When Damion LeeNatali was growing up in Denver, there were "huge, huge achievement gaps," he said, even within his own public high school. He became a Teach For America (TFA) corps member after he graduated from the University of Arizona to be part of the solution.

LeeNatali taught at an alternative high school, which served students who had struggled in traditional environments. He said he found that all of his students were able to do the work — but the school was lacking resources. He came to believe that Colorado's public policies needed to be improved.

He enrolled in law school at the University of Colorado and also worked for State Senator Mike Johnston, becoming his chief of staff. Together, they worked on reforming education policy — from teacher tenure laws to early literacy programs to school funding policy.

Two months ago, LeeNatali returned to TFA, now serving as the executive director for Colorado. In his new position, he hopes he will help to prepare corps members to take on leadership roles in the education, social, and business sectors.

"Teach for America gave me purpose," he said. "I knew I wanted to work in education. I didn't know how, and TFA illuminated the path."