Colorado Academy Journal - Summer 2024

Celebrating Our Year

Favorite traditions and big events brought the CA community together. Seniors welcomed Ninth Graders on the first day of school. Field Hockey, Boys Soccer, Girls Soccer, Girls Lacrosse, and Girls Tennis all won State Championships—Girls Tennis for the first time ever! The Middle School musical brought Wednesday Addams and Co. to the Leach Center for the Performing Arts, and the Upper School staged Alice by Heart. The all-new CA vs. Kent Showdown Series kicked off with competition in the winter and spring, and Athletic Director Jon Hill and Golf Coach Beth Folsom were recognized by the Metro League. Nathaniel Rateliff and Margo Price entertained more than 650 guests at the 2024 CA Concert to benefit financial aid. And the whole school went “Daydreaming” at the All-School Arts Festival on Stamper Commons. Let’s celebrate!

Colorado Academy Mission Statement

Creating curious, kind, courageous, and adventurous learners and leaders.

About the Cover

In his Senior Portfolio collection, Alex Miramontes asked, “What are we? Are we the people that we dance and sing and laugh with? Or, are we all the places where we dance? Are we the streets who, with their braggadocious presence, shine their loud lights into our humble eyes?” The social emotional journey is core to the CA experience; stories begin on page 4.

There’s More!

Find online news, features, profiles, athletics highlights, and photos at our CA Newsroom: news.coloradoacademy.org

J urnal

The CA Journal is published by the Colorado Academy Offices of Advancement and Communications. Every effort has been made to ensure that the information included in this publication is accurate and complete. If you note any errors or omissions, please accept our apologies and notify the Office of Advancement at chris.barnard@ coloradoacademy.org, or 303-914-2510.

PARENTS OF ALUMNI

If this publication is addressed to a child who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please send an updated mailing address to chris.barnard@coloradoacademy. org, or 303-914-2510.

CORRESPONDENCE

Colorado Academy, 3800 S. Pierce Street, Denver, CO 80235, 303-986-1501

WRITERS AND EDITORS

Chris Barnard

Jan Beattie

Bill Fisher

Emma Harrington Kane ’07

Becky Risch

Phil Smith

Gravely Wilson

Amy Wintermeyer

Cindi Sherman

Sir

Bill Fisher

Cyrus McCrimmon

Kathryn Scott

Mike

From the Head of School

In today’s divisive political environment, the importance of civil discourse cannot be overstated. As Head of School, I am committed to nurturing an environment where respectful dialogue and constructive engagement are at the heart of the educational experience that is brought to life in the pages of this magazine. Civil discourse is not merely a practice; it is a crucial skill that prepares our students to become thoughtful, empathetic, and informed citizens.

At Colorado Academy, I believe we have an incredible opportunity to proactively model how best to have civil conversations. Continuing to build a foundation for respectful engagement in our school community is of the utmost importance. In an age where polarization often overshadows productive conversation, teaching our students the value of civil discourse is more vital than ever. It is a fundamental part of our mission.

In my first year of teaching my Vietnam elective many years ago, I had three parents from the era come speak to my class. Two were veterans. One served as a forward artillery observer in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone, and the other was an imposing Green Beret whose job was to capture North Vietnamese soldiers coming down the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The third parent was a significant leader in the anti-war movement.

The former Green Beret was the only one of the three who felt the Vietnam War was justified, as the other veteran was bitter about his experience. My students (and I) witnessed an amazing debate. Both sides had strong opinions, and no argument was going to move the other person. The dialogue was immensely respectful, and both sides listened to the other’s arguments. There was even laughter at times; respect was consistently demonstrated.

Engaging in civil discourse encourages students to think critically about their own beliefs and those of others. It fosters an environment where questioning and challenging ideas are seen as pathways to deeper understanding. Through respectful

dialogue, students learn to appreciate diverse perspectives and experiences. This empathy is foundational for building a more inclusive school community.

To further integrate civil discourse into our school culture, we must be intentional in our approach. To begin the process, all CA faculty and staff will read David Brooks’s book, How To Know A Person. We will then have group discussions as part of a professional development day in August. Finally, Brooks will join us on September 12 for a moderated discussion as part of our SPEAK lecture series; he will also spend time with students in the Upper School. How to Know a Person is a compelling exploration of character, revealing how our actions can provide deeper insight into who we truly are. “To be truly empathetic,” Brooks writes, “we must be willing to step outside of our own experiences and perspectives.”

The challenge for educators in this era is that this generation of students is living in an echo chamber of media consumption. Depending on the social media algorithm, a young person can be bombarded with information that represents only one political perspective. Long term, this is not good for our society. As a young person, I had a conservative grandfather who got me a subscription to the National Review to “inoculate” me against the liberal influence of my other grandfather, who got me a Washington Post Weekly subscription. Reading opposing perspectives through my high school years was so impactful and contributed deeply to my emerging intellectual curiosity.

CA is committed to celebrating the diversity of our student body. By highlighting different cultures, perspectives, and experiences, we create a richer environment for civil discourse to thrive. Teaching would be so boring if all my students thought the same way. As educators, parents, and community leaders, our role is to guide our young learners in understanding that disagreement does not necessitate discord. By championing civil discourse, we prepare our students to contribute positively to society, embrace diversity, and navigate the complexities of the modern world with grace and thoughtfulness.

Growing up, Brooks knew how to keep a tight lid on his emotions, which could be useful… until he realized that he would need to learn a lot more about the role of empathy to love the people around him. In his book, he shares the result of his curiosity about how we might get better at really knowing people. Perhaps that simple skill, he suggests, can help combat the loneliness, despair, and division in our social fabric.

When one visits CA classrooms, one is struck by the dialogue and conversations. Students are asked to explain their thinking. I love the enthusiasm students of all ages demonstrate, as they are challenged to use evidence to support their conclusions. I love the vigorous debate that can emerge, and I appreciate that our students can be respectful of those who hold different viewpoints.

For educators, a commitment to civil discourse carries with it the immense responsibility not to impose one’s own perspective on young minds, but to design learning experiences that challenge students to confront different ideas and begin to form their own evidence-based opinions. Our students have a desire to understand the complexity of our world. We want to help them on their journey by nurturing their ability to listen and engage thoughtfully.

Sincerely,

Mike Davis, PhD Head of School Colorado Academy

A CULTURE OF CARE

Social Emotional Learning at CA

Students appear in the doorway of Liza Skipwith’s office at all hours of the school day. As Colorado Academy’s Director of Counseling Services and one of two counselors in the Upper School, Skipwith frequently sits with young people seeking advice, support, or simply a safe space to let their emotions show. She says being present for students is the most important part of her job.

“Enabling face-to-face interaction with someone who cares is the number-one priority of this department,” she explains.

According to Liana Fagelson ’23, “Whenever I was stressed about something like a bad grade, I could just go see Ms. Skipwith and talk to her, vent to her about how I was feeling about a specific situation that I was going through. She always gave me really good tools to have a conversation with a teacher if there was something going on in the classroom. CA did such a good job at giving us those resources and giving us people who have our best interest at heart and want us to succeed.”

Throughout their time at CA, students in all three divisions learn that getting help from one of the school’s full-time counselors, a teacher, coach, peer, or other trusted figure is not just encouraged—it can be vital to their success as students and individuals. Health and well-being are central to the school’s mission, and this community-wide safety net of concern is the centerpiece of CA’s approach to social emotional learning. It is designed to support students who may be struggling, as well as to help them thrive, as they tackle rigorous academics, athletics, and arts.

“All of us at CA contribute to a culture of care,” Skipwith says. “We constantly reinforce with students that they are not alone, and that we take care of each other as a community—whether it is someone noticing that their friend is hurting or a teacher going to a counselor with a concern about a student in class. Nobody here is ‘under the

radar’ when it comes to social emotional well-being.”

“Our students are motivated and ambitious, and the pressure they put on themselves can sometimes be the enemy of success,” says Head of School Dr. Mike Davis. “We have a duty to respond to the age of anxiety that we live in.”

UPPER SCHOOL: TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER

Skipwith and fellow Upper School counselor Kate O’Donnell know that students in Grades 9-12 face numerous challenges, from social media bullying, to academic disappointments, to family strife, that can contribute to sometimes debilitating anxiety and serious depression. This is why Skipwith and O’Donnell meet with every incoming Ninth Grader individually and in small groups to build rapport, make connections that will last four years, and discuss ways to find support throughout the CA community.

“We train them first of all to take care of themselves,” says Skipwith, “and second, we teach them to look out for others, to be aware of the signs and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and more. Most importantly, we encourage them to take action—to reach out to us or to a teacher or advisor either on their own behalf, or on behalf of a peer.”

Those messages are reinforced in numerous ways as students progress through the Upper School.

Skipwith brings in speakers to talk with students about mental health issues, including substance abuse prevention, eating disorders, sexual harassment and assault, and suicide. She attends parent meetings to assure families that CA counselors are here to help them. She trains faculty and coaches to watch for signs that students are sinking emotionally. In advisory groups, Skipwith works with faculty members to help guide students when they have concerns around friendships, time management, social media, and more.

“We never stop showing our students that we care about them,” Skipwith says. “We want them to trust that we notice them, and that we’re not going to let them give up, whatever they may be facing.”

TACKLING ACADEMIC CHALLENGES

Academic challenges often go hand-in-hand with social emotional ones, so Upper School Learning Support Specialist Kait Kozak works closely with Skipwith and O’Donnell to help students who may be struggling in the classroom. Together, they identify and offer a safe space to those who might require specific academic accommodations—such as extra time to complete a test—or who may just need coaching with skills, such as time management, organization, and self-advocacy. These executive functioning skills, as they are known, play a large role, not only in students’ academic growth, but also in their health and happiness at school.

“A big part of my job,” says Kozak, “is having conversations with students about their relationship to success—the connection between their sense of self-worth, their confidence, and grades. We see so much stress and anxiety around that, and I find I’m frequently meeting with our high-achieving students to figure out how we can reframe the B+ as an opportunity, rather than a devastating setback.”

Kozak spends much of her time working with Ninth Graders, whom she meets before school begins in August and then visits monthly during study hall blocks to strategize about common struggles such as high anxiety and perfectionism. Through these regular sessions, she’s begun placing more and more emphasis on the role of healthy relationships and peer support in learning success.

“Relationship building, feeling like you’re connected at school, is such an important piece of the student experience at CA,” explains Kozak. “From the beginning of the school year, I teach Ninth Graders how they can find belonging and support: How do you communicate with your teachers and peers? How do you utilize support time? How do you map out your schedule throughout the week so you don’t get to that place where you’re feeling behind and overwhelmed and alone?”

New and improved digital tools help all Upper Schoolers manage their days, which are often filled to the brim with academics, athletics, rehearsals, advisory meetings,

“All of us at CA contribute to a culture of care. We constantly reinforce with students that they are not alone, and that we take care of each other as a community—whether it is someone noticing that their friend is hurting or a teacher going to a counselor with a concern about a student in class. Nobody here is ‘under the radar’ when it comes to social emotional well-being.”

Liza Skipwith Colorado Academy Director of Counseling Services

clubs, and much more. Academic schedules are synced to students’ Google Calendar, so they can easily see what’s in store and get reminders on their phone or laptop. Homework assignments, due dates, and day-to-day classroom resources are always accessible on CA’s Blackbaud student information system.

The focus on organization and executive functioning is becoming increasingly important at every grade level, says Kozak, as schools such as CA endeavor to offer robust support to neurodiverse students with diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD and

similar diagnoses can make it challenging for students to manage multiple tasks and courses, plan out completion of long-term projects, and set and reach goals.

Along with counselors and faculty members—who implement individually tailored learning plans and receive ongoing professional development related to supporting neurodiverse students—Kozak works oneon-one with these learners to help them gain confidence and agency. With experience that includes coaching and sports performance alongside her master’s in counseling psychology, Kozak knows well the benefits of a holistic view that encompasses neuroscience, wellness, and nervous system regulation.

“Just as important on the playing field as they are in the classroom, these are tools for empowering our students. Ultimately, we want to see young people able to own their success, with the self-awareness they need to understand themselves as learners and human beings.”

BUILDING TRUST

Aiding Kozak, Skipwith, and O’Donnell in the Upper School is the Community Leadership Team (CLT), a group of Senior leaders carefully chosen and intensively trained to mentor Ninth Grade students. The Twelfth Graders are able to build trust with the younger students, who often open up to them about difficult issues just as they emerge.

CLT alumnus Joe MacDougall ’23 recalls talking to his Ninth Grade group about

cyberbullying. “It’s a pressing issue,” he says, “and some students were just more comfortable coming to one of us about it than a teacher or advisor. We could have a more casual conversation with them. I found that I really enjoyed this kind of discussion, because they were able to share their honest take on the use of social media at CA. It was enlightening for all of us.”

Fagelson, also a past CLT member, says that when she arrived at CA in Ninth Grade, her own CLT mentor made a huge impact during the transition. Coming from another school where she had spent most of her life until that point, she explains, “I felt like I didn’t know what was going on, and I didn’t know anyone. But a Twelfth Grader on the CLT welcomed me in and helped me find my way.”

“The CLT members are our foot soldiers,” says Skipwith. “They are right there with the Ninth Graders, helping them deal with their concerns in the moment. They provide us with great information, too. They can let us know what kind of developing problems to look for, and who might be in trouble. They are one way we keep our finger on the pulse of the Upper School.”

Another valuable resource for Skipwith and her counseling team is Safe2Tell Colorado. During the pandemic, when counselors and teachers couldn’t be as available to support students face to face, this anonymous reporting system enabled students to easily share concerns about themselves or a peer via a centralized hub.

Schools and law enforcement would then be notified so they could follow up on the reports, if appropriate.

According to Skipwith, CA students using Safe2Tell—or sharing their concerns directly with a counselor—have made a real impact. She cites a recent example of a student who heard a classmate talking about harming themselves. The student made a report through Safe2Tell, which then went to Skipwith, who was able to follow up with the classmate, and to the local police, who went to the home to perform a welfare check.

“Our students are literally saving lives,” Skipwith emphasizes.

MIDDLE SCHOOL: OPPORTUNITIES FOR GROWTH

While Middle School counselor Abby Johnson sees Sixth through Eighth Grade students struggling with many of the same issues that Upper Schoolers face, she also knows that Middle Schoolers experience their own unique set of challenges—and opportunities.

With rapid growth and development, hormonal changes, shifting friendships, and the move from the Lower School’s single-teacher homeroom model to a more complex subject teacher approach, Johnson says a big part of her job is simply convincing students that the stress and anxiety they may be feeling about all this are normal and manageable.

“I want students to understand that I am

Liza Skipwith meets with Upper School students.

Fifth Graders participate in the annual Peace Parade.

here to help them through it,” she explains. “And not only when things are hard. I am here to celebrate with them when things are good, too—when they win a soccer game, or have an amazing trip experience. Together with their teachers, we are their cheerleaders and their guides.”

With 15 years of counseling for this age group under her belt, Johnson sees a strong connection between student success and the support that she and other adults in the Middle School provide. “If students are not feeling good socially and emotionally, there’s no way we can expect them to perform to the level of their abilities and find out who they are and what they’re capable of.”

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES

For Johnson, establishing that kind of supportive, student-centered environment starts the moment students arrive in the Middle School, in Sixth Grade. Johnson meets with every incoming student, using games and get-to-know-you activities to make sure they feel comfortable with her and her role. “I love building those relationships,” she says.

In learning about and supporting Middle Schoolers, Johnson says, she pays particular attention to executive functioning, the all-important social emotional foundation

that students will build on as they move through their academic life. As in the Upper School, neurodiversity, too, is an increasing focus.

Along with helping to design individual academic modifications, accommodations, and support plans specifically for neurodiverse students and those who need executive functioning help, Johnson partners with teachers and advisors to ensure that skills such as time management, personal organization, and effective communication are firmly in place for every student.

“In the Lower School, parents may have played a larger role in terms of organization and communicating with the teacher, but at this point in their school careers, students need to be able to be their own advocate, their own problem-solver. We help them practice that. We help them discover what strategies work for them—one child may find a paper-and-pen planner helpful in keeping organized, while another might lose that planner almost immediately!”

Advisory is where much of that strategizing takes place. All Middle School students are assigned to small advisory groups for each school year. Every day, the advisory students meet with a faculty leader, establishing a sort of “home base” where they can have difficult conversations, practice good

decision-making, and build character. It is an ideal environment for students to work on those social emotional skills that will be essential to their success.

At regular grade-level meetings, Johnson is able to compare notes with teachers from their classroom or advisory about what works for individual students, as well as to identify new concerns that need follow-up in the form of individual or group support.

“Teachers are on the front lines of knowing what is going on with their students,” Johnson says. “If they see a child struggling in some way, it immediately comes to me so I can then meet with the student. At the same time, if a student approaches me first with a concern, I can let the teachers know what to be looking out for in the classroom, and how we can work together to offer the help that’s needed.”

Parents, too, are an important part of the equation. Johnson is insistent about keeping them involved, every step of the way.

“I love the open conversation with parents who get in touch with me for advice, or to let me know about something that’s going on at home. We are all on the same team, and it’s never productive for parents to be doing one thing at home, when at school we’re doing something different.”

Students discuss the idea of belonging during a special Middle School activity.

Johnson often reaches out to parents proactively, to let them know about something she and her colleagues in the Middle School may have observed about a child. “I will always pick up the phone and get in touch with the parents. I want to know if what we’re seeing at school agrees with what they’re seeing at home. This is the only way we’re going to be effective at supporting that child.”

The fixes may not be quick ones, Johnson acknowledges. Indeed, she sometimes refers students and families to outside professionals for more intensive counseling than she can offer during the school day. But in every case, she says, she assures students that she’ll stay by their side until they find what works.

LOWER SCHOOL: BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION

On any given day, the hallways of CA’s Lower School are usually filled with laughter and joy—seemingly a world away from the big transitions that stress Middle Schoolers, or the uncertainties that bring Upper Schoolers to Liza Skipwith’s door.

But Lower School counselor Brooke Hamman knows that serious social emotional work is happening here, too, laying the foundation for students’ lifelong happiness and success.

“What we hope students leave us with,” Hamman says, “is a set of skills that will carry them through their Middle and Upper School experiences, and on into college and the rest of their lives.”

Hamman and the teachers she works with throughout the Lower School offer children direct instruction in skills such as feeling identification, emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and interpersonal communication—“all the things they need,” she says, “to manage themselves as individuals and figure out the answer to the fundamental question, ‘How do I operate within the world?’”

Guiding Hamman’s efforts are CA’s “Formative Five,” the basic character traits that everyone in the Lower School tries to emulate in their day-to-day lives. These are integrity, grit, embracing diversity, self-control, and empathy.

“What we hope it all leads to,” says Ham-

man, “is every child finding their voice. We are teaching them how to be an upstander, how to stand up for themselves, set boundaries, and understand and work constructively not only with their peers, but also with faculty, staff, and their parents.”

It’s a long social emotional journey, Hamman admits, but on the calendar, it only lasts from about age four to around age 10, when Fifth Graders are preparing to depart for Middle School. Progress happens at every step along the way.

As always, teachers are on the front lines, with valuable social emotional learning integrated into every day’s schedule through approaches such as Responsive Classroom, an evidence-based method of teaching that ties engaging academics to a positive community, effective management, and developmental awareness.

Hamman also works with students individually and in small groups when extra support is needed. Students may request time with Hamman using a social emotional checkin system she keeps posted on her office door. Or, she may collaborate with teachers on scheduling individual and small-group sessions that could focus on anything from friendships to anxiety, from developing social skills to practicing emotional regulation.

“It changes year to year depending on the particular needs in the building,” Hamman explains, “but whatever is going on, I can give children strategies to help them manage.”

Fifth Grade Mustang Mentors lend a hand, too. These Lower School leaders, who are selected through an application process, regularly visit Pre-K classes to help teachers, mentor the youngest members of the CA community, and begin building supportive relationships that can last for years. Buddies in other grades pair up with younger children, as well, for fun, games, and friendship.

The same rationale grounds the new FAMILIES program, which, according to Lower School Principal Angie Crabtree, brings Kindergarten through Grade 5 students together with an adult mentor to build connections across grades and classrooms, as well as to provide leadership opportunities for older children. “The members of each FAMILY join in service projects and other activities throughout the year,” says Crabtree, “and they remain together until they graduate from the Lower School.”

It is no coincidence that building community is so central to social emotional learning in the Lower School. Throughout all three divisions, at every stage of their CA career, students find themselves supported by peers, teachers, coaches, and counselors—a robust and deliberate network that helps them face uncertainty, manage anxiety, and learn to be flexible in unpredictable situations. In an increasingly complex and fast-paced world, these strong connections—even just one caring individual— can make all the difference. n

Twelfth Graders supply smiles and hugs for their Kindergarten Buddies.

IT STARTS AT 10,000 FEET

CA’s Community Leadership Team

Seniors arrive at High Mountain Institute outside Leadville, Colo., in August 2023.

In a classroom in a rustic mountain lodge situated at around 10,000 feet near Leadville, Colo., a group of 23 Colorado Academy students are sharing some of the things that matter most to them in the world.

For one, it’s connection and commitment. For another, it’s an adopted brother who opened their eyes to the world. There’s smiling and living life. Loyalty. Fly-fishing. Empathy. A mom who sacrificed for her family. A coach who taught respect for others and for oneself. Hard work. Dedication to the things you are passionate about. The beach. The mountains. Valuing people as individuals.

And being kind—kindness is a big one. In the words of one of the students, “At the end of the day, you can always be kind to people. We all need more kindness in our lives.”

It is August 2023, a few weeks before the start of the school year, and the students are Seniors in the Class of 2024, participating in an intensive weekend training session at the High Mountain Institute (HMI) in preparation for joining CA’s Community Leadership Team, or CLT. The two dozen students were chosen from among more than 50 applicants in the spring of their Junior year for what Liza Skipwith, an Upper School counselor and CA’s Director of Counseling Services, describes as their approachability, trustworthiness, emotional intelligence, leadership qualities—and, yes, kindness.

“They’re not perfect—we don’t want that,” she explains. “They may have even made a few mistakes that they learned from.”

But, she adds, “The one thing they all have in common is that these are students we know are ‘good citizens’ in the community.”

Established by Skipwith and colleagues at CA 17 years ago, CLT is a group of Seniors selected and trained each year by counselors, faculty, and administrators to facilitate discussion sessions with incoming Ninth Graders. These “peer support helpers,” as Skipwith describes them, receive ongoing training, learning skills and strategies to help younger students become acclimated to the Upper School and cope with issues relevant to the Ninth Grade experience. In essence, they extend and deepen the impact of parallel programs led by CA’s counselors, class deans, and faculty advi-

sors, including substance-abuse education, mental health awareness efforts, talks about relationships and consent, and much more.

In partner teams of two or three, CLT Seniors meet with their assigned Ninth Grade advisory once or twice a month to build friendships, play games, cover key topics, and identify any emerging issues or concerns. The Seniors regularly convene with the CLT training staff to prepare for and process the discussions, activities, and dynamics of their groups. Together, CLT members practice skills such as active listening, withholding judgment, and knowing when to refer struggling students to the counseling team. Using effective communication, the leaders discover that they can help nurture a safe, understanding environment in which younger students are comfortable sharing personal situations and feel confident seeking out school resources that can provide assistance.

“We know from research, and from our experience with the CLT program here, that young people are simply more likely to listen to someone their own age than to an adult when it comes to those really important parts of the culture—dealing with stress, limiting the impacts of social media, handling conflicts, or even things like doing poorly in a class,” Skipwith explains. “The CLT leaders are our foot soldiers in the trenches: They can help, or they can let us know when more help is needed.”

DIVERSITY AS A VIRTUE

But while these Seniors share a single charge, there’s no cookie cutter in the shape of the perfect CLT participant, Skipwith emphasizes. Amazingly, that’s because each member of the group is specifically chosen for the way they can help meet the varied needs of the incoming class of Ninth Graders. Their unique qualities—from experience with athletics or the arts to cultural or language background—mean that each year’s CLT looks different, and the personalities, interests, and abilities of the team’s Senior leaders are as diverse as the Ninth Grade class itself.

This becomes crystal clear on the first day of the training retreat at HMI, when the students—after sharing their most important life experiences, influences, and beliefs—

take time to reflect on their personal leadership style. According to Colin Love, “I think I naturally like directing and organizing people—but that requires a foundation of relationships.” Bela Chaudhuri offers, “I am an enthusiastic leader. I like to bring a lot of energy and plan ahead.” For Domonique Megginson, leadership happens through connecting with people and working toward a common goal. “You can’t expect people to follow you if you haven’t built a partnership with them,” she insists.

There are quiet leaders and those who lead by example, too—every sort of leader is represented in this CLT group. But as Ninth Grade Dean Dr. Camille James explains to them, “When those Ninth Graders show up in your room, they will look to you for a signal about where we are heading. And sometimes you will do that quietly; sometimes you will do that through action. Showing up authentically is one of the most important components of leadership. Ninth Graders can sense when you aren’t being authentic.”

Throughout the three days of training at HMI—which have the Seniors diving deep into topics ranging from emotional intelligence to adolescent behavior, and from the psychology of groups to boundaries and trust—Skipwith repeatedly underscores that there is no “script” for CLT leaders to use. There may be a set topic on a given advisory session’s agenda, but the discussion and the exchange of ideas have to be organic. That’s why the Seniors spend time throughout the year role-playing different scenarios: bullying, a time management conflict, a friendship in crisis. There’s more than one valid way to approach a situation, Skipwith says; each CLT member’s different leadership style and life experiences come into play alongside the training they each receive.

But one thing is certain, James adds. “More often than not, Ninth Graders will go to you first before they have any interactions with the adults in the building. That’s because they are adolescents, and they feel a different kind of support from their peers than they do from us.” In a survey completed at the end of the previous school year, James reveals, there’s just one thing Ninth Graders said they want more of from the CLT program: extra time with their Senior leaders.

DOUBLE IMPACT

CLT, attests Skipwith, is much more than a box Twelfth Graders try to check off as they submit college applications, hoping to impress admission offficers with their extracurricular credentials. “This isn’t for their transcript; they put their heart and soul into it.” In fact, many of those students who volunteer in the spring of their Junior year to serve on CLT do so precisely because they still treasure the experience they had as Ninth Graders in the program and want to be part of the team so central to nourishing the culture of the Upper School.

And that’s what Skipwith loves most about the program. Whereas Seniors, when they first join CLT, might envision themselves dispensing words of wisdom to their younger peers like a mini-counselor, the reality is that the program has as much impact on the leaders as it does on the Ninth Graders they support.

According to Henry Chesley-Vogels ’21, who was a CLT member his Senior year at CA, the role fundamentally changed the way he thought about himself and those around him. Before CLT, he recounts, he assumed he functioned best as the “typical” leader: extroverted, a vocal manager of others. But during his CLT year, he explains, he tapped into his more introverted side.

“I realized I could be someone who listens, who’s reserved, who follows the lead of the people in the room. I believe I became a much better listener, more patient. It’s something I still practice today.”

As a second-year chemistry major at Davidson College, Chesley-Vogels elaborates, peer tutoring is an essential part of learning. “Especially for students who are new to STEM,” he says, “it’s so important for them to have someone older who can explain a concept and reassure them, ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay,’ or tell them, ‘When I was in high school it was called Help Time—now it’s called office hours. Use them. Take advantage of the resources that are available to you.’ It’s rewarding to feel that I can do that for a younger student.”

The ability to empathize and support someone with a push toward helping themselves comes straight out of the CLT experience, says Chesley-Vogels. When he was a Ninth

Grader, fresh from CA’s Middle School, he found great value in being able to turn to his own CLT leader for help with navigating a complicated high school landscape; the advice they gave stuck. “The thing they most instilled in me was that understanding of how to self-advocate. It’s something I used throughout high school and continue to use in college.”

Jess Brown ’18, the CLT leader who was actually responsible for impressing that message upon Chesley-Vogels and the other Ninth Graders in his advisory cohort, recalls the satisfaction of having younger students come to her for support.

“As I was walking down the hallways of the Upper School, knowing there were 12 Ninth Graders I felt really close to because of CLT was an excellent boost,” acknowledges Brown. “Sometimes, as a Senior, you lose some of those connections across the Upper School. But through the CLT program, my world expanded, and I made so many great friendships that I never would have made otherwise.”

The CLT program, Brown says simply, was the highlight of Senior year. Having signed on as a CLT member because of the transformative experience she had had with her own Senior leader when she was a Ninth Grader, Brown the Senior was hooked from the first moments of the summer training retreat, when, she says, empathy seemed to blossom.

“The retreat allowed you to be very vulnerable,” she remembers. “And you just realized that a lot of people were going through things that you would have no idea of otherwise. It was a window into everyone’s lives; it really put things in perspective.”

Brown carried that new understanding with her throughout her Senior year at CA and beyond. “I think the lens through which I look at people is different now,” she observes. A psychology and government double major in the early stages of a career on the tech side of fitness and wellness, she says, “I’m always conscious that there may be things going on that I may not be aware of with folks. I try to give people a little more grace.”

Working remotely for her tech startup well past the end of COVID-19, Brown believes that what she learned through CLT is now more relevant than ever. “In the professional

world, especially with remote work, you have to try even harder to remember that people have more going on in their lives than they may let on. I’ve had struggling coworkers come to me, and that would never have happened without my being intentional about communication. If you don’t make time to share with people, then you’re never going to have those strong relationships.”

BRIDGE-BUILDERS

Reflecting on the weekend at HMI and their initial meetings with their Ninth Grade advisory groups, Twelfth Graders echo many of the same lessons that Brown and Chesley-Vogels say they learned in CLT.

For Tyler Schulte, withholding judgment was one of the most diffficult skills he had to master with the younger students. “I’ve always struggled with not immediately making assumptions about people,” he says. “The CLT retreat really helped me see the value of being as open-minded as possible, and it definitely has allowed me to form better connections with my Ninth Graders.”

Tess Taplin adds that the retreat’s emphasis on “putting yourself in a Ninth Grader’s shoes” brought real empathy to the way she has led her group. “When I met my advisees, I think I understood much better how nervous they were, and how they were trying to take in this entirely new school environment. It all came back to me—how you’d be unsure of what to do and form little cliques. I could see it so clearly.”

Taplin is surprised at how much the connections between the CLT leaders themselves have evolved in just a short time. With friendship groups seemingly cemented in place after three years in the Upper School, she explains, she didn’t have high hopes that a few days at HMI would bring the 23 Seniors closer together. But, she says, “I was really surprised with the dedication that all of us showed toward making new bonds, because we knew that we were going to be partnered up with someone we didn’t necessarily know well as a co-leader.”

Jessica Zinn concurs, “We were all in the same situation, and all of a sudden, everyone was on the same page. Cliques didn’t matter anymore. We could trust each other.” Once the school year began, she continues,

“We met our Ninth Graders, and we realized we’re all new to this, including me and my CLT co-leader. Slowly we started getting more comfortable with each other, and now it’s beginning to feel like we’re a family.”

By the end of their Senior year, the CLT leaders can’t help noticing how much the experience has changed them. Skipwith and her counseling colleagues host a farewell banquet for the group, and while there are food and treats and keepsake mugs, the real reason everyone attends is to hear the expressions of gratitude that the leaders take turns sharing with their partners and friends.

“It was intimidating to feel it was just the two of us with this group of Ninth Graders,” recounts Colin Love of working with his co-leader, Bela Chaudhuri. “I came into CLT with a certain idea of who I was as a leader, but working with you and this advisory I got to experience every part of the spectrum of what it actually means to be a leader. Stepping down sometimes to let you take the lead with your enthusiasm, and then stepping up when it needed to happen— working with you enabled me to do both.”

Says Chaudhuri, “I always felt like I could trust you in the advisory room, and I knew that whatever the world threw at us on a given day, we’d be able to make sure our advisees had a good experience. Even just talking to you in the hallways and coming up with fun ideas for our meetings, I’d

sometimes suggest the craziest and most unrealistic things, and you’d always be there in the nicest way to say, ‘How about we try something else instead this time?’ You helped me ‘go with the flow’ more, which is hard for me to do, so I really appreciate how you did that.”

A SMALLER VERSION OF CA

In many ways, that CLT experience—both for the Seniors and for the Ninth Graders they lead—mirrors the aspirations of CA as a school.

According to Brown, being part of a supportive community is at the heart of CA, and, she argues, “CLT is just a smaller version of that—the support and the kindness that, even at the beginning of Senior year, when we didn’t know each other very well, still brought us together.”

For Chesley-Vogels, the connections that span Pre-K through Grade 12 at CA are characteristic of the school and themselves echo the mission of the CLT program.

“When I think of my CA experience, I picture older students mentoring younger ones. And much like our Senior-Kindergarten Buddies, CLT showcases CA’s commitment to nurturing an all-school community across divisions.”

“Bridge-builders” is how Skipwith describes the CLT leaders: the Seniors aren’t there to dispense advice, she reiterates, but to en-

mesh younger high schoolers in the many supportive systems that ensure every CA student is taken care of.

“It’s such a beautiful thing,” Skipwith says. “The Twelfth Graders are actually there to equip the Ninth Graders with the tools and skills to troubleshoot their own problems and make their own decisions. And if that’s not possible, they’re connecting them with the counseling team, faculty advisors, deans, coaches—everyone who’s prepared to help them.”

CLT leaders hear about every issue one can imagine facing a high schooler, Skipwith says: from being too intimidated to talk to a teacher, to coping with depression. And their ongoing training guarantees there’s help, whether that means a Senior walking a Ninth Grader to a teacher’s office for a talk, or referring the student to a counselor or even Safe2Tell, the anonymous Colorado hotline aimed at preventing imminent harm.

“Because we, as the adults, can’t be with our students 24/7, it’s our CLT leaders who do so much to keep the kids safe,” says Skipwith. “They’re on a sports team together; they’re in the same art class. They have a bond. And one day, that younger student is going to go to their leader and ask, ‘Hey, what do I do?’ And that leader will think, ‘I can do this. I’m prepared for this. I’m actually good at this.’ And they’ll say, ‘Don’t worry; I can help.’” n

Dr. Camille James speaks with CLT leaders.

Seniors discuss leadership during the CLT retreat.

Meet Amy Wintermeyer, Assistant Head of School

Colorado Academy’s incoming Assistant Head of School, Amy Wintermeyer, says there are three things that drew her to the newly-created role: the position itself, the place, and the people.

With 20 years of leadership experience in independent schools—including roles at The Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles, The Athenian School in the Bay Area, and the Hockaday School in Dallas—Amy was both humbled and honored to be named CA’s Assistant Head of School. A longtime admirer of CA, she notes, “It is clear to me that Colorado Academy is an incredibly special place with a mission and educational approach that mirror my own values.”

Amy’s professional track record focusing on experiential education, student wellness, and inclusion and belonging is relevant to some of the most important work CA will undertake in the coming years—and her direct experience overseeing athletics, student life, college counseling, learning support, fine arts, global travel, and outdoor education speaks to the expertise required to help lead a school of CA’s reputation and ambition.

“I am so excited for the opportunity to work in another Pre-K-12 school and see students grow and thrive across the different grade levels. The CA students I have met have impressed me with their innate curiosity, sense of adventure, and love for the community. I’m also looking forward to making a difference in the education, health, and well-being of students of all ages.”

Colorado and CA’s ideal location between Denver and the Front Range were also a huge draw for Amy and her family. A New England native, Amy grew up skiing in Vermont, and she is thrilled that relocating to the Denver area puts her family close to both mountains and longtime friends. She recently moved to Colorado with her husband and fellow educator, Bobby Henshel, and their eighth grade son, Dylan.

“CA feels like an incredible match for me and my family,” she attests—not just Colorado, or even Denver, but the school’s place at the center of educational innovation in the West. “The school’s mission focused on courage and kindness immediately resonated with me. I love that the school teaches to both the heart and the mind and considers the whole child.” CA’s mission inspires the kind of moments that fuel Amy’s commitment to education: witnessing teachers bring their subject matter to life on the school lawn, seeing students debate civil liberties or score a winning goal, and collaborating with colleagues to design a new experiential course or outdoor adventure.

Amy’s educational philosophy mirrors the thread that connects every classroom on CA’s campus: “I believe that the best teachers are lifelong learners, and students need educators who care as much about them as they do their subject matter. Learning should be joyous and authentic across every age, and curriculum should foster curiosity and a desire for deeper understanding. Students should feel challenged and supported throughout their intellectual journey, and the classroom environment should ensure that students feel safe and known. While mastery of content may be construed as the obvious goal, a love of learning, and the abilities to think critically and apply learning across disciplines, are the greater, long-term objectives to prepare students for college and a life of purpose.”

Having known Head of School Dr. Mike Davis and many members of the leadership team for several years, the people at CA were perhaps the biggest draw for Amy. “After working and consulting with schools around the country for the past two years, I knew that I was ready to return to a campus where I could work with educators and students on a daily basis. I knew that I was only interested in returning to a school with a healthy, high-functioning leadership team united by a strategic and

“I am so looking forward to being a central part of a school community where I can have daily interactions with students, educators, and families. Valuing and supporting teachers, ensuring students are seen and celebrated, and embracing humility and practicing empathy to connect with families and the community are at the core of my work. I believe my values and commitment to authentic interpersonal relationships will only grow stronger at CA.”

Amy Wintermeyer CA Assistant Head of School

innovative vision. Dr. Davis’s leadership style and impressive tenure, combined with the professionalism, trust, and rapport I’ve witnessed in my new colleagues, have me feeling both excited and honored to join this incredible team.”

Amy reports that the best administrators she has worked with have cultivated an environment of shared leadership and mutual respect, and she has strived to follow their example. Her most recent work at the Hockaday School offers a model of her engaged approach to leadership. As that school’s inaugural Assistant Head of School for Student Experience, Amy supervised the Office of Inclusion and Community, working to support the director’s initiatives and put student needs at the forefront of

every conversation. She pursued professional development in diversity practices, partnered with parents around inclusion and belonging events, and regularly dedicated time to meet with student affinity groups and school leaders to integrate this work across grade levels.

“I am so looking forward to being a central part of a school community where I can have daily interactions with students, educators, and families. Valuing and supporting teachers, ensuring students are seen and celebrated, and embracing humility and practicing empathy to connect with families and the community are at the core of my work. I believe my values and commitment to authentic interpersonal relationships will only grow stronger at CA.” n

Quick Facts

Most recent role: Director of School Programming, Authentic Connections - Dallas, Texas

“I led initiatives to help highachieving schools maximize the well-being of their students, faculty, and staff.”

COVID-19 story: Head of Upper School, The Athenian SchoolDanville, California

“I successfully transitioned the Upper School to distance learning in COVID-19, including teacher training and support, adjusting daily schedules, and written and video communication to parents.”

First leadership experience: Director of College Guidance, The Archer School for Girls - Los Angeles, California

“I designed the College Counseling curriculum and brought in speakers to address issues of financial literacy, drug education, and the transition to adulthood.”

EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS

Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Massachusetts

EdM School Leadership, 2000 Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts

BA, French, 1993, cum laude; Massachusetts Teaching Credential, French, grades 5-12,1995

GOOD TO KNOW

“I speak French and am proficient in Spanish. I enjoy singing and acting and am very comfortable on stage. In my free time, I regularly enjoy audiobooks and podcasts and am excited to spend more time hiking and skiing now that we are in Colorado!”

2024 CA Concert Transforms Field House, Supports Financial Aid

On May 4, the 2024 Colorado Academy Concert brought together more than 650 enthusiastic guests to support CA’s financial aid program, which in the 2024-2025 school year will total $5.3 million and support 191 students. Sponsored by Aurum Home Technology and Jenna and Walker Stapleton, the eighth biannual CA Concert in CA’s Field House welcomed parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends for a night of music and community.

The evening started with the Concert Pre-Party, sponsored by ANB Bank, where guests enjoyed delicious food from Biscuits & Berries Catering Company and two signature drinks—the Wild Mustang and the Desert Sunset Mocktail. The West Gym was transformed into a desert sunset thanks to Alison Gile, Kim Montgomery, and their decor team. “Using Emily Philpott’s logo and vision board as inspiration, Kim and I incorporated the colors of the desert and desert sunsets into the decor design elements. We are grateful for our decor team who helped bring our vision to life—tying ribbon, making paper cacti, and hot gluing jute cord,” says Gile.

Guests were then invited to the Field House for the program and concert. Head of School Dr. Mike Davis began by welcom-

ing guests and thanking CA parents Chris Tetzeli and Emily Philpott for their roles with the CA Concert.

“The CA Concert is truly a unique experience. Starting with Lyle Lovett in 2010, Chris has helped bring amazing musicians for the biannual concert, and Emily has designed all the logos and posters (and so much more) for each of the eight CA Concerts. While their last child will be graduating in May, the CA tradition that Chris and Emily helped start 14 years ago will continue to have a legacy in our community.”

Davis also talked about the importance of the funds raised through the Concert.

“The CA Concert is so much more than a night of music—it’s a chance to bring some fun to our efforts to support CA’s financial aid program. We are a school devoted to challenging the status quo, to curiosity, and to innovation. I take pride in our ability to be flexible to meet the unique needs of our students, and the money raised from the Concert will help us sustain that agility and inspire intellectual engagement now and in the future.”

Next, Davis invited Concert Chairs Maggie and David Shapiro to the stage. The Shapiros led an enthusiastic, hardworking team of CA parents who coordinated all the details of the event, including gathering

Silent and Live Auction items, selling tickets and Patron packages, and brainstorming and creating the event decor.

“We are so grateful to this year’s incredible Concert Committee. The goal was to bring together a group of parents representing all three school divisions and to help organize a fantastic event that raises important funds for the school’s financial aid endowment. It has been amazing to see the generosity of the CA community, and we are grateful for the many ways people have supported the event.”

Auctioneer and CA alumnus and parent Tom Kimball ’89 was up next. Kimball proceeded to invite bids on incredible Live Auction packages, including VIP access to Nathaniel Rateliff’s summer 2024 concert at Red Rocks; a five-night, all-inclusive stay at the beautiful Tierra Patagonia; tickets to Dead & Company’s residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas; a special golf outing at Prairie Dunes Country Club; and a private evening of music at the iconic Skylark Lounge, featuring music by CA parent Ted Parks and the Busted Bones. And then it was time for the music. Guests were treated to an acoustic solo performance by Colorado’s own Nathaniel Rateliff, who first performed at CA with his band, The Night Sweats, for the 2016 Concert. Described as “a Denver local folk-pop hero”

Margo Price

Chris Tetzeli, left, with Head of School Dr. Mike Davis Nathaniel Rateliff

by the New York Times, with Spin praising him for his “massive, alluring” voice, and Billboard dubbing him a “must hear,” Rateliff is a singer and songwriter whose influences stem from folk, Americana, and vintage rhythm and blues.

With the audience seated, Rateliff took center stage with only his guitar. He charmed the crowd with self-deprecating humor before launching into his acoustic set. The intimate atmosphere—without the raucous backup of The Night Sweats—provided the perfect backdrop to showcase his exceptional vocal gifts. Rateliff’s performance was met with multiple standing ovations, but the audience remained in their seats for his songs, mesmerized by his incredible guitar skills that perfectly highlighted his distinctive voice.

Following Rateliff’s acoustic set, chairs were cleared to create room for dancing, as Grammy-nominated Margo Price and her explo-

sive band brought the energy and brought people to their feet. The Nashville-based singer/songwriter launched her music career in 2016 with Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, marking the first time a solo female artist debuted in the top 10 of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Her country-rock vibe fired on all cylinders, and Price revealed her talent on many different instruments, from guitar to drums to harmonica.

All told, the event—which also included an online Silent Auction as well as sponsorships, Patron and ticket sales, and donations—netted more than $430,000 that will help families with financial need send their students to CA. The school’s aim is for all admitted students to have the opportunity to attend CA, regardless of their family’s economic situation.

In addition to Chairs Maggie and David Shapiro, the Concert Committee members

included: Caity & Alex Barton ’97, Janelle & Buck Blessing, Cameran & Tyler Boon, Annie & Rob Campbell, Polly & Patrick Edelmann, Jocelyn & John Ege, Lyndsey & Matt Farncombe, Willa & David Fawer, Andi & John Freyer, Alison & Merritt Gile ’95, Kelly & Andrew Haley, Mackenzie & John Hamilton, Ann & John Jordan, Cat & DC McEachern, Jennifer & Greg Miller, Amy & Andrew Mohraz, Kim & Matt Montgomery, Emily & Amit Mrig, Liz Buckingham Oertel ’93 & Chris Oertel, Healy & Ted Parks, Emily Philpott & Chris Tetzeli, Ann Benson Reidy ’88 & Kevin Reidy, Courtney & Jonathan Ringham, Melinda & Andrew Robinson, Erin & Isiah Salazar, Anjali & Tim Schulte, Elana & Ken Schwartzreich, Jessica & Ruben Sigala, Jenna & Walker Stapleton, Jenny Baker Strasburg & Don Strasburg, Sirine & Ryan Swed, Marie & Quentin White, and Tricia & Patrick Youssi.

Thank you to everyone who participated and supported the CA Concert! n

CA alumnus and parent Tom Kimball ’89 led the Live Auction in CA’s Field House.

THE BLESSINGS OF FIVE DECADES Becky Burchfield Retires

Much like music itself, Colorado Academy has been a refuge for Becky Burchfield, CA violin, viola, and piano instructor, for almost the entirety of her 50-plus-year professional career.

It was 1978, and Burchfield, a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, with a bachelor’s in violin performance, was the top candidate to serve as the one-year replacement for another private instrument lesson teacher. “My degree was in performance,” she says, “and I always saw myself as a performer.” At the time she was playing with two professional groups, the Virginia Opera Company and the Virginia Symphony.

“I never intended on teaching,” she continues, “but I said, ‘Sure, I’ll give it a try,’ because I love kids.”

Some 45 years later, after the instructor she replaced for a year never returned, Burchfield acknowledges, “I am so, so grateful that I found Colorado Academy. Being a freelance musician, even with fulltime work, is always a tough way to make a living, but during COVID-19 I finally said, ‘I’m done.’ So this role has been my lifesaver—financially, and emotionally.”

Yet performance has been an integral part of her career here, even as she educated many hundreds of CA students over a span of five decades, from Kindergarten to Grade 12, as a private instructor and as the director of the Lower School String Orchestra and the Sixth Grade String Orchestra.

“CA gave me the freedom to go play back-up at Red Rocks or Fiddler’s Green or the Paramount Theatre, for artists such as Stevie Wonder, the Moody Blues, Garrison Keillor, and John Denver; to perform in cathedrals like Holy Ghost Church on holidays; to step into recording studios with other professional musicians; to sit in the pit orchestras of ballets, operas, and touring Broadway shows—and on top of it all, to be a mom of two daughters who were able to receive a wonderful CA education

from brilliant educators.”

Indeed, CA has offered Burchfield a sort of second home, a steady source of joy and connection far from the hectic freelance world.

“What’s so unique about teaching private lessons here is that you get to follow your students all the way from Kindergarten to Commencement—we know the kids and their families in such a different way.” Burchfield adds that one of the reasons she waited until this year to retire is that she wanted to see three of her longtime students give their final performances as Seniors.

“I’ve had the chance to work with some amazing young people, and they’ve been a blessing.”

‘TEACH THE CHILD’

When Burchfield arrived at CA, then under the leadership of Headmaster Frank Wallace, music and the rest of the school’s modest arts program were housed in what was known as the “art cottage,” a historic structure that once existed close to where the Carolyn Smith Center now stands. But under Wallace and his successors Chris Babbs and Dr. Mike Davis, the arts at CA saw explosive growth, moving into what has since become the Ponzio Arts Center, and then, in 2005, music finally received its dedicated home in the Schotters Music Center.

Private music lessons had always been a staple among CA’s offerings; now the school was able to add multiple orchestras and chamber ensembles, choral groups in every division, Upper School rock and jazz bands, courses from music theory to electronic music production, and a year-round slate of performances, many of which occur on the stage of the Leach Center for the Performing Arts, completed in 2021.

Burchfield and her fellow instrumental music teachers became a linchpin in the growing program, nurturing young musicians as they matured and preparing them to take part in one of CA’s highly regarded

performing groups. Today, more than 11,000 individual lessons take place each school year, with Burchfield alone teaching 50 students in half-hour blocks throughout the day, five days a week.

According to Angel Vigil, who retired as Chairman of the Fine and Performing Arts Department at CA in 2015, “Becky was a role model to all of us on how to guide students and each other to the highest levels of artistic excellence. She has been an amazing artist and teacher for generations of students, and I am thankful for all the wonderful years I was able to share with her.”

Agrees Vigil’s successor, Director of Visual and Performing Arts Katy Wood Hills, “Becky helped build our music lesson program into what it is today, with an attention to detail as an educator and musician that has been evident in every one of her students’ performances over the years.”

Whether coaching a First Grade novice or advising a gifted Senior headed for a music career, Burchfield’s philosophy has always remained the same: “Teach the child first, and then the instrument.” What this means, she says, is that when students come to her practice room, she pays close attention to the young person standing in front of her— their mood, their anxiety level, whether they’re sad or worried about something.

“I’m not the same as their counselor, but in the moment, I can often get them over what they’re feeling so they can focus on their music. And usually, once they get started playing, whatever was distracting them recedes into the background. The music makes them happy.”

And through the decades, Burchfield has been able to witness another constant: For many CA students, music, like the arts in general, are a haven.

“A lot of kids will go to their instrument when they’re having a bad day or when they have a big test coming up, even for just a few minutes,” she observes. Many years ago, Burchfield had one high school

student whom she’d frequently find quietly reading a book near the practice rooms on the lower level of Schotters. “This is my safe place,” the student would tell anyone who passed by.

Recalls Steve Chan ’98, a “naturally gifted violinist,” notes Burchfield, it was this special teacher who recognized the music in him. “It wasn’t until I performed in front of my peers, friends, and the whole school that I felt the musical part of my being had been validated. Becky made many performances not just possible, but core memories of my time at CA.”

SO MANY GIFTS

As she retires this June, Burchfield has no plans to leave the world of music instruction. “My students keep me young,” she says. She’ll continue seeing some of her longtime

pupils for lessons off campus, and she’ll no doubt keep tabs on others, like Chan, who left CA years ago.

One of those is Tristan Hall ’19, who studied with Burchfield on violin and viola from Kindergarten through his Senior year and then went on to continue playing at St. Olaf College in Minnesota—even while he was earning his BS in physics. Says Hall, “I chose St. Olaf largely because it allows students to audition for all of the orchestras and choirs regardless of their major.”

Hall recounts, “Music has given me so much. When I feel overwhelmed and can’t think straight, I play. It has been an outlet, a relief, something that I can focus on and strive to get better in, something that has grown my patience and determination, something that brings me great joy. Through music I have met many of my closest friends. Music

is a part of me, and something I’m proud to know and love.”

“For all of the ways in which music has enriched my life, I have Becky to thank,” he continues. “Of all the musicians I’ve played with and teachers and professors I’ve studied under, no one has been so supportive and patient and generous. She was my teacher for 13 years and my accompanist at countless concerts—a role model and inspiration. She is the source for so many wonderful things in my life and someone I still consider a dear friend.”

An intuitive teacher hired for just a year at the start of her successful professional career, Burchfield turns out to have been the kind of mentor, colleague, and friend whose dedication to young people could show so many, perhaps better than anyone, the lifelong gift that is music. n

Becky Burchfield

THE SOUL OF CA Sue Counterman Retires

As she retires this June, Master Teacher Sue Counterman admits she can become emotional looking back on her 34 years as a Sixth and Seventh Grade science instructor at Colorado Academy. This should be a surprise to no one: Counterman has worn her heart on her sleeve for all to see throughout her teaching career, dedicating herself to caring for young scientists and a slate of important social and environmental causes while nurturing her students’ care for the world they will inherit.

In 1990, when Counterman was in her first year of substitute teaching in the Middle School, the division was looking for a way to energize a more student-driven science program for Sixth through Eighth Graders. Already doing exactly that as a nearly full-time sub, Counterman was the natural choice for the job. She had received her BA in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, and a master’s from Montana State University in science education, and she was eager to pursue her interest in student-centered teaching and learning methodologies such as Design Thinking.

“Once, I had held a research internship in a lab with no windows, and it almost made me crazy. I love kids, and I wanted every kid to love science as much as I did.”

Today, more than three decades later, CA’s Middle School science program owes much of its success—and many of its signature elements—to the passion and engagement Counterman has brought to her role. More than that, and not coincidentally, the Middle School as a whole has come into greater and greater alignment with the personal mission that Counterman brought with her to CA: enabling students to look outside of themselves and engage with the larger world to find their own purpose.

“When I think back on my life,” she recounts, “it was really Middle School when I developed my most foundational and

enduring passions about the environment and everything else that’s important to me. It’s such a beautiful age, and I am convinced students grow up happier and healthier when they can discover something beyond themselves.”

She acknowledges a fascination with the idea of “tikkun olam,” a central concept in Judaism that means “world repair.” For Counterman, tikkun olam—often associated with social policy and social justice— means simply that everyone should find their own way to help. As she has led the transformation of science teaching at CA, she’s cemented this idea into nearly every corner of the program.

“In my time here, I think we as a school have become incredibly good at encouraging kids to envision themselves as something beyond the students they are today. The grounding and the sense of urgency that CA inspires in young people enable them to see that they are contributors in the world.”

A NEW WAY TO TEACH SCIENCE

A CA institution for some 16 years, the Sixth Grade Global Water Challenge that Counterman inaugurated in 2004 was nothing less than her mission and beliefs in action.

Combining project-based science education with exposure to issues of global significance, the challenge was based on one of the the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Sixth Grade teams would choose from countries such as Mozambique, Uganda, Afghanistan, and Haiti and immerse themselves in the water issues faced by people in that country. They would then develop and present their potential sustainable solutions, ranging from improved desalinization processes to inventions that could help with sanitation, to visiting expert judges.

The long-running unit was “one of the high-

lights of my career,” Counterman attests. With a rich network of outsiders supporting the project—guests included Rotary International members, graduate students from University of Colorado Health, and other connections from Counterman’s time as a board member of the Global Health Connections program at UC Denver—“The students’ eyes would be opened to so much that they didn’t see within the boundaries of CA. They learned that you can’t just go to a country, build a well for water, and then walk away.”

In much the same way, Counterman’s involvement as a board member with the nonprofit Seeds of South Sudan brought her students face to face with the very different experiences of young people elsewhere in the world. Through that organization, Counterman introduced CA’s Middle School to an orphaned seven-year-old girl named Aguil, a refugee from violence in South Sudan that had taken her entire family.

Year after year, students raised money through bake sales and dances to support Aguil’s education, receiving regular letters in return in which Aguil updated them on her life. In 2022 Counterman visited Aguil in Kenya to tell her that CA would continue to support her as she pursues a medical degree at Mount Kenya University.

“This has been an incredible story—for Aguil and for CA,” Counterman explains. “Many of our students have a heart of service, and this has been a chance to be part of something that’s literally life-changing. Any child who has passed through the Middle School knows Aguil’s story and has been inspired.”

Counterman’s quest to connect her students with some of the world’s greatest challenges didn’t end with Aguil. She participated in an Earthwatch wildlife and reforestation mission in Brazil’s Pantanal, and in 2006 was a Fulbright Scholar in Thailand. In 2009, Counterman introduced the CA community to English primatologist and anthropologist Jane Goodall, who came to campus for a Citizens of the

World Youth Service Event. Her efforts, at CA and beyond, earned her both the Francis Newton Outstanding Faculty Award and the Yoeman Fisher Award for Teaching Excellence.

For Counterman’s students, the rewards have been huge. One, Ashley Shuyler Carter ’03, founded a nonprofit at age 16 after a life-changing family trip to Africa. AfricAid, now known as Daring Girls, partners locally throughout Africa to ensure that girls have the knowledge, tools, mentorship, and support to confidently design their own futures. Another student, Ana Dodson ’10, founded Peruvian Hearts, a nonprofit that encourages social, economic, and political change in Peru.

“I remember students like these so clearly. When I knew them, the outward focus that they would go on to use in transforming lives was just budding for the first time.”

But at CA, Counterman argues, the transformation went both ways: She feels she has benefited at least as much as her students.

“CA has enabled me to do amazing things I never imagined. I never traveled beyond the Mississippi River until I went to college,” says this Colorado native, “but here I have had the opportunity to go so far and learn

so much.”

ALWAYS A NORTH STAR

For Counterman, the learning will continue. In June, the week after the school year ends, she and her husband head out for yurt camping expeditions, and at the end of the summer, she’ll be on her way to another Earthwatch mission, this time inside the Arctic Circle to do climate change work with a scientist from the University of Saskatchewan.

Also on her agenda are a fourth trip to Kenya, for the graduation of students she knows through Seeds of South Sudan, as well as extra time spent with her four grandchildren, who live close by and are “at an age that they think their grandmother is cool.”

“Still, it might be a little more balanced— I’ll have time for morning cof fee, a book, and some yoga from time to time,” Counterman concedes.

As Head of School Dr. Mike Davis underscores, her departure will mean farewell to “the soul and the North Star of CA for so many years. Her advocacy, outreach, and deep concern for our community and culture have bridged generations of students and educators.”

And as her longtime colleague, Sixth and Seventh Grade science teacher Erin Galvin, adds, “ The greatest gift of my 23year career at CA has been the fulfilling journey of working side by side with Sue; honestly, it’s been more like under her wing. Sue is an amazing collaborator, mentor, and most of all, friend. We will carry on her passion for instilling in children a lasting sense of wonder about the natural world.”

Counterman feels confident CA is well positioned to tackle the challenges of the times without her—even though someone facetiously asked her how soon she’d be back as a substitute teacher.

“I’ve always been so grateful for how CA has handled really tough things: 9/11, Columbine, COVID, contentious elections in a polarized world. I feel so fortunate I was here when we had to live through those. Now people are saying, ‘AI is taking over the classroom.’ Well, then let’s turn everybody into an environmentalist.”

Referencing the “30x30” pledge that emerged from the 2022 UN biodiversity conference, COP15, Counterman says, “We’re supposed to be setting aside 30% of the planet by 2030, so we’d better get on it!” n

With Sixth Graders near Woody’s Pond

Sue Counterman with Aguil Lual Deng in Kenya in 2022

DON’T CALL IT RETIREMENT

Cathy Nabbefeld is Taking a ‘Gap’

One of the many changes that Cathy Nabbefeld has observed in her 30 years as Director and Associate Director in Colorado Academy’s College Offfice is the mainstreaming of the “gap” semester or gap year.

“We’re huge fans of some students taking a semester or even longer before starting their first year of college,” Nabbefeld explains. “The idea of a gap year or gap semester is increasingly being validated—Colorado College has actually been at the forefront of the research that shows students who take a gap do better in the long run because they’re not just passively going to college as the default next step. They’ve had time to hit ‘restart’ and discover exactly what they want out of the college experience.”

It makes perfect sense, then, that Nabbefeld herself would find the gap idea appealing as she thinks about her own next step. After practically building CA’s College Office from scratch over the past three decades, as well as making an impact at the state level and beyond with the Rocky Mountain Association of College Admissions Counselors, she’s realized, “There are so many possibilities in this profession besides being a full-time college counselor.” But with ties to an unmatched network of alumni she’s helped to place in wonderful colleges and universities across the country and internationally, Nabbefeld hints that she’ll probably stay involved at CA in some way.

Given the generations of CA students who have benefited from her wise counsel— during a time when the college admission landscape and the role of college counselors themselves have both undergone a sea change—that is probably an inevitability.

FREE CANDY

When Nabbefeld came to CA in 1994, the office she was hired to run wasn’t much more than a spare room in a basement, dimly lit mostly by leaf-filled window

wells and staffed by parent volunteers. To lure college-bound students down for a visit, Nabbefeld put out a basket of candy. College applications and recommendations came to her on typed pages, and she sealed them up in stamped envelopes and sent them off in the mail herself. Meanwhile, in the lobby of the Upper School building, a whiteboard listed student names and their elite college acceptances “like a badge of honor,” she recalls.

About the only thing that hasn’t changed over Nabbefeld’s long run at CA is the candy.

“Many at that time thought of college as a ‘prize’ to be won,” she explains. “But today at CA, we look at it as a match to be made. Our mission is helping students find where they will best belong and thrive, not just getting them a brand-name college acceptance.”

Transforming the philosophy and approach of CA’s College Office took hard work, says Nabbefeld—and a team of paid professionals instead of parent volunteers. She led CA to bring on four full-time counselors plus an administrative assistant to offer true oneon-one service to students and families. The office instituted workshops on applying and essay writing that begin in Junior year, and it created additional programs that serve the whole Upper School year round.

“The most rewarding thing about how we’ve changed and grown is seeing our students soar. At one time they might have been devastated in their Senior year when they didn’t get into the brand-name school at the top of their list, but now they’re able to learn there are so many wonderful opportunities out there. Then, they become superstars at their school, because their CA education has prepared them so well to take advantage of everything that comes their way.”

That’s probably the second thing that hasn’t changed in her three decades at CA, says Nabbefeld: the skills that CA graduates take with them to their next school—skills like writing and communicating, or being able

to advocate for themselves with teachers and other adults.

“Our Seniors are so far ahead of their peers when they get to college; and then they go on to excel in their careers and do amazing things. College truly is what you make of it,” Nabbefeld insists.

BIG REWARDS

Still, she says, as the rewards have grown— and as students and their families have learned just how much revitalization has happened at colleges outside the biggest names in the last 30 years—so has the anxiety. An admission process that’s grown only more complex has merely added to the stress that Nabbefeld sees her students and families undergo.

As Head of School Dr. Mike Davis notes, “Baby Boomer college admissions officers who once took the time to get to know students holistically have been replaced by younger generations who are more driven by metrics and rankings. But by focusing on her students and their needs, Cathy has always provided amazing support and a safe haven.”

Nabbefeld explains, “More students are applying for spots at the top institutions. On the whole they have begun sending applications to a much larger number of schools. And changing policies on standardized testing have added yet another layer of confusion.”

To cope with what can take on the weight of a life-or-death inflection point, Nabbefeld says that the College Office has oriented its entire multi-year curriculum not around gaming the process, but around self-knowledge and student ownership of the college journey.

“Students often don’t realize this, but the first step toward being successful in their search is self-reflection: What kind of learner are you? In what situations do you excel and feel most at home? What intrinsically motivates you? Knowing yourself plays a

huge role in guiding you to your college fit.”

Encouraging students to “curate” their lists is another important component in the education that Nabbefeld and her colleagues provide.

“The PR all starts to sound the same,” she says, “so one of our biggest roles as counselors is truly getting to know these schools and advising kids and families on where we feel the best match might be.” The CA alumni network comes into play, as well, with the College Office making valuable connections between current students in the midst of their search and recent graduates who can share the inside scoop on a school or individual program.

But the real job of the College Office, Nabbefeld acknowledges, might be helping students tell their story. “We spend so much of our time coaching kids on how to best describe who they are and what they can contribute. We want their profile to land in college admission offices as more than just a collection of data points. It’s more complicated, but it means colleges are seeing the three-dimensional puzzle of how each individual might fit into a community.”

SUCCESS STORIES

And there are so many unique stories Nabbefeld is proud to have helped students to tell. There’s America Perez ’12, an undocumented immigrant who graduated from CA to become the first generation in her family to go to college. Nabbefeld, recounts Davis, “fought like hell” to get Perez funding and support to go to the University of Pennsylvania. From there, she went on to Columbia Business School, and is now with Deloitte Consulting after interning at Meta.

There’s Shane Boris ’00, part of the acclaimed producing team behind the Oscar-winning documentary Navalny, whom Nabbefeld encouraged to apply to Oberlin College after she supervised his independent study in psychology. “I felt a sense that CA really cared about whatever was special in me and the rest of my classmates,” he says.

And yes, with a degree in psychology and biology, Nabbefeld’s own story is just as three-dimensional as her students’. She’s taught AP Psychology, served on CA’s Admission Committee, and worked with

Cathy Nabbefeld, today and in the 1990s

administrators and division leaders to shape the future of the whole school. In addition to being the past President of the Rocky Mountain Association of College Admissions Counselors, she’s also been involved with the Colorado Council on High School and College Relations, working on the state and national levels to change policy and help make CA a known quantity far beyond Denver.

For all that, it might come as a surprise that Nabbefeld also started CA’s vaunted Ultimate Frisbee program, which has won numerous Spirit Awards in statewide competition since she first led it to the State Championships in 1999.

But that distinction should surprise no one. Just like Frisbee, she says, she wants the college admission process to be something that students find fun and exciting—“an

amazing opportunity to make an incredible choice for yourself.” Just like Frisbee, “We’re trying to mitigate the anxiety part of this and increase the joy.”

Nabbefeld may be taking a gap, but there will be no interruption in the joy and excitement that she helped to bring to CA. n

HORIZONS COLORADO AT COLORADO ACADEMY

Dreaming of 1,000

After more than two decades with Horizons Colorado at Colorado Academy—starting first as a Horizons student from third to eighth grade, and then becoming a volunteer, teaching assistant, lead teacher, volunteer/intern coordinator, Community Liaison, and finally Program Director—Jessica Nuñez-Hernandez steps up this year into the new role of Site Director for the Horizons Colorado program at CA, right at the moment that Executive Director Daniela Meltzer wraps up her six years of leadership and departs for new possibilities with her family in Oregon.

The transition seems inevitable, and perfectly timed. Nuñez-Hernandez’s path to reach this point is not only an inspiring example of personal resilience and growth; it is also a metaphor reflecting the ambition and evolution—and tremendous success—of the Horizons Colorado program at CA that Meltzer has strived to build during her tenure.

“Since my first day as Executive Director, Jessica has been by my side,” explains Meltzer. “Together, the two of us have built the systems and programs that allow us to do everything we do now: We’re basically running a school for six weeks every summer, serving 230 young people from our local community.”

In addition to boosting the capacity and programming of the existing pre-k through eighth grade program on CA’s campus, Meltzer and Nuñez-Hernandez created a new high school offering that brings back Horizons alumni and staff to mentor 45 students preparing for life after high school. And they launched school-year tutoring at Knapp Elementary that has CA students and volunteers working alongside paid educators and reading specialists to support early learners.

But perhaps most significantly, the two have put Horizons Colorado at Colorado Academy in a position to grow beyond CA’s

campus. According to Nuñez-Hernandez, the future is all about figuring out “what it will take to get to 1,000”—1,000 students enrolled in the Horizons Colorado regional program, which this year gains two new summer program sites at Graland Country Day School and the Montessori School of Denver. What was once a homegrown effort first championed by a handful of CA educators in the late 1990s has now become one of the Horizons National organization’s most important regional implementations.

“There is so much opportunity, because there is so much need,” Meltzer states. “And growing beyond this campus is something that CA has wanted for a very long time. Today, because of the foundations we’ve laid down over the past five years, we’re at the point where we can finally do that.”

LIFTING FAMILIES UP

Key to the success Meltzer and Nuñez-Hernandez have nurtured at Horizons Colorado at CA has been their insistence on deepening the community connections that make the program so much more than a one-off opportunity for a limited number of students. Year after year, they’ve seen a child’s experience in the program create change for an entire family, as parents, siblings, cousins, and even whole neighborhoods in southwest Denver have become involved in supporting each other’s success.

“I became a teacher, and I came back here after going through the program, because of the impact that I saw Horizons was having throughout our region,” attests Nuñez-Hernandez. “The fact that CA has the highest number of Horizons alumni working with us out of all the sites in the entire national network—that speaks volumes about the relationships we’ve built.”

Dozens of her fellow Horizons graduates— like Jose Martinez, the CA site’s Director of Operations, Henning Health & Wellness Director, and Restorative Justice Counselor— come back every year to volunteer, teach

their own classrooms, and provide college and career advice for high school program graduates looking to take their next step.

Meltzer cites another statistic to further underscore the point: Horizons Colorado at CA is the very first site in the country with an alumna in a leadership role as prominent as the one Nuñez-Hernandez takes on.

“I’ve seen the generational change in my own family,” Nuñez-Hernandez relates.

“When I was getting ready to go to college at the University of Northern Colorado, I didn’t even know how to apply for financial aid. But this year, my younger sister (Yahaira Nuñez-Hernandez ’24) got accepted to Pomona College in California. Her life changed because of mine; and our kids’ lives will change because of ours.”

The experience that Nuñez-Hernandez brings to Horizons Colorado at CA will undoubtedly influence many others. She’s helping to bring on board the two other Colorado site directors who will be her colleagues at Graland and Montessori School of Denver.

“Both are Latinas like me,” she explains, “and I’ve really gotten to know them well. They reach out to me with questions about scheduling, and they’re part of the professional development that we organize. It will take some time for them to grow to where we are, but it’s exciting that there will now be three of us collaborating on the same regional program.”

Notes Nuñez-Hernandez, “This role with Horizons is my dream job.”

A FAMILIAR STORY

As she gears up for her twenty-third Horizons summer, Nuñez-Hernandez remarks, “It’s almost surreal, to see the kids of some of my Horizons classmates coming into the program. One of the very first students I taught is now a Horizons teacher. I’ve always wanted to stay close, and now the families know me so well. It’s

my community—I know everybody’s story.”

Her own, she continues, is one of hundreds like it—but it’s also one-of-a-kind.

“I got a message from a mom, another Horizons classmate of mine who’s enrolling her own child this year. When she heard about me becoming Site Director, she texted me, ‘I am so glad it’s you. We are so proud of you.’”

When longtime friends and community members see her success, explains Nuñez-Hernandez, they view it as their own.

“But it’s not just me; a lot of my Horizons classmates and their kids are doing great things, too. They can go to soccer games together, family engagement nights or field trips—things so many other parents never get the chance to do. All our success is

because we believe in the kids and believe in the parents; we integrate the families and the community in the learning.”

While making it to 1,000 Horizons students in the region may well take five to 10 years, Meltzer acknowledges, there’s no question that the strategy of growing through deep community engagement will continue to pay off. She and Nuñez-Hernandez see untapped potential for greater involvement by CA students and families, as well as a desire for even more participation by Horizons alumni who can offer networking and career advice after college.

“We’ve maxed out our capacity here at CA,” Nuñez-Hernandez laughs. “And that’s a good thing. We’re looking forward to figuring out how many more sites we need

to open in Denver to get to that 1,000-student mark.”

When she first returned from college to be an assistant teacher with Horizons Colorado at CA, a colleague told her, “I think that you’re just meant to be a teacher.” Though up until that point she had pursued a degree in sports and exercise science, Nuñez-Hernandez quickly pivoted and obtained her education degree, then found a position at Knapp Elementary, which got her to a lead teaching position in the same CA classroom where she had been a Horizons student.

“It’s crazy to see how much the program has grown and changed over the years,” she says. “But I know that being the Site Director is what I need to be doing.” n

Incoming Site Director Jessica Nuñez-Hernandez, left, with Daniela Meltzer

CURIOSITY, NOT FEAR Commencement for the Class of 2024

The Colorado Academy Class of 2024 is that group of 109 students who began their high school careers at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the fall of 2020. So it seemed fitting that the unspoken theme of this class’s Commencement Exercises on May 30, 2024, was thriving in the face of fear and adversity.

The President of CA’s Board of Trustees, Kevin Reidy, welcomed families, faculty, staff, and guests to the event on the West Lawn of the historic Welborn House by sharing the story of the hero who helped his daughter, Diana ’23, survive cancer—the oncologist who saved her life turned out to be his own third grade classmate. “You never know when you’re going to meet your hero,” Reidy said, “but you will.”

He continued, “What if the next person you meet turns out to be your hero or saving grace? What if the person sitting next to you today drastically and positively changes the trajectory of your life, or, more importantly, what if you are that change agent? If you were to walk with the mindset that heroes are ordinary people who show up when you least expect it and most need it, how would you begin to treat others?”

“My message to you today is that if you lean in and rely on the mission of CA, you will undoubtedly find your heroes—and

moreover, you just may be that hero to someone else.”

Reidy welcomed Head of School Dr. Mike Davis on the podium next to deliver his remarks, which directly addressed the unique entry into the Upper School experienced by this group of Seniors.

“You came to CA on your first day of Ninth Grade wearing masks, during a time of immense fear and uncertainty. But any worry you may have had was not going to stop you from connecting with one another. I vividly remember you all gathering as Ninth Graders outside the front entrance of the Upper School. Adults, me included, would pass through, pleading with you to stay six feet apart and wear your masks. You ignored us. Part of me appreciated your minor rebellion, because I understood your intense desire to get to know one another. You didn’t let fear get in the way of human connection.”

Davis continued by explaining fear’s physiological and emotional effects, noting that this natural part of life can impair judgment, reasoning, and understanding. “Yet there is an antidote to fear, and you have already used it in your lives: curiosity. Something that you all demonstrated in the fall of 2020, curiosity is not just a desire to know, it is daring to explore, having the courage to question, a drive to understand, and the heart of innovation.”

Curiosity allowed thinkers such as Newton and Einstein to make some of the most important discoveries in human history, Davis noted. And it drove the late, great basketball player and commentator Bill Walton to insist, “I learn from yesterday, I dream about tomorrow, but I try to make today my masterpiece.”

“Curiosity does not seek a final destination but rather revels in the exploration itself,” Davis went on. “This relentless pursuit is what helps us push past our fears. Today, as you step out into the world, I challenge each of you to let your curiosity lead you, let it be your guide through the complexities of life and your shield against the paralysis of fear. Nurture it, embrace it, and may it help build a life for you that is rich with discovery.”

The CA Chanteurs, conducted by Dr. Kevin Padworski, then assembled before the audience to perform the song “The Call,” by Regina Spector:

Just because everything’s changing Doesn’t mean it’s never been this way before

All you can do is try to know who your friends are

As you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon And follow the light

Next it was time to hear from Upper School Principal Max Delgado, who shared his

own take on fear, curiosity, and holding the future loosely.

He recounted stories about two old friends, one who held too tightly to a vision of his future, and the other who approached change and new experiences with openness.

“My friend George knew that he wanted to be married one day, and made decisions based on that vision. He replaced curiosity with calculation and wonder with strategy.”

When a family friend tried to introduce him to a woman from Canada, George turned down the first date because he couldn’t picture himself marrying her and living abroad (which he eventually did anyway, Delgado noted with a laugh).

“George did what he was trained to do his whole life,” Delgado continued. “Just like you, he was skilled at planning, analyzing, determining what sequence of steps would lead to the desired outcome. That’s why you’re getting your diploma today. It’s why you will go on to do big things and finish what you started.”

The other story, about Delgado’s young cousin from Mexico and his own first date, took a different turn. While visiting the United States, Ivan met a young woman, and years later was still corresponding with her regularly. On Ivan’s next visit, it was Delgado’s turn to worry about the future: He envisioned Ivan marrying the woman

and disappointing his Mexican relatives. “If you marry an American girl, your mother is going to kill me,” Delgado told Ivan.

But Ivan set him straight. “She’s not asking me to move to America or get married. She’s asking me to go to dinner.” Delgado realized that somehow, Ivan was able to think about the future without holding a preconceived idea about its outcome; he was able to hold the future loosely.

“This is a mindset your teachers have been trying to instill in you from the start: Process informs outcome, not the other way around. And the good news is that you already excel at thinking this way.”

The bad news, Delgado concluded, is that later in life, there are times when every individual is tempted to abandon wonder, curiosity, and open-mindedness for the sake of achieving a particular outcome.

“Some adults spend decades trying to twist and turn the world into an order that they’ve convinced themselves is the only acceptable one out there. But I can tell you that often, the right thing to do is whatever scares you the most—because it’s also the thing that makes your life bigger.”

Finally, the Class of 2024 Elected Student Speaker, Graham Neely, came to the lectern to speak to his peers and their family and friends.

Recounting his Eighth Grade first-day-ofschool experiences, which included being unable to open his locker and then coming under attack by wasps, Neely explained, “I immediately understood that this was a place that wasn’t just supportive, but one where your fellow students actively cheer you on, rooting for your successes and commiserating with your failures.”

From bonding with classmates over those first-day experiences to surviving COVID-19 with them, Neely continued, “This class thrived. We passionately pursued individual and combined interests and experiences. We seized our opportunities and lifted each other up, and ourselves, by doing what we loved and daring to try new things. Let’s go out into the world stronger for what we have done and learned the past four years, and perhaps most importantly, for everything we’ve received from the friends surrounding all of us.”

Dr. Davis then stood again to issue CA-red diplomas to the graduates in the Class of 2024, reading individual tributes composed with the help of faculty, coaches, and staff for each one. Guests cheered as every name was announced, and after the final Senior, Jessica Zinn, was recognized, the audience stood and applauded while the graduates recessed down the center aisle and toward the next chapter of their lives. n

The Class of 2024

Nicholas Garland Allison Dartmouth College

Gabriella Carolyn-Maria Arocha University of Oregon

Cara Elisabeth Babbs University of Colorado Boulder

Avery James Bakes University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Kameron Dean Barthels University of Colorado Boulder

Brady Aikman Baumbusch Villanova University

William Robert Beasley Texas Christian University

Tate Moore Behrhorst Santa Clara University

Hayden Paul Berg University of Mississippi

Jason Dean Bratis Colgate University

Lucas Donald Tschida Brown Northeastern University

Rowan David Brown

Texas Christian University

Cayden Joseph Brunner University of San Diego

Joshua Ryan Bub Brandeis University

Noah Jacob Bub

California State Polytechnic University

San Luis Obispo

Georgia Grace Roundtree Burstein University of Virginia

George Albert Buyers Occidental College

Chloe Melia Chao

University of Colorado Boulder

Bela Caitlin Chaudhuri

University of Colorado Boulder

Ellen Annette Clowes

Boston College

Abigail Ayars Cohen

Santa Clara University

Charlotte Mills Corkins

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Garrett Chase Davidson

Stanford University

Logan Isaac Day-Richter

Yale University

Miles Makoa Evans

Elon University

Daniel Blewer Farmer

Vanderbilt University

Winifred Brisben Fenton

Villanova University

Carson James Flottman Chapman University

Francesca Marie Fucarino

Boston University

Caroline Connell Gaghen Middlebury College

Estella James Alvarado Geller Bucknell University

Phillip Michael Gershovich

Trinity College Dublin

Sophia Gomez

Boston College

Alexander Thomas Gonzales

Wake Forest University

Maya Alexandra Green

Franklin & Marshall College

Sonia Hope Gustavson

New York University

Gatsby Van Gutsch

University of Kansas

Gabriel Aladar Herman

California State Polytechnic University

San Luis Obispo

Walker Evan Hughes University of Florida

Nicholas Finley Jeffries

Tulane University of Louisiana

Clayton Cassimus Johnson

St. John’s College

Grant Thomas Kenney

California State Polytechnic University

San Luis Obispo

Owen Randall Kocher

Marquette University

Helaina Lil Korneffel

Scripps College

Hailey Jean Krueger

Smith College

Reagan Ann Lane

Colgate University

Jessica Rose Lapidus

Johns Hopkins University

Avia Rose Lauchli

Southern Methodist University

Sydney Alessia Leach

Yale University

Kate Elizabeth Lichtenberger

Villanova University

Jackson Forest Lieberman

Boston College

Colin Michael Love University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Brady Robert Martin St. Olaf College

Zoe Addison Martin University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Eliott Ronzani Mault

Indiana University - Bloomington

Alexis Warner May University of Southern California

Skylar Warner May University of Southern California

Owen Charles McCandless Middlebury College

Michael Seamus McKee

Indiana University - Bloomington

Kevin Gerard McManus Jr. University of Utah

Domonique Gabrielle Megginson

Regis University

Estella Jacquelyn Miller

Tulane University of Louisiana

Alejandro Miramontes Rodriguez

Harvard College

Lila Rose Mix

University of St Andrews

Yarisbeth MontesDeOca-Desiderio Boston College

Hadley Samantha Morris Chapman University

Graham Alexander Neely Brown University

Katherine Anne Nelligan University of Southern California

Yahaira Areli Nuñez-Hernandez Pomona College

Neela Elizabeth Okurut Boston College

Abisai Olivas-Holguin Northeastern University

Madeleine Kehr Olmstead University of Oregon

Caroline Eileen Owen University of California Los Angeles

Rose Angelica Meloy Patel

Hobart William Smith Colleges

Macy Walton Quatrochi Colorado College

Madeleine Grace Reeves

Clark University

Samuel Williams Reisch University of Miami

Katherine Prescott Rhine Bucknell University

Philip Bedford Rollhaus

Columbia University in the City of New York

Miller Stearman Rubey

California State Polytechnic University

San Luis Obispo

Thomas Otto Sankovitz

Dartmouth College

Tyler Rohan Schulte

Tulane University of Louisiana

Carter Finley Scott

Trinity College Dublin

Avery Jacqueline Siegler

Santa Clara University

Luca Ricci Siringo

University of California Los Angeles

Taylor Ashley Slutzky

Rhodes College

Anne Louise Smith

University of San Diego

Fraser Robert Conlon Smith

Williston Northampton School

William Wright Stettner

Santa Clara University

Shea Olivia Stone

University of Oregon

Tess Ely Taplin

Occidental College

Violet Nelle Tetzeli

University of Virginia - Main Campus

Eliza Jane Thorpe University of St Andrews

Lynn Ai Truong Boston College

Anabelle Maria Twite University of British Columbia Okanagan

Sydney Paige Vahey

Miami University - Oxford

David Thomas Varholak Colby College

Wendy Jade Warner

Wake Forest University

Hudson Michael Watters

Chapman University

Adeline McEntire Weil

Tulane University of Louisiana

Jack Corbin West University of Wisconsin Madison

James Dietrich Westerberg University of Mississippi

Alaina Katherine Wharton

Wake Forest University

Simeon Woldeyohannes

Villanova University

Naomi Beth Wolff

University of California Berkeley

Ezra Ruben Wolkon

University of Colorado Boulder

Eleanor Rose Wynne Cornell University

Colgin Weber Youssi Darlington School

Jessica Lauren Zinn

Occidental College

Legacy Children 2023-2024

Colorado Academy is pleased to report that 102 students enrolled for the 2023-2024 academic year are the children, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews of alumni/alumnae. Current grade shown in parentheses.

Griffin Adams (10)

Steve Adams ’91, father

Chip Adams* ’89, uncle

Chloë Barton (4)

Alex Barton ’97, father

Tate Behrhorst (12)

Nicole Moore Behrhorst ’87, mother

Mandy Moore Mischler ’82, aunt

Hopi Moore-Sargent ’84, aunt

Ava Biederman (8)

Lilly Biederman (11)

Emily Pederson Biederman ’95, mother

Yori Blanchard (11)

Tiffany Woodward ’01, mother

Charlotte Braun (7)

Karsten Braun (9)

Alexa Hanke Braun ’95, mother

Cecilia Hanke Wolfson ’90, aunt

Georgia Burstein (12)

Rex Burstein (10)

Tatum Burstein (7)

John Burstein ’89, father

Alli Burstein Kozloff ’94, aunt

Lachlan Campbell (1)

Maddie Campbell (PK)

Kelly Young Campbell ’98, mother

Bella Converse (4)

Kate Hart Converse ’03, mother

Henry Cowperthwaite (10)

Kevin Cowperthwaite ’79, father

Tom Cowperthwaite ’81, uncle

Emily Coyle (PK)

Matthew Coyle (3)

Martha Fulford ’01, mother

Scott Fulford ’98, uncle

*Deceased

Lilah Dennis (6)

Travis Dennis ’00, father

Kendall Dennis Slutzky ’97, aunt

Oscar Dillon (1)

Samson Dillon (4)

Megan Young ’97, mother

Daron Young ’00, uncle

Charlotte Emerson (8)

Fletcher Emerson (10)

Remy Emerson (7)

Julia Völkel Emerson ’94, mother

Marc Voelkel ’89, uncle

Ella Firman (11)

Chris Firman ’93, father

Lyz Firman Olmstead ’95, aunt

Andrew Firman ’00, uncle

Matt Olmstead ’95, uncle

Carson Flottman (12)

Jim Flottman ’89, father

Elise Ford (5)

Jeska Horgan-Kobelski ’98, mother

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski ’96, uncle

Tim Horgan-Kobelski ’05, uncle

Karoline Freitag (7)

Kristin Todd Freitag ’99, mother

Sophie Freyer (9)

John Freyer ’67, grandfather

Lucy Garnsey (11)

Peyton Garnsey ’91, father

Michael Garnsey ’89, uncle

Charlie Gaumond (K)

Laura Doty Gaumond ’02, mother

Digby Gile (6)

Gia Gile (9)

Merritt Gile ’95, father

Caitlin Gile Morris ’96, aunt

Philippa Gile Taylor ’05, aunt

Noa Gold (7)

Meagan Gold ’96, mother

Marshall Golden (5)

Nora Palenchar Golden ’00, mother

Ethan Palenchar ’98, uncle

Hayley Greenberg (2)

Jackson Greenberg (4)

Jordan Greenberg (PK)

Josh Greenberg ’02, father

Rachael Greenberg ’05, aunt

Daniel Greenberg ’09, uncle

Parker Grossman (7)

Nicole Cannon ’03, mother

Alix Cannon ’01, aunt

Lauren Cannon Davis ’99, aunt

Aidan Harrington (11)

Brendan Harrington ’89, father

Jillian Hills (7)

Molly Hills (10)

Zach Hills (3)

Liston Hills ’95, father

Zach Hills* ’01, uncle

Harper Hodgson (11)

Jennifer Hodgson ’92, mother

Ellie Jones (7)

David Jones ’95, father

Jill Bible ’99, aunt

Phil Jones ’99, uncle

Natalie Kesselman (2)

Rob Kesselman ’03, father

David Kimball (10)

Tom Kimball ’89, father

Allyson Kimball Johnson ’92, aunt

Ford Kimball ’91, uncle

Avery Koch (8)

Griffin Koch (6)

Ryan Koch ’96, father

Alison Koch Mims ’98, aunt

Helaina Korneffel (12)

Peter Korneffel ’83, father

Tracy Korneffel ’82, aunt

Cezanne Kumpe (8)

Carl Kumpe ’90, father

David Kumpe ’93, uncle

Buckley Ladd (3)

Sadie Ladd (1)

Tucker Ladd ’99, father

Bryann Ladd Nourse ’02, aunt

Ben Ladd ’95, uncle

Beth Likovich (4)

Charlotte Likovich (2)

Emmie Likovich (PK)

Tizzie Considine ’03, mother

Tay Considine ’01, aunt

Carter Maloy (11)

Brooke Bansbach Maloy ’90, mother

Alex May (12)

Skylar May (12)

Kim Warner ’86, mother

Blake Miller (9)

Fletcher Miller (11)

Wren Johnson Miller ’95, mother

Craige Johnson ’93, uncle

Hadley Morris (12)

Piper Morris (10)

Caitlin Gile Morris ’96, mother

Philippa Gile Taylor ’05, aunt

Merritt Gile ’95, uncle

Claudia Nelsen (5)

Olivia Nelsen (9)

Amy Livingston ’93, mother

Katie Livingston ’96, aunt

Ollie Oertel (11)

Liz Buckingham Oertel ’93, mother

Elin Olmstead (6)

Gus Olmstead (10)

Maddy Olmstead (12)

Lyz Firman Olmstead ’95, mother

Matt Olmstead ’95, father

Amy Olmstead ’91, aunt

Andrew Firman ’00, uncle

Chris Firman ’93, uncle

Raj O’Rourke (K)

Simran O’Rourke (K)

Sonia Arora ’01, mother

Sasha Arora ’00, aunt

Ellie Perkins (11)

Alli Stamper Perkins ’95, mother

Amy Stamper Corrigan ’98, aunt

Jeff Stamper* ’92, uncle

Josie Pryor (6)

Parker Pryor (10)

David Knowles ’66, uncle

Charlie Rakowski (11)

Jill Boat Rakowski ’92, mother

Hattie Ralston (3)

Sebastian Ralston (K)

Natalie Newcom Ralston ’99, mother

Chip Newcom ’02, uncle

Maddy Reeves (12)

Julie Beattie Reeves ’90, mother

Jason Beattie ’93, uncle

Laura Reidy (11)

Ann Benson Reidy ’88, mother

David Benson ’85, uncle

Jim Benson ’83, uncle

Eli Rockmore (8)

Lizzie Welborn Rockmore ’90, mother

Jeff Welborn ’64, grandfather

Cayden Roll (8)

Sasha Roll ’02, mother

Gavin Ulrich* ’02, father

Jordan Ulrich ’10, uncle

Katherine Roller (1)

Tom Roller ’01, father

Dan Roller ’99, uncle

Clare Gunn-Roller (3)

Evah Gunn-Roller (7)

Dan Roller ’99, father

Tom Roller ’01, uncle

Sutton Schoenwetter (K)

Kedzie Schotters Schoenwetter ’06, mother

Clark Seaton (11)

Andrew Seaton ’92, father

Conrad Sehl (10)

Meagan Gold ’96, mother

Darcy Simon (7)

Finn Simon (4)

Dan Simon ’95, father

Jordan Slutzky (9)

Taylor Slutzky (12)

Kendall Dennis Slutzky ’97, mother

Travis Dennis ’00, uncle

Tula Stettner (8)

Willy Stettner (12)

Rob Stettner ’94, father

Andrew Stettner ’99, uncle

Rich Stettner ’91, uncle

Taylor Slutzky ’24 and Kendall Dennis Slutzky ’97

Bea Wadsworth (11)

David Wadsworth ’86, father

Abigail Wadsworth Serfass ’94, aunt

George West (10)

Henry West (8)

Jack West (12)

Thomas Kerr ’76, uncle

Addy Westerberg (11)

J.D. Westerberg (12)

Jim Westerberg ’87, father

Peter Kugeler ’95, uncle

Max Wiechecki (PK)

Sam Wiechecki (2)

Nicole Sisk Wiechecki ’01, mother

Jason Sisk ’98, uncle

Ben Zinn (9)

Jessica Zinn (12)

Ken Zinn ’92, father

Jenn Zinn ’95, aunt

Dan Zinn ’97, uncle

This list contains alumni non-graduates.

If you are not listed and are a legacy, please contact the Alumni Office at 303-914-2584.

Boards & Associations

Alumni Association Board 2023-2024

Chris Bailey ’02

Adam Boscoe ’01

Andrew Bourke ’04, Co-Vice President of Special Events

Caroline Cramer ’11

Nick Fuselier ’16

Sarah Goodyear ’06, Co-Vice President of Special Events

Isabel Gary Harper ’09

Marcus King-Stockton ’04

David Lightstone ’06

Myles McGinnis ’08

Aimée Nieuwenhuizen ’06

Brian Pushchak ’04, President Elect

Natalie Newcom Ralston ’99, Vice President of Development

Abel Ramirez ’16

Liz Robinson ’01

Murphy Robinson ’06

Dan Roller ’99, Vice President of School Relations

Evan Simmons ’06

Gordon Smith ’79, Honorary

Zach Tucker ’01, President

Terrie Dickinson Warren ’73

Megan Young ’97

Parent Association Officers 2023-2024

Vanessa Homuth, President

Meghan Braun, President Elect

Amy Martin, US Vice President

Candice Gottlieb, US Vice President

Kelly Ballenger, MS Vice President

Elana Schwartzreich, MS Vice President

Erin Davis, LS Vice President

Natalie Newcom Ralston ’99, LS Vice President

Marisa Hudson-Arney, Secretary

Brianne Claypool, Treasurer

Alyssa Clarke, Communication Coordinator

Morgan Hersch, Communication Coordinator

Laura Briger, Volunteer & Outreach

Caity Barton, Faculty & Staff Appreciation

Adriane Greenberg, Faculty & Staf f Appreciation

Board of Trustees 2023-2024

Liz Arnold

Buck Blessing

Natalie Bocock Turnage

VJ Brown ’11

Sue Cho

Jocelyn Ege

Dalia EL-Prince

Alison Engel

Matt Farncombe

Jeff Geller

Dan Goldman

Erika Hollis

Bryan Leach

Bob Martin

Julie Martin

Derek McCandless

Kevin Reidy, Board Chair

Meshach Rhoades, Board Vice Chair

Andrew Robinson, Board Secretary

Catherine Rollhaus

Isiah Salazar

David Shapiro

Rob Stettner ’94

Ex Officio

Mike Davis, Head of School

Vanessa Homuth, Parent Association President

Whitney Johnson, COO & CFO

Kate McDonnell, Director of Advancement

Zach Tucker ’01, Alumni Association President

Thank you for your support of The CA Fund this year!

Your generous support of The CA Fund enriches the academic, artistic, and athletic opportunities that make CA an exceptional place for students to learn and grow. We deeply appreciate your investment in our students, faculty and staff, and campus.

A special thanks to all who volunteered their time and talents to the

Pre-K: Vicky Chao

Kindergarten: Jasmin Beck

Grade 1: Shawn and Susan Rossi

Grade 2: Asia Ewing

Grade 3: Dina Galperin and Gates Scott

Grade 4: Ryan Springmeyer

Grade 5: Meshach Rhoades

Grade 6: Donna Pryor

Grade 7: Cat McEachern

Grade 8: Cecilia Stewart

Grade 9: Ann Jordan and Rachael Bok

Grade 10: Kelly Haley

Grade 11: Alli Perkins ' 95 and Chris Oertel

Grade 12: Nicole Behrhorst ' 87

AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY

A CA Story 42 Years in the Making

The Colorado Academy Class of 1986 was, and still is, a “pretty tight crew,” according to Chuck Hornbrook ’86, the class Treasurer and a Varsity Soccer and Lacrosse player, Telesis staffer, singer, and member of C-Club and the International Relations Club. And in 1982, when many in the class were Eighth Graders at CA, there seemed to be a basic agreement among them about what was important. “The extremes on policy language were not as extreme as they are now; day-to-day discussion was not seen as a zero-sum proposition. There was no us versus them,” Hornbrook recalls.

Legendary CA faculty members at that time—English teachers Paul Krajovic and Fran Scoble; history and English teacher Sean Smith; Math Department Chair Richard Kelly; math teacher Mike Simms; science teachers Jim Milavec and Patrick “Doc” Hogan; music teacher Cindy Jordan; and social studies teacher David Wadsworth, to name just a few—were known for challenging their Middle School and Upper School students to engage deeply with the world. In this transformational teaching and learning environment, students pushed each other, too, according to Hornbrook, and many would go on to pursue successful careers in medicine, law, international relations, the environmental movement, the arts, and a plethora of other fields.

“CA through high school gave us a great sense of how our local community and issues sit within a global perspective,” Hornbrook states.

It was not long after the 40th President of the United States, the Republican actor and politician Ronald Reagan, had taken office following his landslide 1980 election victory over Democrat Jimmy Carter. The Reagan administration’s famous economic policy—a conservative-fueled combination of tax cuts and reduced government spending that became known as “Reaganomics”—and the United States’ escalating Cold War arms

race with the Soviet Union dominated dinner-table discussions across the country and around the world. Reagan’s order to invade Grenada, his slow response to the AIDS epidemic, and foreign policy crises in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Libya, and Iran and Iraq would soon add to the international debates about his presidency and the U.S.’s evolving global influence.

Suki Hoagland had arrived at CA as a social studies teaching intern in the fall of 1978, and by the time Hornbrook and his peers were arguing about Reagan-era policies in 1982, she had completely

revamped the Eighth Grade history curriculum, implementing a new focus on contemporary international affairs that departed radically from the traditional European history curriculum the students had followed until then.

Hoagland also guided her Eighth Graders of 1982 in the creation of a one-of-a-kind CA artifact, a phone-book-sized collection of remarkably sophisticated, research-based student essays on American foreign policy. The story of how all this happened—and came to light some 42 years later—is one that Hoagland and her former student, Hornbrook, relish telling.

A TEACHING EXPERIMENT

In the spring of 1978, the Denver-born Hoagland was finishing her bachelor’s degree in government at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, panicking slightly about what she was going to do with her degree after graduation.

“I wanted to be a neurosurgeon astronaut,” she jokes, “something that women hadn’t been allowed to do before.” Hoagland had grown up a child of the 1960s, steeped in concern for issues such as civil rights, women’s rights, and global poverty. Her father had been an international relations

major and worked for a time with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which partners with governments, nonprofits, and other local actors around the world to offer humanitarian assistance, reduce poverty, strengthen democratic governance, and advance economic opportunities.

“For Sunday night dinner, we’d just have cereal,” Hoagland recalls, “so we could save a little money to support an orphan in South Korea. I always learned that you take the privilege and wonderful education that you’ve been given, and you face outwards. You have a responsibility to contribute something, whatever your talents allow you to do.”

But at Wesleyan, an inner voice kept pulling her back to Earth: What about a teaching career? “#&%?! no,” the determined Hoagland kept replying to herself. “Women have always been allowed to be teachers—what is barrier-breaking about that?” she reasoned with frustration.

Still, she eventually sent an unsolicited letter off to Colorado Academy, requesting a

social studies internship in the fall to “experiment” with teaching, and noting she could coach varsity sports, as well. Hoagland knew CA from the years she spent growing up in Denver and attending Graland Country Day School, and, she says, “I just felt it was a school that might be open to trying something novel.”

In remarkably short order, the 22-year-old with no teaching credentials received a letter in reply. The key sentences in the brief acknowledgement essentially read, “We’ll see you in September to ‘experiment’ and assist teaching social studies for Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade. And you’ll be coaching Field Hockey, Lacrosse, and Soccer.”

When she arrived on campus, she discovered, to her surprise, that the Middle Schoolers she had been assigned to teach felt immediately like “my people,” particularly the Eighth Graders. “They were just at that moment of moving away from seeing themselves as the center of the universe, moving beyond their family. They were starting to look beyond their state and their country, and were eager to

Hoagland, fourth from left, with students in her Eighth Grade homeroom, from left: Tom Leeson, Matt Scoble, Brian Blackman, Hoagland, Roger Freeman, Elizabeth Stramiello, Blair Crosby, Kendrick McLish, John Steadman, Chuck Hornbrook, David Smith, Andy Conrad, Steve Wullschleger, Anne Eigemann, Lisa Weinstein, Jennie Morton, Vicki Apostolakis, Allison Shay. Seated: Kendall LaMontagne.

Suki Hoagland

learn about what’s going on in the world.”

After being hired as a full-time instructor the following year, simultaneously enrolling in the University of Denver’s master’s program in curriculum development and supervision in international relations, Hoagland took the Eighth Grade European history curriculum she had been handed to Middle School Principal John Pistel and Head of School Frank Wallace with an idea. She told them, “This is the wrong curriculum for these students.”

She proposed an entirely new course that would survey the history of major world regions and cultures by way of contemporary challenges. Eighth Graders would study the Soviet Union in terms of the nuclear arms race and India through a poverty and population growth lens.

For a second time, CA was willing to place a bet on the novice teacher: Hoagland was allowed to scrap the existing Eighth Grade social studies materials and create her own from scratch. After two more years, she would leave CA to pursue her PhD in international relations at American University in Washington, D.C., but the legacy of her innovative approach would live on.

A MONUMENT TO LEARNING

At the heart of the design for Hoagland’s revamped Eighth Grade year in social studies was a “monument” to the students’ learning: a collection of their research papers on world affairs titled simply, “American Foreign Policy.” The 435-page tome was itself a reflection of the philosophy of teaching and learning that Hoagland brought with her to CA and helped to embed within the student-driven approach that came to define social studies at CA.

“I was trying to teach in a new way,” says Hoagland. Resolved never to be the instructor who stood at the front of the room intoning the “blah, blah, blah” of history, she constantly asked herself, “How can I engage everyone and make the classroom come alive?”

Her answer was to join forces with the Middle School English Department’s Fran Scoble (whose son, Matt, was an Eighth Grade classmate of Hornbrook’s at the time) to devise an ambitious spring culmination that would challenge her students to grapple with the same world issues that were troubling leaders and diplomats globally. “There were skeptics,” Hoagland acknowl-

The introduction to Hornbrook’s essay, “Why in Vietnam? Why America?”

edges, “but I knew these kids could do it. I wanted them to discover their strengths and passions—not replicate what someone else thought they should be doing.”

It was an exciting time to be engaging with international issues, Hoagland notes. “This was still the middle of the Cold War, and around the world there were elements of U.S. behavior that were less than shining examples of diplomacy. I didn’t want to sugarcoat any of that for the students. It was my belief that Eighth Graders were old enough to hold simultaneously the ideas that the grand American experiment was awesome in many ways, and that it could also pose challenges.”

As Hornbrook recounts, “It felt like everything had changed when Reagan was elected, and we all thought it was important to do something about issues like Iran-Contra or Nicaragua. What Suki and our other teachers did for us in Eighth Grade was foundational: They prepared us to develop our understanding by relying on good research and data, and then make our case through strong writing.”

The phrase “Think globally, act locally” was popularized around this time, Hornbrook notes, after the publication of E.F. Schumacher’s “eco Bible” Small is Beautiful. “We were learning a way of thinking: How do we fit into this larger global context?”

He continues, “CA gave us that belief that we could go out and try and do almost anything, engage with any idea.”

A CHERISHED ARTIFACT

When Hornbrook, now living in the San Francisco Bay Area, in 2022 came across the bound, printed copy of his Eighth Grade’s American Foreign Policy project that his mother, Dianne, had carefully preserved for four decades, he was beyond excited. His own son, in the ninth grade at Marin Academy, was immersed in a process of self discovery—leading to global engagement—that looked remarkably similar to Hornbrook’s Eighth Grade experience at CA.

He proceeded to get in touch with classmates like his good friend Lisa Tepper Bates ’86, who graduated from Georgetown and went on to a career in foreign service and

then as President and CEO of the United Way of Connecticut, to ask if they might be interested in seeing a digital copy of the publication. Receiving a resounding “Yes,” Hornbrook had the entire collection scanned and converted to a file he could easily share via email.

He also contacted Hoagland, who was just as thrilled as Hornbrook to realize that a second complete copy of the project still existed: Hoagland had kept one of her own through a dozen moves across the country and around the world. “I had displayed it proudly all those years on my bookshelf, right next to my dissertation and all my other publications,” she recounts.

Hoagland was now at Stanford University, just an hour or so away from Hornbrook’s home, so they met in person to turn through the brittle typewritten pages and catch up on the 40-plus years that had passed. Hornbrook learned that Hoagland had built a distinguished academic career studying climate, energy policy, and global poverty and economic development. It led her to Stanford, where she helped to establish the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Environment and Resources and later wound up a senior Lecturer in the Earth Systems Program of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

For his part, Hornbrook had spent years working in renewable energy research, and was now involved in a slate of Bay Area causes and organizations, from serving as a commissioner with the local Parks, Open Space & Trails Commission to being on the board of the nonprofit Slide Ranch, on the California coast in Muir Beach, which connects children and people of all ages to the outdoors and partners with community groups, families, and educators to provide transformative learning experiences.

Over the course of multiple lunches across several months, the two, joined eventually by other members of the Class of 1986, reflected on their remarkable shared history and interests—and how it had all begun in Hoagland’s Eighth Grade social studies class.

“We may have been going to the CA library to do our research in Time magazine,” says Hornbrook, “or flipping through back issues

of the New York Times on microfiche, but what we learned then remains just as true today: There’s nothing more important in education than that everyone has a chance to be heard, rather than people’s views being dismissed and yelled over, which is unfortunately way too popular today.”

According to Hoagland, “I had never forgotten those kids or that project. I had parents who wondered, ‘What are you doing? They’re only Eighth Graders.’ But we did it.”

Doing difficult things, engaging with difficult topics: Discomfort, Hornbrook says, is what drives the truest learning.

“Somebody could look at this project today and think, ‘Whoa, those are pretty controversial, sensitive topics.’ But our teachers knew that we learned best when we were challenged. Going through that experience—in a safe environment like CA—was exactly what our 14-year-old selves needed.”

Hornbrook’s classmate Ric Simmons is now the Associate Dean for Faculty and Intellectual Life and the Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law in the Moritz College of Law at The Ohio State University. He recalls, “This project was one of the first real research papers that I did, and it opened my eyes to the idea that a paper can make a deeper impact based on data and research.”

Another lifelong friend and CA classmate, Steve Wullschleger, elaborates, “I remember

obtaining about ten books on U.S. policy in Central America, compiling a thick stack of notecards, and organizing them into a logical flow to support my thesis. Of all the papers I wrote at CA, I remember this one the most. The project sparked my interest in international cultures and issues, and it encouraged me to think beyond Colorado and the U.S., to be curious about the broader world. Academic curiosity and love a learning are the best things I got from CA, and to this day I’m happiest when I am learning something new. As a knowledge worker in the technology industry, I’m always excited about whatever my next learning project turns out to be.”

And Hornbrook’s friend Lisa Tepper Bates adds, “Teachers like Fran Scoble and Suki Hoagland always had confidence that their pupils could perform at levels far above the expectations of more ‘traditional’ classroom settings, and it was that faith that encouraged us to think as empowered citizens and potential leaders who were capable of making a difference in our community and nation—and were expected to do so. For my part, I think this project helped set my feet on the path to focus on foreign policy: to attend the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and then to become a U.S. diplomat and ultimately serve at the National Security Council. These great teachers challenged us to stretch, to go farther—a hallmark of CA as a school.” n

Suki Hoagland, center, with her students at lunch early in 2024, from left: Matt Scoble, Chuck Hornbrook, Steve Wullschleger, and Tim Lipman.

Giant Relay Day 2024

We are finally back! After the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, followed by chilly temperatures and snow in 2022 and 2023, CA was due for a beautiful Giant Relay Day… and it was spectacular!

The morning started with CA Seniors lining the steps of Schotters Music Center and looking out in anticipation, as the rest of the school filled Stamper Commons with clear excitement for the day ahead! The sun was shining and the temperature was climbing, as Head of School Dr. Mike Davis invited feedback from the youngest members of the community, who said, “Every day!” was the best day at CA this year. Their enthusiasm spread throughout the entire school as each Senior was announced by name, and the entire class stood to kick off the end-of-school Giant Relay Day traditions.

From the Upper School Awards Assembly to the pump-up songs from the Lower School Field Day DJ, the buzz on campus continued. Alumni came to campus for the inaugural Reunion Luncheon with the Classes of 1974 (50th Reunion) and 1960-1964 (Telesis Society). Dr. Davis gave a State of the School overview and

addressed questions to afford alumni an overview of school operations and the student body make-up of today. Additional alumni joined the campus BBQ before all coming together for a campus tour.

Gravely Wilson, CA’s Advancement Officer, gave an inside view into many of the new additions to campus, from the Upper School Innovation Lab, to the cutting edge Climbing Center and Leach Center for the Performing Arts. Many alumni chimed in about escapades that took place in former campus buildings, and all were delighted to see that “Icarus” had regained a position of honor in Raether Library.

Time flew by, and racers quickly got into position on the Giant Relay course. The beautiful weather continued, and the competitive spirit could be felt rippling across the Alumni, Parent, Faculty/Staff, and Senior Teams. Cheered on by Lower, Middle, and Upper Schoolers, the race kicked off on Wright Field with only feet separating the Senior and Parent teams after the bike leg of the race. Seniors continued to increase their lead with strong swimmers, three-legged racers, runners, and kayakers, coming in with a commanding First Place finish!

West Welborn Lawn hosted a beautiful

We are finally back! After the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, followed by chilly temperatures and snow in 2022 and 2023, CA was due for a beautiful Giant Relay Day… and it was spectacular!

happy hour reception with alumni from a wide range of classes starting in 1961, all the way to 2023. Notable former faculty and staff joined the event, along with Dr. Tom Fitzgerald and beloved former Alumni Director Sue Burleigh.

Reunion classes stayed for the first Reunion Dinner held on campus and serviced by Steuben’s Food Truck, owned by a CA family. The evening finished with a beautiful sunset, and reunion classes continued celebrations at Old Chicago and The Cherry Cricket.

Additional Reunion celebration details are on the following pages. n

Dr. Mike Davis addresses the 50th Reunion and Telesis Society Luncheon.

From left, David Fitzgerald ’84, Dr. Tom Fitzgerald, and Sue Burleigh arrive for the Giant Relay Day Happy Hour Reception.

Alumni Team, first row (L to R): Piper Adams ’23, Kendall Dennis Slutzky ’97, Andrew Bourke ’04, Isabel Gary Harper ’09, Annabelle Swenson ’21. Second row: Josh Corn ’23, Colin McCoy ’23, Danielle Seaton ’23, Ryan Jones ’04, Brian Pushchak ’04, Jed Shields ’95.

Reunion Updates

TELESIS SOCIETY CLASSES OF 1960-1964

By Jeff Welborn

The weather complied, and Reunion Weekend was gorgeous on the beautiful CA campus. The alums who attended gathered mid-day Friday to reacquaint and enjoy a picnic lunch on the lawn in front of Welborn House and could hear the sounds of Giant Relay Day emanating from Slater/Newton Fields across Pierce Street. The Class of 1964 Reunion Planning Committee (Dave Irving, John Sullivan, and Jeff Welborn, under the able guidance of Alumni Director Emma Harrington Kane ’07) had wisely included all classes, ’64 and prior, in the Reunion Weekend invitation. The result was creation of the

new Telesis Society to honor classes celebrating 60 years or more since graduation.

In addition to the picnic, Friday’s events included an energized, informative CA update from Head of School Dr. Mike Davis, followed by campus tours and a relaxed afternoon of reminiscing. Later in the day, cocktails and a delicious catered meal were served outside as the sun set on a perfect Colorado May evening.

In attendance from the Class of ’64 were Bob McGee and Chip Bishop. Dave Irving was there, and also Jeff and Martha Welborn. Sadly, John Sullivan was not able to make the trip from Montana, but he was there in spirit. In attendance from prior classes were Cito Fredrickson ’61 and his wife Amy and Mike Underwood ’63. The

1964 Reunion Committee was also able to share reports from Jamie Ross, Bud Davis, and Paul Raether, who had called in with updates on their lives.

The event of the day on Saturday was an evening meal at Jeff and Martha’s home. All Friday attendees were there, as well as Annie Irving. CA memories and reminiscences were the topics of the evening. Jeff and Martha’s daughter, Liz Rockmore ’90, helped with the meal and provided color and perspective on CA today as a CA parent (Ben ’23 and Eli ’28) and as a current CA Second Grade teacher. Everyone wished that more classmates had been able to attend, but what was lacking in quantity was more than made up for in the quality of fun shared memories—“An Evening to Remember.”

Class of 1974 at Reunion Luncheon: Susan Boxer (L), Tee Cowperthwaite, Chuck Sawyer, Doug Knowlton, Clancy Burson, Joe Feiler, Robert Tallmadge

Dinner hosted by Jeff and Martha Welborn: Amy Fredrickson (L), Cito Fredrickson ’61, Chip Bishop ’64, David Irving ’64, Annie Irving, Martha Welborn, Liz Rockmore ’90, Robert McGee ’64, Michael Underwood ’63, Jeff Welborn ’64

CLASS OF 1974

By Rob Tallmadge

Loved seeing everyone at Giant Relay Day!

On Friday, altogether there were 18 in attendance with 12 from the Class of 1974: Tee Cowperthwaite and Brenda Stockdale, Chuck and Mary Sawyer, Richard and Katherine Hall, Clancy Burson, Joe Feiler, Charles Willyard, Dick and Bev Gast, Matt King and Nickie Kelly, Jenny and Rob Tallmadge, Susan Boxer, Dave Matthews, and Will Matthews. All who toured campus were super impressed, and many remarked that the CA of today is vastly different than in our day, but the feeling of inclusivity, curiosity, and willingness to take risks are elements that have remained strong.

To start the Saturday festivities, a smaller

group took a wonderful tour of the 10th Mountain Division exhibit at History Colorado. Fabulous items from the Hulbert family stand testament to Ralph Hulbert’s bravery, tenacity, and skill as an archer who served as an advance man on Riva Ridge for the 10th Division troops as they waged battle with German soldiers during WWII. Among the items on display were Ralph’s bow and arrows, miraculously preserved. Ralph was a science teacher at CA whom many of us were privileged to study under. Clancy, Tee, Brenda, Susan, Chuck, Mary, Rob, Jenny, and Grant Tallmadge attended. Other CA connections to the 10th include Sangre Froelicher and Tap Talley, who both served in the 10th. Thanks to Tee for coordinating the tour!

Thanks to Jeff Kleiner and Aliki McCain for the fabulous dinner at their lovely home.

Class of 1974 dinner: Doug Knowlton (L), Lora Knowlton, Aliki McCain, Richard Hall, Joe Feiler, Brenda Stockdale, Tee Cowperthwaite, Nickie Kelly, Chuck Sawyer

Class of 1974 dinner: Dave Barth (L), Leslie Barth, Mary Brady, Dave (Will) Matthews, Bev Gast, Dick Gast, Clancy Burson

Class of 1974 dinner: Matt King (L), Rene Ruderman, Susan Boxer, Rob Tallmadge, Jenny Tallmadge, Jeff Kleiner

Class of 1974 dinner: Seated (L to R): Rene Ruderman, Susan Boxer, Chuck Sawyer, Melany Demouth Ball (Zoom), Cindy Pearsall Coping (Zoom), Jeff Kleiner. Second row: Richard Hall, Robert Tallmadge, Tee Cowperthwaite, Joe Feiler, Matt King. Third row: Clancy Burson, Doug Knowlton, Chuck Willyard, Dave Barth, Dave (Will) Matthews, Dick Gast.

Class of 1974 Zoom call: Doug Knowlton, Melany Demouth Ball, Cindy Pearsall Coping

Tee and Brenda pitched in as well to prepare a fabulous meal. Those who attended Giant Relay Day were also joined by Dave Barth and his wife, Rene Ruderman, Sue and Tim Burleigh, Alumni Director Emma Harrington Kane ’07 and Dave Matthews’ friend Mary Brady. Attending virtually were Melany Demouth Ball from Australia and Cindy Pearsall Coping from Arizona. Everyone enjoyed catching up and exchanging stories. It was a fabulously upbeat vibe, full of enthusiasm, and all were genuinely happy to reconnect. We were all so pleased to have made the strong connections that have made CA the extraordinary school that it was and continues to be.

CLASS OF 1984

By David Fitzgerald

The Class of 1984 convened for its 40th Reunion with a sense of disbelief that it had been forty years since receiving their diplomas on the front lawn in front of Welborn House. Our collective denial was soon replaced by awe in touring the new gym(s) and theater. Our reminiscing continued on the Welborn lawn after our tours as Hopi (Moore) Sargent, Louis Freese, Ned and Libby Harvey, Emmanuel Deboucaud, Sage Guyton, Gretchen (Smith) Kneen, and David Fitzgerald enjoyed a perfect Colorado afternoon/evening.

Determined to assert a sense of vitality on Saturday, the Class of 1984 gathered for bowling, joined by Sam Smith, Joe Sinisi, and Hopi’s sister Nicole (Moore) Behrhorst. More pins were knocked down than drinks consumed, or so it is believed. Festivities wrapped up Sunday morning at Ned and Libby (Crosby) Harvey’s house for brunch, at which several parents and other Mustangs not in the Class of 1984 joined to reconnect. The members of the Class of 1984 vowed to return to upcoming reunions with powers of persuasion to encourage our classmates not in attendance to join us. You were missed.

Class of 1974 dinner: Sue Burleigh (L), Chuck Willyard, Tim Burleigh

Class of 1984: Sage Guyton (L), Libby Harvey, Hopi Moore-Sargent, Ned Harvey, David Fitzgerald, Louis Freese, Gretchen Smith Kneen

Class of 1984 brunch with family and friends

CLASS OF 1999

By Aaron Goldhamer

The Class of 1999 25th Reunion featured CA alums, spouses, and their children at Giant Relay Day, a reception and dinner on campus, an evening trip to Old Chicago for old time’s sake, and an afternoon at the Stanley Market Beer Hall. Throughout the weekend, our classmates enjoyed catching up with each other! Many thanks to those who came out, including Tucker Ladd, Nick Koncilja, Ben Skeen and wife Jenni (Hohensee) Skeen ’97, Emily (Martin) Jones and husband Matt, Jeff Waldman and wife Lindsay, Greg Connor, Hannah (Trierweiler) Hudson and husband Matt, Anders Hyde and wife Marlene, Ross

Chotin and wife Karyn, Kristin (Todd) Freitag, Tara Bardeen, Natalie (Newcom) Ralston and husband Toby, Melissa (Nelson) Rummel, Dan Roller, and Aaron Goldhamer and wife Tess Vigil ’00. We’re happy to report that Old Chicago is still standing after all of these years, there are a gaggle of cute kids among this crew, and the Stanley Market was a lovely afternoon!

CLASS OF 2004

By Andrew Bourke

The Class of 2004 had a fantastic turnout for our 20th Reunion! We kicked things off on Friday with Giant Relay Day, followed by a fun evening on campus reconnecting with current and former faculty members. The next day, we gathered at The Denver Beer

Company in Lowry. Despite a bit of wind and a few raindrops, we had a blast! Classmates and their families enjoyed the playground, lunch, and of course, some great beers.

We were thrilled to see Austin Nunn, who made the journey all the way from Vancouver, BC. We also had a great crew flying in from California, including Adam Bry, Brett LaPlante, Grant Tallmadge, and Jon Dubin! Elizabeth Ruddy was able to drive down for the weekend from Steamboat Springs, and other Denver locals included Andrew Bourke, Ashley Sylvester, Charlie Miller, Emily (Rosenwasser) Gedeon, Jon Cook, Kendall (Barnes) Jacobs, Lillian Wood, Meryl (Wolff) Suissa, Michael Clayton, Nick DePetro, Ryan Jones, and Tara (Jackson) Kochevar, who celebrated her birthday with all of us. n

Class of 2004 at Denver Beer Co. Lowery: Front row (L to R): Tara Jackson Kochevar, Brett LaPlante, Andrew Bourke, Nick DePetro, Ashley Sylvester, Emily Rosenwasser Gedeon, Lizzy Ruddy, Lillian Wood. Back row: Austin Nunn, Jon Dubin, Charlie Miller, Michael Clayton, Kendall Barnes Jacobs, Adam Bry, Ryan Jones, Harper Suissa, Meryl Wolff Suissa.

Class of 1999 at Old Chicago: Front row: Tara Bardeen, Melissa Nelson Rummel, Nick Koncilja. Back row: Aaron Goldhamer, Tucker Ladd.

Class of 1999 at Stanley Beer Hall: Jeffery Waldman (L), Hannah Trierweiler Hudson, Natalie Newcom Ralston, Aaron Goldhamer, Dan Roller, Ben Skeen

Alumni Association Highlights

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

CARE PACKAGES FOR 2023

GRADUATING CLASS

CA alumni parents came together to surprise 2023 graduates with a pick-me-up package leading up to their first college exams. The highlight—special greetings from their Kindergarten Buddies! Thank you to all the parents who packed, addressed, and shipped off the 104 alumni packages.

DECEMBER 1, 2023

ALUMNI SKATING PARTY

The largest and one of the most loved alumni events of the year, the annual Alumni Skating Party hosted over 170 people throughout the evening. Running for more than 20 years, the event kept with tradition as everyone enjoyed getting out on

the ice for skating and broomball. All ages made new friends and connected with old friends, while getting into the spirit of the winter season.

DECEMBER 20, 2023

COLLEGE ALUMNI PANEL

Nine young alumni joined a panel to give current Seniors advice ranging from the college selection process and navigating dorm life, to choosing courses and identifying a major. In addition, they offered recommendations for how to rely on (or not) social media prior to arriving at college. CA Seniors were engaged and appreciated hearing from alumni who were recently in the same position.

Thank you to these alumni for their wonderful words of wisdom shared and the time they took out of their winter break!

James Doolittle ’21 (DePaul University),

Aaron Rice ’21 (Carleton College), Oliver Dean ’22 (Pitzer College), Piper Adams ’23 (Norwich University), Millie Degefa ’23 (University of Virginia), Ava DelZotto ’23 (Santa Clara University), Avery Goldstein ’23 (Chapman University), Benjamin Rockmore ’23 (Chapman University), Sasha Yuffa ’23 (University of Oregon).

DECEMBER 20, 2023

COLLEGE ALUMNI LUNCH

Fresh from their first semester and finishing fall finals, young alumni were invited back to reconnect with fellow alumni, students, faculty, and staff for the College Alumni Lunch. The popular coffee cart was open for a caffeine fix, while stories were shared about recent study-abroad trips, the process of looking for summer jobs, and updates from college life.

Carolyn Smith family at the Skating Party

Alumni gather for dinner at the Skating Party.

Sarah Vigil Wilkinson ’05 and family ice skating

JANUARY 10, 2024

REDI LAB ALUMNI GATHERING

Before heading back to campus or work for the start of the new year, REDI Lab alumni gathered at the new central Denver space in the Mariposa District. Current CA students who completed their REDI Lab trimester reconnected with CA alumni who are in college or in the working world. All spoke to the value the REDI Lab program provided in learning how to self-motivate and self-direct, while working with classmates to further a project.

JANUARY 23, 2024 KICKOFF TO SHOWDOWN SERIES

The CA vs. Kent rivalry reached a new level with the introduction of the Showdown Series The Winter Showdown Series kicked off this seasonal event with a takeover of the University of Denver Ritchie Center. CA and Kent squared off in Boys and Girls Basketball followed by Ice Hockey, with two buzzer-beater basketball wins and a loss in hockey. The Spring Showdown Series was hosted at CA on a gorgeous spring day for students, parents, and alumni to cheer on Girls Tennis (L), Girls Soccer (W), Boys

College Alumni Panel, from left: Oliver Dean ’22, Sasha Yuffa ’23, Piper Adams ’23, Benjamin Rockmore ’23, Ava DelZotto ’23, Aaron Rice ’21, James Doolittle ’21, Avery Goldstein ’23, Millie Degefa ’23.

Young alumni at College Alumni Lunch

REDI Lab Alumni Gathering

Winter Showdown Series Kickoff event at DU Ritchie Center, from left: Tom Kimball ’89, Jim Flottman ’89, Andrew Bourke ’04, CA Fund Director Alena Howe, Alumni Director Emma Harrington Kane ’07, Jill Rakowski ’92.

Baseball (W), and Boys Lacrosse (W). Join us for this new favorite tradition! The Fall Showdown Series kicks off at Kent Denver on September 13-14, 2024. Go Mustangs!

FEBRUARY 1, 2024

BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIGHT

Alumni, alumni parents, and current and former faculty and staff came back to campus for Belgian Beer Tasting, Family Trip Planning with AI, Innovation Lab Graphic Design, Calligraphy, or Wine Tasting on Alumni Backto-School Night. Starting with drinks and heavy appetizers in the Froelicher Upper School Lobby, Alumni Back-to-School Night tested a new format, with one class session followed by a group lecture given by Head of School Dr. Mike Davis. Dr. Davis offered guests a unique opportunity to experience his fall trimester course Understanding Myth & Reality in the American West

Thank you to our instructors, who always make the night one to remember: Ben Hock ’07 - Belgian Beer Tasting; Julie Wei - Calligraphy; Márcio Forléo - Innovation Lab; Laura Farmer - Plan Your Next Family Trip with AI; Maia Parish ’92 - Wine Tasting.

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

CA IN DC

Colorado Academy went on the road to connect with alumni this February, with a

United States Capitol Tour and Luncheon with Head of School Dr. Mike Davis. Generously hosted by Alex Ball ’08, Chief of Staff to Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ), alumni based in the Washington, D.C., area experienced a private tour of the U.S. Capitol Building and then walked to join Dr. Davis for an overview of the current happenings at their alma mater. CA will continue to travel to alumni hubs across the country; we hope to see you!

MAY 11, 2024

ALUMNI BASEBALL GAME

The alumni baseball community came together for the first-of-its-kind Home Run Derby and alumni friendly game. Head Coach JT Putt has transformed the CA Baseball program, and he brought together past players and parents for a day of baseball fun. Varsity players fielded the Home Run Derby, won by alumni assistant coach

Walker Hamilton ’18. Players were warmed up after the derby and played a friendly alumni game, followed by lunch provided by the Alumni Association.

MAY 14, 2024

REDI LAB INNOVATION INSIGHTS KICKOFF

To spark innovation through connection and support, CA’s REDI Lab launched the Innovation Insights Series on entrepreneurial education. For the inaugural event, CA parent Bryan Leach, founder and CEO of Ibotta, discussed his journey of building the largest tech company to IPO in Denver history. Hosted and moderated by CA parent Elle Bruno from the J.P. Morgan Innovation Economy team, the event was the first to bring current CA parents and alumni together to build an entrepreneurial ecosystem within our community. Look for the next event this fall!

Calligraphy at Alumni Back-to-School Night

Wine Tasting with Maia Parish ’92 at Alumni Back-to-School Night

Alumni Baseball Home Run Derby and friendly game

CA alumni and alumni parents in Washington, D.C. First row (L to R): Sarah Boxer ’76, Julie Marwan ’22, Joie Ruble ’22. Second row: Dr. Mike Davis, Yama and Steve Foreman (parents of ’20, ’23, ’27), Nick LaFarge ’09, Skylar Walta ’22.

MAY 16, 2024

ALUMNI CAREER PANEL

Each year CA Seniors get to wave finals goodbye and focus on the future with Senior Launch Week. This year, four alumni came back to campus to provide advice on how to start thinking about identifying a major and preparing for entering the working world. A theme of the panel was that there is no one set path for anyone, and Seniors should prepare for the unexpected. A huge thank-you to Evan Simmons ’06, Elsa Woolley Harberg ’11, Jared Harding ’97, and Kendall Barnes Jacobs ’04 for taking time out of their work day to impart their valuable knowledge! n

2023-2024 Alumni Board Recognition

Led by President Zach Tucker ’01, the 2023-2024 Alumni Board worked throughout the school year to partake in campus activities, fundraise, and encourage alumni to join the many alumni events. Highlights included meeting at the REDI Lab in the downtown Denver Mariposa District to participate in a product design exercise and selection of the Sixth Grade Philanthropy Project winner. In addition, the Alumni Board contributed their time contacting alumni near and far to support The CA Fund for CA Gives Day.

Thank yous go to the entire Alumni Board for their dedication, thoughtful contributions, and commitment to keeping the alumni community engaged. Aimée Nieuwenhuizen ’06 and Myles McGinnis ’08 completed their six-year tenure, and we are grateful for their commitment!

We appreciate the CA Board of Trustees’ committee involvement and additional planning from all the Alumni Board Officers: Andrew Bourke ’04 - Co-Vice President Special Events, Sarah Goodyear

’06 - Co-Vice President Special Events, Natalie Newcom Ralston ’99 - Vice President Development, Dan Roller ’99 - Vice President School Relations, Brian Pushchak ’04 - President Elect.

A special thank you goes to outgoing Alumni Board President Zach Tucker ’01 for his tireless commitment to Colorado Academy over the past six years. His leadership of the Alumni Board and role on the Endowment Advisory Committee have had and will continue to have a lasting impact! n

The Winter Alumni Board Meeting was held at the REDI Lab Mariposa District. First row (L to R): David Lightstone ’06, Myles McGinnis ’08, Sarah Goodyear ’06, Liz Robinson ’01, Adam Boscoe ’01, Evan Simmons ’06, Andrew Bourke ‘04. Second row: REDI Lab Faculty Martha Smith, Nick Fuselier ’16, Natalie Ralston ’99, Dan Roller ’99, Marcus King-Stockton ’04, Zach Tucker ’01, Brian Pushchak ’04, REDI Lab Director Tom Thorpe, Megan Young ’97. Not pictured: Chris Bailey ’02, Caroline Cramer ’11, Isabel Gary Harper ’09, Aimée Nieuwenhuizen ’06, Abel Ramirez ’16, Murphy Robinson ’06, Terrie Warren ’73.

Alumni Career Panel, from left: Evan Simmons ’06, Elsa Woolley Harberg ’11, Jared Harding ’97, Kendall Barnes Jacobs ’04.

LEGACY GIVING

The Musil Society

Honoring former CA teacher A. J. Musil, who left his estate to the school

To make a gift that lives on beyond your lifetime, consider a legacy gift. When you include CA in your estate plans, your generosity enables the school to sustain and grow our mission well into the future. Opportunities to support CA’s legacy include:

n Bequest - Designate CA as the beneficiary of your will or trust

n Qualified Retirement Plan AssetsName CA as a beneficiary of your IRA

n Life Insurance - Designate CA as a primary or contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy

n Charitable Gift Annuity - Make a life-income gift that names CA as a remainder beneficiary

If you are interested in learning more about legacy giving and the Musil Society, please contact Kate McDonnell, Director of Advancement, 303-914-2553.

MUSIL SOCIETY SPOTLIGHT: The Wynne Family

When the Wynnes revisited their estate planning, they made charitable giving a priority.

“We asked ourselves, ‘What causes mean the most to us?’” Billy says. “CA means a lot to us, and we want to help kids in the future— including kids who may not have the means to have the enriching and valuable experience that CA provides.”

For Christy, the decision to include CA in their legacy giving was based on her personal experience with education.

“Had I not attended that small liberal arts school, my life would be so different today. It changed the trajectory of my life! I want other students to have the same opportunity that I did.”

The Wynnes see their membership in The Musil Society as an opportunity to give back to generations to come. “If you are fortunate enough to have the means,” Billy says, “it is a chance to leave a legacy.”

Class Notes

Stay Connected

Class Notes is one of the most popular and well-read sections of the CA Journal. It provides a forum for alumni to share their news, from professional accomplishments and accolades to marriages, births, and anything else fellow alumni might find interesting. Thank you for sharing your updates. We love hearing from you!

DON’T SEE YOUR CLASS YEAR?

If your year doesn’t appear in the Class Notes, it means we didn’t receive any notes from your class. We really (really!) want to hear from you. Your news and photos are always welcome.

1960-1964

Under Headmaster Chuck Froelicher, Colorado Academy built a culture of leadership and adventure. The Class of 1960 introduced the first yearbook titled Telesis and initiated the tradition of capturing “progress that is intelligently planned and directed.” In recognition of the impressive progress and adventure CA alumni have undertaken, the Telesis Society has been established to honor classes that are celebrating 60 years or more since graduation from Colorado Academy. This year, Colorado Academy invited the Classes of 1960-1964 back to campus to reconnect and celebrate the school where lifelong relationships originated. See Reunion Updates on page 40 for more details.

1963

Jim Wilson passed away on February 18, 2024.

1965

The Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME, the largest mining professional society in the U.S.) selected David Abbott to receive the Harry Parker Excellence Award for 2024 “for his leadership and contributions to drafting the various editions of the SME Guide and the new SME Guidance about mineral deposit disclosures and for contributions to geoscience ethics.”

1968

Steven Gordon is an MD currently working on temporary projects, and he is based in Uvalde, Texas, which briefly came to national attention two years ago because of a horrendous school shooting.

Hispanics comprise 80% of the town’s population, and Steven’s Spanish fluency has, unsurprisingly, come in really handy. Most of his patients’ ancestors were there at the time of Texan independence, but he also sees a minority of Mexican nationals. After eight weeks, Steven could hear the difference between Tex Mex and Mexican Spanish. There are shibboleths in the vocabulary (for example, midday meal: Spanish – almuerzo, Tex Mex – lonche; installer of shingles: Spanish – techero, Tex Mex –rufero), but the big difference is the pace and the syllable length. In many ways, the difference parallels the difference between UK English and American English.

With one patient, Steven slipped into code-shifting, mixing Spanish and English (not Spanglish), using his most-practiced Spanish phrases along with his English, and had the patient wondering where he was born. Answer: Missouri.

Really, he says, the most important treasure retained from his CA education was Spanish, and it started with the critical three weeks

in May of 1965, when Mr. Esbenshade said, “These are the last words of English you will hear in my class.” And then it was nurtured by Mr. Stickney and Ms. Faggioni.

1969

Mark Reed visited his grandson Brock Morton in Lago Vista, Texas, during the fall of 2023 to celebrate Brock’s receiving the best athlete in the school award for his success on the football and track teams.

1970

After 55 years in the making, classmates Jeff Lowdermilk and Ashton Lee ran the Yampa River from Deer Lodge Park, west of Craig, Colo., and took out at Split Mountain,

Mark Reed ’69 and grandson Brock Morton

Yampa River rafting, from left: Susan Lee, Ashton Lee ’70, Jeff Lowdermilk ’70, Anne Lowdermilk.

a few miles north of Vernal, Utah. With the waters running high for a spring 2024 Colorado rafting trip, this reminded them of the same section they ran in the mid-1960s.

1974

See Class of 1974 Reunion update!

1984

See Class of 1984 Reunion update!

1986

Daniel Lopez spent 10 months at the Ministry of Public Education with the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. His impact was immediately felt when a landslide hit one of the technical schools and he was called to set up remote learning for the students affected. As Daniel says, his role was “to stand in

solidarity with Costa Ricans, no matter the circumstances. As the saying goes, ‘Peace Corps—it’s not just a job, it’s a calling.’”

1987

Roger Corn supported his son Josh Corn ’23 at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials –Swimming in Indianapolis, where he competed in 100M and 200M breaststroke.

1988

Jeremy Shamos completed season three of Only Murders in the Building, playing the brother of murder victim Paul Rudd’s Ben Glenroy.

Mari Newman was featured in the February 2024 edition of Westword for her civil rights work from Guantanamo Bay,

Cuba, to Aurora, Colo., with Elijah McClain.

1989

Classmates attended the play Misery to support Torsten Hillhouse in his role as author Paul Sheldon in the incredible three-person cast season-opening show at the Miners Alley Performing Arts Center in Golden. Alumni in attendance included Brendan Harrington, Kerri Cole ’86, Pat Neely ’88, Srael Boruchin, Jim Flottman, and Tom Kimball

1994

Norman Harris and Josh Rifkin had a coincidental meetup that led to catching up and drinks at Spangalang Brewery (owned by Norman) in Denver’s Five Points.

Alumni attending Misery starring Torsten Hillhouse ’89 (center), from left: Brendan Harrington ’89, Kerri Cole ’86, Pat Neely ’88, Srael Boruchin ’89, Jim Flottman ’89, Tom Kimball ’89.

Josh Rifkin ’94 (L) and Norman Harris ’94 at Spangalang Brewery

Daniel Lopez ’86 (standing) celebrating a birthday in Costa Rica while serving in the Ministry of Public Education with the Peace Corps

2000

Shane Boris, winner of the 2023 Oscar for Best Documentary for Navalny, held a screening of his film King Coal, focused on the literal power that coal holds over the people in Central Appalachia.

Maggie Lea married Dave Ziegman on October 7, 2023, at Mount Vernon Canyon Club with many CA alumni joining the celebration.

2002

Devon Wills was inducted into The National Lacrosse Hall of Fame on January 6, 2024, for her incredible goalie career at Colorado Academy, Dartmouth College, and the U.S.

Women’s National Team. Devon also carries the unique distinction of being the first female drafted in Major League Lacrosse.

2003

Shonda Letchworth Harris, her husband, and older brother Kai (2-1/2) welcomed Niko in September 2023. Shonda says, “We’re very excited, albeit quite busy. The early months are demanding, but those brotherly hugs make it all worth it.”

2004

Meryl Wolff Suissa and husband Andre welcomed daughter Harper on July 11, 2023. Her older brother Asher (4) was excited for his little sister to join the family!

From left: Caroline Lea Coble ’04, Scott Lea ’02, Ashley Sylvester ’04, Molly Byrne ’00, Kelsey Shane ’02, Sophie Tyler Stoddard ’00, Emily Dubin ’00, Margaret Lea Ziegman ’00, Rordan Shane ’00, Kathryn Schutz Hansen ’00, Shane Boris ’00, Claire Rasé ’00, Julia Richman ’00, Sara Shamos Yelpaala ’00, Betsy Wagner ’00.

Devon Wills ’02 speaking at her induction into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame. Photo credit: © 2024 Sid Keiser

Niko Harris, born September 2023

Happy older brother, Kai Harris

James Bowron and his wife Melissa are expecting their first child in November 2024. They are moving to the Washington, D.C., area this summer and will be joined by his sister Ashley Bowron Peterson ’01. Melissa will be working at the Pentagon, and James will be flying helicopters out of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He finished a twoyear fellowship, where he completed a oneyear master’s degree in military operational arts and sciences, and then he taught the same program for a year. In June, James was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force.

2005

Hilary Harrington Dunsmoor and her husband Zack welcomed twins, Wyatt and Ronan, on July 5, 2023. They are happily settling into parenting twins in Bend, Oregon.

Merrill “Skipp” Stillwell and wife Emily welcomed their second daughter, Anna, in February 2024. Their elder daughter, Nora (2) loves her new role as big sister!

2006

David Lightstone and wife Rachel welcomed their second son, Reed, in June. They are all settling into life as a family of four, and big brother Cooper (3) is excited that his new brother has arrived!

Virginia (Ginger) Tallmadge received her doctorate in audiology from the University of Tennessee in May 2023. She celebrated her graduation with her mother Jenny, father Rob Tallmadge ’74, and brother Grant Tallmadge ’04. She currently lives in Louisville, Ky., and works at the Heuser Hearing Institute.

2007

Anne Quinn O’Donnell and husband Ryan O’Donnell welcomed their third child, Bodie James, on February 20, 2024. He is loved by older sister Tate (3) and brother Graham (2). Logan Brown Snow and her wife Katherine Snow welcomed Louise Stuart Snow in July 2023, and they are so in love with their bubbly little lady.

David Lightstone ’06 family with newest arrival Reed

Hilary Harrington Dunsmoor’s ’05 family with new twins, Wyatt and Ronan and four-legged friends

Anne Quinn O’Donnell ’07 surrounded by her three children, Tate (L), Bode, and Graham, photographed by husband Ryan O’Donnell

From left: Grant Tallmadge ’04, Virginia (Ginger) Tallmadge ’06, Jenny Tallmadge, Rob Tallmadge ’74.

Katherine Snow (L), Louise Snow, and Logan Brown Snow ’07 celebrating their first holiday season as a family of three

Anna Stillwell, daughter of Merrill “Skipp” Stillwell ’05 and wife Emily

2008

Erica Fox married Ray McGaughey on October 7, 2023.

Georgia Grey married Paul Troy on August 26, 2023, in Denver, Colo., with many CA alumni from the Class of 2008 joining the fun celebration!

Myles McGinnis and wife Mo welcomed Molly Jeanne on September 27, 2023, to join older brother Murphy (3).

Max Shaw and wife Chelsea welcomed their first son, Charlie, on December 7, 2023, and the entire Shaw family is overjoyed with the new addition!

Jake Sally was selected as a 2024 speaker for the University of Colorado Conference on World Affairs. Described by The New York Times as “a week-long extravaganza of discussion and debate,” the CWA brings together an eclectic mix of intellectuals, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, activists, journalists, philosophers, and policy makers to engage in lively dialogue on the central issues of our time.

A Princeton graduate, Jake is an Emmy-nominated producer and COO of Jadu, a first-of-its-kind multiplayer augmented reality fighting game for mobile devices— think “Street Fighter,” but in the real world. Previously, he oversaw content development at RYOT, Verizon’s internal content innovation company, using tech including VR, AR, AI, projection mapping, physical installations, 5G, and motion capture. His work has appeared at the 2018 Super Bowl, Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, SXSW, Cannes, and the Barbican in London. His projects have won numerous awards, including a BAFTA, Emmy, and Peabody.

2009

Nick LaFarge is working as a Mission Design Engineer with The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, which moved his family to Maryland. Nick

completed an MS and PhD in Aeronautics & Astronautics Engineering from Purdue in 2023. He is married and is kept busy with his 3-year-old son.

Anais Webster Mennuti and family welcomed their second child, Juniper Lorraine Mennuti, on August 8, 2023.

Luke Slattery starred in George Clooney’s Boys in the Boat, playing the character of Bobby Moch, the commanding coxswain who led the boat to victory in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Slattery secured the role after only one “self-tape” audition during the throes of the pandemic, and as he states, “The rest is history.”

2011

Caroline Cramer married Amy Palmerton on September 23, 2023, at Camp Hale in Red Cliff, Colo. The couple met at their first

jobs at PwC and reside in Denver. Fellow 2011 alumni and lifelong friends who attended the weekend celebration were Paige Roth Nielson, Lauren Singer Foerstner, and Cody Behan.

Robert Hendry graduated from Redlands University in 2015 and recently completed his Internal Medicine residency at Valley Hospital, Las Vegas, Nev., where he was Chief Resident this past year. He begins a threeyear fellowship in Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care at UCHealth Parkview Medical Center in Pueblo, Colo., in July 2024.

Elsa Woolley Harberg graduated in March from University of Denver-Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management with an MS in Real Estate and the Built Environment. 2012

Maddie Moore has become a full-time

Luke Slattery ’09 as coxswain Bobby Moch in Boys in the Boat

First row, from left: Olivia Ross Kowalsky ’08, Georgia Grey Troy ’08, Lauren Kelly ’08. Second row, from left: Kate Burchenal ’08, Catherine Quinn Atieh ’08, Genna Smith ’08, Emily Scheible ’08, Jen Aragon ’08, Kerry Ergen ’08, Ali Hursh ’08.

Elsa Woolley Harberg

Caroline Cramer ’11 and wife Amy Palmerton at Camp Hale wedding

German resident and is happy to call Berlin her home while working in the film production industry.

2014

Michael Hendry graduated from Elon University in 2018 and works for the Nevada Department of Agriculture, overseeing the Pesticide Licensing Division in Las Vegas, Nev., since 2021.

Megan Moore completed her MS from the University of Chicago in Computer Science and Public Policy in the spring of 2024.

2017

Keenan Gluck played Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Michael Stamford in Miss Holmes. Both shows were produced by the Denver company Phamaly Theatre, which focuses on talented actors with disabilities.

Hope Hendry graduated from Occidental College in 2021 and has completed an internship with the New York Attorney

General’s Office. She graduated from Columbia University with a Master’s of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences in May 2024.

Celia Osman is based in Chicago and happily working in operational engineering for Target.

Ji-young Yoo (SunHee Seo) had a breakout year! The New York Times covered her journey to her recent role in the Amazon Prime Original Series EXPATS, starring alongside Nicole Kidman. The indie film Smoking Tigers gained Yoo recognition at Tribeca for best performance in a U.S. narrative, and in the Sundance feature film Freaky Tales, Yoo appeared with Pedro Pascal and Jay Ellis.

2018

Included in the “As You Are” exhibition, Leilani Abeyta was featured as an emerging artist in the fall 2023 show at Union Hall Denver. Viewers experienced “the resilience that emerges from embracing authenticity and self-acceptance.”

2019

Mari Annest signed with FC Pinzgau Saalfelden Austria Football Club in February 2024. Graham Osman is working his way up in the Cincinnati Reds organization, pitching for the Daytona Tortugas, the Reds’ Single-A Affiliate Minor League team.

Monika Williams spoke at The Challenge Foundation breakfast in June 2024 and gave an inspirational address focused on the power of giving. Her story and seven-year journey as a Challenge Scholar and Colorado Academy student inspired many in attendance to give time through mentorship or financially support the organization.

2020

Savannah Siegler graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tulane University in December 2023 with a double major in Political Science and Homeland Security on the pre-law track. She enjoyed the spring in New Zealand learning about indigenous preservation efforts

Keenan Gluck ’17 (L) as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Photograph by Olivia Sun, The Colorado Sun via Report for America

Ji-young Yoo (SunHee Seo ’17), back center, starring in Amazon Prime Original Series EXPATS

“As You Are” exhibit featuring Leilani Abeyta ’18

Mari Annest ’19

and participating in Teach for America’s Ignite Fellowship. Savannah starts her two-year teaching commitment with Teach for America in the summer of 2024 in O’ahu, Hawaii.

2021

Karlee Osman finished her junior year at the University of Arizona Business School and enjoyed the spring semester in Barcelona, Spain.

2022

In summer 2023, Sophia Giordano and Ann Butler reunited with their First Grade teacher, Diana Giarusso, at Colore restaurant to reminisce about their time in “Cheesey’s” class.

At Babson College’s Fall Undergraduate Award Ceremony, Ann Capone Butler received the Michael Sainovich ’54 Memorial Award. The award is “presented to a sophomore man and woman who, as first-year students at Babson, excelled academically and, through involvement in activities, made significant contributions to the College community.”

2023

Piper Adams completed her first year at

Norwich University while doing Navy ROTC. Starting in fall 2024, Piper will be moving to the United States Naval Academy as a part of the Class of 2028.

Dori Beck was one of two undergraduate students to receive the University of Virginia Office of Citizen Scholar Development Awards, with the Harrison Undergraduate Research Award for her research to quantify contractile forces that drive tissue movements during embryonic development. A major feat as a freshman!

Josh Corn competed at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming in Indianapolis. He was one of two members from his club team (Foothills Swim Team) participating, and he swam in the 100M and 200M breaststroke. There were 573 male swimmers at this year’s Olympic Trials, which comprise the top 0.5% of swimmers in the nation.

2024

Then and now, a few of our newest alumni go 18 years back with their alumni parents continuing their own friendships through the years. n

Monika Williams ’19 speaking at The Challenge Foundation Breakfast, June 2024

May 2006, from left: John Burstein ’89 and Georgia Burstein ’24, Skeeter Westerberg ’87 and JD Westerberg ’24, Jim Flottman ’89 and Carson Flottman ’24.

May 2024, from left: Georgia Burstein ’24, JD Westerberg ’24, Carson Flottman ’24, Tate Behrhorst ’24. (Not pictured, parents John Burstein ’89, Skeeter Westerberg ’87, Jim Flottman ’89, Nicole Moore Behrhorst ’87.)

Sophia Giordano ’22 (L), Diana Giarusso, Ann Butler ’22

Piper Adams ’23 (center left) at Norwich University in Navy ROTC

Dori Beck ’23 (front center)

Josh Corn ’23 competing in 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Swimming

In Memoriam

John Cotton, teacher

November 25, 1937 – January 27, 2024

John Pierce Cotton, 86, of Brunswick, Maine, died peacefully on January 27, 2024, at his home with family. He was born in Winchester, Mass., on November 25, 1937, to Dana and Geraldine Cotton.

John was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and Harvard College. On graduation he was commissioned an Ensign, USNR and served for nine years with sea duty in destroyers and submarines, attaining the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

After completing his active duty commitment, he began his career in education at Colorado Academy, where he taught history, initiated the Lacrosse program, and earned a master’s degree in Asian studies at the University of Colorado.

In 1969, John was appointed Headmaster of Kimball Union Academy in Meriden, N.H., where he served five years. He was then appointed Headmaster of St. Andrew’s School in Boca Raton, Fla., which met his interest in serving a church-related coeducational school. After 12 years there, John served as interim Headmaster at St. Stephen’s School in Bradenton, Fla., and at Francis W. Parker School, Chicago, where he was eventually appointed Head.

In 1993 John returned to Florida to serve as Headmaster of Ransom Everglades School in Coconut Grove. After consulting for a

friend with an investment in a nonprofit private school in Boca Raton, John joined Chancellor Beacon Academies as Vice President for Institutional Development.

During retirement in Maine, John volunteered with several local organizations; he hiked, skied, sailed, and traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad. John was predeceased by his sister Rebecca and his son Nathaniel. He is survived by his son John, his wife Toni, his daughter Sarah, his son Ethan, and their families, including five grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

Dr. David C. Dodge III ’62

November 20, 1944 – January 1, 2024

David Dodge died peacefully in Denver on New Year’s Day, 2024, at the age of 79. A fourth generation Denverite, David was the great-great-grandson of Colonel D.C. Dodge, early Colorado railroad pioneer.

David was a member of one of the early graduating classes (1962) after CA made the transition to an all-boys prep school. From the start, David thrived at CA and often praised his early teachers and mentors Alex Rode, John Vance, and Headmaster Charles Froelicher. He also kept close, lifelong friendships with several of his CA mates: notably, Gaylord Layton ’63 (deceased), Mike Underwood ’63, and David Irving ’64, who is married to Dodge’s cousin, Annie.

After CA, David graduated from the University of Chicago and the University of Colorado School of Medicine, then pursued a career in general medicine. A Renaissance man of letters as well as science, he had a lifelong passion for the great works of antiquity, often spending his free time studying ancient Greek and Latin texts.

Always a devoted husband and father, he is survived by his wife, artist Madeleine Dodge; three sons, Jason, Alexander, John and their families; his brother Donald Dodge ’69, and family; and four grandchildren, along with many cousins and lifelong friends.

Jason David Gillum ’98, JD, MD

September 4, 1980 – August 15, 2023

Jason Gillum passed away August 15, 2023, due to a tragic hiking accident in a Wisconsin State Park near Madison, Wis. His life was one of love, kindness, service, and commitment. He was a man of faith, had immense patience and compassion for each person he met, and brought out the best in everyone.

He was born in Denver, and in his early childhood years enjoyed activities with his family, such as hiking, biking, downhill skiing, and cross-country skiing, which led years later to his annual participation in the American Birkebeiner 50K ski race in the north woods of Wisconsin.

John Cotton

Dr. David C. Dodge III ’62

Jason David Gillum ’98, JD, MD

Upon graduation from Colorado Academy in 1998, he entered Pomona College. In his third year, he participated in Semester at Sea, traveling from Vancouver to Cuba in the span of three months. His studies there encompassed cultures of the countrie s visited, the constellations of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and architectural wonders in cities visited. The best part of the voyage was meeting his future wife, Melanie. While at Pomona, he concentrated his studies in Medieval Mediterranean history, molecular biology, and French. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated magna cum laude in 2002.

He entered Harvard Law School, and in his third year, added electives in science at MIT and Harvard; he became a patent attorney in 2007. His passion for science led him to the study of medicine, and he entered the University of Indiana School of Medicine in 2009. In the interim, he co-authored two medical-legal papers for the American Journal of Dermatology

After graduation in 2013, he and Melanie married, and he commenced his radiology residency, followed by a year of fellowship in nuclear medicine at the Harvard hospitals. He then accepted a position at Fort Wayne Radiology as a nuclear medicine specialist. His brilliant mind and passion for his work made him an excellent physician and mentor.

In his free time, he and Melanie enjoyed traveling. He saw goodness and beauty in the world around him and he captured this through his amazing photographs, which he loved sharing with his colleagues and staff at the hospital. Large reproductions of his work now hang in radiology suites at Parkview Hospital.

Jason was a man of determination who met the challenges of life with bravery and virtue. At the time of his death, he was Medical Director of PET Fusion Nuclear Medicine at Parkview Medical Center. The Dr. Jason David Gillum Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established in his honor at the University of Indiana, Fort Wayne, to train radiology technicians.

The family’s deep gratitude goes to the wonderful, caring, and talented teachers who touched Jason’s life during his years at Colorado Academy.

Charley Johnson ’68

April 12, 1949 – August 3, 2023

Charley Johnson died on August 3, 2023, at his home in Hailey, Idaho, with his wife, children, and dog at his side. A child of the sea and the mountains, born on April 12, 1949, on Gravelly Lake in Tacoma, Wash., to parents Ann Hurley and David Johnson, his childhood was filled with adventures hiking, camping, sailing, and skiing.

His love of the mountains carried him around the West. He graduated from Colorado Academy in 1968, where he was a member of the ski team and sang barbershop. He worked with the Crystal Mountain Ski Patrol and guided on Mount Rainier before landing in Sun Valley.

He married Connie Nelson in 1979, and they settled in Hailey and raised two kids with creativity, patience, trust, and humor. They found a piece of land off Quigley Road, built a house Charley designed, and sank deep roots with a close-knit group of friends.

Charley was a member of the original Galena Nordic Ski Patrol, worked on the Wood River Ambulance as an advanced EMT, helped draft the first Blaine County Emergency Management Plan, and served as commander of Blaine County Search and Rescue. He was then hired for his favorite job of all: the Sun Valley Ski Patrol. There he spent more than 20 years with the men and women he so valued for their friendship, expertise, and dedication to the job.

Charley loved a challenge. He liked to build

things, fix things, and solve problems. From boats to bicycles, cars to computers, snowplows to sprinkler systems, tractors to toboggans, he would make them work. To entertain himself, he would create overly complicated solutions to simple problems, or simple solutions to complicated problems, depending on the situation.

Never bored or boring, Charley read voraciously: history, theology, science fiction, the classics. He appreciated music: Van Morrison, Vivaldi, Irish buskers. He played guitar; learned French; wrote fantasy; loved family heirlooms (and old junk); drove an orange Volkswagen Squareback; built his grandchildren a boat; and he would not be a fan of this tale expounding on his life and talents. “Keep it simple,” he’d say.

To say Charley had a passion for sailing is an understatement. Undeterred by a lack of oceans in Idaho, he sailed on Idaho’s mountain lakes with the Wood River Yacht Club, and journeyed frequently to Puget Sound and British Columbia. He joined the crew fo r races in the Caribbean and one epic crossing of the Pacific Ocean. He taught himself celestial navigation. In 1998, the SV Malolo, a Cal 48 sailboat, became part of the fam ily, a dream come true for Charle y. His family and friends had many voyages and misadventures unde r Captain Charley’s steady hand and love of fun. He is now peacefully at anchor.

Missing him are his wife and best friend of 45 years, Connie; his son, Will, and his daughter, Emily; as well as sisters, grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and other family. He was preceded in death by his younger brother, David; as well as many dear friends, and a fair few excellent dogs.

Charley loved his friends and cherished his family. He inspired love and exasperation in equal measure. He will be sorely missed and not forgotten.

Philip Ord Johnson ’74

January 31, 1956 – February 27, 2024

Philip passed in the early hours on Tuesday, February 27, 2024, at Campbell County Memorial Hospital in Gillette, Wyo., at the age of 68. He will be sadly missed and fondly remembered by all who know and love him. Philip leaves be -

Charley Johnson ’68

hind one son, Rev. David Andrew Dufresne, Fr., who offered a funeral Mass for his father at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church.

Irving Katz ’81

March 4, 1963 – October 18, 2023

Irving (Irv) Katz, Class of 1981, died unexpectedly on October 18, 2023. After graduating from CA, Irv attended Colorado College, then received a Master’s in Journalism from Northwestern University (Chicago). Irv worked for over ten years as a TV news producer in several different cities, including Winston-Salem, N.C.; Green Bay, Wisc.; Miami, Fla.; and Grand Rapids, Mich. In the early 2000s, he left TV news and began his second career, teaching history to seventh and eighth graders in Fairfax County, Va. In addition to teaching full time during the week, he spent weekends tutoring individual students and teaching at college test preparation centers. Irv will be missed by his family, friends, students, and his beloved dogs, Hunter and Lucille.

Finn Mahoney ’16

November 20, 1997 – July 9, 2023

Finn Mahoney ’16 passed away on July 9, 2023, after being involved in a work-related auto accident on an undivided road on his way home from his engineering job in the oil fields of Wyoming. Finn truly lived the CA mission of being a kind, courageous, and adventurous human being. We remember him as a thoughtful young man who explored the world and the world of ideas with enthusiasm and energy.

Finn lived 25 bigger-than-life years, a lover of Colorado’s mountains and rivers and an accomplished freerider, monoskier,

and telemarker; a veteran rafter; a driven student and worker; a welder; a machinist; a talented photographer and film developer; and a natural mechanic. Considered a generous “old soul” who related to people of all ages, this great friend, brother, and son often joked that he was a 70-year-old in the body of a 25-year-old. He had friends of all generations and backgrounds, accepted others’ beliefs and flaws, and was generous with his time and skills.

He loved his job in Wyoming, which allowed him to work two weeks on and two weeks off in a field he was passionate about. He completed his bachelor’s degree at the Colorado School of Mines and went on to obtain his master’s degree, magna cum laude, there in May 2022. He regularly spent his two weeks off skiing, rafting, rebuilding cars and trucks, and exploring the world. In fact, he declared his best day of summer was one during which he skied in the morning and rafted in the evening.

Finn will be missed by the hundreds of people he touched, including many of his CA friends and classmates.

Tess Hankin ’16 remembers, “He truly just lit up a room and was so unapologetically himself. He was a great friend, great dance partner, and I always looked forward to hanging out with him in school and outside!”

Chloe Nosan ’16 attests, “I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be who I am today without Finn. He is one of the first people who spoke with me meaningfully about identity, about purpose. At fourteen, fifteen years old, he provided space for world-opening conversations. He never shied away from his own complexities, always pushed me in a way that helped me define my own values.”

According to Tori Lim ’16, “Finn was an absolute character and a half—in the best way possible. He had so much personality to share and no reservations or qualms about just being himself. Finn was a loveable goofball, a striking intellect, and an irreplaceable friend. I will cherish the memories I have of him from over the years and will never forget that outrageously bright, kind smile.”

Angelina Leonardi ’16 says, “I remember him always going out of his way to do the absolute most in looking out for his friends’ best interests, even when it meant telling us things we didn’t want to hear, which is such a rare thing in high school.”

Recalls Linnie Cole ’16, “He truly made me feel like it was okay to be me in a time where self-expression wasn’t always easy to embody. What a blessing that was.”

Bre Floyd ’16 adds, “He was truly the smartest person in every room, with the kindness and humility to match.”

Remembers Dani Nichols ’16, “Finn’s love for others was palpable. At an age that usually champions conformity, Finn was a beacon of authenticity and truly a special human to know. He immersed himself fully in the beauty of the world and inspired me and so many others to spend time in the realm of witty remarks, laughter, and wonder.”

And as Piper Bittman ’16 recounts, “Finn was truly one of the most selfless, caring, and kind souls the world has ever seen. He was so unapologetically himself that I think it made people around him want to be more themselves, which is a hard thing to do (especially for high schoolers). I truly believe he made an impact on each and every person he met, and I’m so lucky to have been one of those people.”

Roderick Sinclair Ashwood Oram ’70

November 3, 1950 – March 19, 2024

Tribute by David G. Woods, PhD, Glee Club Director 1966-1974

During the summer of 1969, I had a call from Rod Oram in England, who was preparing to travel to Colorado Academy as a student. I was the Director of the Colorado Academy Glee Club at the time, and Rod enquired if he could join the Glee Club when he arrived at CA. Of course,

Finn Mahoney ’16

Philip Ord Johnson ’74

I encouraged his participation. Not only was Rod a devoted and enthusiastic member of the Colorado Academy Glee Club and sang with the Glee Club on tour, he was also a major contributing member of the student body. He lived in Stevens House and was engaged in sports, theater, and academics. After graduating from Colorado Academy, he went to Northwestern University for his undergraduate studies in journalism. Rod spent twenty years as an international financial journalist in Europe and North America. Rod held various journalistic posts in Canada, and from 1979 to 1997, he held editorial posts with the Financial Times in London and New York City. During those years, I visited him frequently and was amazed at his professional status as an internationally known journalist. In 1997, Rod moved to Auckland, New Zealand, with his family, where he was the editor of the Business Herald section of The New Zealand Herald. Rod was a triple winner at the 2004 Qantas Media Awards: as Business Columnist of the year, Business Feature Writer of the year, and winner of the NZTE Travel Scholarship for his writing on innovation in New Zealand.

Rod returned several times to Colorado Academy while he lived in New Zealand, and he had planned to join the CA Glee Club Reunion in May 2023, but, unfortunately, he had scheduled a speaking engagement in New Zealand and could not come. We missed him. Rod was devoted to music at CA and took that devotion on to New Zealand, where he sang in a choir. Colorado Academy was always a special part of Rod’s life, and he cherished his time there.

Rod died in Auckland on March 19, 2024, from a heart attack while cycling. Rod was

73. We are all indebted to Rod Oram for what he contributed to Colorado Academy. He will be missed.

Gavin Michael Ulrich ’02

May 4, 1983 – October 1, 2023

Gavin Michael Ulrich was born on May 4, 1983, in Grand Junction, Colo. He died after his paddleboard capsized in a windstorm at Chatfield Reservoir. He is survived by his son Cayden Roll, brother Jordan, sister-in-law Kelly, nephew Cooper, father Bob, and mother Jeanne.

Gavin was an avid soccer player who won two State Championships at Colorado Academy, and he also played basketball and baseball. He loved to kickbox and paddleboard in his spare time.

He attended Saint Joseph’s Elementary in Ft. Collins for Kindergarten and then Colorado Academy from First through Twelfth Grade. He graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s in History and earned a Master’s in Education from University of Phoenix.

He worked at Vectra Bank as a Treasury Specialist and was looking forward to working at Accruit.

David Wilson ’68

January 16, 1950 – April 9, 2024

David Wilson, of Aurora, Colo., passed away at the age of 74. After a seizure at home, he was transported to a hospital and was surprisingly diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma, which, sadly, was discovered to have spread throughout his body. He succumbed to the disease on April 9, 2024, and left peacefully in his sleep. He will be

deeply missed by his family, his many friends from many organizations he was a part of, and by all of his Heather Gardens neighbors.

David was born in Aberdeen, S.D., on January 16, 1950, to Dwyte and Avis Wilson. He had one sister, Candy, and one brother, James, who predeceased him. He met his wife, Keiko, in 1978, and in 1980, they welcomed their only son, Pacific. Keiko passed away in 1988. Dave loved education, and he was both a learner and a teacher to middle and high school students. He shared his love of Boy Scouts with his son and loved to take him fishing to many parts of Colorado; sadly, they never caught a single fish! He was inclusive of everyone and always invited anyone to come along who wanted to participate in whatever he was doing. He enjoyed church and the brotherhood and camaraderie of fellow churchgoers.

He was a seeker of genuine people and also sought knowledge about different cultures. For more than 16 years he worked for King Soopers and found joy in the people whom he met there.

Renowned in his community at Heather Gardens, he was approachable and always had time to listen to his neighbors. Known to all as kind and generous, he was always up for hanging out with anyone and everyone. David is survived by his devoted son, Pacific.

Woody Monte, teacher

Woodrow “Woody” Monte arrived at Colorado Academy in 1969 to teach biology and chemistry. Woody knew that his students could learn much about freshwater pond life if they

Gavin Michael Ulrich ’02

David Wilson ’68

Roderick Sinclair Ashwood Oram ’70

could see it in a natural state, so he and his Ninth Graders launched an effort to create a learning environment out of an existing pond on campus. They drained and dredged the pond, and then they immersed a six-ton, 10,000-gallon diesel fuel tank in the pond to serve as an underwater observation and science lab. It had everything— including two-inch-thick, bulletproof glass for the windows. The tank developed leaks and had to be removed, but in 2014 Lower School science teacher Diane Simmons led an effort to restore the unique learning environment, and today Woody’s Pond and the Polk Science Center are still home to CA’s Lower School science program.

After Woody left CA, he went on to work at the Marine Science Center of Oregon State University and at Arizona State University as Professor Emeritus of Food and Nutrition; he was also a research scientist. He authored the book While Science Sleeps, examining contamination in the food supply, and was considered a world expert on certain food toxins. At the time of his death, Woody had homes in New Zealand and Hawaii.

According to one of Woody’s students, Jeff Lowdermilk ’70, “My friends and I started taking Woody with us on mountain hikes and ski trips. He loved the Rocky Mountains! So, our teacher also became our mentor and friend. … What I will remember most about Woody was his effervescent love of life and his great sense of humor.”

Another former student, Steve Kanatzar ’70, recounts that after his own graduation from CA, he and Woody were roommates when they were both attending Colorado State University, Kanatzar earning a degree in chemistry and Woody pursuing a PhD by studying the effects of BHT that was found in cereal boxes. “Years after we lost touch, I was watching 60 Minutes, and there he was, talking about his research on aspartame. We reconnected, and we’d often send each other articles on food toxicology—though in most cases he already knew about whatever I was sharing with him. He was a friend and the consummate educator.”

Lowdermilk adds, “What drove him to take on the giant producer of aspartame, G. D. Searle, and the U.S. government at the FDA and CDC? It was his iron will, honesty,

integrity, determination, and above all his love of humanity.”

Jenny Leger, CA Pre-K Director; Founder, Horizons Colorado

Jenny Leger, a former CA Pre-K Director and the founder of Horizons Colorado, passed away peacefully on October 15, 2023, while surrounded by her family. Jenny leaves a legacy of selflessness, care, fortitude, and accomplishment. Her loss will be felt by the thousands of lives she touched. Jenny was renowned for her kindness, amazing spirit, charisma, and energy. She epitomized service to others. She cared deeply about her friends, colleagues, students, work, and family. She was so appreciative, genuine, solutions-oriented, and positive—especially during difficult times. Jenny never criticized others and never complained. That is a lot to pack into one incredible and deeply humble person.

Jenny was hired to lead the preschool program at Colorado Academy in 1995 and over the next 13 years made a lasting impact on our school and students. Jenny was an experienced early childhood educator and was the ideal person to lead the new Horizons program at Colorado Academy. The program Leger designed incorporated small-group instruction, much like in the early grades at CA, led by volunteers, interns, and assistant teachers who could offer one-on-one attention. Leger’s program valued classroom instruction and building community bonds equally: field trips, poetry readings, and even a deeply

memorable Yellowstone trip for the Eighth Grade graduating class. In addition, swim lessons empowered Horizons students to tackle whatever came their way, molding them into confident contributors both in and out of the classroom.

Jenny is survived by her son Scott (CA ’04) and husband Don, to whom our hearts go out at this time. Many of those whose lives Jenny touched shared tributes to her legacy of kindness and compassion.

Daniela Meltzer, outgoing Executive Director of Horizons Colorado at Colorado Academy, attests, “Jenny, you are such an inspiration and have had an incredible impact with your teaching and work with Horizons at Colorado Academy. You radiate goodness, and I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to learn the ropes from you!”

REDI Lab faculty member Martha Smith shares, “Dearest Jenny, you have been a gift to so many children and families, and I am grateful to be among them. My daughters began their school journey in your classroom and they are better humans because of your care and love. The legacy you have created is awe-inspiring.”

And Horizons graduate and friend Rafael Guzmán Bañuelos notes, “Miss Jenny, you are undeniably the Greatest of All Time! It is a title that is earned and not given so freely! You are responsible for impacting so many lives around the globe—including mine! I was privileged and I’m honored to be part of a wonderful program like Horizons, a place where I got to learn and meet new friends. I want to thank you for the opportunities that you’ve presented to me and my family over the years.” n

Woody Monte

Jenny Leger

CA Alumni Association

Important Dates 2024-2025

Saturday, September 28, 2024 Homecoming

9 a.m.- 2 p.m., Varsity Games, BBQ Lunch, Carnival for Children

Friday, December 6, 2024 Alumni Ice Skating Party 5:30-9 p.m.

Tuesday, December 17, 2024 College Alumni Lunch Campus Center 12:30 p.m.

Friday, May 23, 2025 Giant Relay Day

BBQ Lunch, Campus Tour, Giant Relay Race, Alumni Faculty Happy Hour, Alumni-Varsity-Faculty Ultimate Game

Saturday & Sunday Reunion Weekend

May 24-25, 2025 1960-1965, 1975, 1985, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2015, 2020

Please check the Alumni Home Page for updates throughout the year, coloradoacademy.org/alumni.

Colorado Academy

3800 South Pierce Street

Denver, CO 80235

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The colorful butterfly mural that adorned the back doors of Colorado Academy’s Froelicher Theatre—the predecessor to today’s Leach Center for the Performing Arts—featured a famous Dr. Seuss quotation that was a testament to the school’s commitment to each student’s one-of-a-kind CA journey. Taken from Seuss’s book Happy Birthday to You!, the sentiment seemed fitting 10 years ago, in the late spring of 2014, to the group of Eighth Graders who painted the mural representing the idea of personal transformation. The connection between that concept and CA was crystal-clear to generations of students long before those artists captured it: Here, social emotional discovery and growth, sparked by teachers and peers, have always been seen as among the greatest gifts of education.

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