FACULTY AND STAFF
Ami Desai - Head of School
Ami has spent the last fourteen years in public education teaching and school
reform. Ami began her teaching career in Michigan, moved on to professional
development work on the East Coast as well as Bogota, Colombia and then moved
to Colorado as part of a school, and eventually district, reform movement in
Aurora Public Schools. Most recently she has been an administrator in Mapleton
Public Schools at an Expeditionary Learning school. Ami has a BA in English
and Social Studies from Hope College in Holland, MI, a Masters in Reading from
Western Michigan University, an endorsement in Linguistically Diverse Learners
from UCD, and her Principal’s Licensure from DU.
Colleen Broderick - School Designer, Expeditionary Learning Schools
(ELS)
Colleen began work with the ELS model in 1997 as a teacher at Rocky Mountain
School of Expeditionary Learning in Denver. She presently works with three
other Denver-based schools supporting school-wide implementation of the design
model. Prior to her work as a school designer, she had the opportunity to
open two international schools, one in Malaysia and one in Kazakhstan, serving
small expatriate communities in rural areas. Colleen has a BA in English
and Business from Indiana University and a Masters of Education in Curriculum
and Instruction from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Chris Simon - Instructional Guide
Chris started his career in education with Teach for America (LA 90). Following two years teaching at the Surabaya International School, he returned to teach at The College School in Webster Groves, Missouri. Additionally, Chris worked supporting the integration of technology at The Technology and Learning Center in the University of Missouri - School of Education where he received his MA in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in Technology. He moved to Denver three years ago to be an Instructional Guide at an Expeditionary Learning High School in the Mapleton Public School District. He has served the past two years as an Instructional Guide at the Mapleton Expeditionary School of the Arts. He enjoys spending time with his family, hiking, baseball and brainstorming business ideas with his brother.
Brandy Bertram - Chief Operating Officer
Brandy is an experienced leader in entrepreneurship programming and financial education. Brandy's work is based on over a decade of field-tested experience in private and public sectors throughout the US, Caribbean and Africa where she has contributed to the organizational, curriculum, and programmatic design of multiple enterprise and livelihoods development projects. Prior to joining DVS Brandy served as the Youth Enterprise Specialist for a private consulting firm and as Deputy Director for Denver's Micro Business Development Corporation, a nonprofit economic development agency. Brandy is a proud graduate of the University of Wyoming with a BS in Business Administration.
Karin Jonas - Development Director
Karin M. Jonas serves as DVS Development Director and manages the school’s
fundraising and development efforts. Karin comes to DVS from Denver Museum
of Nature & Science where she directed Special Events. She began her
career in the Office of Scheduling and Advance for U.S. Secretary of Education
Lamar Alexander in President G.H.W. Bush’s Administration. She then followed
Alexander to Nashville, TN and directed all budget and office operations
for (now TN Senator) Alexander’s nascent campaign for the 1996 Republican
Presidential nomination. Following a move to Denver 1997, she worked at
Graland Country Day School as the school’s Alumni and Annual Fund Director
and then as the Capital Campaign Director at Four Mile Historic Park, Karin
was responsible for managing a $1.8 million dollar campaign to build a new
Education Center. In addition to her position with Denver Venture School,
Karin enjoys providing her fundraising expertise as a volunteer for several
non-profit organizations in the metro Denver community. A native of Shaker
Heights, Ohio and a graduate of Dartmouth College, Karin and her family live
in east Denver.
Scott Franzblau - 9th grade Science Teacher
Scott is relocating to Denver from New England where he has lived since 1999. Scott spent the 2007-8 school year working at The Springfield Renaissance School, Springfield, MA- a 2nd year Expeditionary Learning School, teaching both 9th and 10th Grade Science and completing a Masters of Education at the University of Massachusetts. Scott's undergraduate studies were split between Rutgers University in NJ and University of New Hampshire where he graduated with a degree in Environmental Horticulture in 2002. Professionally, he has worked as farm manager, carpenter, trail crew leader and recently author of a book detailing his experiences starting and operating a farm cooperative. Scott is thrilled to be starting a school, working with students in academics and athletics and looks forward to cycling at higher altitudes, gardening in a new climate and putting moth balls on his Red Sox jersey.
Aviva Katz - 9th grade Humanities
Although she’s originally from the Chicago area, Aviva is coming to Denver from Quito, Ecuador, where she has been teaching 9th grade English Language Arts for the last four years. While living in South America, Aviva has spent time in Bolivia, Argentina, Panama, Colombia, and Uruguay, and has made several trips to Brazil, where she dreams of spending more time someday. Aviva is very excited to be part of a new school, and is eager to help prepare Denver students for success. She is also looking forward to pursuing her passions of capoeira, running, biking, reading, cooking, speaking Spanish, and appreciating music in Colorado. Aviva received her undergraduate degree in Secondary Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Masters in Secondary Education from the University of Alabama.
Elliott Wynne - 9th grade Humanities
Elliott began working in education as a Special Education Paraprofessional in 2005 at Horizons K-8 Charter School in Boulder, Colorado. The following year he began teaching reading, writing, history, economics, and math at the middle school level. He is currently coming from Skyland Community High School in Denver where he taught 9th grade humanities. Elliott’s education experience is rooted in project-based learning and he is looking forward to teaching at an Expeditionary Learning school. He graduated in 2003 with a degree in Economics from Oklahoma State University and is currently finishing a Masters degree in Conflict Resolution at the University of Denver. Aside from education, he has worked in many places and roles including as a combine driver on a wheat farm, in the United States Senate, as a fly fishing guide, and at the United States Department of Justice. Elliott also enjoys good music, fishing, food, and travel. Elliott is excited and honored to be a part of the inaugural team at Denver Venture School.
Courtnay Schwartz - 9th grade Math
Courtnay Schwartz is a Colorado native who has been living in New Jersey for
the last two years. She has been involved in the Expeditionary Learning model
of education since her own middle and high school years. She was part of
the third graduating class at the Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary
Learning in Denver and has a deep understanding of the value EL brings to
any child’s academic experience. Following high school Courtnay earned her
BA in Sociology completing course work at St. Johns College in Santa Fe and
the University of Colorado at Denver. She has spent a number of years in
the social work field helping families and children become positive self
advocates while navigating through mental health and child protection services.
She is extremely excited to be joining the founding team of educators at
the Denver Venture School.
Sam Smith - 9th grade Art
Sam Smith grew up in Riverside, California and came to Denver nine years ago
to
pursue a career in education. Sam comes to DVS from Frontier High School in
Elizabeth, CO, where he helped run Frontier’s outdoor experiential and service
learning program, served as the social studies, art, and design chair, and
as
president of the Elizabeth Federation of Teachers. He loves sharing his passion
for
art and history with students, and has led young Coloradans on adventures to
Europe
and Asia. Previous to teaching, Sam was a graphic artist in Los Angeles. He
holds
degrees from Colorado State University and Metro State College, and is currently
pursuing an MA in history at CU Denver.