School of Education Advisory Board

The School of Education Advisory Board includes education and community leaders who will help shape and guide the MSU Denver School of Education. The main purpose of the Board is to help the School of Education become a pre-eminent urban School of Education and achieve its mission of preparing people who will Teach, Lead, and Transform.

Members:

Katy Anthes, Ph.D.
Amie Baca-Oehlert
Nathan Cadena
Chandra Diaz, Ph.D.
Jeremy Eddie
Anna Jo Garcia Haynes
Elizabeth Hinde, Ph.D.
Ann Logan
Esther Rodriguez. J.D.
Sue Sava

Commissioner of Education in Colorado from 2016- 2023, Dr. Katy Anthes is widely respected for her commitment to listen to diverse perspectives and develop solutions that are founded on productive middle ground. Keeping students’ best interests as her top priority, she focuses on providing high quality expertise and support to policymakers, districts and educators working to enhance student achievement. As Commissioner, Anthes worked with the Colorado State Board of Education, the Legislature and the Governor to craft and implement a vision of education for Colorado.  She led the Colorado Department of Education, an $8 billion dollar agency, dedicated to helping districts achieve great things for students.  During her time as Commissioner, she served on the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) Board of Directors and the Education Commission of the States (ECS), Steering Committee.

Dr. Anthes was with CDE since 2011, serving as chief of staff, interim associate commissioner for achievement and strategy and executive director of educator effectiveness. As the executive director of educator effectiveness, she led CDE’s efforts to support and retain highly effective educators in Colorado. In her previous position as a partner with the Third Mile Group, Anthes led and researched major education initiatives for state, district, and national organizations on a variety of education issues and projects including the Colorado School Leadership Academy Board, the Expanded Learning Opportunities Commission and as an evaluator for district education programs across the state.

Anthes worked with numerous national education organizations at The Third Mile Group, such as the Council for Chief State School Officers, the National Governor’s Association, The National Commission for Teaching and America’s Future, American Institutes for Research, and many more. Prior to founding the Third Mile Group, she had seven years of research, policy work and leadership experience at the Education Commission of the States focusing on school and district leader effectiveness. Anthes holds a Ph.D. in public policy and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Colorado Denver. She did her undergraduate work at the University of Oregon.

Anthes lives in Denver, Colorado.

Amie Baca-Oehlert is a high school English teacher and counselor. She was named the Adams City High School Teacher of the Year in 2000-2001. Amie is currently on leave from her teaching duties in the Adams 12 Five Star Schools District. She earned her undergraduate degree from Clemson University and a Master’s degree in school counseling from the University of Northern Colorado.

Amie started serving a three-year term as CEA Vice President in July 2012 and is currently serving her second term. She previously served as President of the District Twelve Educators’ Association and as the Ethnic Minority At Large member on the CEA Board of Directors.

Amie was selected by Governor Bill Ritter to serve as one of three teacher representatives on the P-20 Council, serving from 2008-2010. Beginning in 2010, she was appointed by Governor Ritter as one of four teachers to serve on the State Council of Educator Effectiveness.

Amie is passionate about advocating for the rights of public school educators. She resides in the Thornton area with her husband, who is also a public school administrator and licensed teacher, and her three children.

Nathan Cadena currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for the Denver Scholarship Foundation (DSF), overseeing all operations of the college access, scholarship and college success programs. Prior to DSF, Nathan worked in education for over fifteen years within community colleges, universities, and nonprofit organizations. He has served professionally as a career counselor, professional trainer, advisor/instructor, financial aid administrator, and director of both college access and success programs. He has served with Community College of Denver, Council for Opportunity in Education (COE), Daniels Fund, and Colorado State University. Nathan is a proud TRIO Upward Bound Alum, holds a certificate in Global Career Development Facilitation, a Bachelor of Arts in social sciences from Colorado State University, and a Master of Education from Regis University. Nathan is a native Coloradoan, is an avid Broncos fan, and supports all other Colorado sports teams.

Mr. Jeremy Eddie received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Siena Heights University in Michigan and later pursued his Master of Arts in Teaching from Clemson University and later received his Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Oakland University.  He began his career in education by teaching middle school social studies  for 4 years in Greenville, South Carolina. He transitioned into school leadership as a school administrator, serving as a school leader in Career and Technical Education in North Carolina.  He then relocated his family to the Metro Denver area where he has been fortunate to serve in two of the states’ largest school districts.

Jeremy obtained his teacher preparation through Clemson University as part of the nationally acclaimed Call Me MiSTER program which is an initiative to increase the pool of available male educators of color among the State’s lowest performing elementary schools. While in North Carolina and South Carolina, Jeremy served on several committees and national organizations: Association for Middle Level Education, Big Brother Big Sister, National Council for the Social Studies, National Interscholastic Athletic Administration, South Carolina Association of Athletic Administration, South Carolina Council for the Social Studies. Jeremy is passionate about ensuring that ALL students have what they need in order to be successful! Jeremy has a history of working to ensure that schools are fully staffed with the best and brightest talent. However, this talent must also represent the diversity of the community.

Jeremy currently serves as the Senior Manager of Talent Acquisition for Denver Public Schools.  In this role, he leads all of the recruitment efforts for school-based positions within the district which includes leading diversity recruitment initiatives to ensure that schools are reflective of the students and communities.  Jeremy is currently completing his doctoral dissertation at the University of Michigan whereby his research is focused on the lived experiences of Black males who earn industry credentials within career and technical education programs.

Mr. Eddie is also the co-founder and chief program officer of the Colorado Men of Color Collaborative.  This Colorado-based non-profit was established to provide the necessary support and opportunities for men of color here in our state in the areas of mental health, social mobility and career advancement.

Jeremy enjoys spending time outdoors, visiting local museums, and spending time with his wife and one daughter.

Anna Jo Garcia Haynes is the President Emeritus of Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers, which operate eight centers in Denver’s inner city for children from families with limited resources. Anna Jo is a long time advocate for children and their families and in that capacity served as the chair for Denver Public Schools/City of Denver Early Childhood Council, appointed by the Superintendent and the Mayor. Anna Jo was also the founding chairperson of the Colorado Children’s Campaign and past president of the Woman’s Foundation of Colorado, Current Co-Chair of the Early Childhood Leadership Commission for Colorado appointed by Gov. Hickenlooper and Board Member for Mayor Hancock’s Education Compact.

Additional Board Service has included: Past Board Chair, Clayton Foundation, Denver Foundation Board of Trustees, Founding Co-Chair Qualistar Colorado, Hunt Alternatives Fund, Future Black Women Leadership Institute, Circle of Latina Leadership.

Ann Logan was a children’s outreach librarian at the Denver Public Library for eight years and head children’s librarian at the Tuckahoe, NY Public Library for three years. She was the Reach Out and Read Program Coordinator at Denver Health for ten years, co- founded the statewide Reach Out and Read Colorado coalition in 2003 and served as board chair for five years. Ann currently serves on the boards of Clayton Early Learning, and the Denver Art Museum Education Committee and administers with her husband the Sidney E. Frank Foundation – Colorado Fund. She has served on the boards of Reach Out and Read National Center, Denver Scholars Unlimited and Denver School of the Arts. Ann and her husband Hal have two sons and two granddaughters. She received her B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Tennessee and her M.L.S. from St. John’s University.

Esther M. Rodriguez is Special Assistant to the President for HSI and oversees Metropolitan State University of Denver’s efforts to achieve federal designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Previously, she served as Director for the Center for Urban Education and Principal Investigator and Director for the 21st Century College Readiness Center supporting out-of-school partnership programs in high-need urban schools and communities.

At MSU Denver, Rodriguez has directed two significant programs in collaboration with the Denver Public Schools (DPS) aimed at enhancing the preparation of effective teachers for urban schools under a U.S. Department of Education Teacher Quality Enhancement grant, and increasing the achievement and college and career readiness of the city’s underserved students through out-of-school programs under two state 21st Century Community Learning Center grants. These grant-funded programs strategically link the university and its resources to urban schools and the students and communities they serve.

Prior to joining MSU Denver in August 2007, she headed an education consulting practice where her areas of expertise and policy interests include P-16 policy initiatives, enhancing equity of opportunity and diversity in postsecondary education, high school reform, teacher quality reform, adult learning and workforce development, conference planning and fundraising support. Her clients included the Education Commission of the States (ECS), Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), University of the Pacific/McGeorge College of Law, Pathways to College Network, Biological Studies Curriculum Study (BSCS), California GEAR-UP, and California ARCHES (Alliance for Regional Collaboration to Heighten Educational Success), among others.

From 2001-2005, she served as Vice President for Development at the Education Commission of the States (ECS) where she was responsible for developing and managing a comprehensive national development program to secure financial resources for the ECS portfolio of projects and services, including early learning, teacher quality, assessment, service learning, and postsecondary education. She cultivated professional relationships with senior officers of major national foundations, federal government agencies, and corporate giving programs; developed and solicited proposals for funding and managed all development and fundraising operations.

Before ECS, she served as Associate Executive Director of the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) from 1988 to 2001. Her portfolio of initiatives included public policy issues facing the states, most notably PreK-12/postsecondary collaboration or P-16 alignment, teacher effectiveness, postsecondary diversity and minority student achievement, college and career readiness initiatives. She has directed numerous projects on these issues funded by foundations and federal grants, including Building Statewide K-16 Systems for Student Success funded by the U.S. Department of Education and Enhancing the Teaching Profession: The Importance of Mobility to Recruitment and Retention supported by the Ford Foundation. Ms. Rodriguez led several college readiness initiatives in partnership with ACT, Inc., The College Board, the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and others, She is the author of several reports and papers including State-level Education Reform: Collaborative Roles for Postsecondary Education (1994), College Admission Requirements: A New Role for States (1995), Postsecondary Education and the New Workforce (co-author, 1996), Preparing Quality Teachers: Issues and Trends in the States (1998), and Diversity in Higher Education: An Action Agenda for the States (1999).

Ms. Rodriguez is a licensed attorney and former high school teacher. She completed her Juris Doctor at Hastings College of the Law, University of California, and her bachelor’s degree (cum laude) and graduate work in Spanish literature and secondary instruction at Colorado State University and the University of Northern Colorado.

Sue Sava is the President and CEO of the Public Education & Business Coalition. Sue also leads the vision and executive level work for Stanley Teacher Prep. Stanley Teacher Prep is merging with Boettcher Teacher Residency to become the largest residency model in Colorado. She participates on the Colorado Education Preparation Innovation Coalition, state and national ESSA convenings including the CO Spoke for Effective Instruction and Leadership, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Community of Practice on Early Teacher Initiatives.

Sue has worked in the education field for 24 years in a range of roles including 12 years teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th graders at Stanley British Primary School. Beginning her career as a resident for Stanley Teacher Prep, Sue has served roles in mentoring, advising, coaching novice teachers, seminar design and admissions. Sue has instructed child development courses for the residency component of University of Colorado Denver, Masters of Administration, Education and Human Development program.

Sava serves on several metro Denver school boards, is a founding design team member of Joe Shoemaker School and is the current President of the Board for SOAR charter school in DPS. Sava earned a M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from UCD and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Princeton University.