Faculty & Staff Directory
Thomas Cleary
Director
Thomas Cleary has 19 years of teaching experience in Elementary, Middle School, and High School. He taught for nine years at CCS, and nine years in American curriculum schools in India and Mali, W. Africa. He is credentialed and experienced in elementary general education, secondary math, and secondary science. He has a BS in Environmental Geology and a Master’s in Educational Leadership, both from Colorado State University. He is also certified as a Master Environmental Educator through the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education. Prior to becoming a formal educator he spent 15 years as an outdoor instructor and wilderness course director. His commitment to Crestone and experiential education brought him back to CCS with the desire to build upon its mission and core values: stimulating experiential and academic programming that includes nurturing the whole student and their relationships and responsibilities to self, community, and environment. His goal as a school leader is to create a supportive atmosphere where students and staff feel safe to explore, grow, and learn. Thomas is an avid outdoor enthusiast who enjoys rock climbing, river rafting, skiing, bicycling, and soaking in hot springs with his wife and two young adult children.
Lynn Nehez
Lynn Nehez is the Business Office Manager. She comes to us from Georgia where she spent 30 years as the founder and director of a Montessori school, including securing its non-profit status. She and her husband relocated to the valley in 2022. Lynn is passionate about education and is excited to support the growth and development of programming at CCS. She is a certified Montessori teacher for ages 3-6 and 6-12 and taught for seven years in her school in Georgia. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Information Systems from Georgia State University and her Master of Education Degree from Loyola University Maryland. She has extensive experience in finance, human resources, and running a school.
Aaron Gottfried
Guidance Coordinator and Restorative Practices leader
Aaron comes to CCS with a wilderness therapy and restorative practices background. A no-nonsense communicator who is learning the student information system, credits, scheduling, post-high-school pathways and more, all with a heart for helping students succeed.
Hillary Clayton
more to come!
Carissa Conner
All School Experiential Education / HS Math remediation and support
more to come
Cary Yang
Hi, I am Ms. Cary. I am from Minneapolis, Minnesota and I am excited to be here in Crestone, Colorado. I have been in education for 17 years working in primary education as a classroom teacher, literacy coach, writing teacher, also as a reading and math interventionist. I like pie, birds, and the color blue. The river birch is my favorite tree and floating in northern Minnesota lakes sounds like a wonderful day.
Daya Scheide
Daya has worked at the charter school off and on for many years as Middle school teacher, music lead, theater inspiration and now the 4/5 classroom Lead. He bring passion, personality, and creativity to every hour he spends with his students
Denise Vargas
Denise Vargas comes to us from Pueblo, CO, as the middle school ELA/SS instructor. She earned a master's degree in applied natural science and a bachelor’s in biology. She began her teaching career as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho, Southern Africa (1987-1991). Her eclectic teaching philosophies range from Paideia which implements socratic seminars to Montessori that allows her to guide the child following their curiosity and natural development. She is thankful for her ability to teach a variety of subjects to a diverse population of students which includes elementary, MS, HS, and the General Educational Development test to adults. Her passion for the natural world allowed her to be an outdoor educator at the Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center in Pueblo/Beulah areas and the love of children granted her the opportunity to create fun programs at the Pueblo Library. Most of all, Denise is connected to Crestone through her spiritual practice and has traveled here since 2002 and considers Crestone as her second home.
Sam Goering
Sam Goering, HS English Language Arts and Social Studies, comes with four years of experience teaching in Longmont where he used traditional methods but also experiential and integrated approaches. His recent work in environmental education and project-based learning at Wild Bear Nature Center furthers his fit with CCS.
Sam: “I am ecstatic to move to Crestone and work at CCS. I bring a passion for the humanities, the outdoors, and adventurous learning. I am excited to connect with our young adults and utilize democratic, student-centered learning. I put student choice at the center of my teaching practices, I design fun projects that incorporate authentic skills as I plan personalized, blended, and hybrid units. I am also fascinated by game-based and simulation-based learning--I love team-building activities and Dungeons & Dragons. I look forward to hiking and exploring the Sangre de Cristos and skiing Monarch! Last, you might recognize me as the alto saxophone player in The Alcapones.
Robin Chestnut
Robin comes to us with a doctoral in mathematics, years of teaching in undergraduate settings, experience in gaming and tutoring with students of all ages and now leading the G6-12 math program. He connects with students over math worksheets and in the band room from behind the drums with enthusiasm!
Patrick Campo
Physical Education Teacher
Patrick leads our PE program K-12 with joy and enthusiasm fostering healthy competition and inspiring teamwork. He is also a father of 3 students.
Jessica Martinez and Colleen Hurst
more to come
Jennie Orgaard
Office Admin assistant
Jennie Joined CCS in 2021 and has come back again to support the running of the office, partiularly financials. She plays a vital role providing stability with the office staffing changes during the summer and fall of 2022. Jennie loves to travel, spend time with her husband, and learn new things.
Sammy Prien
Custodian
Sammy Prien is CCS’s second custodian. At the risk of over-stating, he is passionate about cleaning. He co-founded a cleaning service in Denver where he worked both on the floor and behind the desk, successfully building a thriving business which he later sold to his business partner. Moving to Crestone has brought his skills to CCS and he has settled into one building, working with April, and getting to know the children and teachers.
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