Welcome New Faculty/Staff

Welcome

New Faculty & Staff

Angela Smith (Speech & Debate) earned her B.F.A. from Webster University’s Conservatory of Theater Arts and comes to us from Resurrection Christian School where she served as the Chair of the Fine Arts Dept., Speech and Debate Head Coach and taught Speech Communication. She was a 2020 Boettcher Scholarship Teacher Award Winner and was the 2017 Colorado Teacher of the Year for Speech and Debate. Her teams won five Colorado State Championships and were six-time National Tournament Qualifiers. Patricia Marchesi (English) received her Ph.D. in English Literature and her M.A. in German Literature from the University of Colorado, an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Delaware, and her B.A. in English from Hamilton College. She comes to us from LaGrange College where she was an Assistant Professor of English. She is an award-winning author who has published several young adult science-fiction/fantasy books that have earned distinction by Children’s Literary Classics Awards.

Taylor Spurgeon (Math) returns to Holy Family after taking time away for the birth of twins. Taylor, a 2011 graduate of Holy Family, earned her B.A. in Economics from Colorado School of Mines while on a basketball scholarship. Prior to starting her family, Taylor taught in the Mathematics Department at Holy Family for two years. Robert Palumbo (Engineering, Robotics) earned his M.Ed. and MSCIS from Colorado State University, and a MSCS from the University of Nebraska Omaha. He comes to us most recently from Frederick High School where he taught Computer Science. Prior to his teaching career, he held engineering positions with the State of Colorado and Qualcomm. Jacob Pride (English) earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of Denver, M.A. in English from Georgia Southern University, B.A. in English & Philosophy from Ave Maria University and studied Theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary as a seminarian of the Diocese of Savannah, GA. He most recently taught English at Arapahoe Community College and prior to moving to Colorado he taught Theology and College English at St. Francis Xavier School in Manhattan, KS. Mackenzie Altman (Major Gifts Officer) comes to us from the University of Colorado Athletics Department where she spent the last seven years rising through the ranks of the Buff Club – the fundraising arm of CU Athletics. In her time at CU, Mackenzie was responsible for securing high profile transformational gifts, student-athlete scholarships and legacy endowments. Mackenzie is a 2005 graduate of Holy Family.

Rich Everett (History) comes to us after spending six years of government work in Washington D.C. and his native New Jersey. He has experience working on Capitol Hill and in the State House in Trenton. Most recently he taught U.S. History and English as a long-term sub at Hamilton High School East in Hamilton, NJ. He earned his B.A., Political Science, from Rider University and is set to earn his MBA from the University of Denver this spring. Karen Waples (Government, Politics) received her J.D. degree from the University of Colorado and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver. She is returning to Holy Family to teach AP Comparative Government and Politics, AP US Government and CP American Government in the Social Studies Department after a year in a consulting role. Prior to teaching at Holy Family she taught at Cherry Creek High School.

Jenna Mauck (English) is a Fulbright Scholar who earned her M.A., English, from State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton. She earned her B.A., English and Art History, and her B.A., Honors in English Studies, as a Mandela Rhodes Scholar from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She comes to us from Grace College Hinton (High School) in KwaZulu-Nata where she taught English. Waylon Duncan (Theology) received his M.A. in Theology and his B.A. in Philosophy from Gannon University in Erie, PA. He has an extensive background in the French, Latin and Greek languages and started his career as a Seminarian at the Diocese of Buffalo and comes to us most recently from Cathedral Preparatory School in the Diocese of Erie where he served as a Theology teacher.

Myrna Remington (Social Studies) is returning to Holy Family where she taught Social Studies from 2018-2020. Prior to her coming to Holy Family she taught at Yuma High School and University High School. She is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado and worked for the Greeley Police Department before her career in teaching. Hannah Disberger (History) received her B.A. in History from Colorado State University. She has taught at Arvada West High School and was a substitute teacher at Holy Family before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. She comes to us from Fort Morgan High School where she taught American History and served as a girls basketball coach. Marilyn Looker (Spanish) received her B.A. in Theology from Franciscan University and achieved C1 Advanced Spanish Proficiency from the AIL Spanish Language School, in Madrid, Spain. She taught Theology at Holy Family this past spring and came to us from St. Mary's Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona, where she taught Theology. Prior to that, she was the Campus Ministry assistant and taught Theology at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix where she was a nominee for Teacher of the Year in Arizona.

James Colley (Spanish) earned his M.A. in Foreign Languages, Spanish Teaching, from the University of Northern Colorado and his B.A. in Spanish from Fort Lewis College. He comes to us from Bishop Machebeuf High School where he taught Spanish. Prior to his time at Bishop Machebeuf he taught Spanish at Broomfield High School. Sister Mary Rose Lieb, O.S.F., (Math) returns to Holy Family where she served as Principal from 1990-2008. In those years she doubled enrollment and led the move to our current Broomfield campus. She earned her M.S. in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, a M.S. in Education Administration and Supervision from Samford University and her B.S. in Mathematics from Ohio Dominican University. She most recently served as Principal of St. Francis De Sales Catholic STEM school in Denver.

Frank Ybarra (Math) earned his B.A. in Mathematics Secondary Education from Metro State University and his M.A. in Mathematics Curriculum & Instruction from University of Colorado at Denver. He comes to Holy Family from the Adams 12 School District where he taught math for 29 years – most recently at Horizon High School. He also served as Horizon’s head football coach for 17 years.