Staff Directory
Administration
Travis (Mr. H) Heidelberg, Executive Director
theidelberg@ventureacademies.org
Ti-Esha Williams-Vaughn Principal 6-12
twilliamsvaughn@ventureacademies.org
Charles Ellsworth, Operations Manager and Math Teacher
cellsworth@ventureacademies.org
Danesa Rivera Director of Special Education and Special Education Teacher
drivera@ventureacademies.org
Heidi Smith, Director of Academic Operations
hsmith@ventureacademies.org
Margaret Holland, Director of Future Focused Learning, High School Partnership Coordinator and Special Education Teacher
mholland@ventureacademies.org
Clara Catalan, Dean of Family Engagement
ccatalan@ventureacademies.org
Mayra Sanchez, District Office Manager
msanchez@ventureacademies.org
Student Support
Luis Rodriguez, Middle School Dean
lrodriguez@ventureacademies.org
Ellen Slagle, School Social Worker - High School
eslagle@ventureacademies.org
Ellie Palashewski, School Social Worker - Middle School
epalashewski@ventureacademies.org
Michelle Collaso, Special Education Due Process Coordinator
mcollaso@ventureacademies.org
Cory George, School Safety Liaison
cgeorge@ventureacademies.org
Marcus Heidelberg, Behavior Interventionist and Special Education Teacher
mheidelberg@ventureacademies.org
Denisha Johnson, Behavior Interventionist and Special Education Paraprofessional
djohnson@ventureacademies.org
Robert Williams, Special Education Behavior Support
robwilliams@ventureacademies.org
Deja-re Wooley, Special Education Paraprofessional
dwooley@ventureacademies.org
Jennifer Garner, Special Education Paraprofessional
jgarner@ventureacademies.org
Shay Holmes-Lewis, Special Education Paraprofessional
sholmeslewis@ventureacademies.org
Marquis McKinley, Special Education Paraprofessional
mmckinley@ventureacademies.org
Noely Romano, Special Education Paraprofessional
nromano@ventureacademies.org
Ava Williams, ELL Paraprofessional
awilliams@ventureacademies.org
Ricky Tinoco Chavez, ELL Paraprofessional
Jesse Tinoco Chavez, Special Education Paraprofessional
jtinocochavez@ventureacademies.org
Brighid Lannon, Special Education Reading and Spelling Program Lead
blannon@ventureacademies.org
Nick Romano, Reading Interventionist
Mars Howard, Special Education Paraprofessional
mhoward@ventureacademies.org
Spring Mason, Reading Interventionist
smason@ventureacademies.org
Jachir Allen, Special Education Paraprofessional
jallen@ventureacademies.org
Career and College Counseling
Emily Owens, Director of Career and College Counseling and Alumni Support
eowens@ventureacademies.org
Nathan Dixon, Academic Dean and Associate Director of College & Career Counseling
ndixon@ventureacademies.org
Anna Cox, Career & College Counselor
ecox@ventureacademies.org
High School Staff
Michaela Scilex, High School Math Teacher
mscilex@ventureacademies.org
Claire Winkels, Science and Special Education Teacher
cwinkels@ventureacademies.org
Kitty Sipple, High School Math Teacher
ksipple@ventureacademies.org
Ruben Garnica, Art Teacher
rgarnica@ventureacademies.org
Andrew Lawton, Visual and Performing Arts Department Chair, Project-Based Learning Lead, Board President
alawton@ventureacademies.org
Joshua Keilty, Science Teacher
jkeilty@ventureacademies.org
Andrew Wiedenkeller, Special Education Teacher
awiedenkeller@ventureacademies.org
Valerie MacDonald, Social Studies Teacher
vmacdonald@ventureacademies.org
Fadua Pastrano, Spanish Teacher and EL Coordinator
fpastrano@ventureacademies.org
Zack Robbins, Social Studies Teacher
zrobbins@ventureacademies.org
Brian Shephard, High School Humanities Department Chair and English Teacher
bshephard@ventureacademies.org
Anastasia Miller, Psychology and English Teacher
aromanova@ventureacademies.org
Niki Wagner, English Teacher
Teddy Swanson, Video Editing, Special Education Paraprofessional
tswanson@ventureacademies.org
Mary Bolin, Special Education Teacher
mbolin@ventureacademies.org
Jamaal Jarmon, Special Education Teacher
jjarmon@ventureacademies.org
Middle School Staff
Levi Kotas, Math and Science Teacher.
lkotas@ventureacademies.org
Jessica Loper, Math Teacher and CST Lead (6-12)
jloper@ventureacademies.org
Dior Ford, Building PE Teacher (6-12)
dford@ventureacademies.org
Olivia McGrath, Art Teacher
omcgrath@ventureacademies.org
Elizabeth Nunez English Teacher
etowberman@ventureacademies.org
Diahnna Zeon, English Teacher
dzeon@ventureacademies.org
Grace Callaghan , Math Teacher
gcallaghan@ventureacademies.org
Nikil Rajkumar , Math Teacher
nrajkumar@ventureacademies.org
Cam Barker, Special Education Teacher
cbarker@ventureacademies.org
Deris Morgan, Studio Teacher and Special Education Paraprofessional
dmorgan@ventureacademies.org
Amber Wilson, Special Education Teacher
awilson@ventureacademies.org