Get to Know Us

Teachers and Board Members

Learn about the people that make this community great.

Meet The Team

Our highly trained staff come from diverse teaching backgrounds and have unique interests.

Amy Thomas

Amy Thomas

Head of School

Learn More about Ms. Amy

Amy has been a lifelong advocate for supporting and producing readers and is proud to be the Head of School for VSA. Amy earned her master’s degree from University of Colorado at Denver in Special Education, as well as an administrator’s license from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Her undergraduate degree was in English Education from Phillips University. She is a trainer of LETRS and Self-Regulated Strategy Development. In addition, she has also been trained in Orton Gillingham and many other structured literacy programs.

Amy has worked in education for 28 years in a variety of roles, starting her career teaching high school literacy to students with emotional disabilities. In addition to that role, she has worked as a learning specialist, 6th grade teacher, instructional coach, and most recently as a literacy consultant for the Colorado Department of Education. Learning about best practices and research within literacy and collaborating about it with fellow teachers is one of her favorite things to do. She believes that every child can become a reader and writer when high quality teachers use evidenced-based instruction. Promoting this concept is her top priority.

In her personal life, she has a husband of 25 years and two children, 21 and 24 years old.  Her husband is a therapist, her oldest son works for a software company specializing in rocketry, and the youngest works in the music field doing lighting and sound for Levitt Pavillion and many other venues. She is very close to her extended family and lives only a mile away from where she grew up and her parents still live. You can find her most weekends hanging out with some part of her family playing games, reading, or skiing in the winter. She is beyond excited to be part of the VSA family!

Michelle Gasser

Michelle Gasser

Teacher, Academic Director

Learn More about Ms. Michelle
Michelle has her Doctorate of Pharmacy and worked as a pharmacist for 17 years before transitioning to teaching in 2015.  She became passionate about dyslexia because of the struggles her two dyslexic children have had to face.   By watching her children grow with positive support and Orton-Gillingham instruction, she became inspired to help other children with dyslexia.  Michelle has taken numerous courses, including O-G Basic and Advanced, O-G Multisensory Math, Dyslexia Screening and Evaluations, and Language-Based Learning Disabilities: Strategies for Success through the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, Orton-Gillingham International, the Dyslexia Training Institute, and the Landmark School Outreach Program.  She also has completed the Google Education Level 1 training course.  Michelle enjoys spending time with her family on the hiking trails and slopes and camping in their camper in her free time.
Garrett Grigsby

Garrett Grigsby

OG Math

Learn More about Mr. Garrett!
Mr Garrett is proud to be a teacher at Vertical Skills Academy. He has been teaching for 5 years and knew from a young age that he wanted to be a teacher and help people. He believes that working with the wonderful students at Vertical Skills Academy has been a privilege and something that he looks forward to every day. Mr. Garrett grew up in Evergreen and attended Metropolitan State University of Denver where he received both a B.A. in History and a Colorado Teaching Licensure in Elementary Education. He has been trained in Orton Gillingham using multi-sensory methodologies for math! During his free time, he enjoys snowboarding, riding dirt bikes, traveling, and spending time with his family.
Josie Osberg

Josie Osberg

Teacher

Learn More about Ms. Josie!

Ms. Josie is going into her 4th year of teaching. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Northern Colorado. She has been working for the past few years in Early Childhood special education in Jefferson County public schools. As much as she loved teaching the youngest learners, she is ready to use her skills and focus on students with Dyslexia. During her free time, she enjoys being outside, spending time with her family and traveling as much as she can! Ms. Josie grew up in Evergreen and is now residing in Lakewood. She is very excited to start this year with the students and staff!

Emily Kemp

Emily Kemp

Teacher, OG tutor

Learn More about Ms. Emily!
Emily is a longtime member of the Evergreen mountain community. She is a native Coloradan and continues to enjoy living the mountain life. Emily graduated from Metro State University with a Bachelors’s degree in Behavioral Science & Elementary Education. Her passion for helping children succeed led her into the education field where she found her niche in literacy intervention. She hopes to create a fun & exciting learning environment for her students so they can develop a life long love of learning. Emily, her husband, and their two daughters are excited to be apart of the VSA family.
Christine Riedlin

Christine Riedlin

Teacher/ OG Tutor

Learn More about Ms. Christine!

Christine Riedlin has spent over 22 years working in education. Her teaching experiences range in age from preschool to college. She holds a BS in Environmental Studies and BFA in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado, and a Master’s in Education from Regis University. While teaching students to learn to read, she became interested in Dyslexia and how to teach struggling readers. She worked as a tutor at Rocky Mountain Summer Camp for Dyslexia for five summers, which gave her a lot of experience and practice using Orton Gillingham methods. Christine has been an instructor at Vertical Skills Academy since its second year in 2015. Her passion for using data to guide instruction led her to become the Assessment Coordinator at VSA. Currently, she is teaching middle school science, upper-middle school English Language Arts and Social Studies. She also tutors dyslexic, dysgraphic, and dyscalculia students, as well as doing academic coaching for elementary and middle school students. 

She is strongly committed to the idea that ALL students can learn anything if it is taught in the way they need to learn. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling in her camper van, reading, and being outdoors.

Jen Halsall

Jen Halsall

OG Tutor

Learn More about Ms. Jen!
Jen is a Colorado native, born in Steamboat Springs. She has taught many ages, from pre-school to adults and is a certified advanced level Therapeutic Horseback Riding instructor. She has a degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant and a Bachelors’s in Psychology from Wittenberg University in Ohio. She has had training in Beginning and Advanced Orton Gillingham and was a 1:1 tutor at Rocky Mountain Camp for Dyslexia in 2018. She is also advocating for all kids with dyslexia in Jeffco, working towards change at the district level for dyslexia awareness and training through JeffcoKID. Jen will be tutoring 1:1 at VSA, as a part-time tutor this year. In her free time, she enjoys reading, spending time with her husband and playing outdoors with her 2 kids and 2 dogs, Tigger and Gypsy.
Gretchen Signet

Gretchen Signet

OG Tutor

Learn More about Ms. Gretchen!
Ms. Gretchen is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with your children and be a part of the growth and academic development they will achieve this year. Through her lessons your child will be exposed to a variety of multi-sensory, creative and engaging OG learning opportunities to boost each child’s confidence and desire to learn.

Ms. Gretchen has a bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a focus on Interpretation and Translation, and a minor in History from the University of Arizona. Following her credentialing program, she received her post baccalaureate degree in Education, Special Education, and English as a Second Language. Her husband’s career brought them to Houston in 2013 and she continued her teaching career with Pre-K, 3rd grade and special education. In 2015, she wanted to expand her skills as an educator and earned her credential as an Applied Behavior Analysis Therapist supporting students with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This is her 10th year in the classroom and she is pleased to say she has found her new home away from home at Vertical Skills Academy.

Elisa Sodja

Elisa Sodja

OG Tutor

Learn More about Ms. Elisa

Elisa is excited to be part of the Vertical Skills Academy team! She started her career in business, Recruiting, and Human Resources. Eventually, her heart followed two generations of teachers in her family and worked in the Jefferson County School District. Multisensory teaching came naturally for Elisa with her own children, so she completed training in Yoshimoto Orton-Gillingham Basic and Advanced as well as Comprehensive and Intermediate levels in IMSE OG. She loves working with kids from kindergarten through high school. Partnering with kids and teens to achieve and succeed in ways they couldn’t initially imagine, is Elisa’s reason for coming to work every day (and of course the cool co-workers). Elisa is also a co-founder of JeffcoKID, advocating for Dyslexia awareness and teacher training. When Elisa is not tutoring, she loves spending time with her family, friends, and three dogs. She enjoys boating, horseback riding, mountain biking, yoga, camping, hiking, and sushi.

Meet Our Board of Directors

Christina Griggs

Christina Griggs

VSA Board President

Learn More about Christina
Christina has worked for many years in the financial services and banking industry. During these years, she developed a strong understanding of personal and business finance and learned about the operational needs of both large and small firms. Some of the industries that Christina has worked in include Environmental and Business Consulting, Property Management, Investment Banking, Corporate Housing, Real Estate Brokerage, commercial and residential construction, electrical engineering, personal investment planning, IT Services, Association Management, Government, Publishing and Digital Marketing. For these companies she instigated stronger operations, built a solid financial structure and improved customer relations.

Christina started Gemsbok Consulting, Inc. in 2001 to assist companies in building a solid foundation from which to grow. Through Christina’s years of experience, she learned that business owners are experts at their business product or service, but running a successful company was not always a strong point. As a result, Gemsbok Consulting, Inc. was founded to help owners with all the back-office processes of the organization. Some of these functions include bookkeeping with a CFO perspective, setting up operational processes, developing healthy human resource habits and strategic planning. In addition to running Gemsbok Consulting, Christina has served as the CFO for a successful Digital Marketing Agency in the Denver area for the past 11 years.

Christina was drawn to serve on the VSA board after seeing how much of an impact the school had on her own son’s educational experience and wanted to support the school in providing this experience for other kids. Since Christina has worked with many companies over the past 20 years in reaching their growth goals, she felt her financial background and leadership skills could support the school in reaching its goals. Christina is doing this through building forecasting tools for the school and helping the school move into the next phase of its business growth.

When not working or supporting VSA, Christina is an avid Crossfitter. She also loves to bake as well as travel with her family.

Lynn Peesel

Lynn Peesel

VSA Vice President

Learn More about Lynn
Lynn is passionate about education, especially helping children to discover their unique interests and talents. She has a background in Montessori education and has taught for over 20 years, primarily in first through third grade. Before getting her education credential, she received a Masters in International Development with a focus on education and literacy from American University. Lynn has taken the basic and advanced Orton-Gillingham training, as well as other literacy and writing training programs. During her teaching career she enjoyed working to meet the needs of each student and helping them to reach their potential. She is thrilled to be supporting VSA and bring her educational background to a school that strives to meet the needs of students with Dyslexia.

Lynn is from Colorado and lives in Evergreen with her family. She enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, rafting, and exploring, especially with family, friends and dogs.

Becky Kalahiki

Becky Kalahiki

VSA Board Member, Treasurer

Learn More about Becky
Becky Kalahiki comes to the Vertical Skills Academy (VSA) family from the Cayman Islands. She is a proud mother of a dyslexic son and wife to a dyslexic husband. Becky and her husband searched the globe for the best middle school for their son and found VSA on-line. VSA’s mission and especially VSA’s primary goal of “…empowering students with skills to continue their academic growth and self-advocacy beyond their tenure at the academy” was a deciding factor to move to Evergreen, Colorado for their son’s schooling.

Although Becky grew up in Colorado, she has lived and worked on all 7 continents and volunteers her time in activities to assist people around the globe.

Along with volunteering on the VSA Board, she volunteers as a Mentor for female professionals in the Caribbean and is an active member of the Gender Equality Cayman initiative in the Cayman Islands. She currently is a Senior Advisor, Growth Strategy & Transformation for a USA headquartered global company.  She has extensive experience working in over 100 countries with a variety of talented and skilled employees. She loves to travel internationally which provides her an opportunity to interact with new people & cultures.

Mandy Harris

Mandy Harris

VSA Board Member

Learn More about Mandy

Mandy Harris, CALP, M.Ed.

Mandy believes in the power of family and educator partnerships. She was a classroom teacher for 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades before transitioning to a literacy interventionist for grades K-5. As an educator, she focused on systems improvements and strengthening support for all learners. She is a certified academic language practitioner trained in Texas Scottish Rite’s Take Flight dyslexia program and various other programs based in Orton-Gillingham. She currently works as a literacy consultant and is a 4H program volunteer at her local chapter. 

Prior to her career in education, she worked in the mental health field as a counselor for at-risk teens and was a licensed social worker. Mandy strives to be both a resource and a support person for teachers and families. She was drawn to serving on the board because of VSA’s dedication in cultivating an engaging, challenging, and rewarding learning environment that honors the individual. She loves everything Colorado has to offer and enjoys spending time with her husband, two teenagers, extended family, and, of course, her 100-pound dog, Sooner. 

Lindsay Mallow

Lindsay Mallow

VSA Board Member

Learn More about Lindsay

Lindsay is a dedicated leader and professional problem solver with a career in Project Management. She has many years of experience developing high performing teams in fast-paced, complex environments. Lindsay thrives when establishing new processes, systems, and tools that improve operational efficiency. She looks forward to collaborating with her VSA co-board members, staff, and families to implement solutions that help achieve VSA’s organizational goals and growth.

Lindsay is a proud mother of three, including a set of twins and a daughter with dyslexia and ADHD, who proudly calls dyslexia her “superpower” thanks to the confidence and empowerment she has gained from being a student at VSA. She feels lucky to have stumbled upon VSA in her search for a school that offers specialized hands-on, multi-sensory curriculum, while also focusing on building the “whole person” through social emotional learning and executive functioning skill development. Lindsay joined the board with the hope that she can help spread the word about VSA to other families struggling to find solutions that better support their neurodiverse learners.

During her free time, Lindsay enjoys interior design, exploring the outdoor playground that Colorado has to offer, and traveling with family and friends. Although she’s grateful to live close to the mountains, the beach is her true happy place.

 

Advisors

Kara Osberg

Kara Osberg

Founder and Advisor

Learn More about Ms. Kara
Kara is the co-founder and advisor of Vertical Skills Academy. She is an entrepreneurial collaborative problem-solver with a passion for supporting others as they parent or educate the dyslexic children in their lives. As a highly trained Orton-Gillingham interventionist and seasoned advocate with nearly twenty years of personal and professional experience with students, families, and academic programs, Kara also provides mentorship, academic coaching, and tutoring.

Get In Touch

Location: 32156 Castle Ct, Suite 201, Evergreen, CO 80439

Telephone: (303) 562-1900

Email: admin@verticalskillsacademy.org

School Hours: M-F: 8:15am – 3:00pm