The American Academy Board of Directors
The role of the Board of Directors is to uphold
the mission, vision, and policies of the school as well as oversight of
financial matters. Parents may attend
Board of Directors meetings any time and
are welcome to request agenda items for these meetings (please download
the
Submission for Agenda Consideration Form or to
participate in the public comment agenda item of any meeting. Public
comment issues will either be answered on the spot or will be addressed
at the next meeting. For more information on the appropriate forum for
specific issues, please refer to the
Parent Communication Policy. We are
committed to making sure issues from our parents get addressed in a
positive, and timely manner. If you have any questions please feel free
to contact us by emailing
board@americanacademyk8.org.
The Board of Directors currently has five members
in place and are in the process of determining a succession plan,
including elections and terms. If you are interested in learning about
the composition, regulations and limitations that govern the Board,
please download the
American Academy By-Laws.
Chad King, President
Chad is an attorney with Swanson & Bratschun LLC, where he practices
intellectual property law. After growing up in Colorado, Chad
attended the University of Colorado, where he graduated with a
degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Chad then worked for
IBM as a systems analyst before attending Cornell Law School. Chad
and his wife Melissa have four children and have lived in Douglas
County since 2001.
Jackie Santos, Vice-President
Born in New Jersey, Jackie has a degree in History from the College
of New Jersey, as well as professional accreditation in diagnostic
ultrasound. In addition to her time as an Ultrasound Technologist,
Jackie worked as a project manager for an office equipment
manufacturer. Currently, Jackie stays home with her three children,
Jacob, Andrew, and Rebecca and is active in their education as well
as her community. Jackie and her husband, Bill, moved to Douglas
County five years ago from Connecticut.
Denese Gardner, Treasurer
Denese is a Colorado native with a degree in Accounting from Fort
Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. She has worked in various
positions in finance and accounting and, perhaps strangely, really
enjoys financial and data analysis. Denese has enjoyed serving AA
as a Director since the school’s beginnings in 2004. She and her
husband, Joel, have three boys, Ben, Colin and Adam.
Dave Romero, Secretary
A Colorado native, Dave has a degree in Business Administration from
Colorado State University and a MBA in Finance from University of
Denver. He has over a decade of experience in the financial services
industry and now serves non-profit firm TIAA-CREF as a Senior
Consultant. Dave is active volunteering his time with youth as a
coach and teacher; he has been a resident of Douglas County for over
eight years. Dave is married with three children.
Adil Khan, Director
Adil is the president and CEO of Amplidyne, Inc., a technology
company based in Colorado. Adil has been in the high technology
industry for more than 16 years and most recently served as the
President and CFO of Microtech-Tel, Inc. Adil is an adjunct
professor at University of Denver, specializing in strategic
management and operations management. He is an active member in the
education community. He has served as a University of Denver board
member and is currently serving as the President of the Board of the
Colorado School Resource Center. Adil is married with two children.
Shaylee Holland, Director
Shaylee Holland lives in Parker with her husband, Stuart and 3
children, Abbitt (9), Camille (6) and Penellope (4). She has
extensive experience advising and counseling both for profit and not
for profit organizations, including having served on the Board of
Directors of the Early Childhood Connections for Arapahoe & Douglas
Counties, Inc., which coordinates early education and support for
children with developmental delays and disabilities. She was also a
founding board member of 2 other non‐profit foundations, the Lucas
Henry Walter Foundation, which seeks to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome
and Chemo Companions, which provides comfort and support to cancer
patients receiving chemotherapy. Shaylee has extensive legal
and corporate experience in the areas of real estate, corporate
formation, financial securities registration and contracts and
regularly advises start‐up companies during their formation..
Bill Paynter, Director
Bill grew up in Akron, Colorado which is a small farming and ranching community on the high plains
in Northeastern Colorado. After leaving Akron, he attended the University of Colorado at Boulder
and earned a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting. Upon graduation, he joined
KPMG LLP, one of the largest international public accounting firms and soon passed the Uniform
Certified Public Accountant exam. He worked in public accounting for 10 years before joining the
private sector. He is currently a Senior Accounting Manager at WildBlue Communications,
Inc – A Viasat Company. He and his wife Elizabeth and their three children have lived in Parker, CO
for the last 10 years.