Meet the Team

Executive Director, Maureen Cunningham

Maureen comes to the English Learning Center with fifteen years of experience managing federal and nonprofit programs. She is well-versed in grant-writing, volunteer training, and leading diverse, cross-cultural teams, and has overseen complex operations and budgets.
Maureen continues to work as an in-house consultant for the U.S. Peace Corps and was a Country Director with the Peace Corps until recently. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan, is fluent in French, and brings up-to-date tech skills to the English Learning Center.

Program Manager, Kari Campbell

Kari comes from a teaching background with experience in K-5 classrooms as well as working for The New Teacher Project for 13 years. Most recently, she has stayed home with her 3 sons and managed their busy lives, while also volunteering in various capacities both at her sons schools as well as with the newly arrived Venezuelan communities.

Kari received her BA in sociology from the University of Puget Sound and her MA in Educational Psychology from the University of Colorado. She also studied abroad in Nepal during college. Kari enjoys running, hiking, hanging out with her family, and reading.

Our Teachers

Volunteers are the backbone of the ELC. From teaching to administration the ELC has primarily run all school functions through a volunteer network over the past 40+ years. All teachers are volunteers, drawing experience from medicine, law, engineering, education and business, and many are certified ESL educators. These varied backgrounds and experiences help our students learn the language skills necessary to function in our complex society. Visit our Volunteer page for teacher spotlights and information about opportunities available.

Board of Directors

Carol Balkcom, President

Gail Andersen, Treasurer

Ron Lamberson, Board Member

Helen Hedrick, Board Member

Helen has a background as a clinical social worker mostly working in the public schools. She brings the skills for Program Planning and Teacher Training to the Board. She has taught English Language Learners for several years and began teaching with ELC Winter 2024. She is a patient and fun-loving language teacher because she needed so much patience and a fun environment to make progress toward learning her second language!

Anna Oldenbrook, Board Member

Anna was a Fulbright Scholar in 2018 and 2019, completing her grant work in public and private Universities and institutions in Colombia. After her grant time, she landed back in the US and decided to change it up and step into a sales role. She now holds a position as the Global Head of Inside Sales, and her focus is on building multicultural teams, designing revenue-generating processes, and she specializes in opening new markets in Latin America. Anna is one of our newest board members. She started teaching at the ELC in 2023, and she supported the grant writing, fundraising, and strategy committees before deciding to step onto the board. She is fully bilingual in Spanish, and she claims that "her dancing is even better than her language skills," but you'll have to verify for yourself.

Carol Maclennan, Board Member

Retired since 2012, Carol had a varied career, which began as a social worker. She later staffed Governor Lamm’s office on solar energy issues, was Community Liaison at the former National Renewable Energy Lab, Environmental Coordinator for the City of Aurora, and Land Use Program Coordinator for Tri-County Health Department.

She served on the Colorado Board of Health and Colorado Hazardous Waste Regulatory Committee and was a founding member or Board member of several volunteer non-profits in Colorado.

She loves the outdoors, especially the Utah canyon country, and is an avid Master Gardener.

Carol became an assistant teacher at ELC in 2025 and fell in love with all things ELC. She feels lucky for the opportunity to expand her support for the organization as a Board member.

Are you, or someone you know, looking for an exciting way to support the English Learning Center? Join our board of directors! We are currently seeking qualified candidates to join the leadership team. Individuals with strong financial/accounting experience and fundraising skills are a top priority.

What’s the commitment? The board meets monthly throughout the school year. Board members are expected to lead or participate in committees, often supplementing the operational aspects of the school, and attend school events. Typical time commitments average 2 to 3 hours per week.

Click HERE for our board application!