Meet Our Dedicated Staff
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"Fatima has been a second home to our family for over 13 years. Our oldest children who started in preschool at OLF enjoy coming back and visiting the school and past teachers. We have been loved and supported by this community and we try to share our love back."
~ Fatima Parent -
"This is our family’s first year to be attending Fatima! We have been truly blessed to join this school and the people here who love their student and families, especially Ms. Taylor and her faculty. Thank you for opening your doors to our family."
~ Fatima Parent
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Lisa Taylor
Principal
35 Years in Education
[email protected]Ms. Taylor grew up in Denver and attended Notre Dame Catholic School, Saint Mary’s Academy, and Regis University. Before becoming Fatima’s Principal, she taught third grade for thirteen years. In addition to her Bachelor’s Degree from Regis, she also holds a Master of Arts Degree from the University of Colorado in Curriculum and Instruction. Ms. Taylor is a graduate of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and is currently enrolled in the Catechetical School. Ms. Taylor enjoys reading, traveling, and cooking Italian food.
Lynn Martinez
Secretary
6 Years in Education
[email protected]In Mrs. Lynn Martinez's 17 years at Fatima, she has been a parent, a PTT chair, and a classroom paraprofessional. All 5 of her children have attended Our Lady of Fatima and range in age from 21 to 8 years old. With a background in finance, moving into working with children and helping them grow in their education and faith has been incredibly rewarding. In her free time, Lynn and her husband Tom enjoy supporting all of their children at their various sporting events. She loves to read, craft with friends, and travel, and has been to 46 US states.
Nancy Waring
School Nurse
41 Years in Nursing
Mrs. Waring, better known as “Nurse Nancy”, holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Nursing. She enjoys working with the students, especially during the 9Health Fair that she organizes for Fatima every year. She and her husband, Bruce, have two sons. Mrs. Waring loves spending time with her family, camping, hiking, and biking.
Liliana Macias
ECE/BASE Director & Preschool Teacher
22 Years in Education
[email protected]Ms. Liliana Macias' passion has been in Early Childhood Education. She served at the Hope Center Preschool Program in DPS for 16 years and has spent the last 5 in Catholic schools as a Preschool Director and teacher. She is English-Spanish bilingual and enjoys spending time with her family and friends, gardening, and cooking. Her hope is for our students to grow in an environment where they are not only celebrated for their unique personalities, cultures, and needs, but they will develop a love for God. She looks forward to years filled with unlimited learning and fun times.
Kim Simonson
Preschool Teacher
26 Years in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Simonson is a native of Colorado. She attended Catholic school from kindergarten through high school. Mrs. Simonson attended the University of Northern Colorado and has been teaching for 18 years. She is married and has two daughters and two dogs. Her daughters attended Catholic primary school and are currently students at Holy Family High School. Outside of school, she loves to spend time with her family, bake cookies, take cooking classes, and watch the Broncos.
Jessica Carter
Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
24 Years in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Jessica Carter is a Colorado native who has 20 years of Early Childhood experience. Twelve of those years were spent teaching Pre-Kindergarten at St. Joan of Arc Early Learning Center, the parish in which she grew up. She is so excited to become a part of the Fatima team as this was her grandparents’ parish. In her free time she loves taking care of her small homestead with her husband of 10 years, Nate. She loves to hang out with her 14 chickens, 2 potbelly pigs, and Barley the dog.
Elizabeth Denfeld
Kindergarten Teacher
2 Years in Education
[email protected]Ms. Denfeld was born and raised in Colorado. She attended both Nativity: Faith and Reason and Holy Family High School, and the Catholic education she received there made such an impact on her life that she wanted to instill that same love in future students, earning a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from the Morgridge College of Education to do just that. She loves teaching students to read and love God!
Rachel Cody
Kindergarten Teacher
First Year in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Cody grew up in Colorado. She got her Bachelors in Elementary Education from Metropolitan State University. She has been working with children of all ages since she was 13 when she first started volunteering at Spirit of Christ. She loves working with younger children helping them to learn and grow in their faith.
Michelle Rodriguez
1st Grade Teacher
19 Years in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Rodriguez has taught both pre-kindergarten and first grade at OLF and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in International Business and a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Regis University. Before teaching, Mrs. Rodriguez worked in the corporate world and then worked at home with her two children whom she and her husband feel are blessed to have been students at Fatima, from Pre-K thru 8. She greatly enjoys working with the younger “kiddos” as they venture into school as “big” first graders.
Julia Vohland
1st Grade Teacher
12 Years in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Vohland was born and raised in Colorado. She received her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Her first teaching position was at Holy Family Catholic School in Grand Junction. Since then she has taught preschool through 2nd grade. Mrs. Vohland loves to read and hopes to inspire young students to find their passion for books as well. When she is not teaching she loves to spend time with her husband and two children (who also attend OLF) and travel.
Kendra Bissonnette
2nd Grade Teacher
Morgen O’Connell
3rd Grade Teacher
23 Years in Education
[email protected]After moving to Colorado in June of this year, Mrs. O'Connell is grateful to share her passion for Catholic education teaching third grade here at Our Lady of Fatima. With more than 23 years in education (18 in Catholic schools), her favorite grades are the intermediate ones -- third, fourth, and fifth grade. She has also taught sixth grade as a classroom teacher as well as preschool-eighth grade technology. Mrs. O'Connell has been married to her husband, Bill, for 34 years and they have three children (Bridget, Liam, and Maura) as well as two grandsons. Reading, camping, genealogy, and sewing keep her spare time busy.
Olivia Berlingeri
3rd Grade Teacher
First Year in Education
[email protected]Miss Berlingeri was born and raised in Littleton, Colorado. She went to school at Colorado State University starting in 2020. After spending time in college working with children in different educational settings, she decided to pursue education as a career. This decision was solidified through her experience working in schools in the Early Childhood Education program at CSU. After student teaching in a 3rd grade classroom, she sought out a job in 3rd grade. This is when the Lord brought her to Our Lady of Fatima. Outside of school she loves reading, photography, and anything outdoors!
Arlene Weis
4th Grade Teacher
20 Years in Education
[email protected]
Ava Kolb
5th Grade Teacher
First Year in Education
[email protected]Ms. Kolb, a New Jersey native, recently graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where she earned her degrees in Psychology and the Program of Liberal Studies. She felt the call to teach from a young age when she began assistant teaching CCD in sixth grade and continued to explore her passion through various tutoring roles in her undergraduate years. Her educational endeavors additionally include a founding role in an organized recess program in South Bend, hands-on work with "Play like a Champion Today," and experience in the Notre Dame ASD Practicum, which has inspired her dedication to fostering a vibrant and interactive classroom environment, that appeals to diverse learners. A proud "Double Domer," Ms. Kolb has continued her Notre Dame education as an ACE Teaching Fellow and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Education. In her free time, Ms. Kolb loves cooking, Notre Dame football, and all things outdoors, especially hiking, and is looking forward to learning how to ski.
Laura Larkins
Middle School Language Arts
4 Years in Education
[email protected]Ms. Larkins grew up attending Catholic schools in various locations across the US eventually attending Holy Family High School here in Colorado. She studied Spanish and Italian at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA where she earned her Bachelor’s degree. An avid reader, Ms. Larkins worked as a volunteer with Reading Partners here in Denver providing reading support in Denver Public Schools while her daughters were young. After substitute teaching in Jefferson County Public Schools, Denver Public Schools, and at Arrupe Jesuit High School she is thrilled to be pursuing her teaching license and teaching middle school students here at Fatima full time. While she loves being in the classroom, her favorite job has and will always be "Mom" to Piper (Fatima class of 2026) and Olivia (Fatima class of 2024). In her free time Laura enjoys playing tennis, traveling, studying foreign languages, spending time with her family, and reading!
Stephanie Koch
Middle School Theology & Math
38 Years in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Koch teaches 8th grade Algebra, 7th grade Pre-Algebra, 6th grade Math, and Religion to 6th through 8th grades. She is currently studying at the Catholic Biblical School and loves it! She grew up in Michigan and Florida, graduating from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor’s in Education in 1984. That same month, she married her husband, a native of Colorado, and moved to Denver. They have four daughters, all of whom attended Catholic school, and two of whom also teach at Our Lady of Fatima! Mrs. Koch has taught in both Catholic and public schools. She has focused mostly on middle school and (believe it or not) preschool. She loves teaching middle school students with all of their ups and downs, their keen sense of justice, and humor. She loves reading, baseball, hiking, gardening, and cooking.
Dana Reynolds
Middle School Science & Math
22 Years in Education
[email protected]Dana Reynolds has taught for 22 years, 2 year olds to college aged. Her special passion is middle school education. After 15 years in the classroom, she took a break to stay home with her son, but her love for teaching never faded. Upon returning to work, she discovered that public education was no longer the right fit for her. Instead, she found her calling at a Catholic school, where she felt a renewed sense of purpose and joy. She finds great fulfillment in witnessing her middle school students' excitement when they grasp new concepts.
Outside of the classroom, Ms. Reynolds cherishes her time with her 19-year-old son, especially watching him bowl, which is one of his favorite activities. Her hobbies include photography, attending musicals and plays, listening to music, and camping. She has also had the unique experience of volunteering at a wolf rescue, memories that she loves to share with others. Although she now lives in Colorado, Centralia, Illinois, will always hold a special place in her heart as her true home.
Andrea Aquino
Middle School Social Studies & Language Arts
9 Years in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Aquino was raised in rural Indiana and attended Manchester University where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. She taught 6th, 4th, and 2nd grades in Catholic schools in Indiana. She then became a stay-at-home mom of Madalyn 19, Avery 18, Hannah 15, Landon 13 and Carter 11. She and her family moved to Colorado in 2014 and has been a regular substitute teacher here at Our Lady of Fatima for the past 3 years. She is very excited about becoming part of the amazing faculty here at OLF as a part time 6th grade teacher. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, embroidery, reading, playing the piano and being surrounded by the many friends she has met here in Colorado. She is very passionate about a Catholic school education and cannot wait to continue the path of helping make disciples out of our students here at Our Lady of Fatima.
Isabel Teixeira
Learning Center
6 Years in Education
[email protected]Ms. Teixeira, also known as Ms. T, comes to Denver by way of Boston, MA. She is a graduate of Catholic high school and college, and moved to Colorado two years ago to pursue a teaching career at a local Catholic school. Ms. T is a proud "Double Domer," and holds a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Notre Dame. She also graduated from the Program for Inclusive Education at Notre Dame, earning her certification in inclusive classroom instruction. For many years, Ms. T has felt called to support diverse learners in a Catholic School. After teaching in a general education classroom, Ms. T was thrilled to be able to answer God's call to serve as the Learning Specialist at OLF. In her free time, Ms. T loves watching Notre Dame football, exploring the mountains with her dog, Millie, and skiing with her family!
Robyn O’Toole
Learning Center
12 Years in Education
ro'[email protected]Mrs. O’Toole’s passion for teaching began at age 16 when she decided to be a teacher’s aide for the special education classroom in her high school. It was the first time she experienced the incredible joy of witnessing someone learn to read. Mrs. O’Toole went on to pursue a career in Special Education and Elementary Education at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. After graduating in 2013, Mrs. O’Toole went on to teach special education for 5 years both in Kansas and Colorado. In her 5th year, she taught both part time special education and half day kindergarten. This year, Mrs. O’Toole comes to Our Lady of Fatima because she realized that she could no longer teach in an environment where she could not talk about Jesus with her students. She is thrilled to finally be able to share her love for God and the Catholic Faith with her new class. In her spare time, you might find Mrs. O’Toole trying a new recipe, enjoying a long evening walk, or playing Irish music with her husband, Devin.
Hilary Thornham
Learning Center
32 Years in Education
[email protected]Ms. Hilary Thornham is a Colorado native. She attended Colorado State University for her undergraduate degree in Human Development with a focus in Early Childhood, Denver University for teacher education, and the University of Colorado Denver for her Master of Art Degree. Her 30+ years of teaching experience have been teaching Preschool, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, and Reading Intervention. She is married to a teacher and they have a 19-year-old son. In her free time, Ms. Thornham enjoys going for walks around Sloan's Lake, hiking in the mountains, and reading a good book. She also enjoys spending time with her husband, son, and extended family, who fortunately live in the Denver area.
Samantha Skubal
Art Teacher
7 Years in Education
[email protected]Miss Samantha Skubal was born and raised in Littleton, Colorado. She completed her B.A. of Fine Arts and minor in Business Administration at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. After graduating, while trying to find a career path, she took a position as an Instructional Paraprofessional at an elementary school in Dodge City, Kansas, thinking that education would only be a temporary stepping stone on the way to her future career. After completing one year as a Para in Kansas, she returned to Colorado, finding herself again as an Instructional Paraprofessional for an elementary school in Jeffco Public Schools. During her three years at that school, and realizing that education was not just a "pit stop" on the way to better things, but rather her vocation; Miss Skubal completed her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education through Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. In completing her undergraduate degree at a Catholic college, and her Masters at a Christian university, Miss Skubal recognizes the importance of learning through a lens of faith and hope. In her free time, Miss Skubal enjoys baking, hiking, painting, playing the ukulele and singing, and spending time with family and friends.
Will Bemiss
Music Teacher
First Year in Education
[email protected]Mr. Will Bemiss is our new music teacher at Our Lady of Fatima. Will grew up in a Catholic family with strong faith and attended Catholic schools his whole life. He moved from New Hampshire to Colorado in 2023. His favorite part about music is the never-ending pursuit of greater understanding.
Will started out on the clarinet, but later made the switch to guitar. In high school, Will starred in a production of "Fiddler on the Roof." In college, he was a member of an a cappella group.
Will has been a professional musician for the past 5 years, as a lead guitarist, bassist, singer, business manager, and songwriter. His community involvement in the music scene led him to develop skills as an organizer, host, and teacher.
Will has excelled in the role of a teacher in several capacities. He was a camp counselor for several years, responsible for activity instruction, supervision, and general childcare. He has been a ski instructor for several seasons, proudly introducing hundreds of first-time skiers to the sport. Will believes that listening is the most crucial skill a teacher can possess. Every student has different abilities, interests, and needs, so a teacher needs to understand the student to have the most positive impact.
His ultimate goal is to instill a love of music, as that passion for the art form will carry any student along their own musical journey!
Trinidad Vera
Spanish Teacher
18 Years in Education
[email protected]My name is Trinidad Vera and I am the “new” Spanish teacher. I have previously taught at Our Lady of Fatima from 2008 to 2012. I am very happy to be back. I am originally from Lima, Peru but have been living in the USA for the past 30 years. My family and I moved from Dallas, Texas almost 19 years ago and we love living here. This is my eleventh year working for the Catholic schools in Denver. I am working at Our Lady of Fatima two days a week and the other three days I work at Notre Dame Catholic School in Denver also teaching Spanish. In my free time I enjoy dancing Zumba and working on Sudoku puzzles. During summer time I enjoy hiking and camping. I have two adult children, Pablo and Elsa. I feel really blessed for the opportunity to teach at Our Lady of Fatima.
Rosie Krupski-Faber
Librarian
1 Year in Education
[email protected]Mrs. Faber is a native of Wisconsin and attended Catholic Schools there through high school. She moved to Colorado after finishing her Bachelor's degree at Northern Michigan University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She found much sunnier winters (and also her husband) here in Colorado and has been so happy to call it home for many years now. While looking at schools for their son Kai to attend, Rosie and her husband felt immediately at home when they toured Fatima. Rosie decided to try substitute teaching when Kai entered 1st grade, and it filled a big place in her heart to be surrounded by amazing children and educators each day. She is so thrilled to get to spend time with all of the grades in the library and share her deep love of reading with them. When not at school, Rosie enjoys scrapbooking her family's adventures, growing flowers, and listening to audiobooks while hiking.
Jim Stevens
PE & Health Teacher
30 Years in Education
[email protected]Mr. Stevens grew up in Santa Barbara, California. He attended Regis College in Denver. Mr. Stevens has taught Physical Education and Health for 22 years for the Archdiocese of Denver. “I love teaching and coaching all age groups,” says Mr. Stevens. Mr. Stevens has also coached many sports over the years including tennis, basketball, and volleyball. Mr. Stevens enjoys being a member of the Fatima family. Mr. Stevens is married and together, the Stevens’ enjoy playing tennis, riding bikes, and traveling. Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are parents to a sweet golden retriever named Sadie and an adorable kitty, Abby.
Meg Zarlengo
Athletic Director
1 Year as AD
[email protected]Meg Zarlengo is a Colorado native. She grew up in Applewood, attended Our Lady of Fatima for grades K-8, and graduated from Wheat Ridge High School. She received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in Management at the University of Denver before earning both a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Accounting at Regis University. Meg worked in private industry accounting for many years before entering the public accounting sector. She currently works full-time as a Certified Public Accountant for a local firm, Martillaro Raub & Associates, located in Wheat Ridge. Meg was formerly the head girls volleyball and head girls basketball coach at Wheat Ridge High School. She also coached several club basketball teams. After ten years of coaching high school girls, Meg resigned to focus her energy and attention on her two kids, Bella and Charlie. Bella and Charlie will proudly be 3rd generation graduates of Our Lady of Fatima in 2026 and 2028, respectively. In her free time, Meg enjoys spending time with family, volunteering for the Zarlengo Foundation, exercising, reading, leading her kids' scouting groups, and coaching girls basketball and volleyball at Fatima. Meg knows the deep tradition of academic and athletic excellence at Our Lady of Fatima. Some of her fondest memories are the dedication of the OLF gym to her Grandpa, Charles V. Zarlengo and winning a banner with her OLF 8th grade basketball team. She is excited to be a part of the Our Lady of Fatima Athletics community and hopes to continue the tradition of excellence with our Fatima family.
Kris Macauley
Primary Paraprofessional
26 Years in Education
Ms. Kris Macauley is a Preschool classroom aide. She grew up near Detroit and went to Sacred Heart School. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Education on a softball scholarship at Central Michigan University. She served 6 years in the Navy before coming to Colorado where she started working at Mt Saint Vincent Home and pursued her Masters in Pedagogy at the University of Northern Colorado. She spent the next 24 years working in Jeffco and Douglas County Schools as a high school physical education teacher and coach, retired, and is now working with the little ones here at Fatima. Her daughter is now a junior at the University of Oregon studying elementary education.
Megan Larsen
ECE/BASE Paraprofessional
3 Years in Education
I am a Colorado native and attended Red Rocks Community College to earn my Associates degree in Early Childhood Education in 2008. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was a young child. My teachers throughout my education were my role models and I still speak to several of them often. However, I have been in the floral business for the last twenty years and look forward to making the change to follow my dream. I am very excited to become the Pre-K assistant and could not think of a better place to begin than Fatima. My daughter, Makenzie attends Fatima and is in the 5th grade. I enjoy being creative and making new things, exploring the mountains, hiking, paddle boarding, reading, listening to all types of music, and watching movies on Friday nights with my family.
Candy Hadley
ECE Paraprofessional
Sarah Volkman
BASE Paraprofessional