Our Exceptional Staff

Before moving to Durango from Arizona, Natalie managed multiple law firms, including a Family Law practice and an Estate Planning Practice. Natalie and her husband, who were high school sweethearts, and moved with their son to Durango in 2007, where their family quickly grew to include a daughter. While raising her children, Natalie performed book keeping services throughout Durango and led the Needham Elementary PTO from 2011-2013. She enjoys gardening, running, hiking, camping, and spending time with her family.

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Tony Roderick was born and raised outside of Salt Lake City, UT.  Between middle school and his teaching career, he had a variety of priceless work experiences. He attended Utah State University and graduated with a degree in Journalism. After working in the fitness industry for several years, Tony and his much better half moved to Colorado in 2002. Two years later he changed career paths and went back to school at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs to get his teaching license. Tony was offered a job at Jenkins Middle School in District Eleven where he did his student teaching, and remained there for nine years teaching 6th grade language arts and social studies.  In 2012, he returned to UCCS to obtain his principal’s license. He was offered an assistant principal position in D11 in 2015 at Galileo School of Math & Science. Tony and his family wanted to try a different part of Colorado, and moved to Larimer County where he served in the same role in Thompson School District for three years. Not feeling close enough to the mountains, the Rodericks up and moved again in the fall of 2019 after Tony was offered a job as assistant principal at Florida Mesa Elementary School in Durango School District 9-R, where he served through the 2022-23 school year.  In their “spare time,” Tony and his wife, Mandy, are probably on their way to a basketball game for one of their two teenage boys or hopefully hiking, fishing, traveling, or playing golf.

Credentials:

Mr. Lauron grew up in the islands of the Philippines.  He earned his BS Physics for Teachers from the Philippine Normal University in Manila, Philippines. He completed three master level degrees in Physics Education, International Studies, and Special Education. In 2021, he completed his Ed.S. in Educational Leadership and SPED Administration from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, CO. Mr. Lauron brings with him 23 years of experience from the Philippines and USA, as an educator, a lifelong learner, an advocate of equity and inclusion, a continuous improvement consultant, and a transformative leader, as he joins the Mountain Middle School team, as Dean of Inclusion. As a Filipino immigrant, who filled the need for teachers in a diverse school district in Colorado Springs in 2015. He grew from a struggling teacher “on an improvement plan” in 2015 at Harrison High School to being awarded as a Teacher of the Year at Sierra High School in 2021.  In the Philippines, Mr. Lauron taught Physics, Chemistry, and Earth Science in Ateneo de Manila High School, a Jesuit high school from 2001 to 2015. In those years, aside from teaching his assigned classes, he also served the school as Student Activities Coordinator, Service Learning and Community Development Coordinator, Assembly of Class Officers Moderator, Summer Enrichment Program Director, Fund-Raising Coordinator, Teenpreneur Challenge Adviser, Academic Standards Committee Head, Disciplinary Board, etc. Fourteen of those fifteen years, he was consistently a recipient of Eagle Award of Excellence in Teaching, given to teachers with outstanding performance, with a corresponding cash award that he used to further his education. Mr. Lauron has co-authored a local Philippine textbook in science for grades 6 to 8, published by the University Press of First Asia (Diwa Publishing). He also served as the Continuous improvement consultant for the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. He designed and facilitated the benchmarking activities, workshops, and training of district officials and school principals, funded by Philippines-Australia Human Resource and Organizational Development Facility (PAHRODF). He served as an Organizational Development (OD) consultant of a non-profit organization that partners with local state colleges and universities, especially in facilitating strategic-partnership planning workshops. 

As a lifelong learner, he is currently pursuing his Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and Policy, with the University of Northern Colorado. He is a member of the John Maxwell Team and Toastmasters Club. Mr. Lauron also serves as an adviser to the Filipino-American Association of Southern Colorado. As a SPED administrator, Mr. Lauron served as a District Coordinator of Special Education, in Gallup McKinley County Schools, in New Mexico serving 34 schools before joining Mountain Middle School. Prior to that, he served as Special Programs Coordinator of Third Future Schools. At Sierra High School, Mr. Lauron led the Special Education Department as the Department Chairperson, serving 130 students on an IEP and teaching high school mathematics to students with disabilities. When not working, Mr. Lauron enjoys swimming, reading non-fiction books, and traveling. He is happily married to Marcelle.  They love soaking in the Durango Hot Springs and traveling together during school breaks. Mr. Lauron is excited to support students, parents, and staff of Mountain Middle School, especially in providing equitable, accessible, and inclusive education. He is looking forward to work with Mr. Voss in his pursuit for excellence and continuous improvement. He considers working with Mr. Voss and being a part of a high performing school as a blessing.

Gary has been teaching or leading schools for 18 years. He moved to the Four Corners Region 13 years ago. He loves to raft, hike, ski, camp and mountain bike. Gary is a strong advocate for project-based learning and has seen amazing results when students and teachers are passionate about their work and held to high standards. Most recently Gary served as the Dolores Elementary School principal. Before that, he helped start the 21st Century pilot program at Cortez Middle School, an amazing one-to-one laptop program where he taught science, math, technology and critical thinking in a project-based setting. He has also been a science fair coordinator and mentor for many years. Before coming to the Southwest, Gary taught high school math and reading at Woodlake Union High School in California. He has also taught math to at-risk boys for the Right of Passage Charter School located near Angels Camp, California. Gary grew up in the Central Valley of California where he was often seen helping his father in the orange groves or fixing diesel trucks in his father’s diesel repair business. As an educator, Gary is passionate about preparing students for the information age and showing how to use authority, logic and evidence to analyze and evaluate the massive amounts of information directed at students and teachers every day. Gary enjoys traveling with his wife, 11-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son.

Sarah Rankin is a graduate of the 2000 Partnership Teacher Education Program at Fort Lewis. She has 26 years of teaching experience, seven of those in a converted bedroom-classroom of her house, where she was fortunate to homeschool her own children and a handful of others for seven years, when her kids were younger. She lives with her husband and kids, now 16, 13, and 10, on the outskirts of Durango. Her daughters attend Mountain Middle School. Most of Sarah’s teaching career has been in a K-2 classroom at Mosaic Academy in Aztec, NM. She also taught 4th-5th grade in Farmington, 1st-3rd at Durango Montessori, and was a jobshare teacher in a 3rd grade classroom at Old Adobe Elementary in Petaluma, California, while she worked towards her Master’s in Depth Psychology from Sonoma State University. In the classroom, Sarah is passionate about teaching writing, social emotional content, and restorative justice. She believes that through building the habits of heart and mind and committing to working through our differences, kids receive the dual gifts of deepened introspection and becoming meaningful contributors to society. Aside from teaching, Sarah enjoys trail running, yoga, and accompanying women through the journey of birth, as a birth doula.

Addie was born and raised in Palisade, Colorado where she developed a love for adventuring in the outdoors, a strong academic foundation as an International Baccalaureate (IB) graduate, and a lasting appreciation for time spent with family, friends, and of course, her dog. Addie was inspired by her grandparents and parents to pursue a rewarding career as a teacher. She saw the amazing impact her family had on the community as teachers and chose to follow in their footsteps here in Durango. Addie attended Fort Lewis College where she gained valuable hands-on experience in diverse classrooms across the Durango area. These opportunities allowed her to observe many different teaching styles and build meaningful relationships with students. Science and social studies have always been her favorite subjects throughout her schooling which has become a true passion for teaching these subjects to her 4th graders. Addie is very excited to be teaching at Mountain Middle School and learning alongside her students! Outside the classroom, she enjoys traveling, skiing, fly fishing, hiking, and exploring the outdoors with her family and friends by her side. 

Kimi Hanson fell in love with Durango in 1997 when she participated in an exchange program at Fort Lewis College to study Anthropology in the heart of the Southwest.  As that school year drew to a close she decided to  transfer to the Fort the following year and graduated with a BA in History with a minor in Anthropology.  She wanted to work with young people and share the history of the area so she pursued her teaching certification in Elementary Education. She worked in Durango schools from 2005 to 2017 and enjoyed working within the International Baccalaureate framework at Needham Elementary, feeling that learning truly was in the hands of the learners.  In 2015, Kimi received her MA in Teacher Leadership.  The following year she was honored for Elementary Teacher of the Year by the Durango Education Foundation.  She sought out more opportunities for student-led learning and found that at Mountain Middle School with the  Project-based Learning framework. She believes it is vital for students to get out into our community with their learning experiences.  Kimi and her husband Luke love enjoying the outdoors with their daughter and son. Together they ski, mountain bike, camp, SUP, and raft and feel fortunate to live in this incredible community.

Brooke grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada and spent her childhood riding horses and snowboarding. She discovered her love of teaching after she joined AmeriCorps and worked as a tutor for at-risk students. Brooke returned to college to earn her Master’s degree in Education and has taught in various elementary grades for the last twenty-one years. She especially loves teaching reading and is dedicated to creating a community of passionate readers in her classroom. In her free time Brooke enjoys going on adventures with her family and can usually be found mountain biking, camping, or reading.

Rob grew up in Littleton, Colorado enjoying the wonderful opportunities the state has to offer. He climbed his first “Fourteener” at age 7. He moved to Durango in 1984 and attended Fort Lewis College. After graduating he held jobs that gravitated toward teaching young people. Realizing his desire to teach led him to become a trained teacher. He comes to MMS with 15 years of teaching experience at Sunnyside Elementary in Durango. Spending time outdoors hiking, rafting the Grand Canyon, mountain biking, and skiing are a few of life’s other pleasures for Rob.

Sage moved to Colorado from New Jersey when she was 18. She attended Fort Lewis where she received her teaching degree. Shortly after graduation, Sage and her husband Matt moved to Berkeley, California where Sage taught kindergarten and first grade. They then set off on a 15 year international teaching adventure. Sage taught Elementary School in American International Schools in Ecuador, China, Singapore and Bulgaria. She received her Masters in Education with an emphasis in teaching math K-8. Sage and her husband have been raising their 2 children overseas but have returned home to Durango every summer. She recently moved home to Durango. She is very excited to be home and to continue raising her family here. In her free time Sage loves to mountain bike, hike, snowboard, paddleboard and read.

Stacy’s classroom approach is deeply informed by years as a wildlife biologist and educator. She holds a B.S. in Wildlife Conservation and an M.A. in Education focused on place-based education and watershed science. During her career she has served as a K–5 Science Lab Teacher for 15 years, was the Youth Education Program Manager for the Colorado Mountain Club, developed curriculum for the Jane Goodall Institute’s Roots & Shoots program, surveyed wetlands in Colorado, monitored piping plovers in Maryland, assessed bird populations in Alaska, and was a field assistant for planetary geology field research in Iceland and South Africa. She currently serves as an outreach consultant for the NASA PUNCH Mission.

Recognized for her creative approach, Stacy received the 2026 Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators from the EPA, Teacher of the Year from Flagstaff Academy, was the Outstanding Environmental Educator Award Recipient in 2022 from the Colorado Alliance for Environmental Education and was a Monarch Butterfly Grant Recipient from Natural Habitat Adventures.

Outside of school, Stacy loves hiking, skiing, birding, and gardening with her husband and family.

Todd Macon has been teaching for 23 years and was a founding teacher at Mountain Middle School when it opened in 2011. He has a BA in Philosophy from the University of Colorado and a MA in Liberal Arts from the St. John’s College Great Books Program. He most appreciates a small trout stream, jazz records on his turntable, getting lost in desert canyons, shooting vintage and antique film cameras, and the new friends he meets in foreign countries.

Audrey Seidel grew up in Denver, Colorado, and knew from a young age that she wanted to work with children and young adults. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education (K–6) and Sociology from Fort Lewis College. She began her teaching career as a first-grade teacher in Northern Idaho before returning home to Southwest Colorado and joining the Mountain Middle School community.

Audrey believes that every student is capable of learning, growing, and finding their place in the classroom. Growing up, she often believed she was “bad at math,” and that experience shaped her commitment to helping students develop confidence and see themselves as mathematicians and scientists. She wants her classroom to be a place where students feel comfortable asking questions, making mistakes, being curious, and figuring things out together. Audrey is excited to learn alongside her students this year and to explore the world of science through hands-on investigations and projects. When she isn’t teaching, you can usually find her running, skiing, or reading a book by the river.

Mike Madden grew up in Denver Colorado and moved to Durango to attend FLC in 1991. He received his B. A. in Psychology from Fort Lewis College, and a Masters Degree in Counseling from Adams State College. He is a Licensed Professional Counselor and has been working in the field with young people for 20 years . He enjoys, making guitar string jewelry, skiing, whitewater kayaking, singing, playing the guitar and working with young people.

Kathleen Murphy brings a deep passion for student-centered learning and outdoor education to her work as an elementary educator. Originally from Burlington, Vermont, Kathleen graduated early from Essex High School to attend a semester-long program with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), an experience that continues to shape her love for experiential learning and the outdoors.

She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English from Saint Michael’s College before moving to Durango, Colorado in 2015. Kathleen began her career in education as a paraprofessional at Sunnyside Elementary, where she developed a strong foundation in classroom support and student engagement. She went on to complete the Boettcher Teacher Residency program, earning her K–6 Colorado teaching license, and soon after took a full-time 3rd grade teaching position at Florida Mesa Elementary.

While at Florida Mesa, Kathleen participated in the iREECCH grant program through the University of Denver, which supports gifted education in rural communities. This experience further enriched her approach to differentiated instruction and equity in education.

Outside of the classroom, Kathleen enjoys traveling, spending time in nature, and relaxing at home with her husband and two cats, Cashew and Pistachio.

Originally from La Junta, Colorado, Nancy grew up moving around- a lot. Her family finally landed in Vermont, where she spent the majority of her teenage years in the region known as the “Northeast Kingdom.” Despite the beauty of New England, she always knew she’d one day return to Colorado. After attending junior college in Southern Maryland, earning an Associate’s Degree in Humanities, Nancy headed west, making her way to Albuquerque where she taught preschool. Following a weekend visit to Durango in 2008, she knew she had found “home,” the perfect place to raise her son, Adrian, and so decided to move three months later. Nancy attended Fort Lewis College, earning a degree in Gender and Women’s Studies with a focus in U.S. History. She is currently working towards earning her Master’s Degree in Education and holds a Secondary Social Studies licensure. She LOVES history and is always excited to witness students making connections to the past. Like her colleagues, Nancy enjoys being outdoors and exploring the wilderness whenever possible. Her favorite thing to do is snowboard, and she loves getting to share her passion for the sport as an instructor and coach. Although she’d love to snowboard year round, she’s recently discovered a new obsession: mountain biking. She also enjoys reading, gardening, yoga, and hiking. 

Emma is originally from Philadelphia and moved to Colorado to attend college in 2011. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master’s in Education from Fort Lewis College with secondary certifications in science, math and language arts. She is also a certified yoga teacher and aerial acrobatics instructor. Emma has been teaching at Mountain Middle School since 2018. She is passionate about project-based learning and forming meaningful connections with her students. Outside of the classroom, Emma enjoys aerial dance, rock climbing, trail running, reading, drawing and spending time with her sweet rescue pup, Chili Dog.

Celeste Dunlop is a fourth generation Durango native. She and her husband, Jacob, have three adult kids. Celeste has worked in education for over twenty-five years, working with a diverse population of students in multiple schools. In her spare time, Celeste enjoys spending time with her family, playing with her dogs, watching football (Go Broncos!), gardening, camping, and cooking.

Jakob Fanning grew up in the Front Range before going to school at Fort Lewis to pursue a degree in English Secondary Education.  Though this is Jakob’s first year in a traditional teacher role, he developed his love of teaching in his senior year of high school when he worked as an intern at Windy Peak Outdoor Lab, teaching navigation and biology to sixth graders in a hands-on experience. He is deeply passionate about Early Modern period plays (think Shakespeare and Marlow) and both English and American Modernism (Hemingway, Steinbeck, Woolf, and Eliot). While these authors are a collection of his favorites, he enjoys reading from many different genres and perspectives.At home Jakob likes to cook, read, and spend time with his wife and their two cats. 

While the pursuit of knowledge is an important aspect of Jakob’s life, he also enjoys many of the joys of the Durango lifestyle. Jakob likes to ride his road bike more than his mountain bike (much to the ire of many of his friends) and climb rocks; but, his bucket is filled by chasing pow, cutting corduroy, and getting scared by the terrain park with his friends and wife.

Heidi grew up in Boulder, Colorado and spent her childhood drawing, painting and competing in mogul skiing alongside her brothers. She attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, double majoring in Art and Art History with a minor in Spanish. Heidi enjoys drawing detailed pencil portraits and creating colorful paintings on canvas and shoes in oil and acrylic. She has worked with kids for many years, founding and running her own nonprofit for children with cancer, Heidelore’s Heroes, working as a counselor at Camp Rainbow, a camp for kids with cancer, and teaching mogul skiing at Winter Park. She is excited to help the students at Mountain discover a love of art and to unlock their potential. When she is not doing art, Heidi enjoys mountain biking, camping, and reading.

Karen grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, before moving to Durango in 1998 to attend Fort Lewis College. Art has been her passion since she first began scribbling in preschool. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a focus on Printmaking and, during that time, fell in love with everything Durango has to offer—hiking, skiing, mountain biking, camping, and all things mountain-related!

After completing her degree, Karen earned her teaching license in art and began her teaching career in Durango, where she has taught for the past 18 years. Along the way, she also earned a master’s degree in Teacher Leadership with a focus on Arts Integration.

Karen is married with two children, and together they enjoy all the outdoor activities the area provides. She also has two dogs, Sugar and Chaco, who absolutely love hiking and running through the mountains. Karen is thrilled to be teaching art at Mountain and looks forward to sharing her passion with her students.

Eric grew up in extreme Southern Canada, 14 kilometers north of St. Paul, Minnesota. He has 30 years of teaching experience ranging from at-risk youth, adult education, and teaching internationally. These teaching experiences have taken Eric from islands in the Pacific Ocean to SE Asia before arriving in Durango. Prior to MMS, Eric taught technology and multimedia courses at Durango High School. Eric comes to MMS with a focus on Design, “Making”, video/film, visual literacy, and digital fabrication  such as 3-D printing and laser cutting. His interests lie in the outdoors hunting, fishing, and exploring exotic and remote travel destinations.

Emily grew up on the small coastline of New Hampshire. Her passion for helping others led to her decision to attend nursing school in Boston, MA. It was there that she met her wife Paige, who is a flight for life nurse here in Durango. Before moving here, Emily practiced as a Pediatric ICU nurse for almost 10 years all across the country. Together, they have a 2 year old son Elliot, a very hyper pup named Penny and two cats Zoey and Stitch. Emily enjoys traveling the world, hiking, doing yoga and has dabbled with her own photography business as well. The slower paced life here in Durango has been a blessing in disguise for Emily and her family.

Jessica relocated to Colorado from Connecticut where she grew up in 2012 after she earned her graduate degree. She lived in both Colorado and New Mexico providing services to students as a school psychologist. Prior to her work as a school psychologist, she worked with children as a nanny and a paraprofessional supporting students with significant needs. Jessica lives in Durango and enjoys hiking, biking, gardening, reading, volunteering in the community, and spending time with her son.

Tami Hanson came to Durango from Evansville, Indiana in 2012 with her family.  Before arriving in Durango, she taught elementary and middle school art/computer for 10 years. Her oldest daughter Amiah is a MMS graduate and her youngest daughter, Sadie, will graduate from MMS in 2022.

Tami played soccer through her time at Ball State University and continued her involvement with the sport by coaching select and high school soccer teams in Evansville. Tami’s love of sports is complemented by a great appreciation for the arts having taught art and led an Art Club for many years.

Most days Tami is either outside biking, hiking with her poodle Charlie, skiing, or running the trails. She is proudly a member of the Headlamp Girls who get their words out early in the morning on the trails around town.   When indoors, she enjoys cooking, singing, and learning new things in the art/drama realm.  She is excited to be part of the awesome team at Mountain Middle School and hopes to bring kindness and empathy to the front desk area at MMS.

Jenn Webb relocated with her husband and three children to Durango in 2020 from Greeley, Colorado. Prior to her move to Durango, Jenn enjoyed working in the same position at a Greeley charter school. She also helped organize fundraisers, after school events, and sports activities while running her small business. When she’s not in her garden or tending to her chickens, Jenn enjoys spending time with her family in the mountains hiking, camping, fishing and hunting.  Jenn is very excited to be a part of the amazing team at Mountain Middle School and looks forward to bringing positive energy and sunshine every day.

Lesley Iacona was born and raised in Winter Park, Florida. She completed her undergraduate studies at Florida State University and received her Masters of Education in Communication Disorders at Georgia State University. She has been practicing speech-language pathology since 2005. She spent thirteen years of her career in Flagstaff, AZ providing services in elementary, middle and high schools throughout northern Arizona. Also, while living in Flagstaff she had the opportunity to work for Northern Arizona University providing Augmentative and Alternative Communication evaluations for nine years.  This included direct AAC evaluation, training and implementation services to individuals with complex communication needs in schools and within home environments. Her husband and three boys moved to Durango, CO in 2017 to enjoy everything Durango has to offer and for her husband’s job at Mountain Capital Partners. Lesley has been providing speech and language services at Mountain Middle School since 2018.  She also works with high school students, does home visits as an early intervention provider and is home health speech-language pathologist.  She enjoys spending time with her family, skiing, mountain biking and being on the river.

Cynthia was born and raised on the North Shore of Lake Superior and started her nursing career in Canada in the hospital setting.  Her need for adventure brought her South of the border to the United States where she met my husband.  She has worked in a variety of clinical settings including the Emergency Departments of large Level 1 Trauma Teaching Hospitals and where she taught internationally recognized Trauma Nursing courses as well as working in small rural clinics in Yellowstone National Park and on an island in rural remote Alaska. Cynthia moved to Durango with her family in 2022 and could not have found a better home. Her son William is currently attending Mountain and his brother Connor can’t wait until 2025 when he gets to join Mountain.  Both of her boys play hockey and she is active member of the Durango Area Youth Hockey Association.  You can find her on the sidelines of a soccer field or in the hockey stands, hiking, biking, or reading a book.