Academic Team

Carrie A. Olson – Executive Director

Carrie A. Olson is a 6th–8th grade teacher at Kepner Middle School (KMS) in Denver, Colorado who has been teaching in Denver Public Schools since 1985. Currently, she teaches electives for students who want to participate in academic travel to Washington, DC, and Europe, and a Literacy Skills class at each grade level for students who need to improve their reading and writing skills. She is a trained Ruby Payne presenter, coordinates staff development at her school and provides in-service training on “A Framework for Understanding Poverty.”

In her classes she teaches the Holocaust to students who otherwise would not receive this education. Carrie is a member of the National Holocaust Education Consortium, a volunteer at the Holocaust Awareness Institute at the University of Denver, and a graduate of the 1994 Yad Vashem Summer Institute for Educators from Abroad, participates in the American Friends of the Ghetto Fighters’ Museum International Book-Sharing Project and is a Museum Emissary, mentoring others in running the Book-Sharing Project. Carrie is a recipient of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Teacher Fellowship Program for 2006-2007 and is on the planning team for the Belfer NextStep Conferences. She also is a contributing author in the book The Call of Memory.

Carrie is the founder and executive director of the Kepner Educational Excellence Program (KEEP), a nonprofit organization that assists in funding students’ academic journeys to Washington, DC and Europe as well as providing significant other support at KMS including funding the KEEP Work Program for students taking the academic travel electives, providing Mini-Grants for use by the school staff and supporting a specialized professional development program for the faculty.

Carrie received her BA from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa in Elementary Education and Spanish. Her Master’s is in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Language, Literacy, and Culture from the University of Colorado at Denver where she was awarded a scholarship from the United States Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs. She is a doctoral candidate at the University of Denver in Curriculum and Instruction where she is also pursuing a certificate of Judaic Studies. She is a National Board Certified Teacher as a Middle Childhood Generalist.

Carrie is fluent in Spanish and has studied in Sevilla and Madrid, Spain. She was a recipient of the King Juan Carlos Fellowship to study post-graduate Spanish at the Universidad Cumpletense in Madrid, Spain in 1991. She co-translated a Holocaust curriculum entitled, Sin Salida (No Way Out) by Susan Sheer.

Carrie is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2005 Excellence in Education award from the Holocaust Awareness Institute at the University of Denver; the 2000 “7Everyday Heroes Award” by Channel 7, Denver, Colorado; and the 1998 “Remember for Tomorrow Alliance” Humanitarian Lifetime Service Award sponsored by the Colorado Symphony, Denver Art, Culture, and Film Foundation, and the Holocaust Awareness Institute at the University of Denver, Colorado; and the Human Relations Award from the Beth Joseph Congregation in 1994, Denver, Colorado. Most recently, on November 22nd, 2008 she was named one of Denver’s 150 - a special honor recognizing ordinary citizens who are making extraordinary contributions to the Mile High City.

Carrie lives with her husband Wayne, her daughter Ekaterina and her Labrador in Denver, CO and rides horses whenever she can at Helicon Show Stables, where she works with the summer camp program, in Parker, Colorado.

Jacqueline Arriaga – Director of the KEEP Work Program

Jacqueline Arriaga teaches Social Studies and English Language Development (to second language learners) at Kepner Middle School in Denver, Colorado. She has been teaching in Denver since 1988. She is a certified trainer for Dr. Ruby Payne’s “A Framework for Understanding Poverty.”

Jacqueline manages the KEEP Work Program. This program introduces the students to the world of work and work ethics. It is a requirement for all students participating in an academic travel elective and a way for them to earn financial credit towards the trips. She coordinates all KEEP fundraising activities for both parents and students.

In 2000, she received the “7 Everyday Heroes Award” for her outstanding contribution to the students by helping them earn financial credit to pursue academic travel opportunities, the school and the community. In 2006, she received the Hispanic Education Advisory Council Award for middle school teachers.

Jacqueline received her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois and a Master’s degree in Educational Technology from Lesley College in Boston, Massachusetts. She is currently working on her Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with a cognate in Technology at the University of Denver.

Frank Gonzales – Principal of Kepner Middle School

As principal, he develops programs specific to the Kepner neighborhood demographics, works with community agencies involved in the neighborhood and develops enhanced curricula. He has nearly thirty years of educational experience with Denver Public Schools and joined the Kepner academic team in the fall of 2006 after serving as principal of Richard Castro Elementary School for 4 years. Before becoming principal at Castro Elementary, he was on the staff at Oakland, Teller, John Amesse and Traylor Elementary Schools for 23 years.

Beverly Chalmers - Assistant Principal, Kepner Middle School

Ms. Chalmers has worked for Denver Public Schools for 24 years. Her career in education began in San Antoino, Texas. Before becoming assistant principal at Kepner, she was a social studies teacher at Skinner and Baker Middle Schools.

Advisory Board

Jack R. Thompson

Mr. Thompson is a retired Denver mutual fund executive and has over thirty years experience in the Denver business community serving as a Certified Public Accountant, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer and a corporate director. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Sparx Japan Fund, New York, NY and the Frank Russell Investment Company, Tacoma, Washington. He is a Director of the Thompson Academic Fund, Liberty, Indiana and a past Director of Junior Achievement. Mr. Thompson serves as the KEEP Advisory Board President and oversees KEEP’s administrative operations, external business activities, board recruitment, marketing, public relations and web site development.

Marybell C. Trujillo

Ms. Trujillo is Vice President of Business Banking at Wells Fargo Bank. Her community service includes Vice President of Chi Chicana, Inc., Chair of Amigos Colorado, Treasurer of Latina Chamber, and board member of Denver Kids. Inc. Trujillo is an alumni member of Chic Chicana, Pre-Collegiate Development Program, Inroads Inc. and the Migrant Education Program – School District 27J.

Sue Lubeck

Ms. Lubeck is a community volunteer and an entrepreneur. She is the owner of The Bookies Bookstore (an independent bookstore).

Marianne Woodward

Ms. Woodward is a community volunteer, primarily as an English as a second language teacher of adults for over twenty years at the The Learning Source. She is involved in service ministries through Augustana Lutheran Church.

Brian Bradford

Mr. Bradford is now a deputy public defender based in Silverthorne, Colorado, after serving as a judicial law clerk in Colorado’s state and federal courts for two years. Active in the community, Brian is committed to developing educational opportunities aimed at underprivileged youth. He can converse in Spanish and has traveled extensively throughout Latin America.

Russell Haskell

Mr. Haskell is a retired attorney, having practiced in Denver for over thirty years, most recently as General Counsel for Hamilton Oil Corporation. He has served on several boards, including Catholic Charities, Samaritan House shelter, and Denver International Program. He is involved both in taking and teaching classes at Denver University’s VIVA program and also has taught English as a second language for several years at The Learning Source.

Frank Gonzales

Mr. Gonzales is the Principal of Kepner Middle School. As principal, he develops programs specific to the Kepner neighborhood demographics, works with community agencies involved in the neighborhood and develops enhanced curricula. He has nearly thirty years of educational experience with Denver Public Schools and joined the Kepner academic team in the fall of 2006 after serving as principal of Richard Castro Elementary School for 4 years. Before becoming principal at Castro Elementary, he was on the staff at Oakland, Teller, John Amesse and Traylor Elementary Schools for 23 years.

Beverly Chalmers

Ms. Chalmers is the Assistant Principal of Kepner Middle School. She has worked for Denver Public Schools for 24 years. Her career in education began in San Antoino, Texas. Before becoming assistant principal at Kepner, she was a social studies teacher at Skinner and Baker Middle Schools.

Audrey Friedman Marcus

Audrey Friedman Marcus earned a masters degree in Jewish Education from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. She is the founder and executive vice president of A.R.E. Publishing, Inc., which produced materials for Jewish schools and was recently acquired by Behrman House. In her retirement, she is a freelance editor and the author of Survival in Shanghai: The Journals of Fred Marcus 1939-49, based on diaries of her late husband when he was a refugee in China.

Neither the board nor the staff is compensated by KEEP.