Sumaya was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon. Fleeing the civil war, Sumaya and her family moved to the United States when she was 12. After completing high school, she attended Dartmouth College, and majored in political philosophy with an additional concentration in education. The combination of these two areas of study gave Sumaya a lens through which to understand the political and social chaos that had defined her childhood in Lebanon. As her studies progressed, she became increasingly committed to exploring the ways in which schools can strengthen and re-vitalize a democracy by educating responsible and engaged democratic citizens. After graduating from Dartmouth, Sumaya spent two years teaching high school and middle school in Alabama, an experience that further fueled her desire to study the relationship between education and democracy. She left Alabama for a Ph.D. program in political theory and education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. During her five years of graduate work in Boulder, Sumaya's research, teaching and community work all focused in different ways on the relationship between democratic theory, education and social justice. Sumaya is the mother of Owen, Watershed School class of 2019.
Jason grew up in New England, and discovered the amazing beauty of Colorado after graduating from Brown University in Rhode Island. His previous experience with teens includes leading community service programs on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana, backpacking trips in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and biking trips in Nova Scotia and Maine. In addition to serving as the Assistant to the Head at Northfield Mount Hermon School, he has been a high school teacher of religious studies and ethics, trained teachers for a national test preparation company, and was an instructor in the University of Colorado's teacher education and Chancellor's Leadership programs. Jason received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, where his dissertation research focused on the experiences of Boulder area high school students, and what makes them feel connected to and interested in school. His research on curricular innovation has been published in the Journal of Experiential Education and the Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Jason currently consults with independent schools throughout the country on issues of schedule and curriculum redesign, and serves as the Executive Director of Watershed School.
Ben was raised in New Jersey (he claims there are parts of Jersey that are absolutely beautiful, but he admits that he didn't live in those parts) and received his higher education at Skidmore College in Saratoga, NY. Ben's first short-lived job was teaching at a boarding school in New Hampshire where, he confesses, he was a dreadful teacher but he and the kids had a grand time playing soccer in the yard and listening to music in the dorm. During his one-year teaching career Ben took a group of students on a ski and outdoor adventure to Colorado and knew immediately that he was going to pursue a career in travel and nature. In 1984, not given to working for others (his experience with the Headmaster of the prep school was a disaster, for him and for the Headmaster), Ben decided to pursue his dreams independently. Saving $600 driving a garbage truck at an amusement park, he invested that undersized savings in typing (on an antiquated standard typewriter) and photocopying a small brochure advertising ski and adventure trips. It wasn't long before the International Fund for Animal Welfare (the world's largest animal welfare organization) put out a feeler for a young and ambitious adventure travel company to help them develop a seal watching tourist industry to replace the seal hunt in eastern Canada. As Ben was living on the floor of his brother's apartment in New York City and stealing his brother's change for subway fare to get to work, there was no company more ambitious than Natural Habitat Adventures, which, at the time, consisted of Ben alone. In the twenty-plus years since then, Ben has grown Natural Habitat Adventures to become a leader in worldwide nature travel and has journeyed to dozens of countries in search of spectacular nature experiences… and a good time, whenever possible. Aside from growing a meaningful company that provides "the world's greatest nature expeditions, Ben's ambition within his professional life is to utilize adventure travel to build support for the fight against global warming. When he's not working, Ben plays and coaches soccer, rides his mountain bike, skis, drinks beer and smokes Cuban cigars. Ben has a son at Watershed School.
Brenda's background includes over 20 years of professional fundraising and nonprofit management experience, having worked in nonprofit organizations in NY, NJ, Michigan and Colorado that focus on children and youth primarily. These have included being the executive director of a statewide child abuse prevention organization, fundraising for a prep school, a YMCA, two colleges (Fordhan University and most recently, Metro State College of Denver), and currently serving as Development Director for Blue Sky Bridge, a child abuse prevention and intervention program in Boulder. She ahs always combined these jobs with a deep commitment to community volunteerism. She is hoping to apply her skills to help Watershed School develop a firm and diverse funding base from which to operate. Being a parent of two grown children, both of whom experienced some worthwhile years in independent schools, she recognizes the importance of providing educational options to youth. She feels that Watershed can, indeed, provide a life-changing experience for its students.
Brenda is married to Mike, has lived in Boulder for 13 years, has two children and one grandchild. She is a graduate of Duke University.
Carle is a co-founder and principal of Chain Reaction Partners along with her husband, Andy. She is the mother of two daughters, one of which is a senior at Watershed School. She served on the board and as board chair for Parenting Place, a local non-profit for six years and has been actively involved in the support of other local non-profits.
Carle is a certified Co-Active Professional and Corporate Coach who coaches professionals and executives, conducts leadership development programs and facilitates team meetings and retreats. As a coach, Carle has coached hundreds of individuals internationally, worked with teams to be more collaborative and reach goals, facilitated strategic planning retreats and helped mediate interpersonal conflicts. She has also helped develop and deliver numerous workshops on managing, leadership, mentoring and communication skills.
Carle has extensive management experience in sales, marketing communications and public relations. For several years she owned an independent marketing organization where she gained knowledge and insight about the challenges of running a business.
Myriam was born and raised in Antwerp, Belgium, where she graduated from "De Stedelijke Normaal School" a teachers prep school. She caught the travel bug when she joined the international, educational, non-profit organization Up With People and traveled extensively for 19 years. After working in the Up With People corporate office in Tucson, AZ and later in Broomfield, CO as the Vice President of Admissions, Myriam created her own "cultural exchange program" when she married Scott, a California native. They now live in Boulder with their 2 daughters Sarah and Eva who attend the Watershed School. When she is not busy as a Realtor, you can find Myriam spending time with her family, on a hiking trail, having fun with friends or reading a good book. Oh, and English is her third language.
Kathy recently concluded nearly 30 years in the private practice of law. In her practice she focused on advising and representing employers on the myriad aspects of federal and state employment law, most recently as a litigation partner at the firm Otten, Johnson, Robinson, Neff & Ragonetti, P.C. in Denver. During her career she represented employers large and small, national and local. She spent six years as a member (two as chair) of the Committee on Conduct of the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, and is currently a member of the Colorado Supreme Court Standing Committee on the Rules of Professional Conduct. She holds a B.A. in Government from Carleton College and a J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School and is a member of the Order of the Coif, the legal honor society.
Having attended private schools from kindergarten through high school (The Haverford Friends School in Haverford, Pennsylvania and The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania), Kathy particularly appreciates Watershed’s innovative approach to education, the academic rigor the School expects from its students, and the personalized attention the staff gives to each student. As a Trustee Kathy hopes to utilize her skills to help the School continue to grow and to help fulfill the dream of its founders to create a national educational model for other schools to emulate.
Kathy lives in Thornton with her husband, David Smith, and is stepmom to David’s two grown sons and their wives, and the happy grandma of three great grandkids. She and David are lucky enough also to have a home in Tabernash, outside of Winter Park, which David built himself. They enjoy skiing and mountain biking, adventure travel, and movies.
Having grown up in the Boston area, Trina Peterson moved out to Colorado in 1991. Since 1996, she and her husband, Jess, have lived with their two children, Soren (a Watershed Middle School student) and Tessa (a Nederland Elementary student) on Glacier Lake, six miles north of Nederland. A political science major at Princeton and an Instructor for The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) during college summers, Trina went on to teach in the experiential education department of Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico for several years before returning to the east coast for an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth.
Upon graduating from Tuck in 1991, Trina headed straight for the Rockies. She spent several years in the venture capital world identifying and shepherding promising investments, then headed up strategic and marketing initiatives for a small manufacturing start-up. With the birth of Tessa in 1997, Trina stopped full-time work in order to focus on bringing up her children. She remains a part-time consultant and has sat on a number of boards, including The Women's Wilderness Institute, Leave No Trace, Inc., and The National Outdoor Leadership School, headquartered in Lander, WY.
Jane moved to Boulder in 2001 with her two sons, Ben and Adin. Jane briefly practiced criminal defense law in Chicago before having children. Fortunately, her draw to raise her children was stronger then her desire to protect the rights of criminals. She left the law and once her oldest son, Ben, became proficient at spitting-up she designed and launch the first backpack diaper bag. Never underestimate the power of law school to prepare you for anything but the law. The diaper bag business and children remained her focus for years before she opened LMNOP, a children’s clothing store in Chicago. She sat on the board of The Pegasus Players Theater in Chicago for 3 years.
Upon moving to Boulder, Jane sold her store, said goodbye to diaper bags and re-entered the legal field peripherally via mediation and arbitration. Not able to find the attraction to warring parties, she turned to art and is currently managing the Exhibitrek Gallery and producing works of art in the form of quilts and Ben and Adin. Jane is also a freelance grant writer.
Jane is an improv performer at the Bovine Metropolis Theater in Denver, a skier, avid cook and all sorts of other wonderful things. She is on the leadership council of the Adventure Rabbi organization.
Garry Sanfaçon is an organization consultant with 16 years of experience in business, government, nonprofit organizations and communities. His work involves facilitation, strategic planning, team building, leadership development, conflict resolution and organizational change. Garry holds a masters degree in Management from John F. Kennedy University and NTL Institute. He has a diverse work experience including Project Manager for new product development for Logitech, Inc., Planner for Santa Barbara County and Executive Director for a local non-profit. Additional boards Garry serves on include the Men's Leadership Alliance, Peak to Peak Healthy Communities Project and Boulder County Planning Commission. Garry has lived in the mountains outside of Nederland for the past 13 years with his wife Nancy Goldaper, son Nathan (11) and cat George.