Meet The Team
Joyelle Naomi
Founder/CEO
Joyelle Naomi is the founder of Denver Independent School (DIS) and Black Homeschooling Sustainability Initiative (BHSI). She is a 2020-21 Moonshot edVentures Fellow. She holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, and is a home-based educator and co-founder of Kulan Village Homeschool Co-op. Passionate about encouraging more families to homeschool, she began to lay the groundwork for DIS, realizing that many underrepresented groups, like BIPOC students and students with different needs, don't always have the resources necessary to sustainably homeschool. A proud Denver native, Joyelle loves the Colorado outdoors, homeschools her two wonderful children, and is a die hard Trekkie!
Board of Directors
Antoinette Massey-Board Chair
President & CEO at ANM Innovative Solutions, LLC
Founder & Chief Executive, The JEKL Foundation for STEAM Education
Charles Gilford III
Deputy Director of Council Relations and Special Projects at City and County of Denver
Eric Rowe
Principal, Prep Academy (Denver, CO)
David Yirdaw
Lead Pastor, Anchor Church
Michelle Quattlebaum
Founder, Creative Conversations, Parent/Community Liaison at Denver Public Schools
Leah Horton
DIS Parent Representative
Advisory Council
Antwan Jefferson
Associate Professor, School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver
Vernon Jones
Executive Director, Northeast Denver Innovation Zone
Director of Operations & Strategy, FaithBridge Denver
Monique Shuler
Senior Consultant/BA at BlackFin Group
Danyell Lewis
Independent Consultant & Racial Justice Advocate
Jonathan Bateman
Student Advisor
Serenity Bateman
Student Advisor
Alex H.
Student Advisor