The Odyssey School - Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is made up of 10 - 15 members, including, at a minimum:

3 parents
2 teachers
5 community members
The Executive Director (non-voting member)
The Board may also include a school founder.

Each member serves for three years.
For more details, please see the Odyssey By-Laws below.

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Our Data Story

2009-2010 Board Minutes
June 2010 - coming soon
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
October Special Section 2009
September 2009

Odyssey By-Laws
Governance Policy & Decision Making
2009-2010 Proposed Budget
2008-2009 Audit

You can email the Odyssey Board at board@odysseydenver.org.

Board Members as of August, 2010

AMY BERK ANDERSON, Ph.D. Past Chair Director of Strategic Partnerships Donnell-Kay Foundation	Amy was a member of the group that started Odyssey back in 1998. At the time, she was living in Boulder and pregnant with her son, Elliot. After moves to Seattle and San Francisco, Amy and her husband chose to move back to Colorado and live in Stapleton so their two children could attend Odyssey. Amy is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for the Donnell-Kay Foundation in Denver where her work focuses on public school choice, new school development and transformation, and strategic planning and financing of quality education options. Prior to joining the Foundation, Amy was a researcher and policy analyst with Augenblick, Palaich & Associates, ran her own consulting firm, and served as Director of New School Development for the Colorado League of Charter Schools. Anderson holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Innovation from the University of Colorado and lives in Stapleton with her husband, Andy, and two children, Elliot and Marley.

BILLY BROWN Styker Spine
JON EXALL Odyssey Teacher	bio

MARCIA FULTON Executive Director	I was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, the fourth child of six very loud children. To get into my family you had to sing and play cards—preferably Bridge. I graduated from Roosevelt University in Chicago with a degree in liberal studies, and spent the next several years singing in three-part harmony with my two sisters around the Chicago area. After a tour of the corporate life, I decided to follow my passion for education and return to graduate school to pursue a teaching degree. I learned a great deal getting my Masters degree at the University of Colorado at Denver in Curriculum and Instruction. Most importantly, I learned to choose your classes well—I met my soon to be husband on the first day of class. Bill and I married just as I finished my program and I got a job teaching at Ponderosa Elementary in the Cherry Creek district. I taught there for nine years before coming on board as math consultant at Odyssey, thinking it was just a short term opportunity to try a new experience and to spy on the school I hoped our children, Ben and Elena, would someday attend. That day came the following year, when Elena started Kindergarten and I became the Director of Education. We moved to Stapleton just before Odyssey did, and Ben enrolled the next year. I am excited to be going into my 10th year at Odyssey and into my fourth year as the Executive Director. I love being a part of this community. It is a gift to watch all of our children learn and grow together.
HEATHER EVERSLEY Clifton Jones Dvlp. & Peachtree Academy Early Learning Center	bio


HEATHER LAMM Chair Elect JParnter - Maroon Ventures, LLC	Ms. Lamm is a Partner at Maroon Ventures, a professional services firm focused on digital media. Headquartered in Crested Butte, Colorado, Maroon Ventures connects emerging business opportunities with traditional media companies to help them execute in local markets. Prior to becoming a Partner with Maroon Ventures, Heather was an Executive Vice President at MediaNews Group, the fourth largest newspaper company in the US, with properties throughout California, the Rocky Mountains and the Northeast. From 1999-2004 Heather was Chair of the Board of Directors at Third Millennium, a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy and education organization. Heather holds an MBA in entrepreneurship and organizational behavior from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in political science from Brown University
ANDREW MOHRAZ Board Secretary Attorney Holme Roberts & Owen LLP	Andrew Mohraz is an attorney at Holme Roberts & Owen in the firm's Denver office. His practice focuses on commercial litigation, intellectual property litigation, securities law, and white collar defense. Andrew previously worked at Public Strategies, Inc., a business consulting firm in Austin, Texas, and at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Andrew holds a bachelor degree in History from Northwestern University, a master in public policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and a law degree from Southern Methodist University. Andrew joined the board in January 2010.
ILLANA POLEY Board Chair Senior Associate SE2	Illana Poley joined the Board in the Spring of 2008 as a community member. She lives in Stapleton with her husband, Mike Baksa, and is a Senior Associate with SE2, a Denver-based communications firm specializing in public issues. Her clients include a variety of for-profit, non-profit and government agencies. Much of her work involves communicating about education issues to the general public, community leaders and elected officials. Prior to working for SE2, Illana was the research director for the statewide Referendum C campaign and spent five years at the Colorado State Auditor's Office conducting program evaluations and legislative audits. Illana is a fourth-generation Colorado native and a graduate of Fairview High School in Boulder. She holds a degree in government from Harvard University.
PETER SHERMAN DPS Principal	bio

JUSTIN SILVERSTEIN Board Treasurer Vice-President Augenblick, Paliach & Assoc.	Justin joined the Board in the Spring of 2010 as a community member. He is a Vice President of Augenblick, Palaich and Associates, a Denver based education policy consulting firm. Justin’s focuses on school finance issues and works with both states and school districts in addressing the fiscal issues facing public schools. He lives in Stapleton with his wife Jenn and their two kids, Cooper and Chloe. Justin has helped coached the Odyssey tennis team the past three years. He is a Colorado native who attended Heritage High School in Littleton and then went on to study accounting at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
ANNE SPRUILL Odyssey Teacher	My route to Odyssey was long and windy, but I am so glad that this is where I ended up. I grew up in Virginia, and went to college at Washington and Lee University there, graduating with a degree in Biology. After college I decided to teach Outdoor Education and moved to Wisconsin to work at Camp Manito-wish in the Northwoods. My first summer at camp I worked on the ropes course and was thrown into the role of backpacking trip leader. I was completely hooked. I spent the next six years leading trips and teaching leadership in experential and outdoor settings in Wisconsin, Hawaii, Alaska, Montana, and Canada. Because outdoor education jobs are typically seasonal, I used my “off” seasons to explore other interests and try out other jobs. I worked as an office manager, as a research assistant in a heart failure clinic and even as a sandwich maker at a deli. I was also fortunate enough to visit Africa and South America during some of my time off. Unfortunately I wanted longer relationships with kids in a setting which would allow me to use my experience in the outdoors. When I discovered the Teacher Training Program at RMSEL, it sounded like the perfect place for me. I got my teaching certificate through this program and worked at RMSEL for two years before moving to Odyssey. This is my seventh year here and my second year on the board.
JESSICA WEST Attorney, Smith & West LLC	Jessica West is a Denver attorney whose practice emphasizes complex civil and criminal matters in state and federal courts. She developed her first appreciation for expeditionary learning as a teen when she attended the Wilderness School outdoor education program in Connecticut. After completing the program, Jessica returned to the school as a rock climbing instructor. She lives in Stapleton with her partner Christine and their two young children. She has been a member of the Odyssey Board of Directors since November 2005.

DEI WILSON Odyssey Parent Quality Review Analyst - SSA	I am thrilled to be Odyssey's newest parent representative on the Board. I am looking forward to the challenge. My husband Tony and I are the proud parents of two Odyssey graduates Vincent (2003) and Anthony (2005). Our daughter Laurel is currently in 3rd grade in Andy's crew. We have lived in Park Hill for the past 11 years. I am currently a Quality Review Analyst with the Social Security Administration. I have worked for the agency for 22 years and yes, Social Security will be here when the majority of us retire. I have lived in Colorado most of my life. My husband and I graduated from Smoky Hill High School in Southeast Aurora. I went on to the University of Colorado in Boulder and graduated with a dual degree in Sociology and Psychology. I most enjoy watching my children grow and thrive. Vincent and Anthony are awesome young men with great character, a lot of which I attribute to their time at Odyssey. They are both awesome baseball players and have been playing since Tony could make them hold a bat in their little hands. Our family has spent many a cold spring afternoon and some wonderful colorful Colorado mornings watching them play. Tony is waiting for the softball bug to hit Laurel. Someone I greatly admired once told me my greatest accomplishment would be as a mother raising my children. At 22 years old I took great offense to that comment. Surely I had more to offer the world than motherhood. But now, 19 years into motherhood, I understand and totally concur.