Keri built trust between families and the school during the foundational years.

Keith Ouweneel is currently the Director of Crown Pointe Academy of Westminster, a role he has held since 2012.  He is responsible for the academic program, facility needs, budget, and day to day operations of the school which include the challenging issues of 50 employees, 300 parents, and 500 students.  While at Crown Pointe, Keith has developed and implemented many changes to the curriculum, schedules, and programming that have positively affected student engagement and performance.  Prior to coming to CPA, Keith worked at a teacher, assistant principal, principal and school administrator for 15 years in Weld County, Colorado.  He began his career in education as a third grade teacher, a job his wife described as working with his “peers”.

In addition to his work in schools, Keith has presented to numerous state and national conferences on education best practices, leadership, technology, and board governance. He has also consulted with governmental agencies on the topics of leadership, conflict resolution and personal motivation. Mr. Ouweneel holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Indiana University.  He has also graduated twice from the University of Northern Colorado with a Master of Arts and education specialist degrees in educational leadership and policy study.  He believes learning is a lifelong pursuit that requires constant growth and development which happen best in environments of mutual trust and support.

Consulting in leadership development, and creating and managing curriculum, instruction, culture systems, and college access programs/departments, Elisha Roberts has over 15 years of experience in public education. Prior to consulting for schools and organizations around the country, Elisha’s career in education began as an 8th grade U.S. History teacher. She then went on to teach high school Civics and AP Government. Later, Elisha served as an AP of Culture who focused on Restorative Justice, became the Founding Principal of STRIVE Prep RISE, then worked as a Managing Director supervising principals until she earned the position of Chief Academic Officer. In that role, Elisha executed the vision for student services, college access, and academics. 

Her time leading STRIVE Prep RISE, a social justice based charter in FNE Denver, proved invaluable as the school would be ranked one of the highest performing high schools in Denver, per the DPS schools framework, under her tenure. Elisha has managed culture, academic, and family engagement structures including professional development for 50 - 500 staff. She has studied education systems in the U.S., Botswana, Japan, and Papua New Guinea. Elisha has also consulted for the Colorado Department of Education. Born and raised in Colorado, Elisha was a Daniels Scholar and holds a B.A. from Occidental College and a M. Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College’s Donovan Urban Scholars program.  

Specializing in engaging math strategies, instructional coaching for secondary mathematics teachers, mathematics leadership coaching, and math in intervention and SPED.
Juliana Tapper is an experienced classroom teacher, mentor, PLC facilitator, professional developer, and instructional coach. With urban classroom experience in multiple states as well as district level leadership, she is dedicated to improving the educational opportunities for all students and teachers. Juliana’s work focuses on collaborating with special education and general education math teachers to increase their confidence in the teaching of mathematics and to learn how to engage struggling learners at every level. Juliana will be facilitating several workshops at the League’s office this spring. Also, if you are in need of on-site school support in the area of secondary math you may want to consider working with Juliana to offer PD workshops, implementation coaching, instructional coaching for secondary/SPED/intervention math teachers, or math leadership coaching for your department chairs, lead teachers, or network level math leaders.

Jess started her education career in the classroom as an elementary school teacher teaching a variety of grade levels and coaching her peers. While working in both traditional district and charter schools, she served in leadership roles including  the Dean of Math, Curriculum Developer, and Principal. One of her greatest accomplishments in education was leading a K-5 turn-around charter school that earned the highest growth in the state for math and the highest growth in the district for reading and received a “distinguished” rating on the DPS School Performance Framework during its first year of turn-around.

After serving as a principal, she oversaw academics across a network of elementary schools as the Director of Academics for a Denver charter network. In 2019, she launched her own consulting business to support more schools and integrate best practices into different school models. She has worked with district schools, independent charters, and private schools as well as dual language, Montessori, and classical models from ECE-8th grade. She geeks out on all academic contents and enjoys supporting schools with curriculum implementation, data analysis, instructional coaching, student and adult culture, and teacher and leadership development.