Meet The Board

Highline Academy's Board is comprised of parent/guardians and community members who share a commitment to policy governance and a specific committment to Highline's vision and mission.

Board meetings are held the second Monday of each month at 6:15pm at the school. Parents and community members are encouraged to attend the monthly meetings. Meetings 

Current Board members are: 

Tom Bulger, President     TBulger@silvernbulger.com

Tom Bulger is a parent of three Highline students and an attorney practicing in the areas of plaintiff's personal injury, disability, insurance bad faith and civil rights.  He is a shareholder, managing partner and lead litigation attorney in the Denver metro law firm, Silvern & Bulger, P.C. He formerly practiced law in Philadelphia and has worked for the United States Attorneys' Office and for a U.S. District Court Judge in the Western District of New York. He is currently the President of the Highline Academy Building Corporation.

Jennifer Holladay, Vice-President     Jenniferholladay@me.com

Jennifer Holladay is an educational writer and consultant focused on school equity issues and multicultural curricula. Jennifer worked previously as director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project, which provides anti-bias and professional development resources to more than 400,000 educators annually. Jennifer also is the author of White Anti-Racist Activism: A Personal Roadmap (Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, 2000). She is a Highline parent.

Papa M. Dia, Treasurer    papamdia@yahoo.com

Papa M. Dia is a Vice-President with BBVA Compass Bank and brings more than a decade of fiscal experience to the Board. He also holds a law degree from a university in his native country of Senegal. In addition, Papa is the founder and president of the African Leadership Group, a nonprofit that helps "the African Diaspora integrate and prosper by connecting cultures." He is a Highline parent.

Francis Scheve, Secretary    fscheve1@gmail.com

Francis has experience in companies from start-up to mature Fortune 500 businesses, with more than 15 years in human resources. During her time in human resources, she worked with company leaders to strategically attain business results through their diverse teams, as well as talent management strategies, leadership development processes, top talent coaching and mentoring. Her other service work includes mentorship of Korean young-adult adoptees.

Derrick Hudson     dkhudson@mines.edu

Derrick Hudson, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at Colorado School of Mines in the Division of Liberal Arts and International Studies. He specializes in religion and politics in Africa. Before joining the faculty at Colorado School of Mines, he taught at Metropolitan State College of Denver, where he served as a faculty member in the African and African American Studies Department. Derrick has a strong record of service and has worked with several Denver-based nonprofit organizations, including Tumaini Ministries, the Ngaatheje Development Project and International Towne, a project of the Young Americans Center for Financial Education.

Rachel Hutson rachelhutson@hotmail.com

Rachel Hutson, MSN, RN, CPNP, is the Director of the Children and Youth Branch at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). Prior to working for CDPHE, Rachel provided primary health care services as a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Stout Street Clinic in Denver. Rachel received a Bachelor of Arts from Franklin and Marshall College and a Masters in Nursing from Yale University. She is a Highline parent.

Ruth Kedzior     rkedzior@adcogov.org

Ruth Kedzior is a parent of two boys who attend Highline Academy and has been a supporter of Highline since its inception. She is the assistant county administrator for Adams County, where she has worked for 12 years. She has a B.A. from Michigan State University and an M.P.A. from the University of Colorado Denver.

David Larm     rdlarm@yahoo.com

David is the parent of two Highline students and has worked with the Denver Nuggets as an account executive, Coldwell Banker as a realtor and Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream as a regional asset manager. Currently, David is the Warehouse and Asset Manager at Cold Front Distribution. He attended the University of Kansas, obtaining at B.S. in Business Administration with a Finance emphasis.

Jon Lowry     jon@jplowry.com

Jon is Senior Project Manager at TelePacific Communications.  He has over 20 years experience in the telecommunications, internet and networking industry and over 25 years experience in marketing, sales and management.  He holds master’s degrees in both psychology and business administration. Jon is a founding member of Highline Academy and a parent of a student at the school.

Tina Valtierra     tina@teachandlead.org

A former elementary school teacher and literacy coach, Tina is the Assistant Director of the Teacher Institute at La Academia, Colorado's oldest alternative teacher licensure program. In addition to administrative duties there, Tina serves as a graduate-level instructor in multicultural education and literacy instruction. She is currently ABD (all but dissertation), completing her research through the University of Denver. As a graduate research assistant during Highline's early years, she served as the partnership liaison between the University and Highline. She is now a Highline parent.

Edith Zemanick     ezemanick@gmail.com

Edith Zemanick, M.D., is a pediatric pulmonologist at Children's Hospital Colorado and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver. She specializes in caring for children with cystic fibrosis and other chronic lung diseases. She's a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. She also holds an M.S. degree in Clinical Sciences from the University of Colorado Denver. She is a Highline parent.

Ex-Officio

Gregg Gonzales,  Principal     ggonzales@highlineacademy.org

Gregg began his career at Highline Academy Charter School in 2005 as a Middle School Humanities teacher. In 2006, he stepped into the role of Assistant Principal. He completed his secondary teaching license at Middle Tennessee State University with an endorsement in history and government and earned his masters in Educational Administration through the Ritchie Program for school leaders at the University of Denver.

Tim Taylor,  Chair of the Policy and Advisory Board     ttaylor@coloradosucceeds.org

Tim Taylor is the founder and executive director of Colorado Succeeds, a "non-profit, non-partisan coalition of business leaders committed to improving the state's education system for workforce development and economic growth." In 2011, Highline Academy's Board of Directors appointed Tim as chair of its new Policy and Advisory Board, which was created to strengthen connections between Highline and the philanthropic and governmental communities in Denver and beyond. Tim is a Highline parent.

Board Policies & Procedures:

For more information about Highline Academy Board policies and procedures, click the links below.

Charter Application

Carver Policy Governance® Model
Policy Manual

Highline Academy Bylaws as Amended March 2010

Renewal Charter 2007

Board Meeting Minutes:

Click a link below to view Minutes of past Board meetings:

 Minutes 11.14.11

Minutes 10.10.11

Minutes 9.12.11
Minutes 8.8.11
Minutes 6.13.11
Minutes 5.9.11

Minutes 4.11.11