Team Dream

Dr. Perla Delgado

CEO/ Executive Director

perla.delgado@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Dr. Perla Delgado comes to “I Have A Dream” with decades of leadership experience advocating for education equity and social justice. A Boulder native, she began working in the local community in high school and then later was employed by Emergency Family Assistance and Community Action Programs in Boulder. Perla will be joining the IHDF team by way of St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, where she served as the Director and Principal Investigator of the College Assistance Migrant Program. She holds a Ph.D. in Education from Texas State University.

Karla Alvarado

Program Director: Elk Class

karla.alvarado@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Karla joined “I Have A Dream” in 2020 as the Program Director for the Elk Class! She was born in San Salvador, El Salvador. She is also a DACA recipient and comes from an immigrant family, which has driven her to advocate for mental health awareness in Latinx communities. She is eager to use her privileges to help address barriers within marginalized communities. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies at Colorado State University. Prior to IHDF, she worked with at-risk youth and families with significant trauma. Karla is passionate about creating healthy and secure communities for students, providing them with academic, social, and emotional support.

Arica Avila

PROGRAM COORDINATOR: BROADWAY EAST CLASS

303-444-3636 | arica.avila@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Arica has a bachelor’s degree in History SETS (Science, the Environment, Technology, and Society) and master’s degree in Education from Montana State University. She spent three years working as a school counselor in Montana before joining IHDF’s Broadway East Class as a Program Coordinator in 2019.

Lauren Cassidy

Donor Relations Manager

303-444-3636 ext 140 | lauren.cassidy@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Lauren comes to “I Have A Dream” with over 10 years in the nonprofit sector. She is an experienced development professional with a demonstrated history of working in social services, museums and institutions industries. Originally from the South Side of Chicago, Lauren spent 8 years in Phoenix, Arizona and relocated to Denver in 2020. She has a Bachelor of Science (BS) from Bradley University and a Masters Certification in Digital Audience Strategies from Arizona State University. Lauren is committed to developing her leadership and communication skills to further her passion of helping others.

Lupita Crespo

Program Director: Alicia Sanchez Classes @ Alicia Sanchez Elementary School

720-491-2181 | lupita.crespo@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Lupita serves as Program Director for the Alicia Dreamer Scholars at Alicia Sanchez Elementary. She is a Longmont, CO native and graduated from the University of Colorado-Boulder with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Business. She has been working directly with local youth for over 5 years and joined IHDF in 2018.

Elyana Funk

Senior Director of AmeriCorps and Volunteers

303-444-3636 x121 | elyana.funk@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Elyana leads IHDF’s Notre Dame AmeriCorps team. She has a bachelor’s degree in Comparative Area Studies: Latin America & North America, and minors in Cultural Anthropology and Spanish from Duke. She joined IHDF as an AmeriCorps member in 2000, and was previously the Sanchez Class Program Director for 12 years before serving in her current role.

Shana Gerson

Human Resources Generalist

Shana Gerson has over 10 years’ experience in Human Resources, Recruiting, Organizational Development and Coaching.  She has worked with small start up organizations to large international fortune 500 companies. Shana has a passion for bringing sophisticated HR, OD and leadership development programs to small, mid size and large businesses. Shana believes that every company and everyone can reach their full potential. She has worked with CEO’s and middle management on HR needs and solutions and has coached leaders on how to lead people and organizations for positive outcomes. Shana has both tactical and strategic HR knowledge and has the ability to align HR programs and business goals by building partnerships with management. She has created an HR department for start up companies and has experience running day to day operations. Shana has experience with human resources consulting, employee relations, hiring, training, performance management, organizational development, executive coaching and mergers and acquisitions. 

Shana received her degree in Psychology from the University of Tennessee and she has her Professional Human Resources certification. 

When Shana is not helping people and companies be their best, she enjoys spending time with her husband, son, daughter and dog. She loves anything outdoors and adventure traveling. When she has a spare minute, Shana enjoys winding down with yoga and reading a good book.

Matt Gleason

Program Coordinator: Rocky Mountain Class

303-444-3636 | matthew.gleason@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Matt came to IHDF in January 2017. A half year of service lead to a full one, and then some more serving three terms with the Rocky Mountain Dreamer class. He has now found myself as the Program Coordinator with the class, something that he says continues to keep him grounded in his everyday life. Matt graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in May of 2016 with a degree in Communication. His path has been one of service, experimenting with City Year in New Orleans, riding/leading two cross country cycling trips across the country to raise money and awareness for affordable housing, along with a few other regular volunteer opportunities throughout the Boulder Denver area.

Sandy Goldberg

Director of Finance

sandy.goldberg@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Sandy Goldberg comes to “I Have A Dream” with over 25 years of financial leadership experience in a variety of industries. Most recently, Sandy served as the CFO for 12 years at Watermill Express, a company in the water and ice vending industry. Sandy started his career in public accounting and is a licensed CPA in the State of Colorado. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Colorado – Denver.

Vanessa Gutierrez

Grants Manager

vanessa.gutierrez@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Vanessa has over 17 years in the nonprofit sector, starting as a canvasser right out of high school. She studied political science while working on local campaigns supporting a living wage, fighting against predatory lending practices against BIPOC, establishing a mobile library in communities that did not have access and tirelessly worked on any campaign that would alleviate the social injustices that were taking place. For ten years she has served in underrepresented school districts as a tutor, educational resource and a social/emotional advocate for students with limited access to resources or assistance.

Seth Hays

Program Director: Aspen Class @ Timberline PK-8 School

720-480-4499 | seth.hays@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Seth joined IHDF in 2013 as Program Director for Longmont’s Aspen Dreamer Scholar Class. He has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Colorado Christian University and a master’s degree in Earth Sciences from the University of Northern Colorado.

Travis Herbert

Senior Director of Secondary Programs and Wellness

303-444-3636 | travis.herbert@ihaveadreamboulder.org•

Travis joined IHDF in 2018 and oversees our middle and early high school sites and prevention programs.  He has over 20 years experience working with youth. He has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of New England and a bachelor of science in Recreation Management from Appalachian State University. He is a registered psychotherapist in Colorado and working toward his LCSW licensure.

Dr. Juan Jimenez Diaz

Program Director: Oak Class @ Boulder High School

Juan is a trilingual educator (Spanish, French, and English) with more than 20 years of teaching experience mostly at the college level. He is originally from Colombia. He holds a Ph.D in French from CU Boulder. He has in-depth experience with coaching and intercultural communication. He is committed to equity, inclusion, and strategic change that elevates people’s potential. He has received several teaching and leadership honors and awards throughout his career.

Jaimie Kerka

Program COORDINATOR | GRIFFIN CLASS

303-444-3636 | jaimie.kerka@ihaveadreamboulder.org•

Jaimie Kerka spent the 2018-2019 academic year as a Notre Dame AmeriCorps Service Member with the Griffin class, implementing programming and working closely with Dreamer Scholars and their families. She joined the Griffin Class at the Project Coordinator in summer 2019. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Wakefield University.

Tracy Leffingwell

Senior Director of Curriculum and Evaluation

303-444-3636 | tracy.leffingwell@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Tracy joined IHDF in 2015. She has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the University of Colorado–Boulder and a master’s degree in Foreign Language with a Teaching Emphasis from the University of Northern Colorado. She worked in education and as a teacher before coming to IHDF.

Natalia Luna

Program Director: Diagonal Class @ Diagonal Court Housing Site

natalia.luna@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Natalia joined “I Have a Dream”  in 2020, graduated with her Master’s of Arts in Higher Education and Student Affairs Leadership and has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Communications at the University of Northern Colorado. She is a daughter of immigrants from Zacatecas and her educational journey has helped her establish a passion to advocate for students and family needs from diverse underrepresented identities. Natalia plans on committing to work on her passion by empowering the youth, advocating education equity, and developing brave spaces for support.

Carla Maniscalco

Director of Volunteers

303-444-3636 | carla.maniscalco@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

As Director of Volunteers, Carla brought more than 20 years of working with volunteers in a variety of organizations, and of all ages and backgrounds, when she joined IHDF in 2018. She has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Behavioral Science from Metropolitan State University and a Certificate in Volunteer Management from Metro Volunteers and the Points of Light Foundation.

Mario Martinez-Varélas

Program Director: Griffin Class @ Centaurus High School

mario.martinez@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Mario is Program Director for the Griffin Class. He served as the La Vista Program Director at Alicia Sanchez Elementary before assuming his current role. He earned a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs with minors in Leadership and Political Science from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Prior to joining IHDF in 2018, Mario worked with at-risk students in Boulder County.

Francisco Medina

Program Director: Diagonal Class @ Diagonal Court Housing Site

303-323-5422 | francisco.medina@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Francisco is Program Director the Dreamer Scholars at the Diagonal Court housing site in Boulder. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a minor in Women’s Studies from University of Colorado-Boulder. He worked locally with juvenile offenders before joining IHDF in 2018. 

Olimpia Mejia

Program DIrector: Rocky Mountain Class @ Trail Ridge Middle School

720-369-3442 | olimpia.mejia@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Olimpia “Oli” joined IHDF in 2014 as Program Director for the Rocky Mountain Class in Longmont. She graduated from the Universidad Autonoma de San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She spent several years in bilingual education and programming before coming to IHDF.

Francisco Mejias

Program Director: Phoenix Class @ Boulder High School

720-564-0819 | francisco.mejias@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Francisco “Cisco” has a bachelor’s degree in Education and Bilingual Education from Metro State University. After working as a teacher, he joined IHDF in 1999 as Program Director for the Broadway Class until 2009 and served as Iris Class Program Director from 2008-2018. He is now the Phoenix Class Program Director.

Tina Nguyen

AmeriCorps Program Director

303-444-3636 x119 | tina.nguyen@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Tina joined IHDF as the AmeriCorps Program Director in Summer 2021. Prior, Tina was a tutor with the Oak Class from 2015-2019 and then became an AmeriCorps member. She served two service terms with the Oak Class from 2019-2021. Tina has a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with minors in Sociology and Women and Gender Studies from the University of Colorado-Boulder. Tina is also a sibling to a Dreamer Scholar Amuni so her roots with IHDF run deep.

Dr. Nicole Sager

Senior Director Health Equity & Community Centers

nicole.sager@ihaveadreamboulder.org

Dr. Nicole Sager joined the “I Have A Dream” Foundation of Boulder County in 2020. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity. Formerly faculty in Culturally Linguistically Diverse Education at CU Denver, Nicole created and taught courses on equity in education, culturally sustaining pedagogy, bilingualism and Spanish. She has also taught and developed curriculum at Takarajima Preschool in Japan, CU Boulder, Regis University, Front Range Community College, Kanda University Japan, ACBEU Brazil, and Delta County School District. Nicole has had the honor of working with local Boulder Communities for the past few decades.

Lupita Sanchez

Program Coordinator: Oak Class

303-444-3636 | lupita.sanchez@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Lupita came to IHDF in 2019.  She was born in Zacatecas, Mexico and raised in Boulder. She was the first generation in her family to graduate, recently earning a degree in international business from the University of Colorado, Denver.

Aurora Santos

Program Director: Carbon Valley Class at Thunder Valley K-8 School

720-494-3895 | aurora.santos@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Aurora grew up on a small Pacific island called Saipan, then earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology and played volleyball at West Virginia University. Before joining IHDF in 2016 as Program Director for the Carbon Valley Class, she worked in education and education support roles for a variety of organizations.

Beatrice 'Bea' Salazar

Director of College and Career Department

303-444-3636 | bea.salazar@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Bea brings a wealth of experience working with both high school and postsecondary students, and will be a tremendous asset to the Griffin community (and our organization at large) in helping students think about their educational journeys, postsecondary options, and turning their dreams to realities. “Helping individuals achieve their academic goals!” has been Bea’s mantra for working with students. She has aiding students and their families in the college going process, and retaining in college. She has worked at Metropolitan State, Community Colleges of Aurora and Denver and the Denver Scholarship Foundation ensuring students have resources and are supported to succeed in future goals.

Danielle Staunton

Director of Development & Communications

Paulette Warembourg

Accounting & Payroll Specialist

303-444-3636 | office.manager@ihaveadreamboulder.org •

Paulette is the office manager at “I Have A Dream’s” central office.