Board of Directors

President: Leah Saieg Leah is a K12 education consultant, supporting prospective, new and existing schools to ensure their efforts and resources are mission-aligned. She has worked in neighborhood and public charter schools for 15 years in various roles including teaching middle school humanities, teacher recruitment, talent development, communication strategy, program evaluation, fundraising and like every startup employee - plunging a few toilets. Prior to her involvement in education Leah worked in leadership development, focusing on helping companies scale without losing their culture and values-driven ethos. She holds a MS in Leadership and a BS in Business Administration. Most importantly, she has three delightful kids who attend Compass and she is so honored to serve this school community.

[email protected]

Vice President: Neala Deer

As SVP of Technology & Operations at ZeroDay Law, Neala Deer helps organizations — from Fortune 500 companies to enterprise nonprofits — build responsible, values-aligned frameworks for AI governance, data privacy, and cybersecurity. She brings deep experience in board governance, proactive risk oversight, and disciplined decision-making.

A Montessori child herself, Neala brings both an openness to technology and an unwavering commitment to human-centered learning that nurtures the whole child. Her earlier career spans music, television, digital media, and enterprise systems work, with research roles at EdChoice, Vanderbilt, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Neala's son attends Compass, and she hopes her two younger children will follow. She is honored to help protect and advance the mission she loves.

[email protected]

Treasurer: Michael Deru

Michael Deru is the Group Manager for the Communities and Urban Sciences Research Group at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. He conducts a broad range of research in commercial buildings and communities including starting the U.S. Life Cycle Inventory database, developing energy and carbon models for buildings, development and validation of energy efficiency technologies across all building systems, and leading large scale deployment programs for new building technologies. Dr. Deru has a PhD and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University.

[email protected]

Secretary & Compass Alumni: Imani Garcia

Imani is a Compass Alumni, graduating in 2018 after attending the Golden Campus from Children's House through 12th grade. During her time at Compass, she spent 100s of hours volunteering both on and off campus, went on trips all around the state of Colorado, California, and Germany, and even played on the ultimate frisbee team for a semester. Following her graduation from Compass she moved on to attend the Colorado School of Mines, receiving an Engineering degree with a focus in Energy and graduating in May 2022. For the past two years and counting, Imani has been an Energy Engineer at Group14 where she primarily supports multifamily ENERGY STAR projects, conducting energy modeling, building energy simulations, performing on-site testing, along with creating reports and design document reviews.

[email protected]

Board Member at Large: Corey Exline

Corey Exline brings her passion for creativity, education, and community to the Compass Montessori Board. With over 25 years as a professional actor and theater educator, Corey holds dual BFAs in Acting and Musical Theater from Elon University and remains a working actor in Denver and she teaches at the Arvada Center. A parent of two Compass Montessori students, Corey is committed to helping children find their voice and supporting their emotional and academic growth.

[email protected]

Member at Large: Susan Morris Ovuworie

Susan is an education consultant serving PK-12 schools with a deep understanding of school operations, leadership and governance. She is a multigenerational educator and life-long learner with 20 years of experience teaching, leading and now coaching in charter schools. Susan helped found a network of schools in Denver and continues to support charter, traditional district, and rural schools in her current role as Director of School Leader Development. She brings strong clarity on governance vs. management and a focus on asking strategic questions that strengthen decision-making to the board. She is a parent of a lower-elementary student at the Golden campus. Susan is bilingual with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and holds a Masters in Instructional School Leadership. She is dedicated to serving the Compass Montessori community as a board member in service of the Mission & Vision of the school.

[email protected]

Member at Large: Brendan Doner

Brendan Doner is a data scientist and entrepreneur focused on clean energy and healthy communities. He has 25 years of business experience in sales, project management, and analytics across technology and energy companies. Two years living and working in Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil left him fluent in Spanish and Portuguese that have been rusting since. He and his wife have three children at the Wheat Ridge campus spanning the Children’s House, Lower El, and Upper El. Brendan coaches them in soccer, flag football, lacrosse, basketball, and baseball, and in early 2026 founded a free sports program to bring together kids from different backgrounds and economic means. You can find him a couple of days a week following a horde of children to Fruitdale Park for after school free play.

[email protected]