Faculty & Staff Directory

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I love camping and kayaking.

If you were a superhero, what powers would you have and why?
To make people laugh

What is one thing you've learned from students?
To see the humor in things.

What did you want to be growing up?
An oceanographer. I was going to marry Jacque Cousteau and live on the Calypso.

What draws you to working with students?
It is never boring! I live for the ah-ha moments and seeing kids excited about their learning.

What is one thing you enjoy about CSS?
Everyone's positive attitudes and dedication.

What is your favorite spot in the world?
The beach! Some of my best memories are of vacations near the shore.

Gina began teaching in 1988 at Pine Cobble School in Williamstown, Mass., as the director/lead teacher of the preschool, kindergarten, and after-care program. She then taught at Williamstown Elementary as the kindergarten/first-grade teacher, where she also directed their inclusive summer camp. Gina and her family moved to Colorado in 1997, and she was the general manager of Jack Quinn's Irish Restaurant and Pub for almost seven years before working as a real estate agent. In 2011, she was back to teaching at KinderCare as the Kindergarten Readiness teacher, and then in 2016, began as the Pre-3 teacher at the children's center at Colorado College before joining CSS in 2022.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? I enjoy collecting and listening to vinyl records.

What did you want to be growing up? I've wanted to be a teacher since 8th grade.

What is your favorite spot in the world? Granada, Spain. I lived there for a bit and loved trekking around the Alhambra.

Thomas began teaching in 2000 in the mountain town of Carbondale, Colorado, before leaving the profession for 10 years to work as a banker and a financial planner. He returned to teaching science in 2010 at Falcon High School, where he was head of the Science Department. In 2016, began teaching AP Chemistry, Chemistry, and PLTW Introduction to Engineering at Woodland Park High School. He also received a Master's in Educational Leadership and earned a Principal's License. Thomas became the Director of Panther Academy, the alternative school for the Woodland Park School District, as well as the Director of Online Education for the district. Growing up, he attended private school from grades K-12. When he was hired as the Upper School Director for CSS, he was excited to return to independent school education. He is thrilled to be a part of the CSS community!

What is one thing you’ve learned from students?
Through my years in the classroom, one thing I’ve learned from students is that they want the same things as me out of life. They want to be successful, to feel emotionally safe, and to experience the true joy that life has to offer. However, more often than not, this success manifests itself after a trusting relationship is built with the student. They want to know you are vested in them.

What draws you to working with students?
Children see the world through a different lens. Their joy and innocence in how they perceive the world around them is a beacon of hope for all of us and our future. What a privilege and honor it is to be entrusted in facilitating academic and social-emotional learning in the development of these sharp minds.

What did you want to be growing up?
Growing up I wanted to be the next Jane Goodall. I loved meeting new people and learning their stories.

What is your favorite spot in the world?
My favorite spot in the world is Africa, particularly the northern end. When I initially agreed to use my knowledge and expertise to help lead teacher training seminars in Liberia and work to provide social-emotional learning in the Village de l’Espérance, I had no idea the impact this would have on myself and my future. Living a temporarily primitive lifestyle amongst a group of people filled with nothing but hope allowed me time to find myself and my true passion in life. What a gift it is to ripen in such amazing grace!

A native of Pennsylvania, Amy graduated with a Master of Education in Elementary and Special Education from Holy Family University and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Temple University. An educator for more than 15 years to students representing a wide range of socioeconomic, geographic, and academic backgrounds, Amy adopts a "whole-child" approach to teaching and learning and is a firm believer in nurturing the needs of the entire child. Prior to joining The Colorado Springs School, her experiences included acting as a mentor teacher, working as a special education liaison, and providing community-based therapeutic behavioral support for foster children at the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center in Philadelphia. In 2011, she was granted the Beacon of Light Teacher of the Year Award in Philadelphia. When it comes to education, her diverse teaching experience holds a common thread: “Maslow before Bloom.” In addition to teaching in the United States, her philanthropic endeavors have led her to Northern Africa and Haiti, where she has facilitated teacher training seminars in Monrovia, Liberia; taught orphaned girls at the Village de L’Espérance, Ain Leuh, Morocco; and provided humanitarian aid in Port-au-Prince, Haiti following the earthquake of 2010. She is an active duty military spouse and the proud parent of two current CSS Kodiaks.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? I play in three Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, and I'm a big Magic: the Gathering fan.

If you were a superhero, what powers would you have and why? With the power to manipulate time, I would finally have enough time to do everything I want to do.

What is one thing you've learned from students? How to keep trying even when the task seems impossible. You won't know if you can do it unless you try.

What did you want to be growing up? A rocket scientist.

What draws you to working with students? I love watching students grow over the course of a class. I also love that my students always manage to teach me just as much as I teach them.

What is your favorite spot in the world? My favorite spot in the world is my grandparents' house on the Mississippi Lake in Carleton Place, Ottawa. I love to watch the ducks and the geese swim by, and the way the sunlight bounces off the water in the mornings is so pretty. It's also really quiet and serene. It feels like time stands still there, and it's always so relaxing.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?
That I'm fully bilingual in Spanish... everyone is always so surprised to learn that!

If you were a superhero, what powers would you have and why?
Teleportation. Free travel!

What did you want to be growing up?
A chef

What draws you to working with students?
Creating meaningful relationships with them and helping them achieve their goals!

What is your favorite spot in the world?
Madrid, Spain. I had the privilege to live and teach there and it's my favorite city!

What is your role at CSS?⁣ I am a Middle School history teacher (World Geography, American History, and Ancient Civilizations), and the head coach for the boys’ and girls’ Middle School soccer programs.

What is one thing you enjoy about CSS? There are many things I love about working at CSS, but the thing I have loved best is the chance to work with students in a variety of settings, whether teaching in the classroom, leading overseas trips, paddling on rivers, squirming through caves, skiing on Colorado’s slopes, coaching on Boddington Field, or logging countless hours in CSS vans. This has allowed me to get to know students’ personalities, strengths, and areas of challenge in a way that would not have been possible in a traditional school setting.

If you were a superhero, what powers would you have? This isn’t a typical answer, so I run the risk of being accused of being a lame superhero; however, I have said for years that if I could have any power, I would love to have the ability to never sleep. Imagine what one could accomplish and experience with all that extra time!

What did you want to be growing up? Growing up, I was all in on being a professional soccer player. Although I didn’t quite make it, soccer has been a huge part of my life for almost 40 years. As a coach, I have really enjoyed trying to kindle a love for soccer in young people and helping them achieve their goals.

What would people be surprised to learn about you? Despite loving to joke around and being energetic with groups of students, I am actually pretty shy and an introvert.

What draws you to working with students? I love the fact that students have their whole lives ahead of them with so many exciting possibilities. It is energizing to see young people find and develop their passions. When it happens in a class, seminar, or sport I am teaching, it is particularly gratifying.

What is one thing you’ve learned from students? I have learned not to take myself too seriously. It is a lot more fun that way.

What is your favorite spot in the world? My favorite spot in the world is Moraine Lake in Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. Nestled in the Valley of the Ten Peaks with jagged peaks surrounding it, Moraine Lake’s otherworldly turquoise-blue water is something I will never forget.

What is a favorite memory at CSS? This is a tough question, as I have had so many great experiences at CSS. One of my favorites was an 18-day trip to Peru I took with 15 Middle and Upper school students in June 2002. Experiencing Cusco, hiking the Inca Trail for four days to Machu Picchu, and then completing a high Andean trek that took us through remote villages while circumnavigating 21,000 ft. Mt. Ausangate were all amazing. Seeing first-hand the joy of these discoveries through the eyes of the students made it even more memorable.

Jessica joined the Kodiak community with her two children Audrey '34 and Grayson '33, and husband Ryan in the fall of 2022. She is no stranger to CSS, and prior to assuming a role in the Lower School division, could regularly be found volunteering both as a 2nd-grade Classroom Coordinator and office assistant in the Early Childhood Center.

Jessica's experience includes serving for two years as a Lower School Paraprofessional and Volunteer Coordinator at the Christian Academy in Alabama. During her tenure at Christian Academy, Jessica managed the K3-grade 12 private school's Google Classroom platform for Kindergarten through grade five teachers and regularly assisted faculty inside the classroom as well.

Jessica and her family love participating in outdoor activities such as hiking and camping.