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Teacher Biographies

Lead Teachers

Sonny Zinn - Lead Teacher

Sonny has been teaching for a LONG time (K-8) and has been the lead teacher at Horizons for four years. A product of Boulder Valley Schools, the tumultuous 60's and 70's in Boulder, The Colorado College, The University of Denver, and stints living in Delaware, California, Turkey, and Italy, Sonny likes to think of herself as interested in just about everything. When she isn't at school (it does happen!), Sonny likes to spend her time with her family and friends, perfecting her dressage equitation on her magnificent Holsteiner gelding, riding bicycles built by her husband, playing with Delilah the puppy, ski, travel, and cook.

Julie Cohen - Assistant Lead Teacher

Julie has a BA from Grinell College, an international Montessori teaching license, and a M.A. in Instruction and Curriculum from CU Boulder. She has been teaching in Boulder since 1992. Julie enjoys spending time with her family, playing outdoor sports, and traveling.

Classroom Teachers

Kindergarten

Jeanne Kipke

Jeanne joined Horizons in 1998 after graduating from CU Boulder with a BA in Sociology and certification in Elementary Education. Jeanne has joyfully taught Horizons' youngest since the year 2000. Besides working with children, Jeanne's passions include art (drawing, painting, and sculpting), writing (fiction, nonfiction and poetry), Nia, and taking long walks.

Beth Coleman

Beth's Horizons career began in 1993 when she ran the Wednesday afternoon enrichment program. Since that time, she has taught Kindergarten through 3rd grades. She is currently teaching part time on the 2/3 team. Prior to receiving her Masters Degree in Elementary Education from CU, Beth taught at various preschools and at an alternative private school for children ages 8-18. In her "free" time Beth loves to run, do construction projects, and spend time with her sweet girls and husband.

1st grade

Elizabeth Hershoff
	Elizabeth has taught elementary and special education for 27 years. She has a Master"s Degree in Educational Psychology from CU Boulder. Elizabeth has been at Horizons for eight years teaching 2/3, K/1 and currently first grade. In her free time Elizabeth enjoys reading, knitting and living in Boulder.

Wendy Thoresen

Wendy has a BA in Art History, a BFA in Fine Arts and a Master's Degree in Architecture. After a long career in architecture, she began teaching and has been at Horizons for 6 years. Wendy has taught First Grade, a combined K/1, and is currently teaching Kindergarten and coordinating the Arts and Science program for grades 1-8. When not at Horizons, Wendy loves to spend time in the mountains with her family, hiking, boating, skiing, drawing or painting.

Grades 2/3

Adam Brink

Adam is entering his 7th year at Horizons and 5th year as a homeroom teacher. He first started teaching in Maine as an outdoor educator, taking kids climbing, backpacking, and canoeing. When Adam is not wrapped up in the world of school, he is traveling and rock climbing with his wife, Jessi, and dog, Arlo.

Aubrey Demmon

Aubrey has been teaching since 1999. She has taught high school English, elementary Spanish, and K-8th grade students. Most of her teaching has been grades 2 and 3. Aubrey received her BA at Bradley University and her Masters in Literacy at Lesley University. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two boys, snowboarding, reading, and playing with her pets.

Lisa Leftakes

Lilly Hansing

Lilly is thrilled to join Horizons this year as a 2/3 teacher. She began teaching in 2001 and has experience in Kindergarten, First Grade, and Second Grade. Lilly graduated from New York University and obtained a Master's degree in Psychology and Education from Columbia University Teachers College. She enjoys competative cycing in both road and cyclocross. When she's not riding her bike, Lilly loves hiking and spending time with her three cats.

Nichole Houser

Nichole

Nichole grew up on the western slope in Carbondale, CO. She graduated from CU Boulder with a certification in Elementary Education and a BA in Spanish Language and Literature. She loves traveling and spending time outdoors going climbing, hiking, or just lounging and soaking up the sun.

Grades 4/5

Peter Hegelbach
	Peter has taught all grades from K-12 in areas from special education to film making. After a brief stint as an ocean lifeguard, he began teaching in 1987 and has taught in multi-age settings during his career. Peter graduated with a BA in architecture from Princeton University and a MA in elementary education from the University of Colorado – Denver. Recently, he authored publications for the Center for Teaching International Relations on the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, illegal diamond trade in Sierra Leone, and a teacher's guide to the “State of the World Atlas.” When not with his family, Peter can be found running the hills and trails of Bolder
Alicia Ernest
	Alicia was born and raised in Boulder. She graduated from Fort Lewis College in 2002 with a BA in Foriegn Language Studies, and from CSU in 2010 with an MA in Communication Studies/Discourse Theory. She has taught at Colorado State University and Sunflower Preschool and is thrilled to be back in Boulder to teach at Horizons. Outside of the classroom, she loves to spend time with family, learn languages, mountain bike, trail run, practice yoga, and read/write theory.
Nel Nelson-Woller
	Nel's experience in the educational field includes teaching students in grades 1-6. She has written curriculum and science textbooks, and conducted teacher training. Among the things most treasured by Nel are her days filled with learners where she continues to grow and learn from them on an ongoing basis. She spends her free time with her family, exercising, reading, and when time allows, cooking.
Sally Warren
	Sally was educated and began teaching in Canada. She has over 25 years experience in special education, regular elementary education, leadership, and teacher training. Interests include skate skiing, running, and reading.

Middle School - grades 6/7/8

Carol Schwendener
	Before beginning her teaching career, Carol studied biology and the University of California, Berkeley. During her undergraduate career, she had the opportunity to study agroecology and sustainable agriculture in Costa Rica and learn Spanish. Carol completed her M.S. in Soil and Crop Science at Cornell University. Her research focused on soil fertility in agroforestry systems in the Brazilian Amazon. She loved Brazil so much that she returned for an additional year on a Fulbright Fellowship to study how communities along the Amazon River used the forest resources. Throughout her undergraduate and graduate careers, Carol was always involved in some form of teaching, from teaching kindergartners about organic farming to teaching a college-level field course in Costa Rica to educating rural communities about sustainable farming practices. Carol has been creating curriculum and teaching middle school science for five years and is looking forward to continuing to share her love of science with middle school students. As a result of life experience, Carol is fluent in German, Spanish, and Portuguese. She enjoys triathlons, hiking, skiing, and most outdoor activities.
Cece Schehl
	Cece graduated with a BA in English from Truman State University and has completed graduate work in English-Secondary Education, Business Administration, and Interdisciplinary Arts. She began teaching management and personal skills education in the energy and pharmaceutical industries, then found her love learning alongside teens. She is currently a 7th year middle school teacher and is an active participant in the Colorado Writing Project. When not with her children, she writes poetry, hikes and chases after her ornery dog, Buddy.
Gayle Nosal
	Gayle has been a full-time middle school teacher at Horizons since 2005, specializing in Language Arts and History, teaching Exploratories and Arts & Sciences classes, and guiding Community classes, as well. Prior to Horizons, Gayle had a career in the advertising business in New York, NY, and then she moved to the Rocky Mountains to direct a nonprofit in Eagle Country, CO called Study Friends. Gayle has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from Skidmore College, earned an MFA in Writing in 1996, and has been certified as a biblio/poetry therapist since 2000. In addition to teaching middle school students, Gayle's passions include spending time with her two children, attending live theatre and music performances, reading, and doing service work, and she especially loves the 8^th grade summer service trip to La Puente in Alamosa, Colorado.
Janice Cooper
	Before joining Horizons, Janice taught 4th and 5th grades at Friends' School for nine years. Janice came into teaching through her acting and directing work in children's theater where she realized she wanted a greater involvement in children's education. Janice returned to college to get her teaching degree and make the classroom her stage. Janice and her husband, Antony, moved here from London 20 years ago, and her two sons, Harry and Jackson, were raised in Boulder and now attend university in Boston. When not spending time with the rest of her family – Sophie, the border collie, and Alec, the large, lethargic cat – you can find Janice hiking, playing guitar and singing, discussing books, tubing, cooking, and playing chess.
Jim Freund
	Jim has been married to his lovely wife, Lynda, for over 25 years. They share their lives with two wonderful teenagers, Darcy and MacLean. Jim has a B.S. in Civil Engineering and an M.A. in Education. He has been teaching at Horizons/Paddock since 1993. He taught kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade for three years and has taught 5th through 8th grade since (middle school for the last 14 years). He sings in two area choirs and directs musicals at a local theater company in his spare time. He also enjoys biking, hiking, camping, most sports, reading, writing, traveling, and, most certainly, teaching.
Lance Leonard
	Born and raised in Arvada, Colorado, Lance attended Jefferson County schools growing up. Upon his high school graduation he accepted the Johnson Scholarship (awarded for outstanding academics and community service) to Regis University where he earned his B.S. in mathematics with a minor in education. After a six month stint as a rock climbing vagabond in the western US, he returned to Colorado and launched his teaching career at Clear Lake Middle School in the math department. Now Lance is excited to grow as a teacher by working with and learning from the Horizons community. Outside of his classroom Lance can often be found climbing in the Front Range, cycling, playing guitar and mandolin, wood working, or welding. During summer months you may also find him at the farmers’ market selling cheese for Windsor Dairy.
Lynn Dobransky Pence
	Nearly a Boulder native, Lynn began teaching in 1994, after a career in mortgage banking. She completed her undergraduate and graduate work at the University of Colorado – Boulder earning a BA in Sociology and a masters degree in Multicultural, Bilingual Foundations of Education. She has taught in St. Vrain as well as Boulder Valley schools both during the academic year and in summer programs. Lynn has been teaching and learning in the Horizons community since 1998 focusing her work with middle school students in the areas of language arts, Spanish, history, homeroom, service learning through PeaceJam and UNICEF and Friday exploratory classes. In her "free time," Lynn can be found spending time with her son hiking, biking, reading, swimming, listening to music, and pretending to be a pirate.

Spanish
Sylvia Padrón-Schneider
	Sylvia is a native Spanish speaker. She holds a BA in Architectural and Graphic Design with an emphasis in Art and Mexican History from San Luis Potosí University in México. She has a Certificate of Proficiency in English as a Second Language from Cambridge University in England, where she lived for two years. Sylvia is certified through the State of Colorado Spanish Placement Program. She has worked as a free-lance translator for several companies and has worked on The BVSD World Languages Program as a Spanish test evaluator and narrator. She has taught Middle School Spanish levels I and II at Horizons for the last 12 years. She enjoys international travel, art and history.
Pat Smalley
	Pat has been teaching Spanish in Boulder for seven years. His love for the language began while studying at La Universidad de Lenguas Modernas in Granada, Spain, and since then has spent time traveling through various Spanish-speaking countries. When not teaching, Pat enjoys spending time with his family, furthering his language study, and being outdoors.

Technology

Mary Pat Judkins

Mary Pat completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Speech, Language Pathology. She worked in this field for 12 years in the public school system and private practice. Mary Pat became a Horizons community member 17 years ago as a parent and has been working with students in the computer lab for the last 15 years. In her free time she loves to canoe, hike, travel, read and play mahjong with her family and friends.

Special Education

Nancy Wagner - social worker
	Nancy received her undergraduate degree at CU Boulder and her Masters degree in Clinical Social Work in North Carolina. Since then, she has worked as a clinician in mental health settings and has had a private practice for 16 years in Boulder. She came to work for the school district 7 years ago and can say she truly loves her job. The biggest reward, she says, comes from working with a team of parents and teachers to support students to develop throughout school and in their whole lives. In her free time, Nancy enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, exploring, being in the mountains, exercising, and music.
Charlie Wright - psychologist
	Raised in Red Hook New York and transplanted to Boulder Colorado. Charlie's been very happy making Boulder his long time base and eventually his permanent home. Charlie completed his graduate degree in educational psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1993. He completed his internship in Council Bluffs Iowa. He worked in Leadville Colorado for two years before obtaining a job with Boulder Valley School District. This is his first year at Horizon's K-8 (2010-2011) and he's incredibly impressed with the staff, philosophy, and the Horizon's community that he's wishing his own children had started at Horizon's when they entered elementary school.
Dodi Jackson - special education & literacy specialists for middle school
	I am so pleased to be a member of the Horizons K-8 team! I teach literacy and Special Education at the middle school level. I hold my master’s degree in Special Education, and my BS. in Elementary Education with majors in art and French. I have taught for a total of 35 years, and have worked with students of all ages from 3-21. I am also a scenic designer for a local dance company, Turning the Wheel Productions, and have performed with them and created their sets for 20 years. My other passions include: creating art of all kinds, gardening, hiking, snowshoeing, cooking, and spending time with my daughter, son in law, and my five amazing grandchildren.
Janice Iarussi - special education K-5
	Janice received her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois then later entered the field of education. Her love of teaching began with volunteering in her son’s classroom. She enjoyed working with all children, but she was especially drawn to help those with special needs. This led her to becoming a special education paraeducator and eventually obtaining her master’s degree in Special Education. Besides working with children, Janice enjoys traveling, skiing, hiking, playing tennis, and spending time with her son, Daniel, and her big Bernese Mountain dog, Kodi.
Literacy Specialists

Karen Dimetrosky - K-5 literacy specialist
	Karen started teaching literacy and CLIP (a one on one reading intervention for first graders) at Horizons in 2010. She received her Masters in Experiential Education at CU Boulder in 1991. After teaching in the classroom 2 years in Denver, she went back to graduate school in Boulder for literacy. Karen has been teaching literacy and CLIP in Boulder since 1998. When not teaching, she spends time with her family: two daughters Madeline 5 and Emma 7, her husband Scott and black lab Tashi. Her favorite activities are trail running, hiking, skate skiing and cycling. When not doing those things, she is cooking healthy gluten free meals and bake goods!

Chrisy Shoemaker - K-5 literacy specialist

Christy is a Colorado native who appreciates the glory of the Rocky Mountains and the 300+ days of Colorado sunshine even more after her college years away at Tufts University near Boston and in a study abroad program in Denmark. She received a BA in Sociology from Tufts and a MA in Elementary Education from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her teaching experience includes work in Weld County and St Vrain Valley schools as a classroom teacher in most of the elementary grades and as a reading specialist in summer programs. Her interest in working with the struggling students in her classes led her to pursue additional training in literacy development and intervention, leading to co-teaching a professional development course for teachers of older struggling readers. She has worn a few different hats at Horizons over the years and is thrilled to be here supporting kids with their literacy development. Christy loves spending time with her amazing boys and her husband, swimming in the wee hours, practicing yoga and learning how to sew again.

504

Mary Pat Judkins

Alternative Certification Teachers

On Leave of Absence

Lauren Tracey

Lauren was born and raised in New Jersey and moved west to Boulder over twenty years ago. She has a BS in Molecular Biology from the University of Colorado and earned her Colorado teaching license through Naropa University's School of Contemplative Education. Lauren has enjoyed teaching at several BVSD schools and is happy to now call Horizons home. Lauren shares her home with her three children, one rambunctious puppy, a sassy parrot, and one patient husband. She longs for more time to travel and read.