About Us and Contact Information

Who is the GT Point of Contact at my Child’s School?

ALL schools in the district are responsible for meeting the needs of identified gifted and talented students. K-8 schools are supported through a GT teacher, charter schools are supported through a designated point of contact, and high school is supported through a site-based team and the Central Office. Please refer to the  Gifted and Talented Teacher/Point of Contact to find your school’s GT teacher and coordinator. Programming Plans for the 2019-2020 school year are also available.

About Us

Dr. Jennifer Lemoine
Department Director
jennifer_lemoine@dpsk12.net

Dr. Jennifer Lemoine’s career in education spans over 20 years as an educator, leader, and advocate in schools with diverse populations. She brings her passion for the unique learning and social/emotional needs of gifted learners to the DPS team. Jennifer is a National Board Certified Teacher in Exceptional Needs, has a master’s degree in Curriculum and Supervision, holds endorsements in Gifted Education and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners, and recently completed her doctoral program at the University of Denver in Curriculum and Instruction: Gifted Leadership. Jennifer believes in educating the whole gifted child which includes both affective and academic needs with a lens on equity and inclusion. She is looking forward to collaborating and partnering with a passionate team of educators to serve a diverse population of students and their families. She hopes to increase awareness and support of gifted learners’ characteristics, needs, and build community connections. When not working with or advocating for gifted learners, Jennifer enjoys spending time adventuring with her family.

Robert Frantum Allen
Interim Director
robert_frantum-allen@dpsk12.org

Robert is the retired director of Special Education in DPS. Prior to working as the director he served as the Director of Special Education, Gifted and Talented, and School Health in Adams 14 school district. He is excited to return to the world of Gifted and Talented and hopefully use his skills in the area twice-exceptionality to assist with the development and the polishing of supportive systems in Denver Public Schools while we go through the process to hire a permanent director.

Dr. Meryl Faulkner
Program Manager
meryl_faulkner@dpsk12.org

Dr. Meryl Faulkner holds a doctorate from the University of Denver in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in Gifted Education. She also has a Gifted and Talented Director district-level administrator’s license. Her masters degree is in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education. In addition to the past two years as a district level GT Coordinator in DPS, she has been a classroom teacher at the elementary level teaching preschool, kindergarten, fourth, and fifth grades, and spent several years as a GT itinerant teacher in elementary and middle schools. Her passion is promoting equity within gifted education, especially as it relates to early identification of students of color. She is a board member for the Colorado Academy for Educators of the Gifted, Talented, and Creative and serves on the board of the School Accountability Committee at Stargate School for Gifted Children. Outside of work, she is an escape room enthusiast and gamer.

Michelle Slovak McKinsey
Program Manager
michelle_mckinsey@dpsk12.org

With over 20 years of experience in education and leadership with schools with diverse student populations, Michelle brings her passion for equity and inclusion in Gifted Identification and Programming to her new role as Manager in the Gifted and Talented Department. She is passionate about providing equitable access in the identification of diverse learners, supporting schools and teachers with culturally appropriate gifted programming and professional development. She is most looking forward to collaborating across departments to increase our district partnership and awareness of the needs of Gifted and Talented learners as well as connecting with families and school communities to elevate their voices. Michelle holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature, as well as Graduate Credentials in Elementary Education, with an Early Childhood endorsement from San Francisco State University. She is also licensed and endorsed in Gifted Education and Cultural and Linguistic Diversity.

Coordinators and Support Staff

Brian Beard
Middle & High School Support
brian_beard@dpsk12.org

Brian Beard has a Bachelor’s Degree in English with an emphasis in Secondary Teaching and a Master’s Degree in Special Education with an emphasis on Gifted Education from the University of Northern Colorado. He has 16 years in 6-12 English and Language Arts classrooms having taught several classes at each grade level. He loves time in the mountains with his family. He is also the current program chair for the Global Awareness Network for the National Association for Gifted Children.

Nathan Burt
GT Coordinator
nathan_burt@dpsk12.org

Nathan Burt holds a Masters degree in Special Education with an emphasis on Gifted and Talented Education from the University of Northern Colorado where he is also an adjunct professor in Gifted and Talented courses for Masters-level students. He has been working in education for more than 8 years as a teacher of the gifted at the elementary level as well as a Gifted Coordinator for Denver Public Schools. In his free time, you can probably find Nathan in any of Denver’s several movie theaters or on a cruise ship traveling around the world with his family.

Sherri Creel
Elementary and HGT Site Support
sherri_creel@dpsk12.org

Sherri Creel has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Oklahoma State University and a Master’s in Special Education with an endorsement in Secondary Math from the University of Texas at Dallas.  She has worked for DPS for 30 years, 12 years in the classroom and the rest of her tenure at the Gifted Education Office.  She is a 3^rd degree Blackbelt in Taekwondo and has been training for 15 years.  She loves to travel and hopes to spend the majority of her retirement traveling the world.

Maggie Culbertson
GT Coordinator
maggie_rowbottom@dpsk12.org

Maggie Culbertson has taught in DPS for over 8 years in many different areas. Her roles included elementary ELA-S instructor, ELA Academy mentor teacher, and Gifted and Talented itinerant. She has found passion in taking on and creating new leadership roles for herself to improve school culture. She has created and piloted classroom instructional models, materials and enrichment programs to promote equity, and ideas for school-wide GT collaboration with great success. She is passionate about learning and educating staff about culturally responsive gifted education to identify and support all students. In her free time, Maggie enjoys traveling, being active in the mountains year-round, and attending local community events and festivals.

Dr. Vanessa Ewing
Charter Support
vanessa_ewing@dpsk12.org

Dr. Vanessa Ewing holds degrees in educational psychology and curriculum/instruction.  Her experience includes 20 years experience as an instructor in teacher education programs, serving as a teacher and principal of gifted children, and doing cognitive assessments.  Vanessa works with charters in identification and programming for gifted children.  She also leads classes in gifted education.  She is passionate about varied educational models for student needs, twice-exceptional students, and creativity.  When not working, Vanessa enjoys time with her son, traveling, and painting.

Jennifer McDonough, NCSP
Department Psychologist
jennifer_mcdonough@dpsk12.org

Greg Moldow
High School Support
gregory_moldow@dpsk12.org

After 18 years teaching high school English, Greg’s been teamed up on GT program building in DPS’s traditional high schools, close to 40 total.  Alongside school site teams and our own devoted central team, he’s training students to advocate for their academic needs, connecting them to professors and professionals to cultivate curiosity, mentoring them through some underachieving fog, etc., etc.  Anything to advance the cause of our youngsters.  Beyond that, larger DPS initiatives consume him: he’s knee deep in vertical teaming ventures between middle and high school teachers, building networks of community partners with real world problems to solve, reimagining the college admissions portfolio process with the help of colleges across the nation, and lots more.  He loves to hike with family, swim, read, obsess over his cats, . . .

Stacey Pendleton
Assessment and Technology
stacey_pendleton@dpsk12.org

Stacey started working in the GT office starting in November 2016. Prior to that time, she taught history courses at the University of Colorado Denver and Metropolitan State University, while simultaneously serving as the Director of Operations for the state affiliate National History Day program. She has worked with Jeffco School’s GT program in assessments and summer enrichment programming. Stacey also serves as an RCM for DI Colorado. Outside of the office, she is an avid cinephile, concert-goer, and traveler.

Nancy Schlee
Office Support
nancy_schlee@dpsk12.org

Nancy Schlee joined the Gifted and Talented Department in June 2018 as Office Support. She has a varied background of Director of Operations, Office Manager and Administrative Assistant with 7 years in schools. She is passionate about ensuring equity and support for all students and families. She is a Colorado Native, is fluent in Spanish and loves her puppies!