Front Office
Kathryn Martinez
Executive Director
kathryn@odysseydenver.org
Helen Baker-Moon
COVID Coordinator/Office Support
helen@odysseydenver.org________________________________________________
Levi Dexel
Director of Adventure
levi@odysseydenver.orgI am excited to begin my new journey at Odyssey as the Director of Adventure. I grew up in the south west part of Colorado where I fell in love with the outdoors. I completed my bachelors degree at New Mexico State University in K-12 Physical Education. After teaching elementary PE for 4 years in Tucson, AZ I attended Ohio University and received my Masters in Recreation studies with an emphasis in Adventure Programming. I previously worked at CU Boulder for the past 9 years overseeing the Outdoor Program while also teaching Avalanche Education Courses. I look forward to having the opportunity to continue to grow and develop the passion for the outdoors and adventure activities with all the students at Odyssey. I enjoy spending as much time on the water kayaking and rafting during the summer and fall and back-country skiing and teaching avalanche courses in the winter. I also enjoy climbing, mountain biking, and hiking with my dog Bailey and my partner.
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Ike Harvey
Dean of Culture
ike@odysseydenver.orgI was born in Chicago but raised and have lived in Denver my entire life. I am a DPS alumni who graduated from George Washington High School. I attended MSU Denver where I earned my Bachelor's degree in Sociology and CU Denver where I earned my Master's degree in Learning, Development, and Family Sciences. I taught middle school math at St. Elizabeth's School for five years.
In my free time I enjoy playing and watching sports, traveling with my partner, and riding my single speed bike around Denver. I am excited to become part of the Odyssey crew!
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Colin Hynes
Director of Instruction
colin@odysseydenver.orgOriginally from the Boston area, my wife and I have lived in Denver since 2004. My professional journey has taken me from private to charter to neighborhood public schools, from rural to suburban to urban and from New Hampshire to Massachusetts to Colorado. Most recently, I have served as the Director of Curriculum & Instruction of The CUBE School in Park Hill. I am excited to join the Odyssey crew!
I earned my B.A. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Princeton and my M.Ed. from Harvard's Graduate School of Education. My wife and I have two children, Owen and Maeve, and dog named Oakley. I enjoy cooking, eating, traveling, sports and being a dad. In my spare time, I pretend to know how to coach youth lacrosse.
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Kim Neal
Office Manager
kim@odysseydenver.orgI am a proud Denver native. I have been married to my husband, Phil, for 19 years. We have been blessed with one terrific son, Colton, who has recently graduated Odyssey this last spring 2015.
I am honored and excited to be the new Front Office Manager. I have been part of the Odyssey community as a parent for 9 years and have subbed in this position for approximately for 6 years.
I look forward to continuing to be involved in the strong Odyssey foundation, working alongside the amazing staff and to be gifted to work with the children.
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Elki Neiberger
Director of Operations, Title IX Coordinator
elki@odysseydenver.orgI am a Denver native and graduate of Denver Public Schools. I attended the University of Colorado, Boulder and received a Bachelor's degree in Film Studies. I have two amazing children, Jack & Maggie, who are Odyssey graduates.
I have worked at Odyssey since fall of 1999! The Odyssey community is my extended family and I feel so fortunate to watch and participate in the growth and learning of so many awesome young people!
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Teachers/Specialists
Deb Aruca
1st Grade Assistant Teacher
deb@odysseydenver.orgOriginally from the Washington DC area, I moved to Colorado after graduating from the University of Virginia for a change of scenery and a sense of adventure — I never left. Nowadays, whenever I ride a ski lift with my family, I encourage our kids to look around, take in all the incredible beauty of the landscape, and thank their lucky stars they get to call Colorado “home.”
Raised with a spirit of activism and public service, I was drawn to public education, pursued a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado in Boulder, and earned my teaching license in Secondary English Language Arts. Since then, I have been a classroom teacher, consulted as a curriculum specialist, developed community-based educational programs and taught a wide range of learners from preschool to graduate school.
When my children were learning to read, I became fascinated by the process of literacy development and have dedicated all my recent training to early literacy and reading intervention. I look forward to working with and learning alongside Odyssey's 1st grade crews.
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Kenzie Baca
Paraprofessional
kenzie@odysseydenver.org_______________________________________________
Becky Bechthold
Art Studio Teacher
becky@odysseydenver.orgI received my BFA with an emphasis in painting and my teaching certificate from Metropolitan State University of Denver. I love being at Odyssey and helping students explore their ideas, playing with Studio materials and collaborating with others in our shared space.
When not at Odyssey, I am usually escaping to the mountains for a hike, a weekend camping trip or investigating various artist’s work throughout the Denver area.
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Emily Bremer
K-3 Literacy Specialist
emily@odysseydenver.org
Laurie Brockett
4th Grade Teacher
laurie@odysseydenver.org_______________________________________________
Billy Burch
Music Teacher
billy@odysseydenver.orgBilly 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 the 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)!
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Lisa Chin
3rd Grade Teacher
lisa@odysseydenver.orgI am excited to begin my second year at Odyssey as the third grade crew lead! Though I was born in Denver, I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin where I enjoyed the great, albeit muggier, outdoors through camping and biking trips with my family. After high school, I studied psychology and poverty studies at the University of Notre Dame. Upon graduation, I found the mountains were calling and I moved back to Denver where I took up teaching as an Associate Educator for 3rd grade at Ashley Elementary. I have taught 2nd and 1st grade for the past six years in DPS and I earned my Masters from Relay Graduate School of Education in 2018. I am eager to dive deeper into expeditionary learning and the culture of building life-long learners at Odyssey. The curiosities of our primary students fascinate me and I look forward to exploring the natural world with them as they make discoveries about our community and themselves. In my free time, I enjoy hiking with my dog, cooking new food, biking, and stand-up paddle boarding. My newest hobbies are watercolor painting and rock climbing. I am looking forward to learning and growing with my third grade crew this year!
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Paul Cindric
3rd Grade Teacher
paul@odysseydenver.orgGrowing 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 including 5 years as the Director of Adventure at Odyssey. This will be my eleventh year at Odyssey. What keeps me coming back is that 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. Odyssey cultivates citizen scholars for life-long learning."
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Grace Downs
Kindergarten Teacher
grace@odysseydenver.org
Caitlin Eggimann
2nd Grade Teacher
caitlin@odysseydenver.orgI'm Caitlin Eggimann and am the 7/8th grade Humanities teacher and crew leader! I grew up and went to college in Florida, where I earned my degree in Elementary Education and played soccer at Flagler College. I never thought I could live away from the beach until I discovered climbing and camping in the mountains through a middle school outdoor Experiential Education Science School I worked at in California for a year, right out of college. The love of mountains are what ultimately led me out to Denver, CO. I have been teaching elementary education to grades 1-3 and 6th for the past ten years, with the last five years at an Expeditionary Learning (EL) school in Thornton, Colorado. Once I learned about EL Education, I will never go back to the same old way of doing things. I love teaching character traits and emotional learning in the classroom. I am passionate about equity in education on all levels, and believe education should be engaging, challenging, meaningful, and adventurous! Recently, I earned my Masters of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas online and took some time to travel the world, climb in beautiful places, soak up different cultures, and spend time with family. Now, I am excited to teach 7th and 8th graders and help raise world changers! Outside of school, I try to be outside as much as possible. I love rock climbing, mountain biking, snowboarding, soccer, park sports, and playing with my pup, Verde!
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Kicha Evans
K/1 Teacher Assistant
kicha@odysseydenver.orgI have been a member of the Odyssey community since 2002! I'm a Denver native growing up in Park Hill mostly. I love watching the learning that happens here every day and seeing children grow. I also love my co-workers! My family is also growing as my husband and I are very excited to have our first child this year!
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Paul Frazier
Middle School Interventionist
paulf@odysseydenver.org_______________________________________________
Megan Hebert
5th Grade Teacher
megan@odysseydenver.org_______________________________________________
Brian Johnson
4th/5th/6th Grade Math Teacher
brian@odysseydenver.org
Jenn Kloeppel
Kindergarten Teacher
jenn@odysseydenver.org_______________________________________________
Linnea Krizsan
EL Education School Designer
lkrizsan@eleducation.org_______________________________________________
Emilie Lederer
Adventure Associate
emilie@odysseydenver.org_______________________________________________
Kate McNamara
Special Education Teacher
kate@odysseydenver.orgI am a proud Colorado native and grew up in the Congress Park neighborhood. I have taught for over a decade and been a part of the Odyssey Crew since 2020. I am passionate about teaching students who may need a little extra support. My goal is to help them find their strengths and understand that their learning differences can actually be an advantage. In my spare time I am usually outside with my family, either biking, hiking, or on one of our many adventures. I have two young boys, James and Liam, who will hopefully become a part of the Odyssey Crew one day!
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Celeste Neusch
Psychology Intern
celeste@odysseydenver.org________________________________________________
Phoebe Novitsky
Special Education
phoebe@odysseydenver.org
Anne Oberdzinski
1st Grade Teacher
anne@odysseydenver.org
Emma Pickett
1st Grade Teacher
emmap@odysseydenver.orgI am Emma Pickett and I am incredibly excited to continue my career at the Odyssey School of Denver as the new 2nd grade crew lead for the 2021- 2022 school year. I am a Colorado native and grew up in the town of Castle Rock, Colorado. I myself have a background in Expeditionary Learning, as I attended an EL school as a K-5 student. My passions for the outdoors and working with children lead me to become an elementary teacher. Graduating from the Metropolitan State University of Denver in 2018 with a degree in Elementary Education (Go Roadrunners!) My background in Expeditionary Learning as a child has carried into my adulthood and I couldn't be more excited to give back to your children the experiences that shaped me. My life’s work is to make a positive impact on each child I cross paths with. I believe in an equitable approach that creates a learning environment that is fun, engaging and full of adventure. Outside of school, I enjoy time with family, my dog Jaxson, mountain biking, or just relaxing with a good book and cup of coffee.
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Emily Polster
6th Grade Teacher
emilypolster@odysseydenver.org_______________________________________________
Lee Rains Thomas
7th/8th Grade Science Teacher
lee@odysseydenver.org
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Andy Rosen
7th/8th Grade Humanities Teacher
andy@odysseydenver.org
Rachel Schreier
2nd Grade Teacher
rachel@odysseydenver.orgI grew up in North Carolina with my parents, my older sister, and younger brother. I went to college at the University of North Carolina at Asheville and graduated in 2007 with a degree in literature and creative writing. After graduating, I moved to Chigasaki, Japan where I taught at a small international school for three years.
I moved to Colorado in 2010 to attend graduate school at CU Boulder. I graduated with a degree in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity in 2012. I have been teaching in Denver Public schools ever since. I am thrilled to be starting my third year at Odyssey and my 13th year of teaching. I love surfing, hiking, and traveling and I have two dogs named Boom and Basil.
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Julie Thornton
7th/8th Grade Math Teacher
juliethornton@odysseydenver.org
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DPS & Other Outside Support Staff
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