My name is Heidi, and I’m the Kindergarten Crew Lead. I’m originally from Latrobe, PA, which is a small-town east of Pittsburgh. Fun fact: Latrobe is the hometown of Mr. Rogers! Growing up in rural area meant that I spent a lot of time building forts in the winter, running around barefoot in the summer, and creating my own fun and homegrown expeditions. I started my teaching career in Plano, Tx and taught for four years in the 1^st and 4^th grades. In 2009 I moved to New York City to begin a graduate program in International Education Development, with a focus in Peace & Human Rights Education. It was during this time that I learned of Expeditionary Learning (now EL Education). Believing that a high-quality education is a fundamental human right for all children, EL’s emphasis on educational equity and social justice resonated deeply. In 2011 I applied to EL schools across the country and landed at Capital City Public Charter School, an EL Mentor school in Washington, DC. I spent three years teaching in the 6th and 1st grades and then most recently served as the Reading Intervention Specialist in grades 1-4. This is my 11th year teaching, and I am so thrilled to be joining the Odyssey Crew alongside its youngest learners who are not afraid to ask big questions and work creatively to explore the answers. Outside of teaching I enjoy practicing yoga, training for triathlons, exploring new trails, and sending snail-mail to friends and family.

Alisha Black-Mallon was first introduced to Expeditionary Learning at the age of eleven, when she attended the first EL school opened here in Denver. She fell in love with the constructivist, hands-on, whole child philosophy, and has now been teaching in EL Schools for the past eleven years. Alisha's passions are reading, writing & language, which is what drove her to study Literature, Arabic & Peace and Conflict Studies at CU Boulder. She holds a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology, intentionally weaving social emotional intelligence curriculum into her classroom culture. In her free time, Alisha loves to dance, ride her bike, and tinker, is part of a Women's building collective, and is excited to become a mother some day soon.

Billy was born in Rhode Island and grew up in Virginia.  After graduating from Virginia Tech (Go Hokies!) with a degree in music, he moved to Denver (where his father and grandparents spent much of their lives) to enjoy all that this wonderful city and its surroundings have to offer.  In 2005, Billy began working at the Odyssey School of Denver as a teaching assistant.  After returning to the role of student at UC Denver and earning his Master's degree in education, Billy gratefully accepted his current role as a lead teacher of second and third grade in 2010.  He is thrilled and proud to be a part of this committed, driven, adventurous, and compassionate crew of staff members.  Some of Billy's favorite ways to pass the time outside of school include playing, listening to, and dancing to live music, and perhaps above all, skiing through heaps of powder with dear friends (many of whom are also Odyssey staffers)!

Growing up in OH-IO as the youngest of six siblings I spent a lot of time trying to keep up with my brothers and sisters on all of their adventures.  After graduating from Ohio University I spent several years teaching in the classroom, as well as guiding and directing various outdoor programs.  As the Director of Adventure Programming at Odyssey I get the unique opportunity to combine my passions for adventure and education.  At Odyssey, "together, students and adults discover they can do more than they thought possible and find aspects of themselves that they didn't know were there."

I was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, but growing up I spent my summers on a sandbar in Lake Erie and my winters on a snowboard in Keystone. When I was 9 my family moved to Warsaw, Poland, for 3 years, and the international community left a lasting impact on my love for new experiences and appreciation for perspectives different from my own.

Growing up on a family farm in southern Minnesota, I spent much of my free time playing and learning in the great outdoors. After high school, I was drawn to the buzz of the city and moved to Minneapolis where I studied at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, earning a bachelor's degree in human resources and industrial relations and a minor in social services. I had the opportunity to work for a start-up international NGO in London focused on the advocacy of urban street children. Here I realized that access to a quality education can make a profound impact on the trajectory of a child's life. And so I was hooked.

After college I moved to New York City where worked for the national education non-profit Teach For America, helping recruit and support teachers as well as develop staff members through a variety of leadership roles. I eventually recruited myself to the classroom, and while pursuing a master's degree in elementary and special education, I started my career as a founding Kindergarten teacher at a KIPP elementary school in the South Bronx.

In 2011, I moved to Colorado, where I taught a class of English language learners through a K/1 loop at a turn-around re-start school in Montbello. Here I thought deeply about the presence and power school leadership has on school culture, inspiring me to earn my certificate in school leadership through the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program at the University of Denver. Along the way I met Marcia, and I found my way to Odyssey.

This is my third year here teaching the joy of mathematics to kindergarteners and first graders, as well as supporting elementary special education efforts. I am also an active Teach For America alumni board member. Last year, I was profoundly inspired by the journey of motherhood when my bright, beautiful baby was born, so in addition to spending my free time in the great outdoors with my dear husband and sweet daughter, I have a passion for supporting other mamas pursuing a balance between work and family.

I grew up on the east coast, in a town just north of Boston, where my family still calls home.  I visit them often and when I do, I love spending time boating, swimming and playing in the ocean.  Although I love Colorado’s mountains, and have been here for 15 years, I’m definitely an ocean girl at heart.

As for my teaching path, I started teaching at Odyssey in 2000, when I was an intern teacher in a 3^rd& 4^th grade classroom.  I then taught 5^th & 6^th grade at Odyssey for the next 4 years at both the Elm St., and Stapleton locations.  After a stint teaching 6^th grade at an EL school in California, and 5 great years teaching 4^th & 5^th grade at RMSEL (Rocky Mountain School of Expeditionary Learning) in Denver, I found my way back to Odyssey in 2011.  In addition to teaching, I’ve held other roles in the schools in which I have worked.  I served on the Odyssey board, the RMSEL leadership team, and I’ve been a mentor teacher to three intern teachers.  Currently, I am on Odyssey’s instructional leadership team.   All in all, I’m enthusiastic about teaching and learning and I feel lucky to be part of such a strong and vibrant educational community here at Odyssey.  It’s an honor and a gift to teach alongside such talented and driven educators.

Outside of my teaching life, I ride my bike as much as I can, I love to ski, I read a lot, I enjoy playing Scrabble and all sorts of games, I try to sew and knit and be somewhat crafty, I cook when I’m not too tired, and I practice a lot of yoga during the school year.  This summer my wife and I spent a few weeks camping in our VW van, exploring our favorite places in Colorado, like Crested Butte, while also adventuring to new spots, like Silverton as well.

Originally from “The Mitten”, Katie realized her passion for teaching at a young age volunteering in her mom’s classroom. However, it took an undergraduate degree in English and Brain Science at the University of Michigan before she officially pursued her calling.

Katie joins Odyssey after five years serving as an upper elementary teacher at Capital City PCS in Washington, DC, where she received her Masters in Teaching and met her husband (a Centennial, Colorado native). Katie is thrilled to find her home away from home at Odyssey.

Katie is a lover of the outdoors, creative writing, gardening, fitness, and baking. On the weekends, she can often be found reading books her students recommend, cooing at every animal that passes by, and pretending she’s on HGTV, taking on home improvement projects that usually end horribly.