Thanks to Laura from Kirkland who nominated Colleen. She wrote:

“Where do I start?! Colleen has been dedicating her time and efforts for years to our Homeschool and Girl Scout communities. She even started up Barb City Co-op with other local teachers where we can gather in an AWESOME space and get our children together. Coming from my daughter, Miss Colleen is ” a fun, nice teacher and I love her.” My daughter’s favorite memory with Miss Colleen is exploding a pumpkin outside using rubber bands. I cannot fail to mention she also organizes multiple “Homeschool Happening” events at the libraries of Sycamore, DeKalb, and Cortland. When I really think about all the selfless hours Colleen has spent and continues to spend creating all kinds of events to keep us all connected through the community, I realize how lucky we all really are to have her. Especially through a pandemic. Colleen helped us to feel not so alone, kept us hopeful through connection, made us smile with surprises and thoughtfulness, was a listening and understanding ear, and an inclusive advocate for all children and people. During the lockdown, Colleen made up “goodie bags’ ‘ with crafts, projects, gifts for the girls, multiple times throughout the pandemic, and went out of her way to deliver them. I cannot even describe the joy of my daughter when she saw Colleen pull in the driveway to drop off the latest bag of fun. From the bottom of all of our hearts, thank you Colleen. Your impact on us all is admirable and will be remembered forever.”