Staff
Jim Griffin, President
Jim Griffin is the President of the Colorado League of Charter Schools, a non-profit, membership organization dedicated to supporting the 160 charter schools in the state. Jim has served in the capacity of League President since the organization's inception in 1994. Since then, the League has grown from a one-person technical support/advocacy group to a fourteen-person, comprehensive membership organization.
Jim's time with the League has included significant efforts around state legislative policy, new school development, facilities financing, and legal advocacy for charter schools (he is also an attorney). In conjunction with the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, Jim has also been involved in federal policy development, and has provided support to new state charter school organizations across the country.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x110 / jgriffin@coloradoleague.org
Marcia Bickel, Office Manager
Marcia assists the Director of Operations with management of the League's annual budget, facility maintenance and project management. She is also responsible for bookkeeping, database maintenance, HR coordination and records keeping. Marcia has over 20 years of Office Manager and Accounting experience. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Western Illinois University.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x100 / mbickel@coloradoleague.org
Tisha Bouwmeester, Performance Management Associate
Tisha works with the League’s Research and Performance Management team providing technical support and information to schools to evaluate and help improve their performance. Tisha is a graduate from the University of Colorado at Denver with a M.A. in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in research and evaluation. Prior to joining the league, Tisha worked at The Evaluation Center at the University of Colorado at Denver researching and evaluating classroom practices. She has also worked with the Public Education Business Coalition’s Literacy Professional Development program, National Science Foundation’s Rocky Mountain Middle School Math Science project, Link Crew freshman orientation program, and C2D3’s Data Driven Dialogue initiative.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x106 / tbouwmeester@coloradoleague.org
Jennifer Douglas, Director of Operations
Jennifer comes to the League with over 10 years of experience in the field of education. Jennifer re-joined the League in the spring of 2007 after a four-year hiatus during which she worked as an administrator in two different charter schools, one of which she helped found. Prior to working in these schools, Jennifer had worked at the League for four years serving both as member services director and accountability program director. Before joining the charter school world in 1997, Jennifer worked as a technical writer and taught English as a Second Language.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x113 / jdouglas@coloradoleague.org
Jody Ernst, Director of Research and Evaluation
Jody leads the League’s Research and Performance Management team, providing research-based practices for assessing school quality and developing sound performance measures. A specific focus of Jody’s work is developing strategies for assessing schools’ influence on student knowledge gained over time. Prior to joining the League, Jody worked as a research fellow for the Charter School Policy Institute in Austin, Texas where she was responsible for conducting research on charter school performance and policy analysis on charter-related legislation. Jody received her doctoral degree in Differential Psychology, with minors in statistics and measurement and evaluation, from the University of Texas at Austin.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x102 / jernst@coloradoleague.org
Nora Flood, Vice President of School Services
Nora serves as the League's Vice President of School Services. She works with League staff to continue implementation of the strategic plan regarding school quality and applicable performance standards. She also oversees the League's school service programs (general member services, business member services, new school support, and research and performance management) to ensure effective and integrated coordination and service delivery. Nora provides direct support and technical assistance to the League’s member schools. She has nearly thirty years experience in education in international, public and private schools. She was the co-founder of The Classical Academy in Minneapolis, served as Head of School of Madison Country Day School and most recently was the Director of Sonoma Charter School in Sonoma, California. She also served in a volunteer capacity as the elected North Coast Regional Member Representative of the California Charter School Association.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x109 / nflood@coloradoleague.org
Kelly Grable, Director of Member Services
Kelly manages the League's member services team. She helps coordinate League services for nearly 150 member schools. Kelly joined the League in 2003, working with multiple program areas and operations. She spent a significant amount of time working with the Research and Performance Management team during the development of the League's performance management services. Prior to joining the League, Kelly worked with an international organization designing online teaching and learning materials at the secondary level and delivering professional development courses to teachers and curriculum developers.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x107 / kgrable@coloradoleague.org
Jeff Johnson, Communication and IT Associate
Jeff joins the League's Member Services team to help with production of the League's print and electronic communications, manage the League's website, and maintain the League's technology systems. Jeff also plays an integral role in the website redesign and our contact database development. Prior to joining the League, Jeff worked as a Computer Support Representative, helping specialty retailers enhance their online presence through effective use of their websites.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x101 / jjohnson@coloradoleague.org
Sarah Pearman, Program Associate
Sarah serves as the League's Program Associate. She is responsible for external events planning and provides a variety of support to the League's communications, member services and research and performance management departments. Sarah has a BS in Communications from Metropolitan State College in Denver.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x114 / spearman@coloradoleague.org
Marco Rafanelli, Director of Member Business Services
Marco is responsible for the management and administration of the League’s group purchasing program and related business services. Prior to joining the League in October 2006, Marco was the Assistant Director of Regional Contracting at the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) Services Inc., a New York City based healthcare group purchasing company. Marco holds a BA from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is currently pursuing an MBA from the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x108 / mrafanelli@coloradoleague.org
Stacy Rivera, Director of Communications
Stacy serves as the League's Director of Communications. She is responsible for creating and implementing the League’s overall communications strategy, and branding it as the premier organization committed to higher levels of charter school success and student performance. Stacy communicates with the media and general public about the value and impact of Colorado’s charter schools. She also provides outreach to member schools about the League’s initiatives, services and resources. Stacy has over 15 years experience in the field of marketing/communications. Prior to joining the League, she was the Director of Marketing/Media Relations at the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado. Stacy holds a BA in Communications from the University of Colorado at Denver.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x112 / srivera@coloradoleague.org
Donnell Rosenberg, Research and Policy Associate
Donnell is the Research and Policy Associate in the League's Advocacy Department. She assists the League's Director of Governmental Affairs by researching and communicating important policy issues, and keeping the League's member schools and the Colorado charter school community informed about the latest developments at the State Capitol during the legislative session. She also assists with community outreach initiatives and helps coordinate advocacy-related events such as Charter Schools Week. Donnell is a parent and former PTO member at Platte River Academy in Highlands Ranch. She was most recently highly involved with the Douglas County School Board elections.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x115 / drosenberg@coloradoleague.org
Jennifer Turnbull, M.A., Research Associate
Jen serves as the League's Research Associate. She has conducted numerous data analyses, such as comparisons of charter versus non-charter CSAP scale score and growth percentiles. She also facilitated in the writing of several research proposals. Prior to joining the League, Jen was a research associate at RMC Research Corporation, where she conducted nationwide program evaluations using quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. Jen has experience performing case studies of schools and is able to perform both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Jen recently received training by Dr. Betebenner in the growth percentile methodology. She holds a Masters degree in Educational Psychology (Research and Evaluation Methods) from the University of Colorado at Denver.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x111 / jturnbull@coloradoleague.org
Kathy Zlomke, Program Manager for New School Development
Kathy is the Program Manager for New School Development at the League. She has been involved with the charter school movement for over 12 years. Kathy was a founding board member of Twin Peaks Charter Academy in Longmont, where she served on the board for over five years. Kathy's charter experience includes curriculum, assessment, budget, grants, accountability, special education, policy development, re-chartering, negotiations, strategic planning, hiring and performance reviews, elections, governance, self-study and external reviews, grievances, public relations, writing and reviewing applications, and conference and individual training for new board members, developers, and staff.
Contact information: 303-989-5356 x104 / kzlomke@coloradoleague.org