Mary Duran

Mary K. Duran is the Lead Education Officer for RISE Colorado.  With 32 years of experience in education and community advocacy, she continues to serve in refugee, low-income communities and communities of color.  As a long-time educator, working in a variety of roles, Mary continues to teach and lead with an asset and equity focused lens to ensure all educators teaching our students have the mindsets and awareness to provide equitable learning experiences and opportunities for all students, but especially our diverse student body so they develop the skills and knowledge to be successful.

Prior to joining RISE, Mary was the Principal of an elementary school in Aurora Public Schools, which is one of Colorado’s largest and most diverse school districts, with students coming from more than 130 countries and speaking over 160 different languages.  Mary spent her entire career serving the students of Aurora.  She began serving students in APS as a Sign Language Interpreter working with deaf high school students.  Her work in APS led to her becoming a teacher, a literacy coach, an assistant principal and principal.  She holds a BA in
Elementary Education from Metropolitan State College of Denver, and her post graduate degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix.  Mary received her administration certification from the University of Denver.

Mary is a 6th generation Colorado native.  Mary and her husband, James, met in high school and are the proud parents of two sons and grandparents of a grandson and twin granddaughters.  In her free time, Mary likes to travel, read, watch movies, attend concerts, and spend time with family and friends.