Edward A. Porritt, Founder and Executive Director
Is the Founder and Executive director of Catalyst Education of Colorado. Ed has been an educator in Boulder County for 20 years, in communities from Broomfield to the Continental Divide, and has taught or administered drop-out prevention programs in both middle school and high school levels. Most recently, Ed was the Dean of Students at Nederland Middle Senior High School, where he continued to coordinate the Chinook West high school program at Teens Inc., Youth and Family Center. Prior to working at altitude, Ed was the administrator and first teacher of Chinook Alternatives, on which much of Catalyst EDU is based. Ed has been the Program Chairman and a Board Member for Attention Homes Youth Shelter and has served on the Board of Directors of Compass House. Ed has an M.A. in Educational Leadership from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a State of Colorado Principal License.

John Blair, President
John is the Vice President and Trust Services Manager of Home State Bank in Loveland. John has more than 20 years experience in Trust Administration  and has managed various trust departments in communities along the Front Range including Colorado Springs, Greeley and Denver. John’s community leadership roles have included president or treasurer or many professional organizations and charities. Some of these charitable organizations include OpenStage Theater Company, Inc., Hospice of Larimer County, Inc., and the American Red Cross, Centennial Chapter. John earned his B.A. from Colorado State University and studied Trust Administration at the National Graduate Trust School, where he graduated with honors.

Bernice German, Vice President
Bernice is the Founder and CEO of Peak Achievement and the President of the charitable organization Peak Research, Inc. These organizations are composed of math educators and assessment experts committed to raising math proficiency to make our county more competitive in the world economy.  Originally a physicist, Bernice is all-but-dissertation Ph.D. in Education, with a focus on math education and assessment. Bernice has taught mathematics in all grades, both in highly successful schools and in struggling schools, where she has a track record of significantly improving achievement. Bernice is also the mother of a former Chinook student.

Jan Snooks, Secretary
Jan has 30 years experience working in elementary schools, middle schools and high schools, as a media specialist, regular classroom teacher, English as a second language teacher, Special Education teacher, and as a principal. Currently, Jan is an educational consultant and writes children’s literature focusing on young adult novels for beginning English speakers. An avid athlete, Jan is also a heart attack survivor, a comedienne, and a mother of two grown children. She has performed nationwide her self-written, one-act nonfiction drama about heart disease. Jan is trained in Restorative Justice and Instructional Technology. She has an M.A. in Special Education from the University of Colorado.

Charlie Cormane, Treasurer
Charlie is a tax accountant and the owner of a private tax preparation practice in Boulder. Charlie also has been an internal auditor with North American Philips Corporation, an accounting manager at Leasetec, and has worked in corporate lending for KeyBank. He is the father of two grown children. Charlie has a B.S. in Accounting and an M.B.A.. in Finance and Management.

Walter E. Davis
Walt is a Business Development Manager for Microsoft, responsible for working with National Dynamics Partners. He has been an entrepreneur in several ventures and has 30 years experience in Information Technology, having worked for both IBM and Spectra-Physics. Walt was a trained facilitator with the Longmont Community Justice Program, a Boulder County Sheriff Victim’s Advocate, and is the father of six children. He has B.S. in Business Administration - Marketing & Quantitative Analysis from Louisiana Tech University, graduating Cum Laude and played on the 1973 National Championship football team. Walt has earned honors in Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa, and Beta Gamma Sigma.

Carl P. Gentzel
Carl is a certified public accountant and the owner of Flatirons Tax Service. He has 21 years experiences a CPA. Annually, Carl prepares tax returns for six nonprofit organizations, and he services as a board member four non-profits. Carl has a B.S. in Accounting/Finance from the University of Colorado.

Andrea Duryee
Andrea is the Program Specialist in the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She brings to Catalyst 25 years experience years in financial aid and14 years experience in scholarship services. Andrea taught ESL in Japan for 10 years and is the parent of a Chinook graduate. She has her M.A. in Education, Instruction and Curriculum from the University of Colorado.

Linda D. Cain
Linda is an independent educational consultant and the founder of At-risk Alternatives LLC, where she works with families of youth with therapeutic, addiction, adoption and educational struggles. Linda travels extensively and has first hand knowledge of over 350 institutions for at-risk students. She has 25 years of service in public and private education, and has adopted four children now grown, two of whom attended Chinook. She serves on the International Crisis Response Team of Victim Advocates and as a City of Boulder Victim Advocate. Some of Linda’s affiliations include the Independent Educational Consultants Association, the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs, the National Association of Independent Schools, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and the North American Council on Adoptable Children. Linda has an M.S. in Education from the University of Wisconsin.

ADVISORS

Kristin Aslan
Kristin is the former Executive Director of Project YES, in Lafayette, and is the past Executive Director of Teens, Inc. Youth and Family Center in Nederland. She holds certificates in Leadership and Management Training from Naropa University and from Marpa School of Business and Economics. She is licensed to teach Secondary Education Social Studies. Kristin has a B.A. in Anthropology from State University of New York.

Marsha Moritz
Marsha is a civic activist and a dedicated fundraiser for many organizations that support Boulder County Youth. The mother of two boys, she is the co-founder of the Parent Engagement Network (PEN), the Co-chair of Fundraising for Compass House, and a leader of the Fairview High School Parent Corps. Marsha also is a Board Member for the Dairy Center for the Arts, the Chair of Fundraising f or Collage Children’s Museum and Chair of Fundraising for the Colorado Music Festival. Marsha has a B.F.A. from George Washington University, in Washington, DC.

Amy Jenkins, LCSW
Amy is the Clinical Program Director of Management and Assessment at Compass House in Boulder. Before working with Compass House, Amy was the former Resident Program Director of Attention Homes Youth Shelter, in Boulder, and Directors of Clearview Education Center; Kids Care, Alternatives for Youth in Longmont. Amy has her Masters in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma.

Nola Salisbury
Nola is the Executive Director of Compass House and the former Development Director at Attention Homes. Nola’s forte is restructuring nonprofits to become financially viable. She has 15 years experience in marketing, research, and operations with start-up organizations and reorganizing for-profit companies. Nola has a B.S., in Secondary Education and English from Northwest Missouri State University.

Amanda Thomas
Amanda manages Colorado Referral Relations for VIVE!, which provides independent living services, early intervention, transition and aftercare services for teens in crisis and their families. Amanda’s experience includes working in wilderness programs and in marketing. Amanda was at-risk as a youth. A former professional volleyball player, Amanda has traveled extensively, most recently visiting hundreds of therapeutic programs across the county, recruiting clients.

Mariagnes Medrud
Mariagnes is a retired teacher in the Boulder Valley Schools. Mariagnes is widely recognized throughout the region for her leadership and devotion to students of color and at-risk youth. Mariagnes received the Pacesetter Award for her contribution to education in Boulder County.

Donna Miers
Donna teaches English as a second language at Arapahoe Ridge High School. Formerly Donna served as the Director of Special Education at Dakota Ridge High School, a therapeutic school under Boulder Community Hospital.

Michelle M. Murphy, J.D.
Michelle is an associate attorney in the office of Alexander Halpern LLC where she serves as general counsel to school districts and non-profit organizations throughout the State of Colorado. Prior to becoming an attorney, Michelle served at-risk youth as an interventionist with the Boulder Valley Schools and St. Vrain Valley Schools. Michelle has her J .D. from the University of Colorado School of Law and an M.S.W. from the University of Denver.

Jennie Arbogash
Jennie is the Director of Development at Attention Homes, Inc. She has 11 years of experience in nonprofit development in the areas of leadership, fundraising, marketing, volunteer management. She has been Vice President and the Fundraising Co-Chair for the Volunteer Connection in Boulder County. She teaches volunteer management in a variety of capacities along the Front Range. She has her M.A. in Nonprofit Management from Regis University.

Wade Buchanan
Wade is the President and Director of Public Policy of the Bell Policy Center and Bell Action Network in Denver. Before being hired to run The Bell, Wade was a policy director, agency head and cabinet member for former Colorado Governor Roy Romer. Wade received his Masters in Philosophy in International Relations as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and his B.A. in History as Boettcher Scholar at Colorado College.

Sallie Robinson Ward, Ph.D.
Sally has a clinical psychology degree from the Union Institute, and a Masters Degree in Education from Florida State University. Sallie has worked in the field education for 30 years. She was on the Prevention and Intervention Team of Boulder County with St. Vrain Valley Schools and currently has a private practice working with adults and children.