The Tatonka “Herd”

Leadership

  • Allie has a fierce passion for ensuring all students have access to an educational experience that meets their unique learning needs. She believes our role as educators is to empower students to become confident advocates who are self-aware and active participants in their learning.

    Allie taught kindergarten in 2 charter schools and 2nd grade in a neighborhood elementary school. As the Lead Teacher, she mentored new staff, provided school-wide professional development, and developed/implemented a behavior management/discipline system that decreased office referrals by 54%. Allie holds a Masters degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from The University of Denver. She provides customized professional development, data analysis, and systems support to Tatonka Education Services' charter schools. Her experience in both urban and suburban settings has led to an aptitude in school systems management, classroom organization, instructional strategies and community outreach across many different types of communities and cultures.

Finance

  • Lea earned her Bachelor of Accountancy and Master of Accountancy from the University of Mississippi. After graduating, she earned the designation of Certified Public Accountant in Virginia.  Lea worked in public accounting as an auditor for 8 years, where she participated in and managed audits from a variety of industries including charter schools and nonprofits.   She then transitioned into nonprofit management in multiple positions including serving as the Director of Accounting for a California nonprofit.  At Tatonka Education Services, she serves as the Senior Accounting Manager, where she will use her auditing background to oversee the charter school audits and offer support and oversight for all school clients.

  • Tina brings a wealth of knowledge to the Tatonka team with her six years of experience in charter school accounting.

    Tina received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Southern Maine and her Master's in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webber University.

    She is an expert in the intricacies of accounting for charter schools in Colorado, Ohio, and Arizona. Tina is passionate about supporting charter school leaders by providing training to set them up for success.

  • Kamlie Beshara was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. She graduated with both her BSBA in Accounting and MBA from Youngstown State University. She also obtained her Ohio School Fiscal Officer license in 2022. Kamlie has worked in a variety of fields within the accounting industry, from corporate accounting to public accounting. Kamlie loves helping organizations see the "bigger picture," and help them accomplish their goals to grow. While the education industry is newer to Kamlie, she is eager to start her journey with Tatonka Education Services. Kamlie currently resides in Austintown, Ohio with her two dogs. She loves to travel, hike, and spend time with her family.

  • Elena graduated from the Russian Institute of Finance and Economics in Moscow in 2000 with her Bachelor's degree in Finances and Credit. She later received her Bookkeeper Certificate at Emily Griffith Technical College. Elena has held the positions of accountant, bookkeeper, and economist over the past 22 years. Her previous experience and passion for education has brought her to Tatonka Education Services, where she is an accountant. In this position, Elena works with account payables and loves being a part of this team!

  • Rachel has experience across a wide range of industries — from
    nonprofits and education to gaming, tech, energy, hospitality, and real estate.

    She loves digging into the details to help organizations run more smoothly and make smarter decisions. Before this, Rachel's nonprofit experience included work with the Denver Zoo, Denver Public Schools, and many local foundations. She has an MBA, a BS in Accounting, and CFE credentials.

    Rachel is a Colorado native and enjoys camping and hiking with her teenage son and their mini dachshund. 

  • Lori Bachtel has called Colorado home for the past 23 years after relocating from Kansas. She earned both her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and her Master of Business Administration from Fort Hays State University.

    Throughout her career, Lori has dedicated herself to the education sector, serving in financial and operational leadership roles within public school districts and charter schools. Most notably, she spent eight years leading the business and operations functions for a charter school, where she oversaw finance, budgeting, human resources, facilities, compliance, and organizational operations.

    Lori is passionate about supporting educational institutions through strong financial stewardship, effective operational leadership, and a commitment to student success.

  • Gwyn Lightfoot earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting summa cum laude from Colorado Technical University. She has years of experience working in public, private, and non-profit accounting in different areas of business. She loves working in accounting and working with numbers and reconciliations. She has worked in all areas of accounting and enjoys doing all of them. 

    She had lived in Oklahoma (Oklahoma City Metro) most of her life and recently lived in Virginia Beach, VA when her son was stationed there while in the Navy. Her and her family had lived in Colorado prior before and decided to move back to Colorado recently because they all love the weather and the mountains. She loves to hike, kayak and ski in the beautiful outdoors and loves to cook and bake. 

Human Resources

  • Born and raised in Florida, with North Carolina roots, and now Colorado living, Natalie joins TES as our new Sr. Human Resources Generalist. Her passion for HR started in 2016 during an internship and has steadily grown. Driven by interacting with clients and employees, Natalie takes pride in being an active employee advocate and strategic business partner; being successful together is the motto she embodies every day. She received her Bachelors in Business Management from East Carolina University and recently received her MBA in Human Resources from Liberty University. She brings in-depth knowledge on employee relations, recruitment and onboarding, performance management, and training and development. Her favorite part of working in HR is the relationships she gets to build with her clients and employees. Outside of work, you can find her at the dog park with her two dogs, reading poetry, or painting in her backyard.

    From creating on-boarding programs to coaching leadership personnel, she is excited to partner with the TES community to drive operational growth and empower employees as they are our most valuable assets!

  • Bela has been working in Human Resources for seven and a half years, with experience in onboarding, payroll, benefits, employee relations, and HRIS.

    Born and raised on the East Coast in Connecticut, Bela met her husband there before they moved to Colorado in 2017. Since then, they’ve added three dogs—an American Eskimo, Corgi, and German Shepherd—and two beautiful children, Theodore and Aurelia, to the mix.

    Bela’s idea of a fun time is being with her family and experiencing life together. Whether they’re coloring, baking cookies, or hitting the local trails, she prefers to do it as a team!

    Her own hobbies include scrapbooking, sewing, and learning new things to create. Her current interest? Sourdough!

  • Michelle brings more than 20 years of experience in Payroll and Human Resources leadership. She genuinely enjoys helping people, solving problems, keeping things organized, and making sure employees have the support they need to succeed.

    Whether it’s answering a question, working through a tricky situation, or simply being a sounding board, Michelle enjoys being someone others can count on. She believes being approachable and treating people with kindness goes a long way — especially at work.

    Outside of work, Michelle is happiest with her hands in the dirt. Gardening is one of her favorite ways to relax. She loves planting something, taking care of it, and watching it grow. She may also have a slight tendency to bring home plants without having any idea where she’s going to put them!

    Michelle also has a huge soft spot for bully breeds. 🐾 Bully breed rescue and animal welfare are very important to her. She loves advocating for these amazing dogs and helping give them the second chances they deserve. They’re often misunderstood, and she’s always happy to remind people just how loving, loyal, goofy, and wonderful they can be. She sets a prime example by having three (foster fail) bullies of her own, who are the loves of her life.

    A Colorado native, Michelle was born and raised in the Columbine Valley, where every member of her immediate family still lives, including her parents and adult children. She attended school in Colorado from preschool through college. As Michelle says, “Colorado is in my blood and visa-versa!”

Operations

  • Kathy Mecom is a versatile project manager and communications specialist who blends operational rigor with strong design and storytelling skills. At Tatonka Education Services, she supports charter school clients through facility and financing project coordination — managing schedules, tracking critical deadlines, and keeping school leaders, contractors, and stakeholders aligned from kickoff through completion.

    Her effectiveness is grounded in eight years supporting administrators in a busy middle school environment, where she developed a firsthand understanding of school operational rhythms — enrollment cycles, staffing, compliance documentation, and competing campus priorities. This perspective helps her translate project requirements into practical steps schools can realistically execute.

    Kathy also brings a strong communications background, having developed data-driven charter renewal presentations, modernized websites, and produced polished marketing materials. She holds a B.A. in Communication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Outside of work, she enjoys Colorado's outdoor activities, reading, puzzles, and cheering on the Buffs, Broncos, and Nuggets.

  • Heidi was born in Costa Rica, raised in Iowa, and her love for the mountains brought her to Colorado in 2012. She joined TES as the New Office Manager & Project Coordinator, bringing with her over 10 years of experience in office management and coordination. Heidi has a heart for serving and making a difference in other’s lives, and while the education world might be a new career path for Heidi, the mission and values of what Tatonka represents is what drew her in.

    Heidi is excited to join the Tatonka team, who makes a world of difference in the lives of each student and their bright future! A few of Heidi’s passions include planning weddings and events, snowboarding, traveling, camping, and hiking. Basically, all things Colorado! As well as getting involved serving her community.

Board of Directors

  • Public finance expert, Tatonka Capital Corporation and Tatonka Education Services CEO, Carol Hansen, is a thoughtful, unflappable and tenacious CEO.

    Hansen founded TES, in 2015, when presented with a workout challenge involving a failed charter school management company and the possibility of closing its charter schools. Hansen and the senior management team’s actions successfully worked to keep from closing affected schools which would have otherwise left staff and students out in the cold. In the first two-years TES took those schools from insolvency and low academic scores to financial stability and growing academic success

    Hansen is an active participant in YPO (formerly Young Presidents’ Organization) at the local and international levels of the organization. She has been awarded two of YPO’s top international honors for her leadership. Carol served as an Advisor to Sheryl Sandberg and the LeanIn Launch Team, which today supports 35,000 LeanIn Circles. She is also active in other philanthropic and trade organizations.

    Hansen’s three children, who are now adults, attended a charter school in the 1990s. Hansen credits their experience and those passionate educators as making a material difference in her children’s own success.

  • Eric has his Bachelors degree in Economics and Masters Degree in Business from The Ohio State University. Eric spent the first ten years of his career with Bank One (now JP Morgan - Chase). The career led to a position of Senior Vice President and Manager of Commercial Lending for a Bank One Affiliate Bank. In that position, Eric took over the management of under-performing commercial loan portfolios totaling over $600 million. With his team, Eric was able to materially improve the credit quality of those loan portfolios while adding significantly to new loan growth.

    Eric joined Tatonka Capital Corporation in 1997. His areas of responsibility have included the leadership roles in Credit, Risk Management, Documentation, Portfolio Management and Corporate Finance. Eric also was the primary relationship manager on several large vendor accounts. During this time, Tatonka successfully funded and managed over $1.5 billion in new municipal, federal, retail and public school financing.

    Eric is an expert in credit underwriting, loan structuring, construction lending, distressed asset turnaround, and complicated loan documentation.

Want to join the Herd?

View Open Positions

〰️

View Open Positions 〰️