Current Board Members
Dr. Sarie Patterson
President
Saire Patterson's Bio
Dr. Patterson has over 20 years of experience in Colorado social work, successfully developing innovative approaches in child protection, family functioning, and education. She has also devoted her career to creating and implementing mental health initiatives in education and human services across the Denver metro area.
As a graduate of the University of Denver with a Doctor of Philosophy in Education, Dr. Patterson has experience conducting quantitative and qualitative research. She partnered with the Colorado Department of Education in completing a dissertation that focused on developing action steps to address social injustice in education. The results of the quantitative analysis were reported on over 17,000 student cases. She is an alum of the DU Graduate School of Social work, and she is a Colorado Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Dr. Patterson has over 20 years of social work experience creating and deploying mental health initiatives in education and human services. She has completed mixed methods studies evaluating family and student needs. She has functioned in ways to believe that data better defines problems and their potential solutions.
Dr. Patterson has served as Board Member of the Colorado Child Protection Ombudsman Office appointed by former Governor Hickenlooper. She currently serves on the CASA Board of Directors for Adams and Broomfield counties. She has demonstrated an ability to see the value of indirect practice while also knowing of the fulfillment and challenge of collaborating directly with people struggling with daily issues to be more successful in life. Dr. Patterson has project coordination, professional development, policy development, and policy analysis experience. She promotes a positive, intentional culture and a climate supporting high expectations. The University Council of Education Administration has recognized her as a Barbara Jackson Scholar and the Denver Department of Human Services for outstanding performance.
Dr. Patterson successfully functioned as a leader of district-wide initiatives that were foundational to the education of all students within the Denver Public school system and the future of the district. She served as a liaison between Denver Public Schools, the Denver Department of Human Services (DDHS), the Denver Police Department, and the Denver District Attorney’s Office. Dr. Patterson was the point person responsible for crisis intervention, consultation, and professional development for all District staff on student safety and mandated reporting policies and procedures. She planned and organized Human Trafficking Conference with the FBI, Denver District Attorney’s Office, Denver Human Services, Denver Police, and school district personnel. Dr. Patterson created and implemented mental health initiatives in education and human services across the Denver metro area while functioning as a liaison and appointed expert for the State of Colorado. She led the Denver Public School Superintendent’s $4.5 million Mental Health Expansion Program, providing oversight of expansion to K-12 schools district-wide over two years. Dr. Patterson created the Needs-Based Assessment Data Collection Tool identifying students’ mental health needs, available student support and services, and wrote the Mental Health Support, Services, and Resource Guide disseminated across the school district.
Term End Date: 6/30/25
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Jody Neumann
Vice President
Jody Neumann's Bio
Jody Neumann is the Special Event Manager for the Daniels Fund, a private charitable foundation dedicated to making life better for the people of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming through grants and scholarships. Prior to the Daniels Fund, Jody was the Director of Community Engagement for Shalom Park, a retirement community in Aurora. Previous to Shalom Park, Jody owned a custom design formalwear business, Chloe Originals.
Jody holds a BA in Speech and considers connecting with people one of her greatest joys. Her passion for choice in education began 30 years ago when her four children went through Core Knowledge schools. Jody is married and lives near her family in Centennial.
Jody is very excited about bringing her farm roots and contemporary event experience to serve on the STEAD board.
Term End Date: 6/30/24
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Yesica Escalante-Ledesma
Secretary
Yesica Escalante-Ledesema's Bio
Yesica grew up in Denver, in the Far Northeast Montbello neighborhood. She is first generation Mexican-American, and was the first in her family to graduate from high school and earn a bachelor’s degree. She is a proud graduate of Montbello High School and MSU Denver.
She is currently the chief of advocacy at FaithBridge, an impact advocacy organization that aims to ensure all children thrive, learn in great schools and achieve their hopes. Her previous experience is at DSST Public Schools where she was on the founding team of DSST: Elevate Northeast High School. As the Community Engagement Manager, she built strong relationships with families and the community alike. She was also in charge of the student recruitment and enrollment for her school. Yesica is very passionate about ensuring high-quality schools for all students, no matter the model and ensuring all students are prepared for college. She believes college opens more doors.
In her off time Yesica enjoys traveling the world. She has visited 28 countries and counting mostly solo, and loves encouraging others to just book that trip they’ve been dreaming about their entire lives. She currently lives in Montbello and hopes to buy a house there someday.
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Hollis Glenn
Treasurer
Hollis Glenn's Bio
Hollis Glenn is currently Deputy Commissioner of Operations for the Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA). Previously, he served seven years as Director of the Inspection and Consumer Services Division at the CDA. Hollis recently served on the Board of Directors of the American Association of Feed Control Officials and the Federal Food and Drug Administration’s Governing Council for the Partnership for Food Protection. In 2021, Governor Polis appointed Hollis to serve on the Colorado Food System Advisory Council. And he was a “Who’s Who in Agriculture” honoree by the Denver Business Journal in 2020. Hollis has over 15 years of dedicated public service for the state of Colorado.
Term End Date: 6/30/25
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Dr. Amy Schwartz
Board Member
Amy Schwartz's Bio
Beginning in January 2024, Amy leads Oakwood Homes’s social responsibility and affordable housing initiatives. Before joining Oakwood’s executive team, Amy led Oakwood’s educational foundation, BuildStrong Education, for 15 years. BuildStrong’s focus continues to center on accelerating educational excellence and academic outcomes across Oakwood’s communities. Amy helped open a dozen new schools, including the BuildStrong Academy of Colorado which provides construction trades workforce development training and job placement. Amy currently serves on the boards of The STEAD School, Executives Partnering to Invest in Children and the Town of Lyons Board of Trustees. She was also a founding board member of the Lyons Valley Preschool which opened after the devastating Colorado floods of September 2013. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from Wittenberg University, her Master of Arts in Social Research Methodology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her Doctorate in Education from the University of Denver.
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Tim Gallagher
Board Member
Tim Gallagher's Bio
Tim is a resident of Reunion in Commerce City since 2003 and former US Air Force and United Airlines pilot. Tim began working with the Reunion community to bring a new school to the community in 2006. In that effort he helped found Landmark Academy at Reunion, a charter school serving 750 K-8 students and operated by National Heritage Academies. Tim continues to serve as the founding board president of Landmark Academy from which two of his grandchildren have graduated.
Term End Date: 6/30/26
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Dana Fulenwider Bitzer
Board Member
Dana Fulenwider Bitzer's Bio
Dana holds a BA from Emory University, an MBA from the University of Colorado Boulder, and is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC). While her current work focuses on real estate development and interior design, she has previously held senior management positions at Urban Ventures LLC in Denver and CTI in San Francisco. Dana serves on the Board of Directors and the Investment Committee for L.C. Fulenwider Inc., a pioneer Colorado real estate firm founded in 1904. Also a certified yoga instructor, Dana resides in Boulder with her husband, two sons, and their two dogs.
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Justin Scott
Board Member
Justin Scott's Bio
Justin is the son of a Mexican immigrant family, the first in his neighborhood to graduate from high school, and the first in his family to graduate from college. For more than 25 years he has worked to make opportunity predictable — not rare — for the students, families, and communities who share parts of his identity and story.
He is the founder of La Colmena Leadership Partners, an advising practice focused on coaching leaders through the hardest parts of the work and helping organizations build the systems that deliver on bold missions. His previous experience includes serving as Superintendent of KIPP Texas Austin, where he led a network of 12 schools serving 5,800 students, and as Chief Schools Officer at Rocky Mountain Prep. He is also the founder of KIPP Austin Comunidad, the first dual-language school in the KIPP national network — built from the ground up with and for East Austin’s Latino and multilingual families — and the founder of Aliento Colorado, a planned aerospace and aviation charter high school designed to serve Far Northeast Denver.
Justin has founded schools and scaled organizations as a teacher, principal, superintendent, and board member. He brings to the STEAD board a deep belief that every student deserves a rigorous academic program and clear pathways to college and career — including access to Colorado’s growing industries in aerospace, aviation, agriculture, and technology. He believes the schools that change the trajectory of families are the ones that build student agency, connect learning to the real world, hold high expectations for every student, and help young people shape a future of real economic mobility.
When he is not working, Justin is most likely outside with his two girls, cooking something ambitious, or training for a long-distance race. He lives in Aurora, Colorado.
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Board Meeting Dates & Info
Meetings for the 26-27 SY will be held on the third Tuesday of the month from 6 – 8pm at the STEAD School. Meetings are held in person and open to the community.
Important Information:
The STEAD School is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate in employment on the basis of actual or perceived race, religion, creed, color, age over 40, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, ancestry, marital status, disability, military status, pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions, or any other status or class protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws and ordinances. The Principal is dedicated to this policy with respect to recruitment, hiring, placement, promotion, transfer, training, compensation, benefits, employee activities, and general treatment during employment.
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