Staff and Faculty . . .

Staff

• Robert Clinton, President
  Robert L. Clinton, a Denver native, became President of the Colorado Council on Economic Education in July 2000. He is an attorney with substantial public policy and fund raising experience. Mr. Clinton received his B.A. degree with double majors in political science and history from Claremont McKenna College (Claremont, California) in 1976. He received his J.D. (1979) and LL.M. (taxation) (1992) degrees from the University of Denver College of Law and D.U. Graduate Tax Program. He has practiced law in Colorado in the fields of estate planning, family law and commercial litigation. He also worked at the Colorado General Assembly and has held managerial positions in several political campaigns.
   

• Heidi Conley, Vice President - heidic@ccee.net  
  Heidi Conley joined CCEE in October 1993 as Office Administrator. She attended Metropolitan State College of Denver’s School of Business working towards her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems. As an entrepreneur, she has developed websites professionally and owns an online business. Prior to joining CCEE she was an Assistant for the Training Department at Junior Achievement National Headquarters (Colorado Springs).
   

• Dennis Grogan, Program Director - dgrogan@ccee.net  
  Dennis Grogan joined CCEE in April, 2005. He is a former classroom teacher and businessman. Mr. Grogan received an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College in 1965 and an M.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1967. He studied economic history at Dartmouth and the University of Colorado. Dennis has taught in public schools, parochial schools, and private secular schools. He has many years of experience teaching economics in his mathematics and social studies courses. He is a member of the Colorado Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Association for Gifted and Talented.
   

• Amanda Dixon, Development/Program Associate - adixon@ccee.net  
  Amanda joined CCEE in March 2006. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the University of Kansas in 1998. She has a strong background in marketing, fundraising and event planning. 
   

• Erica Fukuhara, Stock Market Game Coordinator - ericaf@ccee.net  
  Amanda joined CCEE in March 2006. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from the University of Kansas in 1998. She has a strong background in marketing, fundraising and event planning. 
   

• Audrey McKee, Executive Secretary - audreym@ccee.net  
  Audrey McKee joined CCEE in 1994 as Executive Secretary. She has an associate degree in business from Albany Business College. Prior to joining CCEE, she worked for Stearns-Roger Engineering Corporation (now Raytheon) for 15 years in the Architectural, Legal, and Purchasing departments. She also worked for the New York State Department of Taxation & Finance and for the New York State Retired Teachers Association in Albany.

Faculty

• Lee Alston, University of Colorado at Boulder
  Lee Alston is the Director of the Program on Environment and Society in the Institute of Behavioral Science and Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Over the past thirty years Lee has focused his research in two broad areas: 1) the role of contracts and institutions in shaping agricultural land use in the historical U.S. and contemporary Brazil, including the Amazon. Examples include the beneficial role of tenancy in the U.S. and titling in the Amazon; and 2) the important role of institutions in the economy, Examples include an explanation for the timing of the growth of the U.S. welfare system, and the importance of strong Presidential powers in Brazil shaping policy outcomes. The contributions are theoretical and empirical with considerable implications for public policy. Lee has authored three books, edited two books, and published over 50 scholarly articles. He has received six grants from the National Science Foundation and a Research Grant from the World Bank. He has given papers at over two hundred universities and conferences around the World and delivered numerous keynote addresses to academic and professional audiences.
   

• David Aske, Ph.D., University of Northern Colorado
  David Aske earned a B.S. degree in Economics and Political Science with an emphasis in international relations from Mankato State University and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His areas of interest include economic education, economic history, and secondary social studies education. Dr. Aske holds a joint appointment in the Social Science program where he teaches the Social Studies Senior Seminar and advises prospective secondary social studies teachers. He has received several teaching awards including the College of Arts and Sciences award for teaching excellence and UNC Mortar Board favorite professor. He has been teaching at UNC since 1993. David is the Director of the Center for Economic Education at the University of Northern Colorado.
   

• Paul Ballantyne, Ph.D., CU at Colorado Springs
  Dr. Ballantyne, Professor of Economics at the University of Colorado since 1967, has a B.A. from the University of Southern California, M.A. University of Iowa and Ph.D. Stanford University. He taught at the University of Iowa, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado College and University of Pittsburgh in their Semester at Sea Program. Paul has received several teaching awards at the University of Colorado, including the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 1994. He was recipient of the Chancellor’s Award given for outstanding teaching, research and service, and is listed in Who’s Who in America and also in American Men and Women in Science. He has consulted internationally with the Russian Academy of Economic Science in Moscow and with Sumy State University in Ukraine which awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in 2004. . He has written in the areas of monetary theory, economic development, economic education, and macroeconomics.
   

• Ann Brock, Retired Master Teacher
  Ann Brock is a retired secondary math teacher, spending the majority of her career in District 38 at Lewis-Palmer High School. At LPHS she developed the Advanced Placement Statistics course which she taught for eight years. In addition, she served as an AP Statistics reader at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. While at Lewis-Palmer, Ann was the sponsor of the National Honor Society and coach of the Knowledge Bowl Team, winning the state championship in 2003. Currently, Ann is working on a Biological Science Curriculum Study project to evaluate the effectiveness of STEP3 programs to improve middle school science instruction. Additionally, she is the Director of the Pikes Peak Math Teacher Circle—a collaboration of middle school math teachers, math researchers and industry professionals—sponsored by the Partnership in Innovative Preparation for Students and Educators and the American Institute of Mathematics. Since retiring from Lewis-Palmer High School, Ann has been active in the community and is presently serving as the president of the Friends of Monument Valley Park Board.
   

• John Brock, Ph.D., CU at Colorado Springs
  Dr. John Brock is a professor of economics at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He previously served as Professor and Deputy Department Head in the Department of Economics at the U.S. Air Force Academy. He received his B.S. in economics from the U.S. Air Force Academy, his M.B.A. from the University of Southern California, and his Ph.D. in economics from Cornell. He is presently Director of CCEE's Center for Economic Education at CU - Colorado Springs. Dr. Brock received the Academy's Outstanding Educator Award in 1984 and the University of Colorado's Outstanding Instructor Award in 2002. Since 1998 he has been traveling to Russia and former Soviet-bloc countries to assist educators in these transition economies with methodologies for teaching market economics. On several trips to Russia and Eastern Europe, funded by grants from the National Council on Economic Education, Dr. Brock took four Colorado high school economics teachers to conduct workshops and to form classroom partnerships with schools in these countries. He has written extensively about using experimental economics teaching methods in the classroom, and has developed a handbook for implementing these techniques.
   

• Phyllis Bye, Retired Master Teacher
  Phyllis Clarke Bye is a retired Social Studies Curriculum specialist for the Boulder Valley School District. She has served on the Board of the National Council for the Social Studies, President of the Board of the Social Science Education Consortium, and President of the Colorado Council for the Social Studies. She presently serves on the Economics and the Civic/Government Model Content Standards writing committees appointed by the Colorado Department of Education. She also sits on the Governor's Board for Law Related Education. Among her many awards is the 1988 Enterprising Teacher of the Year Award and Colorado's Outstanding Elementary Teacher in the Social Studies. She received her B.A. from the University of Colorado. Ms. Bye teaches elementary social studies education throughout the country. She has trained more than 1,800 Mini-Society teachers for the Colorado Council on Economic Education.
   

• Jim Curtsinger, Ph.D., Colorado State University
  Jim Curtsinger has taught at Mesa State College for 17 years where he has been fortunate enough to teach two of his great academic interests--economics and geography. His Masters and Bachelors degrees in Economics are from Colorado State University. After completing his Masters, he worked as a research assistant at CSU until taking his current position at Mesa State College in Grand Junction. Jim’s research is in the area of Natural Resource and Environmental Economics, looking at the economic consequences of natural disasters, including how people make choices in the face of risk. In addition to introductory courses, Jim has taught the History of Economic Ideas, Environmental Economics, Public Sector Economics, Industrial Organization, and Money and Banking. He has also taught courses for the Teacher Education Program at Mesa State and has conducted teacher workshops for the local school district. With two sons making their way through the local schools, Jim has both a philosophical and personal commitment to public education and a deep appreciation for the profound affect dedicated teachers can have on their students.
   

• Dale DeBoer, Ph.D., CU at Colorado Springs
  Dr. Dale DeBoer is Chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He received his B.A. from the University of Washington, his M.A. and Ph. D. in economics from the University of California at Davis. He is the recipient of four teaching awards including the University of Colorado's Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 1999. Dr. DeBoer is currently working on the integration of online instructional tools into the economics curriculum and researching the macroeconomic implications of the information technology revolution. He has served as a consultant to several information technology start-ups and to the national assessment effort of the Early Head Start Assessment Project.
   

• Erick Lee Erickson, Ph.D., Metropolitan State College of Denver
  Erick Lee Erickson, Ph.D. is Professor of Economics at Metropolitan State College of Denver and Director of the Center for Economic Education at the College. He received his Ph.D. and M.A. degrees from the University of New Mexico and his B.A. from the University of Montana. Professor Erickson has taught at Metro State since 1986. He has traveled widely and has taught as a Visiting Professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and the University of Pittsburgh Semester at Sea. Dr. Erickson has published widely in many scholarly journals including: Journal of Applied Business Research, Journal of Foreign Exchange and International Finance, and The Journal of Mining Science and Technology. In 1999 he presented “A Handbook for Teaching Economics with Graphing Calculators” which was based on original lesson designs for enhancing economic education. This is an example of his commitment to fostering economic literacy in his students.
   

• Mark Ewig, Lewis-Palmer High School
  Mark Ewig teaches economics, government, geography and AP U.S. History at Lewis-Palmer High School in Monument. Prior to that, he spent 26 years in the U.S. Air Force. He was stationed overseas for 7 years in Thailand, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia, primarily working in intelligence. During one of his military tours, he taught for 5 years in the Department of Political Science at the USAF Academy. Mark received his B.S. from the U.S. Air Force Academy and his M.A. from the University of Utah. He also has qualified for his Certificate in Economic Education from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
   

• Don Fell, FTE Education Consultant
   

• Jay Grenawalt, Heritage High School, Littleton
  Jay Grenawalt teaches AP economics at Heritage High School in Littleton. He is a leader in Colorado's IB movement and instructs at IB teacher institutes throughout the U.S. Among his many teaching awards is the 1990 Enterprising Teacher of the Year, the 1990 Award for Excellence in Teaching International Studies, the Excellence in Teaching Economics Award, the Boettcher Foundation Teacher Recognition Award, and the Distinguished Teacher Award conferred by the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. Mr. Grenawalt received his teaching degree and M.A. in Russian History from the University of Northern Colorado.
   

• Rey Hernández-Julian, Metropolitan State College of Denver
  Rey Hernández-Julian is Assistant Professor of Economics at Metropolitan State College of Denver. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from Clemson University. At Clemson he was named an Earhart Fellow and won an award for the outstanding first-year graduate student. Rey’s interests include: industrial organization, public finance, economics of education, race and gender economics, and labor economics. He is fluent in Spanish. Rey strives in his classroom style to make economics understandable and enjoyable for his students.
   

• Marc Johnson, Cherry Creek School District
  Marc Johnson has been teaching since 1985 and has taught students from grade seven through and including community college, in both public and private institutions. He has taught at Cherry Creek School District since 1989, and is currently the social studies coordinator at the newest, just-opened high school in the district, Cherokee Trail. Mr. Johnson has a B.A. in Political Studies and English from Regis College (before it became the University) and an M.A. in Education from the University of Colorado at Denver. In 2002, Mr. Johnson participated in the first Partnership Study Tour to St. Petersburg, Russia, conducted by Dr. John Brock of CCEE’s Center for Economic Education at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He began taking CCEE courses from Paul Ballantyne and Tim Tregarthen in 1985 and has been returning, to absorb, discuss, even occasionally argue, ever since.
   

• John Loomis, Ph.D., Colorado State University
  John Loomis is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. He received his Ph.D. in Economics from CSU and his M.A. and B.A. from California State University, Northridge. He was named Distinguished Scholar in 2004 by the Western Agricultural Economics Association. He was invited to write a nomination for the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998. He has written 3 books: Integrated Public Lands Management, Recreation Economic Decisions, and Environmental Policy Analysis for Decision Making. Before he came to CSU he taught at the University of California, Davis and worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management.
   

• Michael Lucchesi, U.S. Air Force Academy
  Michael Lucchesi is a native of St Louis, Missouri. He received his BA in Economics and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, and an MA in Economics from the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Mike served over 29 years in the United States Air Force, as a pilot and as an economics instructor. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mike also teaches classes at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. His primary areas of interest are money and banking, managerial economics and financial markets.
   

• Barry Poulson, Ph.D., CU at Boulder
  Dr. Barry Poulson is a former professor of economics, retired and Department Chairman at the University of Colorado at Boulder. His special interests are constitutional economics, economic history, and economic development of the U.S. and developing nations. He is the author of a widely used college text, Economic History of the United States, and more recently, Economic Development: Private and Public Choice. He received his B.A. from Ohio Wesleyan University, and his M.A. and his Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Dr. Poulson was a Fulbright Professor at Atonomous University, Guadalajara in 1976 and Visiting Professor, Carlos III University, Madrid in 1995.
   

• Kathy Ratté, Foundation for Teaching Economics
  Kathy Ratté is a former economics and civics/government curriculum specialist for the Jefferson County School District. She received the 1991 Enterprising Teacher of the Year Award, the Freedoms Foundation Award, the Excellence in Economic Education Award, and the National Council on Economic Education Curriculum Award presented at the White House in 1994. She teaches economic education throughout the U.S., Czechoslovakia and Poland for the Foundation for Teaching Economics and the Political Economy Research Center. Ms. Ratté teaches economic education throughout the country.
   

• Robert Reinke, Ph.D., FTE Education Consultant
   

• Sara Shackett, Lakewood High School
  Sara Shackett has been teaching for nine years. She currently teaches AP and IB Economics, Government, and Student Senate at Lakewood High School in Jefferson County School District. She loves incorporating hands-on activities and technology. Sara sponsors several clubs and is proud that her Fed Challenge teams have taken first and second place at the state competition. She is the Vice President of the Colorado Council for the Social Studies. Sara is passionate about professional development and her students. She recently earned the Certificate in Secondary Economic Education offered by the Colorado Council for Economic Education and the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
   

• Teresa Yohon, Ph.D., Colorado State University
  Teresa Yohon is a research scientist and Instructor at Colorado State University in the Department of Journalism and Technical Communication. She earned her Ph.D. in Community and Human Resources and Vocational Education at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She helped develop the standards for Business Education and Marketing for the Colorado Community College System. Teresa also supervised the development of online lesson plans and the resource web site that support these new standards. She is currently writing a textbook on entrepreneurship. Teresa lives in Fort Collins.