Montessori Peaks Academy, School Board Members

Home Tour of Montessori School Forms Site Map School Blog Contact Us

Montessori Peaks Academy School Board

Phyllis Glawe
Vice President

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Dr. Glawe received her veterinary degree from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1989. After completing a residency in small animal clinical oncology at Colorado State University in 1993, she embarked upon a career as a veterinary oncology specialist in private practice. Presently she is the owner of Colorado Veterinary Oncology, a practice focused upon the diagnosis and treatment of dogs and cats with cancer.

Married to Dr. J Chris Glawe, Phyllis has two children who attend MPA. Her eldest son, age 11, loves being a fifth grader in Randy’s class. Her 8 year old is an enthusiastic second grader in Shannon’s class. They have been MPA community members since 2003, and Phyllis and Chris believe the benefits of their children attending MPA have been immeasurable. From obtaining an excellent education based in the Montessori philosophy to the participation in the strong community atmosphere, this has been a valuable experience for their entire family. Phyllis

has participated as a Board of Directors member and has held multiple officer positions through the years (Secretary and Vice President).

Phyllis says she has witnessed many diverse opportunities as a member of the BOD. "The roles of Secretary and Vice President have provided unparalleled experience in the implementation of strategic initiatives during the past several years. I have been privileged to participate in the governance of this special school community and would like to continue to do so. Additionally, I enjoy the camaraderie of fellow board members-a wonderful group of focused individuals and friends. Ultimately, my continued goal as a Director is to enhance the strengths of this institution by providing my critical thinking and leadership skills to tasks where needed."

Phyllis enjoys spending time with her husband, sons and various assorted companion animals. In her spare time, she enjoys tennis, hiking and mountain biking, as well as swimming and scuba diving.

Jeff Lubthisophon

Jeff Lubthisophon has been a proud parent of two MPA students for the past 12 years. His oldest son graduated from MPA two years ago after nine years of Montessori schooling here at MPA. His youngest is a 6th grader and continues in Mr. Randy’s class this year to prepare for next year in middle school. Additionally, his wife Lori is the coordinator of the before and after school programs, which has allowed them to have MPA as a very large part of their lives.

Professionally, Jeff has been in the HVAC business for the last 22+ years and currently holds the position of the Rocky Mountain Regional Sales Manager for a midsized manufacturer based out of St. Louis Missouri. His responsibilities include managing a territory of independent distributors of over 8 million dollars in business within a five-state region.

Personally, Jeff is very involved with the Knights of Columbus and currently holds an officer’s position with the council. Jeff has the utmost respect for past, present, and future board members who, year after year, make decisions in which continue to mold MPA into the excellent establishment that it has become. This is Jeff’s second year serving on the MPA Board of Directors.

Jack Tweedie

Jack Tweedie has two children in Montessori Peaks Academy. One son is in third grade and the other is in first. Both children have been enrolled in Montessori programs since they were six months old and it was the great experience in those programs that led Jack to seek out a continuation of Montessori at MPA.

Jack is the Director of the Children and Families Program at the National Conference of State Legislatures. As director, he oversees NCSL’s assistance to state legislatures on welfare and poverty, child welfare, early education and child care, and youth. He works extensively in providing technical assistance to states as they consider policy changes in their welfare and poverty programs. He has helped the states maintain their successful existing programs and services,

improve key outcomes such as job retention and advancement for parents leaving welfare for work. He is leading NCSL's effort to help states develop broad-based strategies to reduce family poverty and reduce the effects of children growing up in poverty.

Prior to coming to NCSL, Jack taught political science and public policy at the University of Denver and the State University of New York at Binghamton. Jack also serves on the board of the Parents as Teachers National Center and on the Colorado Works Evaluation Advisory Committee.

Herbert Merk
Treasurer

Herbie Merk is a native of Bavaria, Germany and has lived in the United States since 2001 and in Colorado since 2005. He received his MBA from the University of Augsburg, Germany in 1997 after spending a year abroad at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, England. He began his career in the insurance industry with Allianz where he managed and trained a growing sales force. Herbie has 5 years of experience in wealth management both at as a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley in Palo Alto, California and currently at TIAA-CREF in Denver. Herbie’s area of expertise is in financial management, retirement planning, and portfolio management.

Herbie’s five-year-old daughter is in her second year of primary at Montessori Peaks Academy and has a two-year-old daughter at home. He and his wife, Kari, were impressed by the hands-on, stimulating classroom work; focus on the child as a responsible individual and the nurturing learning environment. Herbie

strongly believes that his daughter is flourishing both socially and academically at MPA. His participation on the board is an excellent opportunity for him to give back to his community while building a connection to his child’s school. Herbie’s personal goal in being on the board is to support MPA in maintaining its overall excellence as an educational institution in a financially sound manner. Herbie has taken on the challenge of being the Treasurer for the Board of Directors.

In his free time, Herbie enjoys skiing, cycling, cooking, travel and, most of all, playing with his daughters.

Ted Scherrer

Ted is currently in his first year as a member of the MPA Board of Directors. Ted graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in Construction Management and spent the past 26 years in some function of the construction industry. His various duties included Project Supervisor, Project Manager, and Cost Estimator. The largest projects he managed were $18M and $23M respectively. He also started and ran his own residential construction company for eight years. Eighteen months ago he decided to make a change in his profession and started trading futures on the S&P 500 market.

His two children have attended MPA since they were three years old and have made great progress both socially and academically.

Ted and his wife, Tammie, both have great appreciation for all the teachers at MPA. Ted feels that being a member of the MPA school board helps the school in appreciation for their great work. His experience in construction, managing projects, and responsibility for company profit and loss is great assistance to the school board.

Donovan Puffer
President

Donovan Puffer is currently working as senior management analyst for the FEMA Regional Administrator in Denver. He has 15 years of experience in managing federal grants, including advising states, tribes, and local organizations on practical techniques for identifying grant sources, applying for grants, and managing grant funds. He also has extensive knowledge of and experience in contracts management and procurements, project management, professional writing and planning. Donovan holds a master’s degree in organizational management from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.

Donovan’s six-year-old daughter has been a student at Montessori Peaks Academy since August 2006. He and his wife, Lisa, were attracted to the Montessori methodology while their daughter was still in day care. They had visited several Montessori schools in the Denver area, and were struck by how

clearly MPA was organized by teachers to be a learning place for students.

Donovan believes Montessori Peaks Academy gives his daughter a safe, healthy, challenging environment in which to learn and grow. He and Lisa are grateful for all that MPA does for their family, and he would like to do what he can to serve the school in return. He strongly believes in community service and with his skill set, he is a very valuable member of the MPA board.

Todd Howerter
Secretary

Todd Howerter is a marketing professional with ten years of experience working on multiple household name brands. Most recently, he has spent eight years in brand marketing at MillerCoors (formerly Coors Brewing Company), and is currently serving as a director working on the integration efforts.

Todd received a BBA degree in Finance from the Goizueta Business School at Emory University, and an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, where he graduated with honors. He is the father of an 8 year old daughter and a 6 year old son who have been fortunate to attend Montessori Peaks Academy for the past five years. He spends his free time with his family, skiing, hiking, cycling, and hunting.

Todd became a member of the board of directors because he wanted to be actively involved in ensuring that the MPA students receive the best possible education and school experience in the years that they spend at the school. He brings to the board an ability to understand and solve complex issues with sometimes limited information, the ability to drive alignment among a group of people with sometimes competing points of view, the ability to allocate limited resources to achieve an optimal outcome, and the ability to listen to and empathize with people with a broad spectrum of perspectives. This is Todd’s second term as a member of the MPA Board of Directors.

Kira Toms

Kira Toms attended the Barrie school, a Montessori School in Maryland from when she was three years old till she graduated from high school. She got a B.S in Criminal Justice from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina and then moved to Colorado in 2005 from just outside Washington D.C. Kira received her Masters in Early Childhood Special Education in 2007. Kira has been working at Montessori Peaks Academy since 2005, first as a Special Education Paraprofessional, and then beginning in 2008 as one of the Special Needs lead teachers. This is her second year serving as the Staff Representative for the MPA Board of Directors.

Kira strongly believes in the Montessori philosophy and knows first hand how it prepares children for school and for life. She loves being a part of the Montessori

Peak’s team and working with the multi-talented children and staff who all add greatly to her daily life. When she is not working, she loves to spend time with her husband, Kenneth, and playing with her two dogs.

"Rick" Richard Escobedo

Originally from Roswell, NM, Rick graduated from the Art Institute of Colorado in 1990 with a degree in Visual Communications. Since that time he has been an independent graphic designer in Littleton, CO. Specializing in corporate identity and branding, brochure and website design, he especially enjoys working with small businesses. He also works as a contract designer for many of the larger design firms in the Denver Metro area including Karsh & Hagan, Factory Design Labs and Barnhart CMI.

A very involved father of two children, a son, age 10 and daughter, age 6, Rick makes plenty of time for activities with them and his wife, Melanie. He is pleased to serve on the Board of Directors for Montessori Peaks Academy. A parent at MPA for seven years, Rick has seen first hand the benefits of a Montessori Education in his children.

Rick is an avid cyclist, fisherman and skier. As a fully certified Professional Ski Instructor of America (PSIA), he works for Vail Resorts at Keystone during the ski season teaching both adults and children. Rick is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Latina Chamber of Commerce.

Click below to email the board!