IRCNOCO Staff
Program Director: Araceli Calderon
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.
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.