The Odyssey School - Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is made up of 12 - 15 members, including:

3 parents
2 teachers
1 founder
5 community members
the Executive Director

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

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December Board Minutes
November Board Minutes
October Board Minutes
September Board Minutes
August Board Minutes

Odyssey By-Laws
Governance Policy & Decision Making
2007-2008 Budget

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

Board Members as of November, 2007
AMY BERK ANDERSON, Ph.D. Secretary, Odyssey Founder 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.
PETER BONAKER, Ph.D. Chair-Elect President – Struction, Ltd.	bio
YOLANDA BROWN Odyssey Parent	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—you never know when you just might meet your husband on the first day of class! Bill and I married just as I finished my program and began 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 next 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 in my 7th year at Odyssey and my first year as the Executive Director. I love being a part of this community and watching our children thrive.

ELDRIDGE GREER, Ph.D. Chair, Odyssey Parent Licensed Clinical Psychologist	Dr. Greer is honored to work on the board of Directors. I am the father of two daughters (age 12 and 8), a husband for 14 years, and a son for 41 years! I am a child of the deep south (through my mother) and the industrialized north (through my father). I am proudly African-American, male, straight, temporarily middle class, and temporarily able-bodied. I am a member of the first generation in my family to be born outside of poverty. In my professional work with people, I try to follow the concept of Sakhu Sheti. This is Yoruban for "Healer of Souls." I strive to help people find their own inner strength through a deeper understanding of their own diversity. I have worked with a variety of organizations to create socially just environments, presented on issues of diversity, social justice, and cultural liberation from church councils to international audiences. I currently work as the manager of psychological services for Denver Public Schools.
KHADIJA K. HAYNES President, The Urban Farm	bio
CAROLYN KAMPMAN Treasurer, Odyssey Parent Joint Budget Committee, Colorado General Assembly	Carolyn Kampman was elected to the Board in December 2006 as a parent representative. Carolyn and her husband Steve have two sons who have attended Odyssey since kindergarten: Zenon is currently in sixth grade with Jon, and Devon is in third grade with Kathi. Professionally, Carolyn has worked in the private, not-for-profit, and public sectors. For the last 13 years, Carolyn has been a nonpartisan budget analyst for the state legislature. A native of Colorado, Carolyn graduated from Wheat Ridge High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Philosophy, and Economics from Claremont McKenna College.
LORI LALIBERTE Odyssey Teacher	My name is Lori Laliberte. I grew up on the east coast with my parents and sister, in Connecticut. I went to Assumption College in Worcester, MA graduating with a degree in Social and Rehabilitation Services and an elementary education certification. From there I ventured out to see more of the country living in incredible places like: San Francisco, CA, Yellowstone National Park, WY, Steamboat Springs, CO, and Portland, OR. Much of that time was spent teaching four year olds in rather progressive, innovative classroom settings. From the start, I knew that the typical classroom was not a place I could see myself (or kids) fully thriving. The seed of Expeditionary Learning (EL) was planted just before I moved to Boulder to get my master’s degree. I tailored my graduate work, at the University of Colorado, to learn more about the history and best practices of EL classrooms. Who were the “greats” in experiential education? What were they doing with and for kids? When could I get back in the classroom? When I finished my degree, I wrote to Odyssey and RMSEL and told them I would deliver their newspapers or wash their windows just to be a part of an EL community! The Odyssey School brought me on board and I’ve been here ever since. My first 6 years were spent in a third/fourth grade classroom. Last year, I began teaching kindergarten and have looped up with this amazing crew into the first grade. This is my eighth year teaching at the school and my second year as a member of the board.

TORI MEYERS Director, Asset Building Programs Mile High United Way	Tori Meyers is a community board member and now has a 1st grader in Lori’s crew and will have a kindergartner next year. Tori is director of Asset Building Programs at Mile High United Way. This role is focused on asset building opportunities for low-income families, including grant writing and partnership development. Prior to working in the non-profit sector, Tori worked in human resources. She has a Master of Arts degree in Industrial Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology.

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.
VALISSA TSOUCARIS, Esq. Past Chair Attorney	Valissa Tsoucaris joined the Board as a community member in 2001, and was drawn to The Odyssey School because it was founded through the passionate efforts of families wanting more school choice for their children, because of its commitment to racial and economic diversity and ensuring that all kids succeed, and because of the EL curriculum and its devotion to not just academic excellence, but also its emphasis on fostering in children a commitment to service, a strong character, and a spirit of adventure. Valissa has practiced law as a commercial litigator in Denver since 1990, and has advised the Board and administration on various legal issues. Valissa served as Board Chair form Fall 2005 through Spring 2007. Valissa has a son, Ari Tsoucaris-Woods, who is thriving in Lori's first grade crew, and looks forward to her son Alec joining the Odyssey community as a kindergartner in the 2008-09 school year.

BRIAN WEBER Vice President, Education & Workforce Initiatives, Stapleton Foundation	Brian Weber is vice president for education and workforce initiatives for the Stapleton Foundation, which works on a variety of social issues related to the redevelopment of Stapleton, Denver’s former airport. Before joining the foundation in 2000, Brian was a newspaper reporter for 20 years, the last ten at the Rocky Mountain News covering Denver city hall for five years and education for the second five – some of the best experiences of his whole ruined life and what led to his new career in non profits. Brian has a master’s in nonprofit management from Regis University and a bachelor’s from Metropolitan State College of Denver in journalism and public administration. He has been an Odyssey board member since 2002.
JESSICA WEST Attorney, Smith & West LLC	Jessica West is a Denver attorney & shareholder in the firm Smith & West 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 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.