CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & IMPACT
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS & PROGRAMS
ALUMNI & PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
FINANCE & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
PROGRAM AND OPERATIONS MANAGER
OPERATIONS AND EXECUTIVE SUPPORT MANAGER
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
As Chief Executive Officer, Kat leads the organization and team to actualize Moonshot’s mission and long-term strategic plan, as well as manages fundraising, external partnerships, and new initiatives. Kat joined Moonshot in 2019 as Chief of Staff, later serving as Chief Program Officer where she facilitated the Moonshot Fellowship for Cohorts 3 and 4, including a re-design of the Fellowship into a virtual format in the pandemic. Kat became CEO in November 2021, after serving as Interim CEO.
Prior to Moonshot, Kat was a Managing Director of Alumni at Teach For America - Greater Delta, where she led a team responsible for supporting a cross-state 500+ alumni network. Their additional prior experiences include coaching 50+ educators in southeast Arkansas, designing and facilitating training on culturally relevant pedagogy, racial equity, and multicultural leadership for 100+ educators and a 15-person staff, and managing teams responsible for district partnerships, licensure, hiring, and teacher placement. Kat served as a Leadership Team Member and Board Chair of the national Asian American Pacific Islander Resource Group and was a founding member and Board Chair for GLSEN Arkansas.
She graduated from Cornell University magna cum laude and has a Master’s in Public Service from the University of Arkansas - Clinton School of Public Service. Kat is a member of the Leadership Denver Class of 2022 and the Pahara Institute Cohort 42. She serves on the Denver Mayor’s LGBTQ+ Commission, as the Board Chair of Asian Girls Ignite, and as a Community Trustee for the Nord Family Foundation.
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MANAGING DIRECTOR OF STRATEGY & IMPACT
Daranee Teng (she/her) leads the development and execution of strategic initiatives that enhance the impact and reach of Moonshot’s programs. She brings over 18 years of experience in educational nonprofits to the team. Previously, Daranee managed qualitative research and evaluation efforts on a national scale for OneGoal, a program supporting over 13,000 first-generation students across the United States. Prior to that role, she lived and worked in Guatemala as a program evaluation consultant for MAIA Colegio Impacto, a school led by indigenous Maya women to prepare indigenous Maya girls for community, national, and global leadership. Daranee was also a Program Director for Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation, where she supported a dedicated cohort of first-generation students in North Denver over the course of 10 years, from third grade to high school graduation.
Daranee received an MA in Educational Policy & Practice from the University of Colorado Boulder and is pursuing a PhD in Educational Research and Evaluation Methods at the University of Colorado Denver with a focus on decolonial and abolitionist research methodologies. She was recently named a 2024 Asian American Hero of Colorado. Outside of work and school, Daranee loves to travel, cook, read, and hang out with her dog Pao (short for Krapao, which means “holy basil” in Thai).
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MANAGING DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
As Managing Director, Operations at Moonshot, Tony leads operational functions, including finance, fundraising systems, HR, and facilities, while managing a team and translating strategic goals into effective, equity-centered execution. Tony’s career in education began when we served as an AmeriCorps member at City Year Philadelphia mentoring and tutoring a 6th grade classroom. Since then, Tony’s experience in education includes serving as a founding staff member at City Year Denver, recruitment for DSST Public Schools, and teaching high school Business at Northfield High School. During his teaching career, Tony joined Moonshot as a fellow to launch First2Lead, an organization focused on cultivating first-generation students to become the next generation of business leaders.
Tony’s work in operations includes the nonprofit sector as well as city government, where he was tasked as an appointee to Mayor Mike Johnston to oversee labor and construction for the city’s “All In Mile High” initiative to help 1,000 people experiencing homelessness get indoors. Tony holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Management from Colorado State University and an MBA from Regis University. He sits on the board of RiseUp Community School and serves on the City and County of Denver’s LGBTQ Commission.
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MANAGING DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS & PROGRAMS
As Managing Director of Schools & Programs, Amanda serves as a key strategic partner and the lead for Moonshot’s programs, including the Residency initiatives. She is a Cohort 2 and School Launcher Residency alumna. Born and raised in Denver, Amanda’s passion for youth advocacy and social change has been her north star in her 26 years of work with teens in the education and community organization fields. Her drive is rooted in the indigenous Nahuatl word tiahui, which roughly means to move, change, or go forward. With the belief that education can get one out of their situation, her commitment to empowerment and movement has always been focused on young people of color in Denver and Adams counties.
Over the past 26 years, she has served in roles and fields including high school principal and middle school administrator, gang outreach and violence response, field-based mental health, youth mentoring, program development, and teaching across all middle & high school content areas. Her true passion is special education law, where she specializes in serving teens with affective needs and significant mental health disabilities. A first-generation college graduate and child of a Displaced Aurarian, Amanda holds a B.A. from MSU Denver in Special Education and Linguistically Diverse Education and an M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies and Special Education Administration. Her Doctoral research (in progress) interests include families as systems within school models, school discipline practices of Black and Indigenous students of color, and teaching in third spaces. She is the founder of Ollin Educational Consulting and the Co-Founder and former Director of Cultivation at Be The Change Community School. She serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Northern Colorado and Metropolitan State University of Denver and was recently named the 2022 Educational Leader of the Year by the Colorado Association of Bilingual Educators for her advocacy for bilingual students and families.
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ALUMNI AND PARTNERSHIPS DIRECTOR
As the Director of Alumni and Partnerships, Anataly leads Moonshot’s alumni services and strategy while developing and nurturing community partnerships. Born and raised in Denver, Anataly proudly identifies as Mexican-American and brings over 12 years of experience in education and nonprofits. Prior to Moonshot, she had the privilege of leading and collaborating with both professional and aspiring BIPOC educators in running a summer program for Denver Public Schools. She also worked as a bilingual educator, teaching grades K-4 primarily in the Far Northeast, where she developed and implemented bilingual curricula and cultivated strong, trusting relationships with students and families.
Being a first-generation college student ignited her passion for creating equitable opportunities in education and supporting those from marginalized communities. Anataly deeply believes in the power of education and, over her eight years of teaching, witnessed firsthand the profound impact that representation can have on students' lives. Her commitment extends beyond the classroom as she strives to create systems that support and uplift individuals throughout their personal and educational journeys.
Anataly earned her BA in International Affairs with a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, as well as an MA in Education Equity and Cultural Diversity from the same institution. She currently serves as a Research Graduate Assistant in a Grow Your Own program that allows high school students to earn college credit while exploring teaching and related careers through a social justice and equity lens. She is also pursuing a Doctorate of Education from the University of Colorado Denver, where her research focuses on the role of Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and explores the concept of servingness and the experiences of HSI leaders in Colorado.
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PROGRAM DIRECTOR
As Program Director, Justin leads the Fellowship, Program Residency, and Moonshot’s alumni services and strategy. Justin believes deeply that education must be a site of radical, personal and communal transformation, which simultaneously cultivates opportunities for learning, exploration and experience while fighting against the historical injustices and harms caused to marginalized peoples. His professional journey in education, working within and advocating for community began in 2014, but his spirit of activism was shaped in the early '90s when his mom received her medical assistant certification. Working at the Boulder Valley Women's Health Center, Justin saw his mom go to work amidst weekly protesting and bomb threats to ensure accessible reproductive healthcare for women and femmes. This, coupled with his experience as a poor, Black boy in Boulder (county), birthed a passion to support the holistic wellbeing of communities and people on the margins.
After engaging with feminist and critical consciousness frameworks as an Ethnic Studies major at CU-Boulder, Justin went to the University of Denver, receiving a master's in Higher Education with an emphasis on Diversity and Higher Learning. During his time as a graduate student, Justin began working as the Student Life Director at College Track. He has served as the Senior Director of Postsecondary at the I Have A Dream Foundation of Boulder County and as a Student Success Manager at Guild Education. From 2019 to 2022, Justin was a member of the joint CU-Boulder/UC-Irvine, Co-ATTEND research team, collaborating with DPS teachers and community advocates to re-humanize mathematics education using a participatory approach. Justin has facilitated training on identity development, systems of oppression, and culturally relevant student and community engagement for educators.
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FINANCE & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
As the Finance and Operations Director at Moonshot, Alex oversees the organization’s finance, liability, HR, operations, and communications functions. She joined Moonshot in 2020 as the organization’s first Finance and Operations Manager and has played a key role in building the systems that support Moonshot’s growth.
Alex was drawn to nonprofit finance and operations by her passion for community-embedded work and her belief that equitable systems are essential for creating meaningful, lasting change. Before Moonshot, she was the Manager of Accounting, Payroll, and Public Grants at a Denver public charter school network, supporting over 200 staff members across four campuses. She also previously worked as a Loan Servicing Manager for a Denver nonprofit focused on making homeownership more accessible for first-time buyers.
Born and raised in Denver, Alex is a first-generation college graduate of Regis University, where she studied accounting and economics. She earned her Master of Science in Accounting in 2015.
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PROGRAM AND OPERATIONS MANAGER
As the Program and Operations Manager, Eunice manages the operations and logistics for all Moonshot programs, including the Moonshot Innovation Space, Residencies and Alumni Services. From the beginning of her career, Eunice has been passionate about fostering the success and well-being of individuals and communities so they can reach their fullest potential. As a Filipino American woman, she has a personal, academic, and professional mission to dismantle systems of oppression.
Formerly, Eunice served as the Equity and Career Success Coordinator for MSU Denver’s Classroom to Career Hub (C2 Hub). There, she supported students with marginalized identities in all stages of their career journeys through mentorship, job shadowing and identity-affirming programs.
In her spare time, she contributes to the Colorado Women’s Education Foundation as a trustee and member of their Fundraising and Outreach Committee. Eunice is a double alum of Kent State University with a B.A. in Communication Studies and M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs.
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DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
As the Development Manager at Moonshot, Dafne plays a pivotal role in grant management and fundraising. She supports the Director of Finance and Operations and the CEO in managing donor records and relationships, budget and record-keeping processes, and documenting progress toward annual goals.
Dafne’s commitment to educational equity began in high school when she co-founded a student-led group with her social justice teacher, advocating for the recruitment of teachers who possessed a deep understanding of power and privilege dynamics within the educational landscape and society, particularly at a school with a predominantly Latinx and Black student body. This experience laid the groundwork for her dedication to education policy, leading to academic and professional pursuits.
Dafne was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She pursued her academic journey at Skidmore College, graduating with honors in Sociology and a minor in Political Science. Before joining Moonshot, her professional path included being a legislative aide at the state capitol, where she was instrumental in policy research, constituent outreach, and supporting legislative initiatives. Dafne has also worked with organizations dedicated to closing the education gap and advocating for education policy across Colorado and the United States.
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OPERATIONS AND EXECUTIVE SUPPORT MANAGER
As Manager of Operations and Executive Support at Moonshot edVentures, Kevin is passionate about building relationships and community. He plays a key role in supporting the CEO and leadership team while also overseeing the daily operations of The Station coworking space, serving as the point of contact for staff and coworking members. With a background in creative arts, community engagement, and customer service, Kevin ensures that everything at Moonshot and The Station runs efficiently and inclusively. He thrives on creating an environment where creativity, collaboration, and equity are at the forefront, organizing and facilitating events that foster a strong, engaged community.
His professional experience spans the healthcare and service industries, where he gained valuable skills in customer service, team leadership, and logistics. Kevin maintains a strong connection with Ednium: The Alumni Collective, a community network of Denver Public Schools alums, which has shaped his approach to supporting community engagement, mentorship, and cultural development.
A proud Chicano from Denver, Colorado, Kevin enjoys hiking, roller skating, attending concerts, and expressing himself through music, performance, and art. His commitment to personal and professional growth is a guiding principle in everything he does.
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