Our Staff 

Cathy Diaz - Co-Director, Advisor & Science Specialist

Cathy Diaz grew up in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania and went to college at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA. At Dickinson, she received a BS in Biology and her Teaching Certification, both in 1997. She earned her master's in Experiential Education through Minnesota State University, Mankato. After college, Cathy taught for one year in Australia, two years in Environmental Education at Camp St. Croix, and for five years at El Colegio Charter School. She is also a member of EdVisions Cooperative.

EOC is important to Cathy because she believes in school choice in Minnesota, so students and parents can find a school that best serves them. Cathy decided to join EOC to take her love of project based learning and see if an online project based school could be developed.  Cathy enjoys helping students successfully complete projects that are important to them and get them excited about learning. She feels that it is a great way for students to get involved in their communities and find out areas of interest that might never have crossed their minds.

In her spare time, Cathy enjoys training service dogs, logrolling, and scuba diving.

Chris Lepper - Advisor & Social Studies Specialist

Chris has his degree in Social Studies from St. Cloud State. He brings experience from the traditional, ALC and charter worlds. Chris participated in the Jobs for America's Graduates Program. Chris has two kids and lives on the boarder in Wisconsin.

When not teaching, you can find Chris volunteering in the community or coaching hockey.

 Gigi Dobosenski - Co-Director, Advisor & Science Specialist
Gigi Dobosenski grew up in Duluth, MN. She received a BA in Music and Biology from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1998. Gigi then went on to receive her MAT in Life Science and Administrative license from Mankato State. Gigi will be completing her doctorate in educational leadership in December 2010. She also belongs to the National Science Teachers Association, Minnesota Association of Secondary School Principals and is a member of the Minnesota Online Learning Advisory Council.

Gigi was one of the first advisors at the EdVisions Off-Campus. She loves working for EOC because she feels that students learn in so many different ways, and it is great to give them options. Gigi believes that it is also good for teachers to expand their horizons and challenge themselves with new ideas. She feels that the EOC will continue to bring her new challenges and fresh ideas.

Gigi currently lives in St. Peter with her husband, Matt, along with her sons Gavin and Garek. When not at school, Gigi enjoys gardening, swimming, scrapbooking, biking, camping, and fishing. She also enjoys traveling with students and with her family.

Karen Locke - Special Education & Music Specialist
Karen lives in Bloomington. She has a BS in Music Education and Music Therapy and an MA in Special Education. She is a past president of the Minnesota Council for Learning Disabilities and was listed in “Who’s Who in American Education." She has used project-based learning for 8 years, teaching at Minnesota New Country School and at EOC. She has also taught in St. Paul schools, homeschooled, done individual tutoring, and started a democratic homeschool group. Her hobbies are reading, playing piano, flute and guitar, swimming, and going on walks.

She likes EOC because it can suit so many different student needs and learning styles.  Students can learn more about things they are interested in, get credit for community activities, and discover that they are "gifted" in ways they never thought schools would recognize.  She likes going on fun field trips, in addition to helping students with special needs live up to their potential.

Larry Schmidt - Advisor & Language Arts Specialist

Larry grew up in Appleton, WI and has lived in Chicago, San Francisco, and now Minneapolis. When he was in junior high school he attended a project-based alternative school where he found out that he loved science, poetry, film making, Greek mythology, the history of the voyageurs, and a whole lot of other stuff.

Larry has a BA in English from Northwestern University, an MS in Curriculum and Instruction from Capella University (an online school) and spent two years as a creative writing fellow at Stanford University. Prior to joining EOCHS, Larry taught for sixteen years at a high school for students recovering from drug addiction and alcoholism.

Larry is very happy to join EdVisions Off Campus because he enjoyed project-based learning so much himself. He feels that his own experience in his project-based junior high school was where he learned how to learn. In his spare time Larry likes to garden, cycle, make videos, and go to the dog park.

Lill Raynard - Advisor, Special Education & Physical Education Specialist

Lill was born and raised in Clifford, Ontario, a small town west of Toronto.  Lill attended Bemidji State University where she received her B.S. in Physical Education and minored in Exercise Science.  Lill received her M.S. in Special Education from St. Cloud State University.  Lill has worked in both traditional and non-traditional education environments.  She is excited for the opportunity to work in a project-based learning community.  Lill currently lives in South Minneapolis with her husband, 3 dogs and 2 cats.  In her spare time, Lill spends time with her animals, plays hockey and runs long distance races.

Megan Bluma - Advisor & Art Specialist

Megan Bluma is originally from Wisconsin. She received a BS in Art Education at the University of Wisconsin in 2004 and spent her last semester traveling through New Zealand and Australia. After two years as a high school art teacher in Wisconsin, she moved to Japan to be an English teacher and study Japanese art and culture.

The most rewarding part of being an EOC advisor for Megan is nurturing student independence and using students' interests as a springboard to make learning meaningful. She enjoys learning from the students and their projects and is pleased to be part of a school environment that values students pursuing their passions.

She spends her free time traveling, painting, reading, running, fostering animals, taking photos, and spending time with family.

Mike Motzko - Advisor, Special Education & Business Specialist

Mike Motzko is a graduate of the University of St. Thomas in Business Management and in Special Education (K-12) with a certificate in Autism. A lifelong resident of the Twin Cities, Mike has worked in both the traditional world of education, as well at one other charter school. Before becoming a teacher, he had a long career in Business Management.

In his spare time, you can find Mike playing or coaching football, basketball and baseball.

Patty Monson Geerts - Advisor & Foreign Language Specialist

Patty was born in Stanley, ND, but grew up in California.  She received degrees in French and Economics from the University of California and did graduate studies in French Linguistics at Indiana University.  She fell in love with all things French when she spent her junior year of college in Montpellier, France and then studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and taught English at the Université de Pau.

Patty has taught at all levels, from pre-school to college, in both traditional and non-traditional settings.  She also spent 3 years homeschooling her two daughters, one of whom is an EdVisions student.  She is passionate about the transformational potential of project- based learning and believes that allowing students a major share in their own education will create life-long learners.

In her spare time, Patty loves to spend time with her family in the woods north of Duluth, where she and her husband built a log home.  She also enjoys cooking, gardening, birding, reading, traveling, X-country skiing and living with two dogs, one fish and two guinea pigs!