IRCNOCO Staff

 

Program Director: Araceli Calderon

aracelicalderon@ircnoco.org

Since before coming to the U.S. in 2004, I worked for community involvement in policy-making in my native Mexico. I have dedicated my life in Greeley, Colorado, to promoting the inclusion of migrant and refugee voices in the spheres of community building and policy setting in northern Colorado. I have worked through local educational and cultural programming. I am excited to work with IRC to promote further communication, cultural exchange, and deeper understanding between the diverse communities of immigrants and refugees and the broader population of Colorado. 

Little Learners Coordinator: Debra Reichert

Debra Reichert is the coordinator of our Little Learners Childcare Program. The role of coordinator at IRCNOCO is to provide a safe and caring environment for client’s children. Her position involves managing the volunteers and employees, planning and implementing educational activities for children, and facilitating communication with parents. This position offers her the opportunity to continue to do what she loves, which is work in a setting supporting families and children from diverse cultural backgrounds

Debra has worked with children in an educational setting for over 20 years. After completing her Elementary Education degree and Bachelor’s degree in English, she taught elementary school students in Greeley and Fort Collins for 15 years. For 5 years she also taught at international schools in Brazil. Throughout her career she performed in leadership roles involving training of staff members as well as serving on many key committees.

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Office Manager: Tony Archer

Tony is a native of Colorado and earned a B.A. in Music from the University of Northern Colorado.  He has always had a passion for music and played and wrote music as a vocation for over 20 years. His second passion is mentoring young adults.  He lived in Wyoming for 13 years, teaching and mentoring students at the University of Wyoming. Since returning to Greeley in 2010, Tony has worked to learn Spanish and understands the challenges that adult language learners face.  He has a deep love for immigrants and refugees and recognizes the beauty, value, and assets that they bring to this community.    “We have so much to learn from one another.  For me, working at IRCNOCO is a little slice of heaven on earth.”

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Workforce Navigator: Sara Gurule

Sara is a native of Colorado and started volunteering to teach adult ESL classes at various levels while earning her BA in Elementary Education and Linguistically Diverse Education at UNC Greeley. After graduating, she taught language and content to newcomers as a classroom teacher in District 6 for a few years until moving abroad to teach at an international school in Southeast Asia. In addition to teaching international elementary students language and content during those 7 years, she developed a program for youth to learn how to make cross-linguistic friendships and teach ESL to their local peers. Later, she became a lead teacher and co-manager of an ESL & upskilling school for migrants from Myanmar while also founding a teacher development/support program for refugee teachers in IDP and refugee camps in Myanmar and Bangladesh. When Sara returned to the Denver area where she is originally from in 2021, she subbed at a newcomer school in Denver Public Schools before becoming a workforce navigator at IRCNoCo. The immigrant & refugee population has forever impacted her and fueled her work in finding ways to provide equitable education for all.