Administration and Support
Ed Porritt
Head of School
Co-editor at the essayelites.com
Ed has been a middle- and high-school educator in Boulder County for 20 years, in communities from Broomfield to the Continental Divide. Ed has an M.A. in Educational Leadership from the University of Colorado in Boulder and a State of Colorado Principal License. In 1998, Ed was the administrator and first teacher of Chinook Alternatives, a highly successful program he developed for the Boulder Valley School District to prevent and retrieve drop-outs. The program was closed in 2004 due to district budgetary issues. From 2004 to 2007 Ed served as the Dean of Students at Nederland Middle Senior High School, where he continued to coordinate the Chinook West high school program at Teens Inc., Youth and Family Center. In August, 2007, Ed opened Catalyst High School as a nonprofit private school. Ed continues to expand the potential of his contract-based, short block educational model, working successfully with an increasingly diverse population of students who, for a wide variety of reasons, are not thriving in other school settings. Ed has been the Program Chairman and a Board Member for Attention Homes Youth Shelter and served on the Board of Directors of Compass House.
Dick Weeks
School Counselor
E-mail
Dick brings 45 years of educational experience with teens to Catalyst High School. His career spans from teaching to school administration positions. Dick created and directed the K-12 counseling program for Colorado Academy in 1979. From 1981-1989 Dick served as Director of College Placement and then Dean of Students at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. In 1989, he became the Dean of Students and later Assistant Head of School at Alexander Dawson School. In 1995, Dick founded the George L. Bridge School, which he named for his grandfather. For 16 years, Dick served as Head of Bridge School until retiring from that position and joining Catalyst High School.
Meredith Preston
Outreach Director
E-mail
Phone (303) 604-6512
Meredith is a marketing communications professional with over two decades of experience. Before founding her own agency, Preston P|R, in 1991, Meredith served as Vice President of Corporate Communications for Hill and Knowlton, Inc., an international public relations agency. Over the years, her clients have included Fortune 50, non-profits, small businesses and professional practices. Also active in political affairs, she served as assistant press secretary to a U.S. Representative and legislative aide to a U.S. Senator in Washington D.C. before beginning her career in marketing communications. Meredith is an author and free-lance journalist, most frequently published in the Los Angeles Times. Her first book was published in 1997 and named a regional bestseller. She has been honored for her work producing radio and television commercials by the Public Relations Society of America and the Los Angeles Press Club. A cum laude graduate of the University of the South, she holds a B.A. degree in English Literature.
Mary Hickling
Administrative Assistant, Registrar
E-mail
Mary received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado, Boulder. As Registrar and Office Manager, Mary maintains transcripts, report cards, and other school records, as well as working to keep things running in the Catalyst office – both figuratively and physically! She brings years of valuable experience working with personal fitness, office management and, most importantly, teens. Mary is drawn to issues that face teens today, and addresses them by integrating humor and role modeling and promoting a healthy lifestyle. Her hobbies include gardening, home staging and reading good books. Mary is married and has two teenage daughters (one a Catalyst graduate), and two very fluffy cats!