Leadership, Board & Team

Eric Eiteljorg is Executive Director at Mile High 360, where he leverages his 29+ years of educational experience to chart a strategic course for Mile High 360. In that capacity, Eric leads a variety of teams that include Directors, students, staff, and “outside” experts through design and implementation processes to ensure that Mile High 360 is meeting the evolving needs of its youngest stakeholders, its students, while positioning the organization as a leader in the field of how to best use out-of-school-time to support educational and life outcomes that foster a life of independence and choice. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Eric worked for Cambium Learning as an educational researcher, leading curricular efficacy studies. Preceding his time with Cambium Learning, Eric worked six years as a classroom teacher where he taught Mathematics, Language Arts, and Social Studies. Eric volunteers at Regis Jesuit High School and serves on the CSC committee at the Fred Thomas Career Educational Center. Eric holds a dual PhD in Cognitive Science and Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He completed his BA at Psychology from Amherst College. Eric is from Haverford, Pennsylvania. He and his wife Jen moved to Denver in 2000 and have two children. Together, they love to hike, play pickleball, cook, and watch movies. Eric is an avid cyclist and continues to play squash and tennis when he can find the time.

Maria grew up in Denver Colorado and graduated from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, with a BA in Ethnic Studies and a concentration in diversity, equity, and inclusion. Prior to joining the Mile High team, Maria worked with several nonprofit organizations focused on postsecondary opportunities for underserved communities, equal access to health care, and immigration rights. Maria plans to continue her education in nonprofit leadership and management. She is passionate about guiding young people through their own passions and aspirations. In her free time Maria loves reading fashion magazines, taking long walks in nature, and photography.

Karsen Dreier is the High School Academic Coordinator at Mile High 360, where she supports students in their education journey that leads them towards postsecondary aspirations. In that capacity, she coordinates career skills workshops, SAT preparation classes, volunteer opportunities, educational summer camps, informational interviews, and tutoring opportunities. She also challenges students to build their writing skills through in-house projects around identity, argumentative work, and creative writing to explore passions as well as practice critical thinking skills and public speaking. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Karsen served as an AmeriCorps Member as City Year-Denver where she supported high school students at George Washington High School with tutoring and social-emotional learning with the goal that all students view themselves as lifelong learners that feel comfortable and safe to explore their interests in the classroom. She also has a background in coaching all levels of youth soccer where she found that building confidence and community outside of the classroom is equally important as inside the classroom. Therefore, she values the time spent with Mile High 360 students playing sports, going on trips, and supporting them at their art expos and music concerts. Karsen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. There, she learned the importance of grassroots work where she became involved in local politics with a focus on community organizing and mutual aid. Karsen is from Minneapolis, MN and enjoys playing soccer, exploring all the outdoor activities Colorado has to offer, reading, and traveling around the country to visit family and friends.

Michelle Friedman is the volunteer Clinician/coordinator for MileHigh360. She helps the staff create SEL programs for the students, provides the “mental health” perspective on the multi- disciplinary team for working with students and families. She provides 1:1 short term therapy for post secondary students and supervises the DU PSY. D Intern. Prior to joining MileHIgh360, Michelle was the Director of HR for a small company in Denver, and worked for over 20 plus years in the Department of Psychiatry for the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Michelle received her undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Colorado, Boulder and her Masters Degree in Social Work ( MSW) at the University of Denver. She is licensed by the state of Colorado to provide psychotherapy. ( LCSW) Michelle is a Colorado native, who enjoys all things the great outdoors has to offer, hiking in the rocky mountains, biking and golf. She is currently learning to paddle board! And has made it her mission to watch all 123 episodes of American Horror story. Michelle is married and has two grown sons.

Debbie Hodge is the Finance Manager at Mile High 360, where she manages the bookkeeping, budgets, financial reports and grant funding. In that capacity she handles all aspects of bookkeeping; making sure the organization stays within budget, works with staff to maintain compliance with grant funding, provides financial reports to organization leadership and the board of directors, collaborates with the finance committee to plan and forecaset for the financial health of the organization. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Debbie worked as a realtor assistant for many years. She was also involved in many volunteer activities at her children's school, including chairing both the marketing and auction committees. She also volunteered with Food Bank of the Rockies "Totes of Hope" program (providing Denver area students with weekend food backpacks) and Boulder County's "Circles" program (mentoring individuals to elevate themselves from poverty). Debbie is a long-time volunteer at Community Food Share, the food bank for Boulder and Broomfield counties. She has served on the Community Food Share's board of directors since 2019, working on various committees and is currently the board chair. Debbie holds a Bachelors of Science in Marketing from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Born in Bermuda, Debbie has lived in Colorado since 1983. She enjoys traveling with family and friends, hiking, reading, quilting and cheering on the CU Buffs and Denver Broncos.

Morgan Lavender is the Director of Operations at Mile High 360; she oversees the day-to-day work of Mile High 360. Morgan is responsible for mobilizing and organizing the resources, external and internal, that Mile High 360 relies upon to fulfill its mission. In this work, Morgan oversees school, corporate, foundation, and business partnerships. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Morgan created, implemented, and evaluated various wellness programs for college students across the country. She began her own holistic health coaching business where she worked one-on-one with clients to engage them in reaching their goals. Morgan holds a Master's Degree in Health Promotion from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and a Bachelor's Degree in Sports Psychology from Florida State University. She is a certified yoga teacher, meditation instructor, health coach, and body-positive facilitator. Morgan is from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and now calls the mountains her home. She is an avid outdoor lover, the "cool aunt", and a dedicated mother to her dog, Miss Lana. She is currently training for her first marathon and hopes to bikepack the Continental Divide in the future.

Lilian Pereira is Family Liaison at Mile High 360, where she works to support MH360 Families through improving parent and family self-sufficiency, especially in food security, mental health, and health care. Lilian also coordinates in-house programming designed to help first-generation postsecondary students and their families navigate the transition from high school into a postsecondary pathway. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Lilian worked within the Cherry Creek Schools, Servicios de la Raza and DCIS Montbello schools – part of the Denver Public School system. Lilian worked at Denver Public Schools as a Family Liaison, engaging parents at school and working with many partners to support the families at Montbello. At Servicios de la Raza, Lilian helped low-income families, providing resources in healthcare, food, immigration, domestic violence, etc. She also worked at the National Electric Services Company in Venezuela for 25 years in strategic planning and finance. Lilian worked as a volunteer in the Board of Colleges of the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela in the area of finance. She also collaborated in organizations (Shiloh House, Servicios de la Raza, Mulroy Senior Center) as a volunteer in distribution of food, clothing, and medicine in Colorado. Lilian holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the Universidad Nacional Abierta of Venezuela. She is bilingual in English and Spanish and is an expert at building relationships with families, students, community and our partners. Lilian is originally from Venezuela; she has lived in Colorado since 2014 with her husband and her mom. The live in the southern part of metro-Denver. She loves traveling and spending time with her family.

Carlos Escalona Torres is the Mentoring Program Coordinator at Mile High 360, where he oversees the development and implementation of the youth mentoring program, which matches adult volunteer mentors with youth in a one-to-one relationship. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Carlos completed a year of service in AmeriCorps NCCC where he worked as a Team Leader, supervising a team of young adults as they completed a variety of projects in the areas of disaster mitigation, food distribution, and urban and rural development. Carlos' role involves recruiting, screening, training and checking in on mentors & mentees. He enjoys supporting each match and getting to know both volunteers and students at a more personal level. He has also worked with volunteers in the past to encourage and assist Atlanta residents to vote in local and national elections. Carlos holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Georgia State University and is bilingual in English/Spanish. Carlos is from Atlanta and loves reading about current events, being with his family and spending time with his cat, Gary.

Dan is the Middle School Health and Wellness Coordinator at Mile High 360, where he assists students in exploring their health and wellness goals and capabilities. In that capacity he leads bike rides/races, assists students at all levels of cycling to improve their skills, works to maintain the fleet of bikes, helps students find joy in all kinds of movement, and assists in leading alternative health and wellness programming (nutrition classes, sexual education, body positivity). Dan also helps lead and support trips that are organized by Mile High staff and works to create partnerships with organizations that allow students to attend camps and programming outside of Mile High. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Dan was the Director of Coaching at a youth soccer company and also ran his own mental skills consulting business. Dan has also coached every age from 2-year-olds to High School students in soccer, basketball, golf, track and field, and flag football. Dan holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master's Degree in Sport Psychology from JFK University. He is a Certified Mental Performance Consultant from the Association for Applied Sport Psychology and is first aid certified in mental health, CPR and wilderness training. Dan is from Littleton, Colorado and currently lives in Morrison, Colorado with his wife, Candace, 4-year-old son, Nathan, and dog, Howie. He enjoys playing and watching just about all sports, dabbles in playing guitar, is an avid CU football fan, loves creating new games with absurd rules, and is pretty good at juggling.

Joseph D'Esposito is our Composting, sustainability, and gardening coordinator at Mile High 360, where he facilitates hands-on experiences in these fields for students in all age brackets. In that capacity, he works with service-learning students to support sustainability efforts in our communities and abroad, and works with interns to maintain our gardens and our composting system. Prior to joining Mile High 360, Joe was a freelance musician and educator, performing and teaching domestically and abroad. He toured internationally leading workshops at music festivals which came to include his interests in sustainability and waste reduction. ‍Joe holds a Bachelor's degree in music education from Ithaca College. Joe is from Huntington Station, NY, when he isn't knee deep in compost with interns or cycling through Denver with 200-500 of reclaimed wood on a bicycle trailer, he loves backpacking in Colorado's backcountry, sewing, baking bread, cycling, and finding ways to lead a sustainable life with as many people as possible.