Sally Ryerson

Campus Director and Writing Academic Coach

Sally Ryerson was born and raised in the Vail Valley where she attended Red Sandstone Elementary and Vail Mountain School. Growing up in the mountains, she quickly discovered her love for skiing, mountain biking, and adventure. She graduated from Bates College in Lewiston Maine, where she studied Teacher Education and created her own major embedding positive psychology and sociology into education curriculums. During her time at Bates, she also raced Division 1 for the Nordic ski team and was the senior class president. 

After college, Sally taught in Denver Public Schools for 4 years. She started at a traditional middle school and soon realized she wanted to teach at a school that incorporated movement and social emotional education. Thereafter, she found herself at the Girls Athletic Leadership School of Denver where she taught Social Studies and ran the Ride For Focus cycling program, which uses biking as a tool to boost academic success. While Sally loved teaching at GALS, she wanted to be closer to the mountains and her family. 

Sally joined Zealous in 2021 as an academic coach and is now the Campus Director. She loves being able to help lead a school while still teaching. When she is in the classroom, she finds the most joy integrating writing and social-emotional education. She hopes her students leave her class feeling that they can use their writing as a tool for reflection and necessary change. Her favorite parts of Zealous are the close relationships she creates with her students and co-workers as well as freedom she has teaching and leading a school that prioritizes passion, well-being, and self actualization. Everyday she feels incredibly grateful to be working in such an inspiring space.