The Team

Chemi is an Eagle Rock Alumna from Spruce House.  They were born and raised in Harlem, NY.  Chemi was connected to Eagle Rock through Harlem Children’s Zone. They earned a Bachelor of Sports and Exercise Science from the University of Northern Colorado. Chemi has prior experience working with youth in many different settings, from youth camp coordinator, and coaching, to assisting with the Eagle Rock Wilderness Course. They enjoy helping others. They are determined to make students’ dreams come true here at Eagle Rock. They are real, not perfect.

Nya is a lifelong artist and a graduate from Brown University with a Bachelor's in English, Creative Nonfiction Writing. They are passionate about art's place in everyday life and believe that a just world will require the commonplace creative practices of all people. While working primarily in sculpture, Nya enjoys exploring different types of media and art's use in exercising bravery, curiosity, and internal voice.

While in college, Nya facilitated and wrote curriculum for the Community Dialogue Project, whose work aimed to build strong and resilient peer relationships through conversation. They found a passion for working with peers through difficult conversations and reflection, and encountered valuable opportunities to look closely at interpersonal relationships and their power for change.

They also worked as a workshop monitor with the Brown Design Workshop, where they taught classes on a variety of tools and media including sewing, 3D printing, laser cutting, and metalwork. Most recently, Nya held an AmeriCorps position with Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England and worked with primary school students to explore skills in friendship, creativity, and self-belief.

Nya is excited to be a part of the Eagle Rock community this year, and believes we are all better off in a world with more imagination.

Diamond holds a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Riverside and is currently in graduate school studying Clinical Social Work. She has worked with and supported people experiencing homelessness for several years in Los Angeles County. Diamond has experience as a Program Manager, Executive Assistant and many other roles in between. Most recently she served as an Assistant Staff Analyst, in Skid Row, where she trained staff on Evidence-Based Practices and led Interim Housing Sites interventions. In her free time, she enjoys pickleball, snowboarding, eating great food and spending time with her nephews. She believes that self-awareness and self-belief are necessary to continually become your best self.

Al (they/them) is a member of Eagle Rock’s Outdoor Education department. Al comes from a background in public schools and has held various roles in New York City and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Al’s experience includes clinical social work in schools and holistic family and community support within a Community Schools model. A strong believer in experiential and outdoor education, Al’s work in the outdoors includes leading courses with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and partnerships with C5LA.  Al’s career has focused on a commitment to supporting students develop into their full and authentic selves, working to understand their identities and story within a larger context. Whether supporting students to navigate traditional high school experiences or the challenges of extended time in the outdoors, Al values building deep relationships with students and helping them find tools for their own growth and success.  Originally from Western Massachusetts, Al continues to foster roots in many communities including Brooklyn, NY, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Al holds a bachelor's degree from Hampshire College with a focus in American History and Race Relations, and a Masters in Social Work from New Mexico Highlands University.

Diamond Mark (they/them/theirs) is a Health and Wellness Fellow at the Eagle Rock School through their capacity as a first year intern at the Smith College School for Social Work.

Diamond graduated from Smith College, where they majored in Africana Studies and English Literature. They were a student leader at the forefront of institutional re-design, advising and collaborating with senior leadership on policies related to racial equity and trans/non-binary/gnc inclusivity. At Smith, Diamond was also a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, whose research explored the intersections of Blackness, queerness, and anti-colonial praxis in global literatures.

After Smith, Diamond was one of four fellows in the ACLU's inaugural cohort of Pauli Murray Fellows. A member of the equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging (EDIB) Team, they assisted a number of organization-wide strategic initiatives, including the organization's Systemic Equality campaign.

Prior to Eagle Rock, Diamond became a PeaceKeepHers Justice Fellow with The Breathe Collective, a community organization founded in New York City. They discovered their passion for restorative and healing justices at the intersections of community care, collective liberation, and holistic wellness, and became trained in the practice of co-creating community based Circles and other restorative practices.

With their skills and expertise in equity and inclusion and justice-based interventions, in alignment with their core values of collective care and liberation, they hope to support the holistic wellness of the Eagle Rock community, believing in every individual's ability to realize and actualize their full Potential.

Outside of the professional sphere, Diamond is a multi-instrumentalist and an avid enjoyer of all forms of music. They hail from the island of St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They hold a deep respect for nature, particularly bodies of water.

Alejandro, an Eagle Rock graduate, returns to Eagle Rock as the Director of Operations. As of April 2021, Alejandro leads Eagle Rock’s finance, human resources, IT, facilities, maintenance, and business operations.  After graduating from Eagle Rock, Alejandro went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.  From there Alejandro found success in several industries across different professional roles such as management consulting, pricing analysis, inventory management, process improvement, quality management, and operations management. Alejandro then went on to earn his MBA from Georgia Tech and have a successful career in Amazon where he helped launch various delivery services and led the global deployment of tech solutions across the several thousand Amazon locations.

Alejandro’s experience at Eagle Rock taught him that, with faith in oneself, he and his fellow students were capable of great things. He learned that he could take control of his life’s direction and not let his past dictate what his future would hold. Since his graduation, Alejandro’s dream was always to return to Eagle Rock to help add to the legacy of the school. For Alejandro, becoming a staff member at Eagle Rock was not just an amazing profession, but a calling. Alejandro rejoins our school to contribute to the success of all Eagle Rockers.

HaeJohn is the Art Instructional Specialist at Eagle Rock. His focus is to help young people understand, appreciate, and create artwork with the idea that it’s more than pretty pictures. Art is creativity, communication, problem-solving, and progress.  HaeJohn was born and mostly raised in Las Vegas, NV. Being raised by his Korean mother and American father helped him understand the world between cultures and how they influence each other. He started his Eagle Rock experience in 2004 as a students teacher and a year later, was awarded the Public Allies Visual Arts Fellowship at Eagle Rock. Since completing his fellowship, HaeJohn has been a freelance artist, public high school art teacher, K-8 private school art teacher, and in-home private instructor. During this time HaeJohn was also a part of the CCSD Art Education Standards Team, student council advisor, and Nobel Learning’s National Teacher of the Year semi-finalist. HaeJohn Graduated from Hastings College with a degree in K-12 art education with an emphasis in Ceramics and Psychology. 

Josh Morris is our Science Instructional Specialist with a focus on S.T.E.A.M.. Josh is responsible for creating positive and memorable science experiences for all Eagle Rock students. Josh’s goal is to make sure all ERS students find their curiosity and excitement for how the world around them works. Josh is a member of the Pinon House team. For the past two decades Josh has been working in Youth Development and Science Evangelism. His experiences include 15 years as a camp counselor, guide, and director in the mountains of Estes Park; 16 years as a public school science teacher; 3 years as a science curriculum developer and trainer; 5 years as a creator and mentor in a progressive, project-based high school program; and 25 years as a science demonstrator and performer for audiences of all ages. Josh earned his undergraduate degree in Secondary Education at Kansas State University (KS) and his Master’s Degree at Emporia State University (KS). When he’s not busy with students, you can find Josh creating and building in the wood shop, hiking and camping with his dog, Midnight, rowing his raft down a big river, or fly fishing the streams, lakes, and rivers all over the Rocky Mountains.

Adaptability is the mechanism of survival in nature. From a young age, Robert was enthralled by the simple displays of nature in a backyard field and the tug of fish at a nearby lake. By mere chance, a successful high school wrestling experience led to a college recruitment, where he had the opportunity to study what he truly loved—nature. He earned an undergraduate degree in zoology followed by a graduate degree in aquatic ecology, which opened doors for him to study fish in two of the Great Lakes, the Columbia and Salmon Rivers of Idaho and Oregon, and the salmon populations of South-Central Alaska and Kodiak Island.  Pure happenstance also led to connections that resulted in an invitation to study the elephants of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. This adventure marked the beginning of a foray into wildlife photography. Opening a gallery in Anchorage helped fund numerous expeditions into the vast wilderness of Alaska.  After a fulfilling career in photography, he was invited by a friend to help develop a kung fu/tai chi school near the Purple Cloud Temple in Wudang, China. He eagerly embraced the opportunity to live and study Taoist philosophy. More recently, he applied architectural skills learned in high school to build several houses in Estes Park. That experience led to a wonderful opportunity to put those skills to use at Eagle Rock School, working alongside an exceptional team of talented individuals.

David, an Eagle Rock graduate, returns to Eagle Rock as Head Chef. David was born and raised in California’s Bay Area, where his culinary journey began. At a very young age he knew cooking was truly a passion. With 18+ years of culinary experience after graduating from Eagle Rock, He continued his journey at Johnson and Wales University with a Culinary Arts degree in Food and Beverage Management. He also studied Astronomy and has an A.S. Degree in American Sign Language.

As a trained chef with extensive knowledge of cooking demonstration, kitchen facilitating, leading managers and many functions of the kitchen. Serving others and cooking took him from The Rocky Mountains of Colorado to the Blue Mountains of Australia to the South Pacific Islands and all big cities all across America and the world experiencing everything food, cooking and serving others. Throughout David’s career as Corp. Chef, Chef Event Coordinator, Restaurant Chef, Private Chef and Operations Food and Beverage Manager. Over seeking multiple locations and helping improve customer service skills and training food safety skills for all levels of cooks. His passion and determination after Eagle Rock has made this possible to learn and explore new opportunities and stretch the boundaries along the way.

David’s heart has always been to serve others and help others from humble origins and staying true to that. Helping to pave a way for greater success in others. His faith has led him to reconnect with the community of Eagle Rock’s leadership team. Hoping to add more of his light to make others good stewards of the world and local community.

Josán Perales is the newest member of the Professional Development Team at Eagle Rock School. With over 20 years of classroom teaching experience and leading teachers in progressive educational settings, where he integrated his passions for social and environmental justice into relevant, purposeful, and powerful learning experiences that engaged students to explore our world and their own identity and place in the world. With identity formation through storytelling and fierce changemaking with a social-justice and anti-racist lens at the forefront of his facilitation, he is now working with the PDC as a Professional Development Associate, facilitating adult and student development through the Changemaking Cohort and Student Ambassador programs. When not advocating for youth or facilitating change, you'll find Josán skateboarding, playing music, and enjoying mother nature with his family. He and his partner (Shawna), son (Oliver), and zoo of pets (Metztli dog, Sol kitty, and Rusty, Tiggy, Reggie, Bumpy, the crested geckos), are campus residents.

Shawna is originally from Nebraska and also spent time in Colorado while growing up. After receiving her Associate of Arts Degree, her path of secondary education took her to New Mexico, where she graduated from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM with a Bachelors’ Degree in Business Administration. After Graduation, she spent time in Albuquerque and Taos where she grew her career in Hotel and Hospitality Management and over the years and realized how this industry really fed her servant’s heart. Her Hospitality Career continued as a Director of Sales for Kessler Collection, a boutique luxury brand of hotels, but wrapped up in 2020 when she began homeschooling her son, Oliver. With Oli back in school, Shawna joined the Eagle Rock Team and now supports the Ops Team as the Biz Ops Manager.

Carlos Perez was born in Maracay, Venezuela, and arrived in the city of Miami in 1995.  Since then he has worked in the kitchen, working as a dishwasher, prep, in the line of salads, in the line of pizza. etc.  He has worked tirelessly and obtained his associate's degree in Culinary Arts which makes him feel very proud of all his achievements throughout all these years.  He is passionate about cooking and he feels that it is the only way he can express his gratitude to this great country and to all the people who are by his side.  What he likes about Eagle Rock is that it is a magical place where changes are very important and having the opportunity to see young people grow is something priceless to experience.  He feels very fortunate for his family and for the privilege of being able to live in the mountains of Colorado.  

Marc Peters is the program manager for the Eagle Rock Fellowship. He loves fostering inclusive and transformative community spaces, where dialogue and understanding lead to meaningful change. To Marc, this means constructing systems of support rooted in mutual accountability and shared purpose. His experience has taught him that a culture of affirmation and care not only facilitates personal growth but also significantly impacts our collective ability to effect change. His approach is rooted in a deep respect for community wisdom and a belief in collaborative decision-making. He brings this lens to his work mentoring and coaching Eagle Rock’s fellows.

Marc has a range of experiences throughout his career that prepared him for his role at Eagle Rock. At Brown University, he founded and led the Community Dialogue Project (CDP). Marc grounded CDP’s work in adrienne maree brown's Emergent Strategy approach to facilitation. He collaborated with student staff to create discussion groups, co-curricular programs and trainings that centered empathy, collective care, and intentional community. While running CDP, Marc also served on Brown’s Diversity and Inclusion Oversight Board and played a meaningful role in launching the university’s Transformative Justice Initiative.

Before CDP, he worked in Brown’s BWell Office of Health Promotion. He coordinated the Sexual Assault Peer Education (SAPE) program and developed a Masculinity Peer Education program as well as a weekly Masculinity 101 discussion group. This work was deeply connected to and inspired by bell hooks’ writings on love, feminism and masculinity.

Prior to his time at Brown, Marc served as Global Communications and Campaigns Manager for the MenEngage Alliance, where he actively promoted gender equality worldwide. He also spent years as a mental health advocate actively trying to destigmatize mental illness and promote help-seeking.

Marc is a graduate of Syracuse University and received his Master of Public Service degree from the University of Arkansas: Clinton School of Public Service. He is a Horatio Alger National Scholar and a Harry S Truman Scholar.

Megan’s experience with Eagle Rock is rich, deep, and diverse, starting in the mid-90’s when she graduated from the school. Since then, Megan has been a sponsor of many Eagle Rock students, has been a guest instructor, and has taken the lessons she learned here and applied those to numerous educational and leadership positions she has held across the country. Megan returned to Eagle Rock in 2016 to serve as the Director of Students.  During that time, she restructured Student Services to better facilitate a 360° approach to student support. Megan was also responsible for the strategic implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work and in that capacity, she has provided transformational leadership. Megan brings boundless energy and an embodied commitment to young people. She started working in education in San Francisco in 1999 as an AmeriCorps Fellow, and continued her work in schools, non-profits, local community programs, and some of the largest, and well-respected youth programs across the country. Megan has served young people in roles ranging from teacher and coach to curriculum designer and school leader. Megan holds a Bachelor’s Degree from University of Massachusetts and a Master’s Degree from Boston University. Megan’s journey proves that Eagle Rock graduates are prepared to make a difference in the world.

Elizabeth Rivera was born and raised in Perú and later immigrated to the United States, where she found a second home in the vibrant, diverse community of Miami, Florida. She came to Eagle Rock School in 2017 as an Administrative Assistant and quickly discovered that working with young people was more than just a job, it was her passion and purpose.  During her time as a Houseparent in Ponderosa House, Elizabeth created a nurturing and supportive home environment, becoming a trusted mentor and a Life Coach to the Students in her care.  After briefly stepping away to work with the U.S. Government, Elizabeth realized how deeply rooted her commitment to youth development truly was. She returned to Eagle Rock to join the Residential Life Team and now continues her work as the Spruce Houseparent, where she brings warmth, humor, and deep compassion to her daily interactions with students.  In 2025, Elizabeth stepped into the role of Business Administrator, where she now supports the school behind the scenes with the same dedication and care she brings to her residential role.  Outside of work, Elizabeth enjoys dancing, cooking Peruvian food, and finding joy in everyday moments. Her door is always open for a conversation, a good laugh, or a plate of something delicious.