Meet our team
Meet our Administration Team
Nicole Tiley | Head of School
Mrs. Tiley, the Head of School for Colorado Preparatory Academy and Pikes Peak Online School, joined the Stride K12 team eleven years ago. Nicole has worked as a special education teacher, a K–12 academic director, and a Head of School. Nicole earned a BA in special education from Pennsylvania State University. She completed her Master of Education (EdM) from Northern Arizona in Special Education. Nicole also completed an additional Master of Education degree in Educational Leadership with an emphasis in K–12 administration.
Nicole has received awards for being the 2006 Westside Impact Teacher of the Year and a 2006 Rodel Exemplary Teacher Finalist. Nicole enjoys coaching youth basketball and soccer.
Sheila Stevens | High School Principal
Sheila Stevens has been in education for over 21 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Pre-Therapy from California State University, Sacramento. She earned her teaching credential training from National University. Later she earned her master's degree in reading from University of Northern Colorado. She pursued her administration studies at CU Denver and earned her Educational Specialist Degree. She is honored to serve as the high school principal at Colorado Preparatory Academy.
Howard Holbrook | Middle School Principal
Howard Holbrook joined Colorado Preparatory Academy and STRIDE in October of 2020 as Assistant Principal for both CPA High School and Middle School. He became Principal at CPA Middle School for the 2021-2022 school year. He earned his BS in Jr. High/Middle School Education from Illinois State University and his MS in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University. After spending 12 years as a middle school mathematics, physical education, social studies teacher and coach in Illinois and Texas, he has spent the last 26 years as a middle and high school administrator (Grant Coordinator, Dean of Students, Assistant Principal, and Principal) in Illinois and Colorado. He has always enjoyed working with secondary school students in and out of the classroom. Watching students develop from early adolescence through graduation as young adults and into their adult lives, has always been a great payoff for me as an educator. He looks forward to working with the entire CPA community! Howard and his wife Chris enjoy sports, investigating the outdoor activities & breathtaking sights in this beautiful state of Colorado, as well as watching/following the various activities (varsity cheer, hunter/jumper equestrian) of their two daughters (one junior in high school and one will be a freshman at CSU) here in Colorado and their two adult sons back in Illinois.
Sarah Schuchard | Elementary Principal
Mrs. Schuchard is the elementary principal at CPA and is proud to have been at the elementary school since the very first day in 2013. She has been in education for over 15 years and holds a master's degree in curriculum and instruction.
Kimber Podsedek | Operations Manager
Ms. Podsedek is the manager of school operations for all three Stride K12-powered Colorado schools. Kimber has been with Stride K12 since 2007. Before her role as manager of operations, she worked as a high school advisor. She loves working with all our wonderful staff and families to support all the different learning options our schools have.
Lisa Balagat | Assistant Manager of Operations
Lisa Balagat is the assistant manager of school operations for all three Stride K12-powered Colorado schools. She has been with Stride K12 since 2013. She has worked in education for nearly 30 years in many support staff positions from classroom assistant to attendance clerk, counseling secretary, and registrar.
Christa Segar | Director of Special Services
Christa Seger joined the Stride team two years ago and has been in education for 20 years. She is the Special Programs Manager for CPA and PPOS. During her time in education she has been an elementary teacher, special educator at all K-12 levels, administrator in brick and mortar schools, and Reading specialist. She earned her BA in Elementary Education and Special Education, M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and her EdD in Educational Leadership. In her free time she volunteers as a Special Olympics coach for cycling and bowling.
Julie Casten | Family Engagement Administrator
Mrs. Casten is the family engagement administrator for CPA and PPOS and joined the Stride K12 family in 2014. She brings more than 8 years’ experience in education, community service, school start-up, family engagement, and support. Julie earned a BS from Colorado State University.
Mary Lou McNatt | Enrollment Coordinator
Ms. McNatt serves as the school-based enrollment coordinator with our Stride K12-powered schools in Colorado. She has worked for Stride K12 for the past thirteen years. As a graduate from Regis University with a master’s degree in nonprofit management, she enjoys working to support online schooling.
Melissa Carpenter | Testing Coordinator
Melissa Carpenter is the testing coordinator for the Colorado Stride K12-powered schools. She joined the Stride K12 team in 2014. She was most recently the electives high school teacher for Colorado Preparatory Academy. Melissa earned a BS in physical education from Clearwater Christian College and a MS in sports management from Missouri Baptist University. She is currently working on completing her principal license from Colorado State University. She has 14 years of teaching experience as a PE/Health teacher in the private and public school settings for K–12 grade.
Configure Title Component Teree “Susan” Wall | Office Administrator
Ms. Wall supports the three Stride K12-powered schools in Colorado (CPOA, PPOS, CODCA) as the office administrator and special services registrar, a position she's held since 2008. She has more than 40 years’ experience in office administration and education fields. Susan holds certificates in business management, early childhood education, and holds a CNA associates certification. She has embraced multiple positions while employed at Stride K12 operations and currently supports the special services staff obtaining special services records as the special service registrar.
