Embedded Files
Co-Directors
Elaine Bonds
Elaine Bonds
After growing up in New England, Elaine moved to Aspen in 1981 and raised her two daughters here along with her husband, Michael.
After growing up in New England, Elaine moved to Aspen in 1981 and raised her two daughters here along with her husband, Michael.
In college, she received an associate's degree in early childhood education and a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Elaine then earned a master's degree in Special Education. She taught elementary school for 10 years - both at Aspen Elementary School and Aspen Community School - and worked in preschools for several years. After many decades of working with children on an individual basis, Elaine is currently still employed as a private tutor.
In college, she received an associate's degree in early childhood education and a bachelor's degree in elementary education. Elaine then earned a master's degree in Special Education. She taught elementary school for 10 years - both at Aspen Elementary School and Aspen Community School - and worked in preschools for several years. After many decades of working with children on an individual basis, Elaine is currently still employed as a private tutor.
Elaine was the Director of Youth Education at Aspen Chapel for 20 years, and during her tenure there, Mimi and Elaine developed the Connect! Program. She is trained in the MindUp Program as well as SEE Learning (Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning) through Emory University.
Elaine was the Director of Youth Education at Aspen Chapel for 20 years, and during her tenure there, Mimi and Elaine developed the Connect! Program. She is trained in the MindUp Program as well as SEE Learning (Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning) through Emory University.
Elaine serves on the steering committees for both Holiday Baskets and the Pitkin County Housing Stability Coalition.
Elaine serves on the steering committees for both Holiday Baskets and the Pitkin County Housing Stability Coalition.
Elaine is grateful to be part of the Connect! Program. She loves working with Mimi, the other teachers and all the families who are involved in Connect!
Elaine is grateful to be part of the Connect! Program. She loves working with Mimi, the other teachers and all the families who are involved in Connect!
Mimi Hauenstein
Mimi Hauenstein
Mimi is a long time Aspen resident. She came to Aspen in 1977 to teach at the Aspen Montessori School. She is an International Montessori Association certified primary teacher. During those early years she met her husband, Ward, on the Bell Mt. Chairlift. They have two daughters who graduated from the Aspen Montessori School!
Mimi is a long time Aspen resident. She came to Aspen in 1977 to teach at the Aspen Montessori School. She is an International Montessori Association certified primary teacher. During those early years she met her husband, Ward, on the Bell Mt. Chairlift. They have two daughters who graduated from the Aspen Montessori School!
After leaving Montessori, Mimi received her teacher certification and taught at Aspen Elementary School (AES) for 20 years. During that time, she earned a master's degree in Curriculum and Assessment and wrote her thesis on social/emotional intelligence and resiliency. Mimi also has extensive training in contemplative practices.
After leaving Montessori, Mimi received her teacher certification and taught at Aspen Elementary School (AES) for 20 years. During that time, she earned a master's degree in Curriculum and Assessment and wrote her thesis on social/emotional intelligence and resiliency. Mimi also has extensive training in contemplative practices.
After retiring in 2012, Mimi helped initiate the MindUp Program at AES and continues to substitute at the school. She was trained in SEE Learning (Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning) in 2017 and with Elaine Bonds, brought a combination of MindUp and SEE Learning to the after school program at Aspen Chapel.
After retiring in 2012, Mimi helped initiate the MindUp Program at AES and continues to substitute at the school. She was trained in SEE Learning (Social, Emotional and Ethical Learning) in 2017 and with Elaine Bonds, brought a combination of MindUp and SEE Learning to the after school program at Aspen Chapel.
Mimi is a member of the Kids First Advisory Board. As the oldest girl in a family of 6, the mother of two daughters who grew up in Aspen, a grandmother, and an educator, children have always been a major part of her life. Mimi's intention is to support the social, emotional and ethical well being of children in the Roaring Fork Valley. Mimi feels honored to be working with Elaine, the other teachers, the board, and, of course, the children!
Mimi is a member of the Kids First Advisory Board. As the oldest girl in a family of 6, the mother of two daughters who grew up in Aspen, a grandmother, and an educator, children have always been a major part of her life. Mimi's intention is to support the social, emotional and ethical well being of children in the Roaring Fork Valley. Mimi feels honored to be working with Elaine, the other teachers, the board, and, of course, the children!
Board of Directors
Betsy Ann Anastas
Betsy Ann Anastas has lived in Aspen for over 40 years working with the Aspen School District as an elementary school educator and administrator. Betsy’s husband Charlie, is a retired educator and administrator who taught at Aspen Country Day School and Aspen High School. Her two children were raised in the Roaring Fork Valley and are Aspen High School alumni.
While team-teaching kindergarten through fourth grade with Mimi Hauenstein, she co-authored numerous integrated units of study with a focus on critical and creative thinking skills and an emphasis on social/emotional strategies and resiliency. Their belief was and still is that children need to develop their social/emotional intelligence along with the ability to be resilient in challenging times in order to access effective thinking skills.
Betsy currently serves as Vice President of Aspen Sister Cities, participates as a Roaring Fork Valley Storyteller and takes pleasure in being a part of the Connect! Board. She wholeheartedly supports Connect! and the possibilities the program offers to children. Society needs future citizens with balanced social/emotional skills that can solve problems and make decisions while being resilient when faced with diversity.
Ward Hauenstein
Ward is a 45 year resident of Aspen. He has been married to the co-director of Connect! for over four decades. Ward is in his second term as a member of the city council of Aspen where he serves as Mayor pro tem. He enjoys outdoor recreation, bicycling in the summer and skiing in the winter. Mimi's interest in early childhood development infected her husband many years ago. During the first nine years in Aspen he worked in the ski retail business with Sabbatini Sport. He started the bicycle shop at Sabbatins's and witnessed the birth of mountain bikes. In 1986 he started a computer IT business.
Ward is an enthusiastic supporter of the Connect! program. He often expresses his pride in the program to anyone who will listen.
Donna Ward
I have been fortunate to be able to spend much of my life working with children, teaching elementary school for twenty-five years in New York, Illinois, and right here at Aspen Elementary. I also had an “encore career” for twelve years as a Childcare Consultant for the Department of Human Services in Garfield County. I worked with preschools and mothers who were licensed to provide childcare in their homes.
I am currently a board member of Great Expectations (formerly The Family Visitor Program), a Roaring Fork Valley Spellbinder (Storyteller) and a committee member of the Pitkin County Housing Sustainability Coalition.
At Aspen Elementary School I was indeed lucky to team with Elaine and be a colleague with Mimi. The program, Connect!, they have developed is a valuable resource for our Roaring Fork Valley community. It helps us fulfill our responsibility to provide our children with the tools they need to lead productive and compassionate lives. With the challenges of today’s world, it is a gift to be involved with a program that makes a real difference. Children with the experience from Connect! will meet the world with confidence, understanding and compassion.
And, I am a grateful parent of Derek, and grandparent of two boys, Kai and Asher.
Mandy Welgos
I was first introduced to Connect a few years ago when my first daughter was in Kindergarten. It was presented to me as a class after school run by the most amazing, kind and caring women in the world. I quickly found out that was very true…plus so much more. Besides the incredible women who run this program, Connect teaches something that is very much needed in the world. There’s nothing more important than young people learning the significance of kindness, gratitude and compassion. These women teach self regulation and awareness, empathy for humans and animals and an understanding that we’re part of a bigger world than just ourselves.
As parents we are always trying to search and read and figure out how to teach our children to give back, be kind, be empathetic…It’s hard when we have so many other things on our plate. Connect and the women who run it teach it SO well and it’s such an incredibly loving and kind place for my children to be once a week.
This program is THE EARLY PREVENTION for mental health issues. Period.
Our Staff
Barbara Bloemsma
Barbara Bloemsma
I am delighted and grateful to be teaching Connect!
I moved to Aspen in 1981 as a teenager. Even after all these years, I feel the grace of the mountains and am in awe of the splendor of nature- every single day. I love the sense of community in our little valley. Living here, surrounded by very tall metamorphic rocks, we are connected (pun intended :) both physically and energetically.
I started teaching Connect!’s predecessor, Tuesday School, in 1991. The program has evolved from Christian Education to progressive Christianity to Inter-Faith to Inter-Spirituality to the current secular, ALL-inclusive program. I have been very fortunate to participate in many, many trainings, including MindUP and Social, Emotional and Ethical (SEE) Learning. Sharing these wisdom practices with your darlings is one of the truest joys in my life. And gaining deeper understanding of the wisdom- as taught by your children- is one of the truest gifts in my life.
It is also a gift to work with Elaine and Mimi and all of the other Connect! teachers. We are truly a co-operative in every best sense of the word.
Thank you for entrusting us, thank you for supporting us, and thank you most of all for sharing your fresh, pure, energetic sages with us. It is an honor.
Steven Crooke
Hi, I'm Steven Crooke. I have been a Social Worker for 6 years and 3 of them in the school system specifically.
My wife, Brittany and I moved here from Kansas City with our 2 pets Addie and Tilley, a dog and a cat.
I have enjoyed working with Connect! and love their curriculum for the kiddos.
Carolyn Fields
(Cici)
I am a happy grandmother who loves to ski, hike, paint watercolors, and teach kids.
In fact, I come from a family of teachers. My husband, Andy Popinchalk, taught school for 45 years (32 at Aspen High School), both my kids are currently teaching in the valley, and I have retired after teaching kindergarten and first grade at Aspen Elementary for 30 years.
I’m proud to be a part of the Connect team. It’s a remarkable and important program. Believe me, each week I learn as much or more than the kids.
Heather Rydell
Heather is married with three grown children. She enjoys all types of skiing; hiking; music; reading and learning something new.
In college, she majored in Education and Psychology because she finds people endlessly interesting. Heather is director qualified in Pre-K and is a certified teacher for K-6 grade.
She had a wonderful experience with Connect! for the last two years. Heather is looking forward to meeting more special children and their parents.
Our Story
The Connect! program, which was administered through Aspen Chapel, was discontinued due to lack of funds in October of 2020. Aspen Chapel received a grant from Pitkin County in early 2021 and approached Mimi and Elaine to restart the program and use the grant as seed money. As a result of this transition, Mimi and Elaine were responsible for administrating the program, hiring teachers, advertising, writing grants, and raising the money to keep the program sustainable. Connect! functioned for the 2021-2022 school year as an independent program with a separate bank account, but was under the umbrella of Aspen Chapel's 501c3.
Mimi and Elaine launched a restart of the Connect! program in September of 2021 with an enrollment of 43 students and a wait list. This positive response from parents, students and teachers reinforced the importance of providing social/emotional programs for children in our valley, especially in light of the pandemic. In response to this need, Mimi and Elaine explored ways to expand Connect! to include more families in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Connect! is now its very own 501c3 as a result of this quest to be sustainable and expand. The program is registered as Kids Connect, Inc DBA Connect!. This non-profit status allowed Connect! to partner with the Aspen Elementary School to use three classrooms after school and run the program there two days a week. Children can choose to come either on Tuesdays or Thursdays. More families now have the opportunity to become involved in the Connect! program.
Setting up a non-profit has been a learning experience for two educators and Mimi and Elaine are so appreciative of the myriad of community members/volunteers who have helped and encouraged them- lawyers, bankers, Connect! board members, Aspen Chapel staff and board, teachers, school administrators, technology experts, designers, friends, and donors.
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