Jim Griffin, President

Jim has directed the League since the organization’s inception in 1994. Jim is an attorney who has developed the organization from a one-person operation in the early nineties to its current status as membership association with multiple programs, several staff members, and nearly 150 charter school members.

Contact information: 303-989-5356 x110 / jgriffin@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

Sean Bradley, Director of Governmental Affairs

Sean currently serves as Director of Governmental Affairs, handling a number of advocacy related research & legislative projects. Sean is a graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas with a B.S in Education. He also has a Masters in Public Administration from the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado at Denver. Currently he is attending the University of Denver School of Law. Sean last served as the Executive Assistant to House Speaker Andrew Romanoff.

Contact information: 303-989-5356 x105 / sbradley@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

Penny Krueger, Office Manager

Penny coordinates a variety of office activities and provides administrative and back-office support to all program areas at the League. She has two children who attend charter schools and is committed to the movement. Penny was the Business Manager at Aurora Academy for several years and currently serves on the Board of Directors at AXL Academy and the Accountability Committee at the Denver School of Science and Technology.

Contact information: 303-989-5356 x100 / pkrueger@coloradoleague.org

Sarah Pearman, Advocacy Associate

Sarah serves as the League's Advocacy Associate, helping with legislative and advocacy-related research projects. Through active involvement with community members, policy leaders, and legal advocates, Sarah assists the League's Director of Governmental Affairs in shaping public policy and opinion to favor charter school quality and growth. Sarah has a BS in Communications from Metropolitan State College in Denver.

Contact information: 303-989-5356 x115 / 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

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, Senior Program Associate for New School Development and Replication

Kathy is a Senior Program Associate with the New School Development and Replication program 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