The Ednium Podcast

We are excited to release the first episodes in the DPS Board Candidate Series! This week we are sitting down with the candidates looking to represent District 1 (Southeast Denver). The community has the opportunity to hear the vision and the stories of Scott Baldermann and Kimberlee Sia. Whether you live in District 1 or not, we hope you give both candidates the time to hear from them in more dep...

In this thought-provoking episode, we sit down with a few of our graduates from Leadership Launchpad cohort 4: David Martinez, Kiara Chavez, Angelica Granados, and Hanna Celis. Together, we reflect on our experiences in school and life beyond the classroom. Join us as we dive deep into candid conversations, sharing personal stories, and exploring how our educational journey shaped us. From the hig...

Kelly Brough worked for former then-Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper from 2003 to 2009, finishing as his chief of staff. Brough later worked as president and C.E.O. of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce from 2009 to 2021, and chief strategy officer at Metropolitan State University of Denver from 2021 to 2022. Kelly Brough is a candidate in the 2023 Denver Mayoral Election finishing in second place...

Michael C. Johnston is an American educator and politician who served as a Colorado state senator representing the 33rd district from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a candidate for governor of Colorado in 2018. Mike Johnston is a candidate in the 2023 Denver Mayoral Election finishing in first place in the initial round of the election on April 4.

Dr. Smith is the Deputy Superintendent of Schools for the Denver Public Schools. He returned to Denver Public Schools in January 2022 after serving as the Superintendent of KIPP Texas Dallas Ft. Worth. Dr. Smith previously served as an Instructional Superintendent of Turnaround and 6-12 schools, as well as the Regional Instructional Superintendent of the Far Northeast region of Denver.  Dr. Smith...

Theresa Peña has an extensive career in the public and private sector. She retired in February 2022 from Denver Public Schools where she was the regional coordinator of outreach and engagement for the Food and Nutrition Services team. Prior to joining DPS Theresa worked with Hunger Free Colorado, the Colorado Children’s Campaign and the City of Denver. Theresa was elected to the Denver Public Scho...

Erik Carrasco is a comprehensive health and fitness coach at Abraham Lincoln High School. He started his career in 2013 and has been able to serve every age group in the same content field throughout the southwest Denver area. He has a passion for athletics and helping students develop lifelong healthy habits that will positively impact them for the rest of their lives. Denver Public School Teache...

Lauren Sisneros is a Colorado native, born and raised in the San Luis Valley. Lauren is the Executive Director of the Latinas First Foundation. Lauren has a long history supporting educational access in Colorado.  She has worked with universities and the Colorado Department of Higher Education as a pre-collegiate advisor and college advisor working with first generation, low-income students....

New year, new faces, same focus. We are excited to introduce the new squad: Richard, Kathe, and Alonso! Kathe is a Denver native raised by African immigrant parents. She is an East High School Alumni and earned a bachelor’s degree in International Relations with minors in Psychology and Communications from the University of Colorado Denver. After graduating, Kathe started her career in the nonprof...

Ousman Ba is originally from Senegal. He is a graduate of Colorado State University with a degree in political science and international studies. Upon graduation, Ousman committed to a year of service with Americorps City Year, where he worked at Miami Central High School preparing students with the social, emotional and academic skills and mindsets to succeed in school and in life. After City Yea...

David Lopez is the co-founder and CEO at Gritly. Based in Denver, he grew up in a family-oriented household that gave him his passion for serving those in his community. Like many entrepreneurs, David's path began as early as high school when he worked on building his first company. During college, David began working on what would become the first version of his first scalable company. Gritly sta...

Tiffany Askins is an educator with over 13 years in education, 11 years proudly serving the community in Denver Public Schools. During her tenure, she has taught elementary through middle school, been a mentor to teachers in-training and opened her classroom to host PEBC Learning Labs to teacher residents throughout the Denver-Metro area. She is an educator that continuously works to deepen her kn...

Dan Walsh is the Principal of Kepner Beacon MS in Southwest Denver. He has been the driving force behind the rejuvenation of Kepner. In 2016 then Superintendent Tom Boasberg came to the Beacon Network looking for a district-run school to turn around Kepner. Kepner Beacon was founded later that year and Dan was a founding member of the leadership team. Principal Walsh is a Denver Public Schools pro...

D.R. XIX (dee-arr one nine) is a multi faceted creative who specializes in music production, audio engineering, and videography. He's worked with local artists such as A Meazy, Old Man Saxton, Jay Triiiple, Danae Simone, and others alike. His most recent work is on an upcoming compilation album called "Already On: The Verge" set to release on June 17th, 2022.  A Meazy was born and raised on t...

Dr. Esquibel is a current member of the Servicios de La Raza Board and has served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of La Escuela Tlatelolco and as a board member of the Adams State College Alumni Association, Colorado Minority Engineering Association, Hispanic League of Colorado, Denver Public Schools Hispanic Educational Advisory Council , The Latino Education Coalition, Southwest Family...

Representative Leslie Herod (HD-8) was elected in 2016 as the first LGBTQ African American in the General Assembly, while receiving the highest number of votes of any candidate running in a contested election. She serves as the Chair of the House Finance Committee, Vice Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Chair of the Committee on Legal Services. Rep. Herod also chairs the Colorado Black D...

Jadyn believes the key to this universe is living and being your full self. He is the Ideas Bender at the Youth Empowerment Broadcasting Organization (YEBO). At YEBO, Jadyn is responsible for ensuring the YEBO learning spaces include elements of Belonging, Wellness, and Independence. With the support of YEBO, he also launched a podcast: ‘The Superhero Mindset’. In the summer of 2019, Jadyn co-foun...

Denver based Artist Brayan Montes-Terrazas, is better know by his alias YAMZ. Under YAMZ, Brayan’s unwavering identity-driven art stresses the importance of putting marginalized voices at the forefront of our conversations and the stories we tell. He is driven by the essential need to tell the stories of his identity as an undocumented, queer person of color. Using art and design as the vessel to...

Oso Adventure Meals: Oso Adventure Meals provides a brand of culturally authentic food and beverage products for the everyday adventurer. Current meal brands do not meet the needs of a growing and diverse outdoor market. Oso Meals is diversifying the outdoors by bringing delicious, spicy, and authentic meals to the backcountry. Oso allows customers to take their favorite recipes with them on the g...

Jazmin is passionate about disrupting  traditional ways of thinking about water, food systems, our relationship to land, and societal development through a lens of empathy and equity. Her experience in the professional realms of government affairs, urban planning, and education have helped her understand the mechanics of oppressive institutions. She uses yoga, the wisdom of herbs, exploring n...

Papa Dia is Founder and President of the African Leadership Group (ALG), an advocacy organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for African immigrants and members of the diaspora. A native of Senegal, Papa immigrated to Denver in 1998. He used his first job, stocking books, to teach himself how to read, write, and speak English. Beginning with an entry-level position in a local bank,...

Yasmeen Nashay Cofield is a Sales Representative for Revenue Enterprises (2 Years) She currently works for a company that handles collections/outside billing for various hospitals across the country. Her team handles University of Colorado hospital as well as Children's Hospital directly. She has goals to finish her bachelors degree in Business Economics. After that is to figuring out what type of...

Tay Anderson is a father, community organizer, and educator. He is a product of Denver Public Schools and is a proud graduate of Manual High School. After working in the Colorado legislature, he dedicated his life to serving students across Denver Public Schools. He became an educator serving in various roles across Denver Public Schools, prior to his election to the Denver School Board. In variou...

Landon is the Vice President for Community Partnerships at The Colorado Education Initiative .  In his role, he is responsible for district implementation work in the Denver Metro Area, Northeastern Colorado and Southwestern Colorado. His projects include the Homegrown Talent Initiative (focused on rural economic development), Youth Connections (Social Emotional Development) and launching loc...

Kai Vong is a current student at Western Colorado University and is honored to be a member of the Denver Asian American Pacific Islander Commission. Kai is the founder and former president of the Asian Pacific Islander Student Alliance (APSA) at East High School, an organization that creates an outlet for Asian Pacific American students. It also provides an opportunity for all students to learn ab...