Meet the Denver staff
City Year Denver’s team is made up an amazing group of idealistic and passionate individuals that are committed to growing City Year’s impact throughout Denver Public Schools and the community. We truly believe our work is part of the national effort to help 91¶¶Òõ and schools succeed.
John Albright, Vice President and Executive Director for City Year Denver, is a mission-driven leader with 20 years of experience in public education with a focus on relationship management, organizational and team strategy, partnership cultivation and development, fundraising, communications, policy, and board management and development. Prior to joining City Year Denver, he served with DPS since 2012. Prior he spent 11 years with Adams 14 in Commerce City, serving in various public relations and strategy roles.
As Student Engagement Director, John led the secondary education division’s policy and strategy work on graduation requirements, college and career readiness, student voice and leadership, dropout prevention and intervention, and online acceleration and credit recovery. He frequently engaged with civic and business leadership on matters that have an impact on the district’s success in achieving its mission to provide all 91¶¶Òõ the opportunity to achieve the knowledge and skills necessary to become contributing citizens in our society. John was also the project director for the College Ready On Track Network for School Improvement, a Gates Foundation funded effort, which convenes 22 high schools to improve math equity for Black and Latinx 91¶¶Òõ.
John served as Deputy Chief of Staff for DPS Superintendent Tom Boasberg from 2012 to 2016, handling a wide range of institutional priorities on behalf of the Chief of Staff and Superintendent. John led coordination and oversight in the implementation of the Denver Plan and the district’s core initiatives, and he served as a liaison between school district staff and the community. In conjunction with the Superintendent and Chief of Staff, John provided policy analysis and strategic consultation to the Board of Education and senior administration on major district issues.
In both roles, John has developed and led strategic partnerships for DPS, including co-chairing the board of the Denver Afterschool Alliance, serving on the boards of the Denver Opportunity Youth Initiative and Denver Education Attainment Network, coordinating joint initiatives with the Denver Housing Authority, and representing DPS on the governance council for the Globeville-Elyria-Swansea United Neighborhoods initiative through Mile High United Way. John was also the lead partner on the Mayor’s citywide student ID project – MY Denver Card – to provide all 91¶¶Òõ in grades six through 12 free access to Denver Parks and Recreation facilities, libraries and cultural institutions. Prior to joining DPS, John served as Chief Communications and Strategy Officer for Adams 14, where he oversaw the strategic direction of the district and managed all communications and public relations initiatives. John also managed external partnerships, competitive grants, strategy and performance management, dropout prevention and graduation improvement, adult education programs, before and after school programs, the homeless student intervention program and district level discipline. For two school years, John spent 20 percent of his time as a classroom walk-through team leader, providing support to principals and teachers through informal coaching and feedback. As a former television producer, John’s passion for storytelling through video brought him to a career in education. Building on this passion, during his time in Commerce City, he developed the Adams 14 Film Festival as a way to ensure all 91¶¶Òõ in the district had the opportunity to tell their own stories and could access technology in the classroom. John is an accomplished presenter and public speaker – representing DPS and previously Adams 14 at the local, state and national levels. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in broadcast production management from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder. In his free time, John thrives on family fun with his two high school teenagers. He enjoys fly fishing, snowboarding, playing drums and experiencing live music, reading, and enjoying the beauty of Colorado with friends and family.
Flavia Zarcula serves as the Managing Director, Development at City Year Denver. She has over 10 years of nonprofit development and leadership experience supporting local, regional, and global organizations in raising the funding needed to reach their vision, all the while strengthening organizational capacity to measure and describe impact. Some organizations where Flavia has served include the OMNI Institute, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains, and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. In all her roles Flavia has enjoyed the opportunity to think creatively and strategically to continuously increase organizational revenue while strengthening relationships with team members and supporters. Flavia loves the nonprofit sector and has a deep commitment to equity and social justice. Fundraising is a wonderful way to have a tangible impact and connect donors with missions they are passionate about. Flavia holds a Master of Science in Sociology from the University of Oxford and is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE). Outside of work, Flavia enjoys cooking, skiing, exploring Colorado’s beautiful outdoors, and travelling to her home country of Romania.
Caleb Zúñiga is a people- and equity-centered leader with over 10 years of experience in public education, non-profits, and human resources.
Caleb began his career as a middle school teacher before joining City Year Denver staff from 2015-2020. Prior to rejoining City Year Denver in 2023, Caleb spent time with Denver Public Schools, Teach for America Colorado, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver in people- and equity-driven roles.
In this role, Caleb supports City Year Denver staff and AmeriCorps members through excellent people and operations practices and an unwavering commitment to Diversity, Belonging, Inclusion, and Equity. Outside of work, Caleb enjoys running, tennis, cooking, and spending time with his cat and loved ones.
Tin, a social development worker and strong advocate of children and youth development and empowerment, proudly joins City Year Denver as its Impact Director. Coming into this role, she brings a wide range of experience of performing varying roles from direct one-on-one, face-to-face casework, group work, and organizing to indirect macro-level related roles such as capacity building (individual and organizational), program management and administration, staff supervision, research, policymaking and networking. She believes that, given the proper support and opportunities, young people will rise up to become empowered and active agents of change.
She is also personally invested in programs focused on volunteerism and service. She attributes a part of her success as a person and as a professional to a Peace Corps volunteer she worked with in her first job. This positive experience with a Peace Corps volunteer motivated her to work with Peace Corps in the Philippines and another AmeriCorps-funded non-profit organization serving Higher Education Institutions. Working with City Year melds together two of her passions, young people and national service.
Tin has a Bachelor's and Master’s Degree in Social Work and a Master's in Political Science from the University of Colorado – Denver. In addition to English, she is fluent in Filipino/Tagalog and Bicol (a regional dialect in the Philippines). In her free time, she enjoys reading, baking, exploring the outdoors, and watching a D&D-based role-playing game called “Critical Role."
Patrick Byrne is an advocate for under-resourced youth, with a focus on improving secondary and post-secondary educational opportunities for disadvantaged 91¶¶Òõ to optimize their career potential. Patrick previously served as the CEO of The Challenge Foundation and Denver Kids. Patrick founded Denver Urban Scholars in 1999, a program that later merged into Denver Kids in 2019. During this time, he played a pivotal role in developing mentoring, volunteer, and academic support programs. His efforts also extended to fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and overseeing all aspects of operations.
Patrick obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications from Gonzaga University and received a Master’s Degree in Non-Profit Management from Regis University. He completed his Master's in Social Work at the University of Denver in 2006 and earned his PhD in Leadership Studies from Gonzaga University in 2012. He serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Denver and Regis University. Patrick was the recipient of the Mile High Speaker of the Year award in 2017 and the Regis University Civis Pinceps Award in 2019.
Kathryn, an expert in youth development, is a Senior Impact Manager. With a long history of staff development and supporting young professionals, Kathryn joined us from the YMCA in January of 2021. She served as an AmeriCorps Vista and with state programs in 2016 and 2017. When not engaged at work, Kathryn enjoys hanging with her dogs, mountain biking, rock climbing and pursuing all the nature the Western United States has to offer.
Sydney is the proud Impact Manager at George Washington High School. They attended George Washington University and Knox College and hold a B.A. in International Affairs and Educational Policy. They spent their senior year conducting independent research on the equity of education structures after regime change in Greece and Bulgaria. Sydney is originally from Chicago, IL and served with the Chicago City Year Corps for two year before coming to Denver. They enjoy spending their time reading and making homemade treats for their cats.
Brenna is from Arvada, CO, and received her B.A. from the University of Colorado in Boulder. In 2011-12, she served her corps year at City Year Boston, working with her favorite age group-- middle schoolers! After living in Boston and then Spain, she returned to her home community and remained in education. Brenna has worked with 14 City Year sites and currently supports onboarding the Denver corps as well as other sites in the West Region. She is also a proud NOLS alum and loves connecting other AmeriCorps alumni with opportunities to use their Segal Education Award in non-traditional ways.Â
Jake Drollinger hails from Sheboygan, Wisconsin - also known as the Malibu of the Midwest. After graduating from high school, he decided to take a gap year and joined City Year in San Jose as an AmeriCorps member. He spent that year in service leading high school 91¶¶Òõ learning curriculum and community-based projects. Feeling such a deep connection to the impact, he spent the following twelve-plus years working to share service through education as a pathway for young adults. Jake took on a variety of roles in the Corps Talent Acquisition department at City Year branches in San Jose, Milwaukee (Start-Up), Los Angeles, Denver, and remotely as a part of the national team. Some of Jake’s proudest accomplishments from his time at City Year include establishing CY Milwaukee’s first alumni board, developing a nationally implemented database management system, leading the effort in paperless admissions, and elevating operations strategy department-wide. Jake is excited to continue growing the university campus connections throughout Colorado.
