Stephanie Belmarez is HCA’s Registrar. Mrs. Belmarez has been working at Heritage since 2005. Before working as the Registrar, she was a Substitute Teacher for two years and the Administrative Assistant for nine. Mrs. Belmarez loves to spend time with her family, knit, crochet, craft, and read.
Paige Taylor is HCA’s Athletic Assistant. Paige is a Fort Collins native and attended Heritage from 1997-2006. With a strong biblical foundation in place, she went on to graduate from Rocky Mountain High School in 2010. Athletics has always been a passion of Paige’s. With two older brothers and a younger sister, her family was always on the baseball field or the basketball court. She enjoyed traveling as a family for competitive sports, and the relationships that they built with teammates and their families.
Paige was an Assistant Girls’ Basketball Coach at HCA from 2011-2015. Paige graduated from Colorado State University in 2014 with her Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies. She spent many years teaching for CSU’s Child Development Center, where she developed a passion for teaching and supporting families in their child’s education and development. Upon graduating from CSU, Paige went on to receive her Masters in the Art of Teaching from the University of Nothern Colorado, in addition to her Elementary Teaching Licensure in 2015. Paige completed her Student Teaching in the 4th grade classroom at HCA in 2015.
After graduating, she married her husband Anthony, an Officer in the Marine Corps, in July 2015. Paige and Anthony moved to Florida the day after their wedding for Anthony’s military job training, and then were stationed in North Carolina where her husband worked at an Attack Helicopter squadron from 2015-2019. Paige taught 2nd grade at Grace Classical School and led Running Club for students, in Jacksonville, NC, during their founding year in 2016. Paige loved being part of such a tight knit community, where she could come alongside and support fellow military families in a Christian environment. The following year, Paige taught part time kindergarten, 4th/5th grade Literature, 4th/5th Grammar, and k-3rd Art History. Paige served on the Board of Directors at Grace Classical from 2017-2019 and was the Lead Teacher Supervisor for k-3 teachers from 2018-2020.
Paige’s husband left active duty and transitioned his service into the Marine Corps Reserves in April 2019. They moved back to Fort Collins, where Anthony began working for his family business, Fort Collins Heating and Air. Paige and Anthony have three young boys, Callen, Beckett, and Mack, who keep them busy and well educated in all thing’s trucks and cars. They love to go fishing, watch sports, visit military friends in new duty stations, and spend time with family. Paige returned to coaching at HCA in 2022. She served as the Head Coach for Middle School Girls Basketball from 2022-2024, and JV/Assistant Varsity High School from 2022- present.
Cindy Ridge works as the receptionist for HCA. She has been working in education since 2015. Her favorite part of the job is meeting and interacting with our students and parents.
Hilary Swiers is HCA’s front office support. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Denison University and a Master of Social Work from the University of Denver. She has worked as a Social Worker at the Veterans Administration Hospital, as a Librarian at the Wellington Public Library, and as a substitute teacher for HCA. She loves spending time with family and friends, reading, talking about books, and gardening.
Her favorite verse is 2 Corinthians 1:3-7: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort.”s front office support.
Kara Johnson is one of HCA’s Elementary Paraprofessionals. Kara graduated from the University of Northern Colorado in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Sport & Exercise Science with K-12 teacher licensure. After college, she and her husband moved to Washington state for several years, where she worked on gaining more teaching experience by substitute teaching full-time in a variety of schools and with various age groups. After moving back to Colorado in 2016, she and her husband started their family, and she took a break from teaching. She operated a home childcare business while her kids were little so that she could stay home with them. In the fall of 2023, God led her back to subbing, which then led to a position at DCA teaching elementary STEM. God opened doors for her family that led them to Heritage, and she is excited to become part of the Heritage family- her Kindergartener and 2nd grader will start this year! Kara lives in Loveland with her husband and four children, 2 cats, and 4 chickens. She loves sunshine, gardening, and spending time with her family!
Kristen Stele is one of HCA’s Paraprofessionals. Kristen graduated from Whittier Christian High School and attended Mt. San Antonio College in Southern California, where she grew up. She has been a paraprofessional since 2007, starting at Saddleback Valley Christian School and moving into the Poudre School District in 2016 when her family moved to Colorado. She has been married since 1995 and they have 2 sons, both alumni of Heritage Christian Academy. She enjoys spending time with her husband, crafting/painting, and walking their 2 dogs. She loves Heritage Christian Academy because of the accepting, welcoming atmosphere. From the moment you walk through the doors, you feel a sense of being in God’s presence. Her favorite Bible verse is Phil. 4:13…I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Mr. Weant is HCA’s Maintenance and Custodial Manager. He also teaches Tech Lab and is on the School Board. Mr. Weant graduated from the University of Wyoming with a BS in Business Administration. He has 25 years experience as a business owner/manager, Systems Engineer and QA Test Engineer. He enjoys spending time as an amateur extra radio operator and hobby electronics builder. Robert married Gaylyn Riley in 1984 and they have three children, Katie, Michael, and Emily.
Monica Sheppard is the Kitchen Coordinator, Aftercare Coordinator, as well as HCA’s Librarian. She attended Colorado State University, worked at a daycare, and trained under a pastry chef! Mrs. Sheppard started working in the food service industry at the age of 14, has worked with children her whole life, and has been a part of Heritage since 2002. In her free time, she is passionate about hosting and participating in Bible studies. Her favorite part of working at HCA is getting to know the students better, and being able to pray with them!
HCA’s After Care Attendant is Kaleen Thetford. Kaleena graduated with an Associate of Arts degree with a music concentration from Front Range Community College in May 2022. She also received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education in May 2024 and is scheduled to graduate in May 2026 with a master’s degree in curriculum design and instruction from Colorado Christian University. She has worked as a substitute teacher for Heritage Christian Academy and as a K-4 elementary tutor at Huntington Learning Center since August 2024. Kaleena has an older brother and sister, and she loves spending quality family time with them and her parents. She enjoys playing video games with her brother, learning how to paint, and studying astronomy. Her favorite things about Heritage are the opportunities to spread the love of God to children and to see their wonder and joy at learning about His amazing creation.
2 Timothy 4:8 – “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Pam Dysert works in the kitchen at HCA. She has an associates degree in liberal arts from Front Range Community College. She has been working for Heritage since 2022. She has one student who attends school at Heritage and 2 older kids who enjoy playing sports for Heritage. Her hobbies and passions are cooking, reading, media ministry and women’s ministry. She loves Heritage for the family atmosphere, not only with other parents and students, but within the faculty as well.
