Our Mission:
To optimize the development and well-being of youth and the educators who care for them.
Directors & Advisors
Our Board of Directors works to expand the scope and reach of SoulSpark Learning’s mission to optimize the development and well-being of youth and educators. Directors receive formal training in non-profit best practices and SoulSpark Learning is a member of the Colorado Nonprofit Association. Our team has professional experience in education, psychology, equity, public health, research, business and nonprofit leadership. We partner with diverse community members and invest our time, expertise and resources in caring for the entire SoulSpark Learning community.
Dr. Kate Bachtel - Founding Director
Kate has been teaching and learning alongside children and educators for as long as she can remember. She was awarded a full scholarship to CU-Boulder for her Master’s in Education (emphasis in equity, multicultural & bilingual education) and has a doctorate in education (curriculum and instruction with a specialization in gifted) from the University of Denver. Her dissertation focused on what IS working in practice to support diverse gifted youth in thriving. Prior to launching SoulSpark Learning, Kate co-led the opening of Mackintosh Academy’s Boulder campus, a K-8 IB World school for gifted learners. In addition, Kate is a Six Seconds EQ Pracitioner and SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) facilitator and trainer who served on the SENG board from 2014-2019 (president for the 2016-17 term). In her play time, Kate mentors gifted young adults at Watson University, is an advisor on The G Word Film, hikes, bikes and writes poetry. She is a licensed CO educator with endorsements in prek-12 gifted, culturally and linguistically diverse education, K-12 special education, elementary, secondary language arts and business/marketing.
Joi Lin, M.S. - Director
Joi’s experiences as a teacher, advocate, industrial and organizational psychologist and gifted adult fuel her passion supporting the career development and well-being of gifted and multi-exceptional learners, and those who educate and lead them. Joi is currently pursuing her Education Doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction, specializing in Gifted Education, at the University of Denver and aspires toward founding a virtual enrichment program for gifted youth and becoming a productive academic researcher and professor. Joi serves as a Gifted Youth Coordinator and Proctor for Denver Mensa and loves coconuts, karaoke and sunshine.
Dr. Christiane Wells, Ph.D., LSW - Director
Christiane is the Director of Qualitative Research at the Institute for the Study of Advanced Development. She studies the lived experience of giftedness and personality development through the lens of Dąbrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration. She has investigated the history of Dąbrowski’s constructs and their evolution and studies Polish to read his original works. Her qualitative methods background includes using text and content analysis techniques to examine and evaluate data and bodies of literature. Chris is also a therapist in private practice with gifted and twice-exceptional adults in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.
Rachel Fell - Director
Amber Viitanen, MPH - Director Emeritus
Amber is a health care professional with clinical experience informed by degrees in integrative physiology and sociology, as well as a Master’s in Public Health with a dual emphasis in epidemiology and community and behavioral health. She currently serves as the Emergency Medical and Trauma Services (EMTS) data section manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. With goals to merge quantitative and qualitative data management, Amber has experience in evaluation, program planning and intervention, statistical analysis, continuous quality improvement, as well as effective dissemination of information.
Rebecca Comizio, M.A., Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP) - Advisor
Rebecca taught English at Southington High School in Connecticut before entering a doctorate program in Philosophy and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. While at TC, Rebecca earned her Master’s in Philosophy and Education before taking a parental leave of absence as a doctoral candidate. As a mother of 4, a short leave turned into 13 years or raising her family. During this time, Rebecca began a formal study of educational and child psychology ultimately pursuing a second Master Degree in School Psychology. Rebecca also works in national advocacy for children’s mental, and behavioral health supports in schools as a leader and Committee Co-Chair for the National Association of School Psychologists. She is the proud mother of 4 adolescents, a Sophomore and Senior studying at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Sophomore and Senior studying at Greenwich High School, in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is also the mother-figure for 3 adorable dogs- Max, Molly and Lulu, and a co-host of the School Psyched Podcast, which creates collaborative conversations and free professional development for school psychologists.
Sharon Duncan - Advisor
Sharon Duncan works nationwide with parents, educators, psychologists and pediatricians, to find solutions for a wide-variety of challenges that often accompany raising and educating gifted children. Sharon consults on educational decisions and options (including homeschooling), behavioral concerns, provides training and classroom support to educators, works with schools to create or improve gifted programing or student-specific plans, and connects people to resources. Professionally, Sharon spent 26 years working at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and has served on the governing boards of public and private schools. She is a sought-after speaker and the co-founder of Gifted Identity and Gifted Research and Outreach. Sharon also served on the board of Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF).
Markus Hunt, M.Ed. - Advisor
You’ll find Markus working at the intersection of education and empathy. He currently lives in Aurora, Colorado and serves as the Head of School for The Logan School for Creative Learning, founded by Patti McKinnell. His most recent presentations have included Giving Students Voice & Choice in the Classroom and What the @$^# is Gifted? In addition to his work at Logan, Markus is a practitioner of the World Game through Instituut Kind en Beeld, Netherlands. Markus studied school leadership at Harvard’s graduate school of education and English literature at Howard University. He is always looking for ways to serve as a catalyst for change and to question the status quo.
Marina La Grave - Advisor
Marina is Founder and Executive Director of CLACE (Latin-American Center for Arts, Science and Education). She is currently an education team member of NASA’s MAVEN mission, Multicultural and Media consultant for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Discover Health/Decubre tu Salud program, Research Associate for NSF SciGirls national program, Multicultural Consultant for the City of Boulder, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Wings Museum over the Rockies and Coordinator for SWL program for Boulder Valley School District (BVSD). Marina is a UN and UNESCO Interpreter and Translator with a passion for STEM education. She is also the producer of “Tu Educación”, a weekly segment on the local Latino TV station, Telemundo. Marina has served as a Victim Advocate for the Boulder Police Department since 2003 and received the “Chief Commendation Award” in 2016 for her service. She consults and speaks across the country and is a proud Mom and “Mimi” to 5 amazing grandchildren.
Nancy Lee, MA, LPC - Advisor
Nancy is a licensed psychotherapist with a private practice in Aurora, Colorado. She specializes in treating anxiety, stress, and trauma in adults. She has a passion for counseling individuals with sensory processing sensitivity, giftedness, twice exceptionality, and other types of neurodiversity. She also provides counseling for individuals with culturally diverse backgrounds and identities. Nancy received her B.A. in psychology from University of Chicago and M.A. in counseling psychology from University of Denver. For over a decade, Nancy has led parent groups, facilitated programs, and served on committees regarding the needs of gifted and twice exceptional children. Since 2017, Nancy has been guest lecturing, presenting, and developing content related to cultural competence. In 2020, Nancy won a woman of color scholarship to attend the world conference for the Association for Contextual Behavior Science.
John Wing Flower - Advisor
John developed the WingFlower healing approach by integrating understanding of neuroscience, technology and indigenous healing practices. Of Cherokee lineage, he is a multi-disciplined energy healer who combines his intuitive abilities with formal training in crystology, Qi Gong and nervous system release to accelerate healing. His innovative approach is particularly powerful for highly sensitive, creative and gifted youth and adults whose threshold for emotional injury may be lower given their high levels of empathy and awareness. John is a Qi Gong advanced practitioner having studied directly Master Zhou Ting Jue. In addition, John has taught students of all ages and levels, both in the arts and as a Master Healer.
Anti-Discrimination Policy
SoulSpark is the place where each person’s unique constellation of strengths and interests connect with opportunity to shine and be of service. Equity is central to our mission of optimizing the development and well-being of youth and the educators who care for them. To this end, SoulSpark Learning has adopted an anti-discrimination policy that applies to all the organization’s activities and operations including, but not limited to, selection of volunteers, employment, service offerings, choice of vendors and community partnerships. SoulSpark Learning shall not discriminate on the basis of race, disability, color, religion / creed, gender, age, sexual orientation, national origin / ancestry, marital status, citizenship, military status or any other protected class.
Press & Publications
Mind Matters Podcast
Featured Guest on Inaugural Episode:
Recent Publications (book chapters)
Bachtel, K. (2017). The Heart of It: EQ Skill Gaps Contributing to Underachievement. In Klingner, R. (Ed.), Gifted Underachiever (pp. 93-119). Huntington, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Bachtel, K. (2017). Emotional Intelligence for Achievement and Well-being: SoulSpark’s The Heart of EQ. (monograph). University of Denver, Colorado.
Recent Publications (invited articles)
Bachtel, K. (2019). The Complex Simplicity of Gifted Well-Being.
Bachtel, K. (2018). We are Our Environment: The Eco-System of Gifted Development.
Bachtel, K. (2018). Sparking Leadership in Gifted Girls. Parenting for High Potential. National Association of Gifted Children.
Bachtel, K. (2017). Trauma: A Call for Collaboration.
Bachtel, K. (2015). Inclusive Communities Say “No.”
Bachtel, K. (2014). Your Learning Path: A Framework for Creating and Considering Learning Environments.
Bachtel, K. (2014).The Power in Sensitivities.
Dissertation (2017)
Seeing the Unseen: An Educational Criticism of a Gifted School
The Washington Diplomat
Interviewed for and quoted in
Minority Students Underrepresented in Gifted Programs
By: Carolyn Cosmos