Brad Nye 

​Mr. Nye has been an Assistant Principal and the Activities Director at Fossil Ridge High School since 2009. He is celebrating his twenty-third year in education and has been honored to have held a variety of positions throughout his career including being an Art Teacher, Department Chair, Basketball Coach, Student Council Advisor and Dean of Students. He is extremely passionate about student leadership and has had the privilege of training students and staff members throughout the country at state and national conferences, workshops and camps. He loves the mentoring aspect of leadership and seeks to serve and encourage others. When he is outside of school, you can find him spending time with his family hiking, camping, creating, playing/watching sports or enjoying a casual morning on his front porch drinking lattes with his wife. 

Brendan Gallagher

Mr. Gallagher (known to most students as "G") began his career in Television and Film as the station manager of Vail Valley Community Television, then freelanced for Disney, ESPN, and ABC on a variety of projects, and worked for a Jumbotron screen company on live-event projects all over the country.  He completed his Bachelor’s degree in English at CSU and Master's Degree in Educational Leadership & Technology from Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design. He jumped at the opportunity to work at Fossil Ridge High School in his dream position, teaching video production. Over the last eight years, Mr. Gallagher has developed one of the best video production programs in the country. 

Mr. Gallagher is excited to be a part of the Student Leadership Academy (SLA) because it expands leadership opportunities for all students and broadens their positive impact on Fossil and all our larger communities.  He is particularly eager to teach students about the intersection of 21st-century leadership and multimedia communication in "Leadership By Design: Social Change and Media" a new class at FRHS and part of the SLA. 

Erin Carson 

Dr. Carson has been teaching social studies education for 20 years in both Minnesota and Colorado. Early in Dr. Carson's career she taught middle and high school Geography and American History, coached swimming and led various diversity clubs. While teaching full time, Dr. Carson completed both her Masters and Doctorate in Educational Leadership at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.  
​
After living in Minnesota for 20 years, Dr. Carson decided that it was time to return to her home state of Colorado where she began her work at FRHS. Since being at Fossil, Dr. Carson has taught Geography, Psychology, and World History. She has also coached the girls swim team, advised Student Council and Key Club, and is an advisory coach. Dr. Carson enjoys sharing her love of servant leadership and the wonder of the world every day with both her students, three small children, and her husband.

Jen Smela

​Jen Smela is a proud Colorado native and has been a school counselor since 1998.  She’s been a proud Sabercat for 10 years and has been involved with Ambassadors since she came to Fossil. Jen is passionate about servant leadership and absolutely believes that the strongest student leaders are those that bring out the best in others!  Being student-led and focused on outreach are two of Jen’s biggest goals for the Student Leadership Academy and Ambassadors.  In her non-work life, Jen is a mom of two great kids and spouse to an amazing teacher and baseball coach. She is an avid sports fan and a proud alum of Colorado State University.  

Kelli McPhee 

Mrs. McPhee has been a school counselor in PSD for 12 years and has always tried to make student leadership a part of the work that she does. Mrs. McPhee loves seeing students grow into strong leaders that want to make a difference in the world around them. She is amazed to see the positive impact student leaders can have on our school community! She has two young daughters that keep her busy and make life very fun and interesting. When not at school, Mrs. McPhee enjoys spending time with family, working on projects or crafts at her house, connecting with friends, building puzzles and watching her favorite shows. 

Matt Murphy

This is Mr. Murphy's 14th year as a counselor at Fossil Ridge. He has been involved with the Ambassadors program for the past 10 years. Mr. Murphy really enjoys facilitating the Ambassadors program because of the strong and supportive community that is built in the class. Mr. Murphy also really likes the important topics that are discussed like sexual assault, mental health and reaching out to new students. When not at Fossil, Mr. Murphy loves spending time with his family, riding his bike, hiking and traveling. 

Mikayla Assmus

​Ms. Assmus (pronounced “awes” - as in awesome - mus) has been teaching at Fossil Ridge since 2021. She teaches in both the English and Theatre departments and directs the musical in the Spring. Student leadership is one of Ms. Assmus' greatest passions. For the past six years, she has worked with students from all over the state at conferences and camps to help grow and support leaders within their schools. She believes that every student has leadership potential, and loves mentoring students to build confidence and passion within their own leadership abilities. She loves guiding students to become humble, empathic and respectful members of the SaberCat community. In her free time, Ms. Assmus loves going to see shows at the theatre and spending time with friends and family.

Courses Taught

Emily Cooper - Link Crew
​Erin Carson - Link Crew & SaberCat 101 Leadership Foundations
Brendan Gallagher - Leadership by Design & SaberCat 101 Leadership Foundations
Mikayla Assmus - RIDGE Leadership & SaberCat 101 Leadership Foundations
Kelli McPhee - RIDGE Leadership
Jen Smela - Ambassadors
Matt Murphy - Ambassadors
Brad Nye - Assistant Principal & Activities Director