Fall 2023 Teachers
Darci Byrnes
CCE Coordinator/Play Production/Civics
Darci is a proud wife and mother. She and her husband, Tom, recently celebrated 21 years of marriage and have seven children from 1 to 20 years old. She has homeschooled her children since 2007 and over the course of those sixteen years, she has participated in many co-ops and enrichment programs. She has been a part of CCE, either as a parent, teacher or administrator since 2014. As the daughter of an engineer and a science teacher, it was all science and math growing up. However, God revealed different plans during college and Darci received a BA in Theology and Humanities from Franciscan University of Steubenville. These diverse educational experiences lend themselves well to Darci serving CCE in a number of different ways in the classroom.
Veronica Carrillo
Crafting with the Saints
Born and raised in Colorado, and married to my high school sweetheart, Benny Carrillo. We have six children, from 23 down to 4. We have owned our own plumbing company since 2011 and have been homeschooling since 2012. Our homeschooling journey began unexpectedly and with a great leap of faith. It has been the best adventure our family has ever experienced. Arts, crafts, and the trades are a major part of our inner weavings. Our whole family has a passion for creating beauty in everything from making rosaries to the intricate work of our company. I feel most at peace when I’m working with my hands to create things that are not only beautiful but inspiring. I enjoy teaching children about our faith and encouraging them into a beautiful relationship with our Lord.
Grace Defilippis
Fit for Heaven
Grace Defilippis is the oldest of a Catholic homeschooling family of 9. Graduating from Thomas Aquinas College in California with a Liberal Arts degree, she taught kindergarten for two years at Our Lady Of Lourdes Classical School in Denver. Since then, she’s gotten married and started a family with one girl so far! She’s excited to be a part of this homeschooling community and learn from this experience.
Elise Epstein
Creative Drama & Theatre
Elise Epstein has been doing theater since childhood and enjoys the unique opportunities it provides for all of us to explore and express different creative sides of ourselves we would only get away with on the stage! It is her joy to watch young actors and actors with unique abilities discover their abilities and gain confidence through theatrical experiences. She finds her greatest inspiration from well known stories found in books.
Anthony Gallegos
Martial Arts
Mr. Gallegos has been a martial arts instructor/coach for many years now. He is a life-long student of the martial arts and has enjoyed using the arts as a bridge to understanding and teaching virtue. His joy as an instructor is seeing his students accomplish their goals after making a determined choice to persevere.
Mary Machado
Global Adventures
Mary Machado has a B.S. in Biology and an M.A. in Health Education & Gerontology, with a certificate in secondary education. She was a home educator for over 20 years, with all of her children now grown and graduated. She has a love for history and science topics and hands-on learning in these areas. She has taught co-op and enrichment program classes in various fields for many years.
Jennie McCabe
Biology
Jennie McCabe is married to Sheldon, and they have 6 children, of which 2 have graduated from homeschooling. She will be teaching biology this year at CCE and is very excited to share her love for the “study of life” with the students. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, emphasis on Secondary Education and worked as a microbiologist before her children were born. She believes that as we learn about the natural world, we learn about some attributes of the Creator as well.
Monica Mayhak
Colorado History/International Towne
Monica Mayhak received her B.S. in Applied Mathematics with minors in Economics and Computer Science from the University of Texas. She has taught math, economics, literature, history, and civics at homeschool co-ops for 16 years. She homeschooled all of her children and now has four college graduates and two still schooling at home. She is also blessed with five grandchildren.
Claire Rojas
Art of Storytelling/Iconography
Mrs. Claire (Woodbury) Rojas is a homeschool graduate herself. She teaches several classes out of her home in Westminster, including sewing, piano, art and creative writing. Mrs. Rojas has studied iconography for over six years in age-old methods. She has been commissioned for several icons, including one at Holy Trinity (St. Raphael in the Adoration chapel) and an icon of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Dominican Vietnamese chapter in Wheat Ridge.
Carolyn Speer
Choir/Intro to Aristotle/Elementary Literature/Composition
Mrs. Carolyn Speer graduated from Wyoming Catholic College with a BA in Liberal Arts. She studied for a year at the ITI in Austria and graduated from the Augustine Institute with a Master’s degree in Theology. After this, she did a year of post grad work in philosophy at Franciscan University of Steubenville. She has been enjoying teaching 2nd grade for the past six years and advising high school theses. This coming year, she is excited to stay home with her son, while continuing her passion for teaching at CCE.