Term: June 2024
Email: t.torres@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: An alumna of MNOHS, Topaz Torres, has a BFA and currently works as a website and digital designer for Spok, a healthcare IT company. At MNOHS Topaz was an active student council member, and while attending university, she was heavily involved in supporting the Women’s and LGBT Center. She is passionate about creating community and LGBTQ+ inclusive spaces. Topaz brings to the board skills in graphic design, marketing, event planning and the thoughtful perspective of a former student.

Term: June 2023
Email: m.derosier@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: With a background in education, Mary Derosier is passionate about the importance of choices in education to better meet the needs of all children. She has a BS in Elementary Education and has taught music, Kindergarten, and developmental English and Math in both public and private schools. She also coordinated community education programming in two districts. Currently, she is the President and CEO of Window World Twin Cities.

Term: June 2025
Email: s.benson@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: Sarah has a MS in School Counseling and has worked in this professional role since 2011.  At MNOHS, she serves as a counselor to students with last names A-L and as advisor to our student-led Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA).  She is a co-founder of Fargo’s Community Uplift Program and a board member since 2015 including terms as secretary and vice president.  She is currently a member of the Moorhead Community Education Board.  Sarah served as a Human Resources Sergeant in the MN Army National Guard for 7 years.  She has presented twice at the National Mentoring Summit in Washington DC and considers public speaking to be one of her strengths and interests.  She is passionate about universal design for learning (UDL) as a way to improve the MNOHS experience for all students.  She also has experience with managing 501c3 budgets and grant writing, and an interest in policy review.  She brings a unique perspective to the board from having served our students on a primarily individual basis as they prepare for their futures beyond MNOHS. 

Term: June 2024

Biography: Barbara Bridges’ social practice sculptures have been exhibited widely in Minnesota, the U.S. and internationally. She taught art in Minnesota, Maine, and the Virgin Islands and was twice named Minnesota Art Teacher of the Year. As an arts educator, Barbara partnered with the Minneapolis Public Schools, Perpich Center, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Weisman Museum, and the Minnesota Museum of Art. The online curriculum and discussion site, ArtsNet Minnesota, came out of those collaborations. Barbara was a professor for twenty years at the University of Minnesota and Bemidji State University where she taught Foundations of Education, Human Relations, and Critical and Creative Thinking—and where she founded DLiTE and FasTrack, the first online teacher licensure programs in the U.S. She most recently founded the nonprofit Art to Change the World.

Term: June 2023
Email: sm.carsello@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: A friend of MNOHS since 2008, Sarah Carsello has a B.A. in Marketing from the College of St. Scholastica and multiple Information Technology certifications. She was employed at MNOHS for over five years in various technology capacities, including Technology Manager. She has career experience in the areas of nonprofits, state government, healthcare, public utilities, community service, education, policy development, public relations, communication, fundraising, and special events. She brings to the board knowledge in operational functions, keen awareness of the decisions required to successfully govern an online high school, and desire to sustain a flourishing environment where students will succeed. She has skills in group facilitation, public speaking, training and coaching, process development, and creative problem solving.

Term: June 2025
Email: c.allison@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: Christie has taught full-time at MNOHS since 2011. She has multiple Minnesota teaching licenses in both special education and general education, as well as expertise in transition planning. In addition to teaching, she coordinates our school’s career and technical education (CTE) and project-based learning programs. She served on the MNOHS Academic Oversight Committee for one year, and is has been a member of the MNOHS Professional Development Committee since 2018. Outside of MNOHS, she served for four years, including two as president, of the Minnesota Council for Exceptional Children (MNCEC), and for one year on Minnesota’s legislatively-empowered Online and Digital Learning Advisory Council. Christie holds two degrees from Kent State University, BS Intervention Specialist and M.Ed. Intervention Specialist, and has taken doctoral classes in Instructional Design for Online Learning.  Christie brings commitment to working as a school community, interest in creating systems that benefit all, and joy for making a positive impact to the MNOHS Board.

Term: June 2025
Email: a.martin@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: Anastasia Martin is a licensed social studies educator (grades 6-12) who has taught since 1999 in Connecticut, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Her teaching experiences include middle school and high school students in a wide variety of courses. She has also taught in a college setting and worked with students earning their GEDs. A North Dakota native, Anastasia loves to travel and has been to five continents. Anastasia received her BA in Political Science and Education from North Dakota State University and her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Southern Connecticut State University. She joined MNOHS is 2005 and is currently teaching World Geography, American History, World History and Psychology. She is also coordinates the MNOHS Professional Development Committee and is a volunteer member of the MNOHS Board.

Term: June 2023
Email: l.larsen@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: Lori-Beth has a BA in Ethnomusicology and a Master’s Degree in TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages). She has taught K-12 and higher education and is currently an instructor at Central Lakes College (CLC) in Brainerd. In this role, she has chaired several committees including the OER Steering Committee (open educational resources), the International Education Committee, the Student Affairs Committee, and the Developmental Education Committee and has extensive experience teaching with technology. Lori-Beth comes to the MNOHS Board with a unique culturally diverse upbringing and more than twenty-five years of teaching experience accompanied by practical wisdom and insight to inform relevant and practical research. She is creating educational environments that are diverse, accessible, and inclusive, to include all voices, all cultures, all values, all genders, and all learning values.

Elissa Raffa – Ex Officio
Email: e.raffa@mail.mnohs.org

Biography: Elissa Raffa has a BS in Secondary Science Education and an MFA in Creative and Professional Writing, both from the University of Minnesota, and an MEd in Educational Leadership from Bemidji State University. She is licensed as a district superintendent and as a teacher of physics, chemistry and earth/space science, and has also been active in arts education. Before founding MNOHS in 2005, Ms. Raffa worked for seven years with the online Mindquest Learning Network in Bloomington and for twelve years at Loring Nicollet Alternative School in Minneapolis. She has served on several state education committees, as a consultant at the American College of Greece, and currently as an expert in science education for the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 funding program.