Our Story
From Books to
Lifelong Literacy
What began with getting books into the hands of public school students has grown into Colorado Reads: a model for closing implementation gaps and building stronger readers, more confident teachers, and lasting literacy systems.
Our Roots
Two decades ago, a small group of reading champions set out to turn Denver students into voracious readers. Incubated as a program of the New York-based Carmel Hill Fund (CHF), we began by providing books to over 1,500 Denver Public Schools classrooms and 50 school libraries.
As our work expanded, we spent more time in classrooms and alongside educators, gaining a deeper understanding of how students learn to read and the type of support educators could really use—and where both struggle. Over time, one thing became increasingly clear: access to books, while essential, was only part of the equation.
To learn more about our 20-year history with the Carmel Hill Fund, read the CHF impact report.
Our Roots
Two decades ago, a small group of reading champions set out to turn Denver students into voracious readers. Incubated as a program of the New York-based Carmel Hill Fund (CHF), we began by providing books to over 1,500 Denver Public Schools classrooms and 50 school libraries.
As our work expanded, we spent more time in classrooms and alongside educators, gaining a deeper understanding of how students learn to read and the type of support educators could really use—and where both struggle. Over time, one thing became increasingly clear: access to books, while essential, was only part of the equation.
To learn more about our 20-year history with the Carmel Hill Fund, read the CHF impact report.
2004
Carmel Hill Fund expands to Colorado, beginning with six Denver Public Schools and growing to over 50
2005
Partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Denver to stop the “summer slide” that children can experience in reading
2006-2018
Expanded into a full-year reading partnership with 20 Boys & Girls Clubs
2021
Launched the READS Tutor Program and developed the Structured Literacy Initiative to provide reading and spelling instruction
2025
Launched Colorado Reads, building on over 20 years of expertise.
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From Access to Impact
While working to inspire independent readers, we saw firsthand that many children were still missing the foundational skills needed to read with skill and confidence. That insight pushed us to address a deeper challenge: helping schools create the systems, capacity, and conditions necessary for strong reading outcomes. The result is a new and comprehensive model.
Today, we are testing and refining our model across diverse school communities, codifying what works, evaluating long-term impact, and building the evidence needed to bring this work to more schools and students.
From Access to Impact
While working to inspire independent readers, we saw firsthand that many children were still missing the foundational skills needed to read with skill and confidence. That insight pushed us to address a deeper challenge: helping schools create the systems, capacity, and conditions necessary for strong reading outcomes. The result is a new and comprehensive model.
Today, we are testing and refining our model across diverse school communities, codifying what works, evaluating long-term impact, and building the evidence needed to bring this work to more schools and students.
A Legacy of Reading
Over the past 20 years:
5,328,276
books read
54,327
students served
1,554
teachers supported
50+
school partnerships
Our Team
Eileen McMahon
Executive Director
Favorite Childhood Book:
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Since the founding of Colorado Reads, Eileen has served as Executive Director, guiding our team, programs, and partnerships. She began her nonprofit career with a simple belief: every child deserves the joy of reading. Over time, her focus has grown from supporting individual readers to leading system-wide efforts that nurture literacy within schools. Eileen is grateful to work alongside dedicated educators, partners, and staff to create sustainable, student-centered programs. She is committed to building strong relationships and fostering environments where others can thrive, finding the greatest reward in the collective impact achieved together.
Gretchen Rech
Program Director
Favorite Childhood Book:
Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
Gretchen’s journey from classroom teacher to nonprofit leader shapes how she approaches literacy work today. With over 20 years in education, she empowers educators through collaborative planning and implementation. While at CHF, she worked alongside teachers across 50 schools to strengthen data-driven literacy instruction, collectively improving outcomes for 300+ educators and 10,000+ students. Her coaching-centered leadership style builds on her teaching roots, focusing on creating the conditions for educators to thrive and innovate together.
Stephanie Mackey
Program Design Manager
Favorite Childhood Book:
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O’Dell
Stephanie Mackey began her career as a classroom teacher and literacy coach, building a strong foundation in student-centered instruction and a passion for literacy. At CHF, she expanded her impact by coaching hundreds of teachers to strengthen reading instruction across elementary classrooms and using evaluation findings to drive data-informed program improvements. Now at Colorado Reads, Stephanie manages the tutor program within school partnerships, supporting effective reading interventions and driving meaningful gains in student engagement and literacy outcomes.
Kim Huelsman
Education Development Manager
Favorite Childhood Book:
Arthur’s Glasses
by Marc Brown
Kim’s passion for literacy was born in her own classroom, where she spent a decade teaching kindergarten and third grade students to discover the joy of reading. She quickly realized that the greatest impact comes from empowering the educators who spend every day with students—because when teachers thrive, that energy and expertise ripples out to transform entire classrooms. At Carmel Hill Fund from 2016 to 2025, she coached hundreds of teachers to build their capacity and confidence, creating independent reading opportunities that sparked excitement and growth for diverse learners. Now at Colorado Reads, Kim leads the Educator Development Program, supporting teachers and school leaders as they bring the science of reading and learning to life—because she believes that investing in educators is how we create lasting change for students across Colorado.
Our Vision: Creating Solutions With School Partners
Colorado Reads teams up with school partners to co-create and test solutions that demonstrate schools can close the gap. Together, we co-design strategies for how schools can use our model to turn literacy science into everyday practice within their unique school settings and among diverse students' needs.
We have two main priorities for the next three years:
Sustain high-quality, comprehensive literacy system support for 15 to 20 schools
Evaluate, improve, and codify our model for replication in other communities and contexts
2025-2026
Cohort Literacy System Partners
I’ve been a teacher and administrator in Denver Public Schools for 26 years, and I’ve never worked with an organization that’s had more impact on student outcomes as much as my work with Carmel Hill’s Colorado chapter.
Jennifer Kent
Academic Director
Beacon Network
Our goal is to call attention to the implementation gap: the reality that many schools still face challenges in translating research and policy into consistent classroom practice. At the same time, we are working to close that gap by identifying solutions, putting them into practice, and sharing what we learn with others to help address the literacy crisis in Colorado.
By focusing on implementation, we believe Colorado can move from knowing what works in literacy to ensuring it works for every child.