Our Team

  • Katherine is the founder the Leon Foundation of Excellence. Growing up experiencing poverty, trauma, and/or abuse can be hard for any child. For Katherine, she realized she could suffocate from the pain or rise from the ashes and soar. After many years of therapy, internal healing, and self reflection, Katherine successfully broke out of the intergenerational dysfunctional patterns that plagued her family.

    She started the Leon Foundation of Excellence the spring of her senior years at the University of Colorado, Boulder to help young people heal from intergenerational patterns of poverty, trauma, and abuse, empowering them to gain leadership skills and live a life of excellence.

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  • Amanda is incredibly passionate about equity work and empowering young people to actualize their potential, which is what connects her to the mission of The Leon Foundation of Excellence. As an undergraduate student at the University of Colorado, Amanda worked with LFE to teach the curriculum to high school students in the area.

    After this experience, Amanda graduated and moved to South Carolina to do Teach For America, where she taught 5th-7th grade English for four years in both rural and urban Title I schools. Amanda recently returned home to Colorado, where she works as a nanny/house manager and is planning ways to further impact young adults in order to create a brighter future.

  • Fikri is currently a sophomore at CU Boulder studying integrative physiology. As a daughter of immigrant parents from a small country called Eritrea, she is excited to be able to make a change in the healthcare system. She can’t wait to be a part of the Leon Foundation of Excellence board and to and make a difference in her community.

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  • Steve grew up in Lancaster, PA, and earned a BA in Biological Science before spending four years in the Army at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. He later moved to Denver, Colorado, where he is currently CFO of ANDE Corporation, a rapid DNA technology company that is transforming the use of DNA in criminal justice.

    Steve has served on the board of Christian World Outreach (CWO), travelling to Haiti and Zambia with that organization. His experiences with CWO and with his two adult children Lauren (27) and Ryan (26) have convinced him of the powerful positive effect that mentoring has on a young person's life - and therefore of the great value of organizations such as the Leon Foundation of Excellence.

  • Tyler is from Tom's River, New Jersey, and was just graduating college when he started working with the Leon Foundation of Excellence in 2020 as a Curriculum Intern. Tyler fell in love with the program and message and is honored to be involved once again and to have the ability to contribute to the incredible work that Leon is doing. He currently works in programmatic ad sales in New York City.

  • Originally from England, Sarah spent ten years working for two nonprofits in Northern California focused on addiction recovery, meeting practical needs, and building community in a small town deeply affected by generational poverty and substance abuse. Sarah is happiest as an administrator, planning and problem-solving behind the scenes. She is excited to help grow the success of the Leon Foundation of Excellence as founder Katherine's Executive Assistant. Sarah lives in Washington State with her husband and three small children.

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  • Ashley is the social media management intern for Spring semester 2023. She will be graduating from Colorado State University in May with a B.A. in Media and Communication Studies.

    Ashley also graduated from Ohio University with a B.A. in Psychology in 2014. She enjoys playing the ukulele and spending time with her two dogs. Post-grad, she hopes to pursue a career in social media, marketing, or copywriting.