The Board
2023 - 2024 DLS Board of Directors
Mission Statement
To achieve academic excellence and intercultural competence through language immersion education.
Vision Statement
The vision of the school is to become a model of students acquiring superior second language skills as the basis for high overall academic achievement; develop the knowledge and skills in students necessary to be productive and valued citizens in a culturally diverse, global economy; prepare all students to be academically successful in their choice of secondary and post-secondary education options; and to create an innovative school that can be replicated in Colorado and nationally.
Board Meetings
The Board of Directors meets the last Tuesday of each month (unless otherwise noted) from 6:00 – 9:00PM. The meeting dates, agenda and zoom meeting information can be found here and on the school events calendar.
Contact the Board
For questions, concerns, or to sign up for the public comments portion of a board meeting, please email boardofdirectors.dls@gmail.com
BOARD MEMBERS
Susan Cheng Usman, Chair
Susan is a passionate educator who is currently working in DPS as a Program Manager, bringing in external partners with high quality Academic programming in schools to support student learning. She started her career in NYC, teaching English as a New Language before moving into an instructional leadership role with the New York City Department of Education, where she coached district leaders, school leaders and teacher leaders. She applies an analytical and systematic approach to solving problems and implementing high standards for a positive learning culture with heavy focus on equity.
While she stays busy dedicating her life to being a servant leader, she also prioritizes spending time with her 3 girls and husband. Susan is a first generation Asian American. She speaks 3 dialects in Chinese fluently and is a lover of languages. She was born and raised in New York City and came to Denver because of DLS. Her eldest two daughters are in the DLS Mandarin program and is looking forward to her youngest daughter joining the Dolphin family.
Lindsey Foss, Vice Chair
Lindsey has been working in the education non-profit space for 15 years and is committed to creating access to equitable, innovative learning opportunities. Currently she serves as Director of Organizational Learning & Development at TNTP, a national organization that partners with public school systems to achieve their goals for students. She has also served as a consulting director focused on talent management strategies in public school districts, as well as Senior Director of Operations for the NYC Teaching Fellows, an alternative teacher certification program for the New York City Department of Education.
Lindsey holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois and a MPA in Public Administration and Public Policy from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. She is a proud parent to two students in the Spanish program at DLS.
Veronique Van Gheem, Secretary
Veronique is an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Boulder advising the City Manager, City Attorney and various city departments on IT, construction, contract, procurement and environmental matters. Prior to joining the City of Boulder in 2021, Veronique was Senior Assistant Legal Counsel for the Colorado Judicial Department where she worked in the Executive Division of the State Court Administrator’s Office providing general advisory counsel for the Colorado courts, probation departments and the State Court Administrator. She is the past co-chair of the CWBA’s Publication Committee and helped launch The 1891 Blog. She is also a member of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee, the CBA Spanish Speaking Lawyers Committee and was the Lead Attorney for the Project Safeguard Spanish-speaking Family Law Clinic for eight years. Veronique clerked for the Honorable Norman Haglund of the Denver District Court and served as the Conservation Easement Staff Attorney for the Colorado State Court Administrator’s Office from 2010 until 2013. Veronique, originally from Green Bay, Wisconsin, received her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point in Forestry and Biology. She worked as a Restoration Ecologist from 2005 to 2007. Veronique is a 2010 graduate from the University of Colorado Law School.
Ken Zerkel, Treasurer
Ken is a Director of Capital Governance at Verizon Business. He began his career as an officer in the United States Air Force before transitioning to the private sector. Since then, he has worked in the telecom industry for 20+ years, holding a variety of leadership roles in Engineering, Finance, Sales and Strategy. He has led teams at companies ranging from start-up to Fortune 20, and leverages his extensive background in budgeting, financial modeling and data analytics in his role as Treasurer on the DLS Board. He grew up in Anchorage, Alaska and after living in Colorado twice before – believes the 3rd time is the charm and plans to stay here. Ken holds a B.S. in Operations Research from the US Air Force Academy and earned his M.S. in Engineering Management from Northeastern University.
He and his wife Lisa have two children - both in the Mandarin program - at Denver Language School.
Adam J. Espinosa
Adam currently serves as a judge in Denver District Court where he presides over felony criminal matters. He is also an adjunct law professor at the University of Denver Law School where he teaches about the judicial branch, judicial diversity, and judicial decision-making. Previously, Judge Espinosa served as a Denver County Court Judge starting in 2015. Prior to joining the bench, Judge Espinosa served as a senior trial attorney for the Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and as a deputy district attorney in several Colorado counties.
Judge Espinosa is active in the community, having served in leadership positions on numerous local, state, and national boards including the Denver Crime Prevention and Control Commission, the Colorado Supreme Court Access to Justice Commission, the ABA Standing Committee on Client Protection, and the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. He is a frequent lecturer and author on various legal, ethical, and professional responsibility topics. Judge Espinosa works with local high schools presenting opportunities and encouraging interest in the legal field to diverse students. His Dream Team accomplishes this by presenting on relevant legal issues to the youth of our Colorado communities.
Judge Espinosa understands the importance of a strong education for all children and credits education and role models for his achievements in his legal career. He is a strong supporter of language immersion education, and his school age children attend language immersion schools. Judge Espinosa has dedicated his legal career to public service, public safety, and access to justice. He is committed to serving the people of Denver and to the improvement of our courts.
Anna Wykowski
Anna is a long-time lover of languages and advocate for education. While in undergrad, she majored in Spanish and International Studies while also taking French courses. She started her career in education as a first grade English as a Second Language Teacher in Phoenix, Arizona with Teach for America. After a move to Denver, Colorado in 2013, she has worked as an administrator at the KIPP charter network as well as a district partner with DSST Public Schools. Currently, she works on the AP Assessment and Instruction team at the College Board. She is excited to bring her operational excellence and assessment experience to the DLS team.
Anna holds a B.A in Spanish and International Studies from Davidson College and her Masters in Elementary Education from Arizona State University.
Jennifer W.
Jennifer is an attorney in Denver and was raised in a bilingual home. She received her BA in Integrative Physiology and Spanish for the Professions, with a minor in Business, from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her Juris Doctor from the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law. She served on the board of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association for three years and was an attorney volunteer for the Project Safeguard Spanish-speaking Family Law Clinic for five years.
Rachel Levine
Rachel is the Director of People Development for the Dumb Friends League. In that role Rachel oversees Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion Strategy (DEAI) as well as Succession Planning, Career Pathing, and Leadership Development. In her career Rachel has worked in Human Resources and Corporate Training in both for profit and non-profit companies. Prior to the Dumb Friends League, Rachel was the Senior Director of Talent for STRIVE Prep. Rachel has held previous Board of Director positions with the Junior League of Denver. Rachel has a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Colorado at Boulder and an M.Phil from the University of Cambridge. Rachel and her husband Michael have two daughters in the DLS Spanish program.
Margo Rocklin Goldman
Margo Rocklin Goldman is a transactional attorney with a practice emphasis on the initial stages of financings for private equity and lender clients. Margo formerly worked in Chicago as a securities and corporate finance attorney for Chapman and Cutler LLP and as in-house counsel for Northern Trust Asset Management. In these roles, she has represented a wide range of institutional clients in the structuring and negotiation of private and public securities transactions, company formation, and wealth and asset management. Margo has also dedicated time to public speaking engagements, legislative advocacy for education and security policy, and pro bono legal representation for asylees in collaboration with the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network. As an active volunteer, she has served on the executive boards of B’nai B’rith Colorado, the Coalition Against Global Genocide, the Alumni and Friends of the London School of Economics, and the DU Hillel Business Board. Margo also serves as Chair of the Education and Legislative Affairs Committee of the Colorado JCRC.
Margo earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law. In addition to her legal experience, she earned a Master of Science in the Theory and History of International Relations with distinction from The London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Northwestern University. Margo also worked as a journalist in Madrid, Spain and is fluent in Spanish. In 2014, Margo and her husband, Frank, relocated from Chicago to Denver to enjoy more skiing and the Colorado outdoors lifestyle. They have a daughter and a son in the Denver Language School’s Spanish program.
Joanne Liu
Joanne Liu (she/her) is the co-founder and CEO of Asian Girls Ignite, a Colorado non-profit that celebrates the individual and collective power of Asian American and Pacific Islander girls, women, and gender expansive folks through shared stories. She is a life-long educator — it’s something she wanted to be as a kid growing up in the suburbs of Boston, MA. This dream motivated her as a first-generation college student studying education. She began her career as a middle school Special Education (SPED) teacher through Teach For America in Washington, D.C. Since then, she spent years as a SPED teacher at the MATCH Charter Public High School in Boston, an Assistant Principal at a STRIVE Prep middle school, a Director of Operations at Turing School of Software & Design, and a Program Coordinator at CU Boulder’s McNair Scholars Program. Joanne also serves on the Board of Directors of Colorado Asian Pacific United and founded the Mile High Asian Food Week inspired by when she worked as a young child at her family's Chinese takeout restaurant.
Joanne holds a B.A. in English & American Literature and Secondary Education from Brandeis University and a MS in Organizational Leadership from the University of Colorado Boulder. Joanne and her husband Roger have two children in the DLS Mandarin program.
Edwine Michel
Edwine currently serves as Chief of Staff at an education venture philanthropy fund, directing strategic planning and driving execution across the organization’s investment portfolio. He also leads as Managing Director at an education consulting firm, offering guidance and resources to education sector clients. With over 15 years of senior management experience in HR, finance, operations, and strategic planning, Edwine has a proven record of achieving high-quality results for public sector organizations and Fortune 500 companies.
A passionate advocate for educational equity and social justice, Edwine is committed to positively impacting students’ lives. He earned a Master of Educational Leadership degree from the Broad Center (now part of Yale University), an MBA from Boston University, and an MS in Optical Engineering from the University of Rochester. Edwine holds a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification and sits on the Board of The Child is Innocent, a non-profit providing quality education and leadership training to children in Northern Uganda.
As a first-generation Haitian-American who speaks multiple languages, Edwine brings a valuable global perspective. He lives in Denver with his wife, son, and daughter, who is enrolled in the Mandarin program at the Denver Language School.