Board of Directors

Casey Smith, President, Western Slope

Casey has supported and promoted Knowledge Bowl as a player, reader, and coach since the mid 90’s.  After growing up in Colorado, he spent 10 years living in Philadelphia, Palo Alto, and upstate New York.  He and his wife moved home to Colorado so she could teach high school and he could work remotely as a computer vision research scientist.  He enjoys photography, climbing, and exploring the mountains and desert with his two daughters.

Zachary Levine, Vice President, Webmaster, Northeastern Colorado

Zach has been a Knowledge Bowl coach for over a decade and even competed for Grand Valley High School in the early 2000's.  He grew up in Parachute Colorado and then went to the University Of New Mexico for college.  Zach studied electrical engineering for 3 years before deciding to switch majors to education.  He is now a math teacher and teaches everything from Geometry and Algebra all the way up to Calculus.

Dawn James, Secretary, 1A Schools

Dawn James has a long history in Colorado Knowledge Bowl, beginning as a student in the 1970s. Her experience as a reader for local and state competitions, and coaching both middle school and high school teams, has culminated in serving on the state board. 

Dawn attended college at Western State College before discontinuing her education to raise her family. After 4 children, the youngest born in 1995, she returned in 1998 to the University of Southern Colorado, obtaining a History degree in 2002. In 2012, Dawn received her Masters in History. Completing these steps was truly a source of inspiration as she graduated at the top of her class and never failed to attend any of her children's events. She has taught at all levels from kindergarten to college courses, and is now at her own high school alma mater and has enjoyed teaching in the same room that first ignited her passion for learning. 

Having attended and taught exclusively at 1A schools, Dawn understands that 1A schools have been the backbone of Knowledge Bowl in Colorado and representing this block of participating schools is an honor. 

Doug Horn, Treasurer, 3A Schools, Northeastern Colorado

Coming soon ...

Ken Blehm, Tournament Director, Northern Colorado

Ken Blehm is the Colorado Tournament Director and a board member at large from Greeley within Region 7 (Northeast Colorado). He has officiated meets as a reader in Region 7 since the mid-1990’s and has been a state reader since 2004. He retired as a professor of environmental health and industrial hygiene at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, in 2016 after 37 years in that position; the last 15 years as associate dean of academic and student affairs for the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Ken encouraged and facilitated the state tournament relocation to Colorado State, Fort Collins, in 2016 to take advantage of excellent facilities, infrastructure and to capitalize on an opportunity leading to the first Knowledge Bowl scholarships offered to class championship teams. While this necessitated changing the timing of the tournament to mid-March as opposed to mid-April, the net benefits (costs, facilities, staffing) to Colorado Knowledge Bowl were substantive. The automated-push score reporting; online coordination of the state tournament schedule; and the web-based registration system for the state tournament as well as web-based resources for Colorado Knowledge Bowl were products of Ken’s work with other board members.

Van Walker, Southeastern Colorado

Colorado Knowledge Bowl Vice-President, Van Walker, is a science instructor at Springfield High School in rural southeastern Colorado; he has been in education for 22 years - 20 of which have been at Springfield. He has been a knowledge bowl coach for 20 years, and he has been involved with the Colorado Knowledge Bowl board of directors since its inception in 2015, serving as a representative for 1A schools and as the vice-president. Van has recently been re-elected as vice-president and is honored to promote the goals of knowledge bowl, its student participants, and the schools that they attend.

Mike Aragon, 2A Schools

Mike Aragon is what one might call a WYSIWYG in tech speak (Google it).  He has been coaching Knowledge Bowl for the past 18 years at Fowler High School.   The United States Coast Guard is where he received his first taste of the real world.  He was able to see most of the world and do things only dreamed of by many.  He returned home and tried several different career tracks before finding his true calling (and a soulmate) when he entered college 10 years after leaving high school.  The father of 4 and grandfather of 8 (and 1 on the way), he spends his time between his work, hunting and fishing, raising livestock, and his family. 

Mike earned his bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from the University of Southern Colorado in Pueblo, Colorado and his master's in Technology in Education from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  His background is in video production and the integration of technology in the classroom.  He is the Technology Director for Fowler School District and a technology consultant for several other districts and organizations.  He also teaches Technology in Education classes at Otero Junior College.   

Roxanne Henderson, Southwestern Colorado, 3A Schools

Coming soon ...

Heather Huntley, 4A Schools

Coming soon ...

Coady Shawcroft, 5A Schools

Coady Shawcroft is a teacher and Knowledge Bowl co-coach with his wife McKenzie at Grand Junction High School. He started as a player his freshman year at Grand Junction High School and ever since has been involved in knowledge bowl either playing, reading for tournaments, or coaching for half of his life. He co-coached Palisade High School and Fossil Ridge High School during college. He graduated from CSU with a degree in History and Social Studies Education. Once graduated, he returned to the western slope to begin a teaching career. When Coady's not teaching or coaching, he and his wife enjoy spending time with their dogs, exploring the Grand Mesa, and travelling. 

Megan White, 5A Schools

Coming soon ...

Scott Thomas, 2A Schools

Hello, my name is Scott Thomas and I am so excited to be a part of the Colorado Knowledge Bowl board.  I grew up in Fowler, Colorado and graduated from Fowler High School in 2010.  After graduation, I attended Otero Junior College for my Associate of Arts Degree in General Studies.  Then, I transferred up to the University of Northern Colorado and received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and a minor in Secondary Education in 2015.  From there, I went to Colorado State University-Pueblo and received my teaching license. I have taught at the Custer County School District teaching 6th-12th Grade, and 10th-12th Grade at Las Animas High School, then have been at Byers since 2019 teaching 7-12th Grade Social Studies. 

This year I am teaching 7th Grade Eastern Hemisphere Geography, 8th Grade American History, 7th Grade Enrichment where we do close reading, computer typing skills, use a Microsoft Office program called TestOut, and more, and a Physical Education class for the students that are not in a sport.  

I am the Knowledge Bowl sponsor for both the Jr/Sr High School.  In the High School, we have been National qualifiers, state placers, and Union-Pacific League Champions and the Junior High has been National Qualifiers and Union-Pacific League Champions as well.  Also, as of 2023, we are starting a History Club, and hope to grow the program in the next few years as I am the regional coordinator for National History Day.  We have taken many students to state in the last few years as well.  Also, I have taken over the sponsorship of the Junior High trip in the United States.

In my free time, I love spending time with my family in southeast Colorado and Nebraska.  I also love attending sporting events and traveling anywhere. I have been on road trips as far east as Boston and have been on school trips with Mr. Kerns to Europe as well.  I am excited for the next one which will be a tour of World War II sites.