Integrity: We strive to do the right thing at all times and in all circumstances, whether or not anyone is watching.
Commitment: We are dedicated to the program and to ensuring that each of us reaches our own unique, personal potential.
Perseverance: We don’t stop until we reach our goals - always putting forth our best effort, even when faced with difficulties or roadblocks along the path to success.
Inclusivity: We are a learning-centered organization that values the perspectives and contributions of everyone involved. We incorporate the needs, talents, and perspectives of the community we serve into the design and implementation of our program.
A National Movement: Since 1995, students from urban public schools across the country have benefited from longitudinal support in: Education, Health & Wellness, Community, and Career. Beginning with SquashBusters in Boston, then spreading to New York with StreetSquash and CitySquash, and subsequently as far away as India, there are now 22 member programs in operation.
Mile High Squash Comes To Denver: In 2008, Mile High Squash was launched with the support of Mayor Hickenlooper, The Anschutz Foundation, The Denver Athletic Club, The Hashim Khan Foundation, and a dedicated group of leaders.
Mile High Squash Becomes Mile High 360: In late 2014, Mile High Squash added cycling as a second anchor sport in order to expand the number of students served, resulting in a stronger organization with improved stability and sustainability for generations to come. With that pivot, Mile High Squash changed its name to Impact360 - now Mile High 360. This program expansion brought the cycling community’s passion to the aid of students who were ready to reach for the stars.
Mile High 360 Today: Mile High 360 runs on two campuses. The Denver Athletic Club campus holds up to 40 students across grades 9-12, and the West Leadership Academy campus - a local 6-12 school - holds up to 80 students in grades 6-12. Students at each campus receive instruction across the three core content areas of Academics, Health & Wellness, and Life Skills.
Mile High 360 Tomorrow: We envision a single, comprehensive services campus that’s able to engage 260 students and is co-lead by a professional staff alongside Mile High 360 students.
A lifelong squash player and avid cyclist, Eric Eiteljorg joined Mile High 360 as its Executive Director in 2011. Eric graduated from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and earned a dual Ph.D. in Cognitive Science and Education (Educational Psychology) in 2007, from the University of Colorado, Boulder. While he and his wife are from the east coast, they and their two children consider Denver to be home.
Kat's love affair with cycling began her first year in college while pursuing a degree in Latin American Studies at the University of Kansas. She believes that the bike is one of the most powerful tools a person can have and has served as a leader in non-profit community bike shops in both Memphis and Kansas City.
Before joining Mile High 360, she was a classroom teacher in Memphis Tennessee for three years working with 4th, 5th and 6th grades in a variety of subjects. As a life-long social justice advocate, she views educational development as a means for transformative societal change.
Marisol is a both a Mile High 360 student and staff member.
She is currently studying English and communications at the University of Colorado Denver.
While her degree may not reflect it, she has a passion for fitness and squash - something that she wants to pass onto the current students of Mile High 360.
Linsie grew up in Aurora, Colorado. After high school, she attended the University of Kansas where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and then received a Master of Arts in Secondary Education from Pittsburg State University.
Before moving back to Denver and joining Mile High 360, Linsie taught 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts in Kansas City, Kansas for five years.
Natalie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology.
She served for two years as an AmeriCorps City Year member in Seattle in an 8th grade math classroom. She then served in the Peace Corps in Peru as a Youth Development Volunteer.
She is new to Denver and is excited to meet the students and their families.
Maggie graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder with a Bachelors of Arts in International Affairs.
Before becoming the Middle School Academic Coordinator, Maggie was a middle school reading teacher in both Denver and Pueblo for three years. She also worked for A+ Colorado as the Community Relations Coordinator through AmeriCorps VISTA.
Josie Papazis is thrilled to join the Mile High 360 team and return home to Denver, where she served for seven years as a teacher and instructional leader in Denver Public Schools.
She served a highly diverse student population at Denver South High School as a teacher and assistant golf coach, and the student success and innovation she witnessed inspired her to pursue her Masters at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Most recently, she has worked in the Boston area as a Program Director supporting career pathways training program development with Somali refugees in Kenya. She is excited to meet the students of Impact 360 and support the organization’s inspiring mission to promote social justice and equity!
The design and implementation of the 360 Leadership Teams is the cornerstone to Mile High 360’s commitment to co-leadership. A core value at Mile High 360, Inclusion - incorporating the needs, perspectives, and talents of the community we serve into the design and implementation of the program - is not a final achievement. For Mile High 360, Inclusion is a stepping stone to co-leadership, an intentionally collaborative decision making approach (students and staff) to a dynamic organization that is constantly learning - fine tuning itself - because it is responsive to the needs of the students it serves and the ever shifting educational landscape. In 2019 Mile High 360 will launch the 360 Executive Team, which will collaborate with the Executive Director, charting the course for Mile High 360.
The design and implementation of the 360 Leadership Teams is the cornerstone to Mile High 360’s commitment to co-leadership. A core value at Mile High 360, Inclusion - incorporating the needs, perspectives, and talents of the community we serve into the design and implementation of the program - is not a final achievement. For Mile High 360, Inclusion is a stepping stone to co-leadership, an intentionally collaborative decision making approach (students and staff) to a dynamic organization that is constantly learning - fine tuning itself - because it is responsive to the needs of the students it serves and the ever shifting educational landscape. In 2019 Mile High 360 will launch the 360 Program Team, which will collaborate with the Program Director on both the design and implementation of programming and corresponding evaluations.
