Karen Amidon is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Senior Policy Fellow. She teaches high school English at Peak to Peak K-12 Charter School and advises the Student Council and coaches the Ethics Bowl team. Karen has served as English department chair and grade level leader, and she is a certified educational leadership coach who regularly mentors preservice teachers. She has been awarded several classroom innovation grants and received teaching fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Hemera Foundation. Prior to teaching, she led a nonprofit advocacy organization championing girls’ and women’s education, economic security, and civil rights. Karen graduated from Wake Forest University with a BA in English and received her MA in English and secondary education licensure from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Yaël Saint-Armand is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. Yaël teaches middle school health and physical education at STRIVE Preparatory Schools - Sunnyside Campus in Denver, CO, where he also runs the school's anime club. He has previously taught ELA and writing at the elementary level, and has also worked as a counselor at an alternative high school. He graduated from Stony Brook University with a BA in English.
Veronica Bell is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. Veronica is the founding 3rd grade teacher at KIPP Sunshine Peak Elementary in the southwest of Denver. Her focus is English language development and Social-Emotional Learning. She is the grade-level chair for 2nd and 3rd grade as well as the social justice, equity, and liberation coordinator for her school. Previously, she helped found 1st and 2nd grade and served as the culture chair at her current school. Veronica is passionate about teaching the whole child and creating equitable outcomes for all students. She has a BA in Spanish Language, Literature, and Composition from the University of South Carolina Upstate.
Margaret (Meg) Chase is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. She teaches world history/geography, United States government, and AP European History at Highlands Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She also coaches the Cross Country team. Previously, she had the opportunity to student teach at the International School of the Americas and Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) High School in San Antonio, Texas. Meg decided to become a teacher after watching the positive impact her mom had on her students and their community. This is her third year of teaching after graduating from Trinity University with a BA in History and MA in Teaching.
Rosanna Czarnecki is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. Rosanna teaches at Doherty High School in Colorado Springs. She co-directs the 9th grade Freshman-On-Track program which includes a study skills class and two peer tutoring centers. Rosanna also co-chairs the intervention department at Doherty and is an active participant in the school's MTSS team. Prior to joining the staff at Doherty High School, she spent much of her career in K-5 teaching 4th grade, identifying gifted and talented students, and reading and math intervention classes. She has also enjoyed several roles teaching adults the English language and presenting with a team at the International TESOL Conference in Toronto in 2012. Rosanna holds a BA in English from Lawrence University and a M.A.T. in Elementary Education from Colorado College.
Mary Rose Donahue is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. She is currently a 9th and 10th grade language arts teacher at Boulder High School. Mary Rose currently serves as a co-sponsor of the Boulder High School theater department and as the head coach for both of the boys and girls Boulder Valley School District's diving teams. Prior to teaching at Boulder High School, she served as a 6th grade language arts teacher at Shadow Ridge Middle School. Mary Rose graduated with a BA in English Literature with minors in Film Studies and Education from Colorado College as well as a MAT in secondary education from Colorado College.
Donovan Fountain is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. Donovan is a kindergarten English literacy teacher at Global Village Academy Aurora, an immersion school. So he teaches English literacy for 20% of a kindergartener's school day while they spend the rest of the time learning core content in Mandarin, French, or Spanish. Donovan was inspired to teach by an incredibly capable history teacher during his time at Denver School of the Arts where he graduated high school. He graduated from the University of Northern Colorado's Center for Urban Education where he majored in Elementary Education and earned a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education endorsement.
Melissa Good is a 2021-22 Teach Plus Colorado Senior Policy Fellow. Melissa teaches 5th grade at Oak Grove Elementary in Montrose, Colorado. She was named Montrose County School District’s 2018 elementary teacher of the year, has served as a fellow and a policy fellow for the Colorado Voice Educator Fellowship with America Achieves, and has previously taught 2nd grade at a National Blue-Ribbon School, Garnet Mesa Elementary. Melissa graduated from Colorado Mesa University with a BA in Elementary Education and received her MEd in Literacy from Louisiana State University.
Lorelei Jackson is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. Lorelei teaches mathematics intervention for middle school students at KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School in Denver, CO, where she serves as the Section 504 Coordinator and the CH-ISA Lead, serving multi-language learners' instructional service needs. Lorelei is a director of the Board for the Learning Disabilities Associates of Colorado, has served as a Data Instruction Lead throughout her school network, and has experience as an international parliamentary campaigner. In conjunction with her previous assistant principal, Lorelei developed the gifted & talented program at KIPP Northeast Denver Middle School and is a Notre Dame Americorps alumna. Lorelei became a teacher to make positive systemic change and continues to develop student leadership opportunities within her community. She graduated from the University of Lincoln (UK) with an MSc in Developmental Psychology and, later, from the Metropolitan State University of Denver with an MA in Special Education and Teaching.
Tim Nelson is a 2021-2022 Teach Plus Colorado Policy Fellow. Tim teaches 8th grade ELA at DSST: Cole, located in Denver, Colorado. Tim has served in teacher leader roles focused on curriculum development and internalization. In his time at DSST: Cole, he has won the Flower Man Award and multiple Network Honors for contributions to school culture. Tim previously served as a 6th-8th ELA teacher at Santa Cruz Catholic School in Tucson, Arizona, as part of the Alliance for Catholic Education. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a BA in English and received his MEd in curriculum and instruction from the University of Notre Dame.