An East Coast native, Mrs. Bonessi has taught in three different states since begin her career in education during the 2000-2001 school year. She started her career in Virginia teaching middle school English and history before moving to Connecticut and Arizona where she finally landed in the Agua Fria Union District in 2006. For 7 years, she taught English and journalism at Millennium High School, but became a Viper in 2014 to assume the position of Instructional Coach. She currently serves as an assistant principal and loves every minute of it. Mrs. Bonessi received her undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech in Journalism and Mass Communications and her master’s in Educational Administration from Argosy University. Working with teachers and helping students become their best is a daily reminder of her passion for education.

Mr. Lees is originally from the Bay Area of California but has also lived in Portland, Oregon. His family moved to Flagstaff, Arizona while in high school, and he has lived in Arizona ever since. He graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A. in Secondary Education History and received his M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from the University of West Florida. He taught Advanced Placement U.S. History and U.S. and World History for 12 years. He was also at various times the student body government sponsor, National Honor Society co-sponsor, social studies department chair, as well as a basketball and soccer coach. He was also a Teacher on Special Assignment for the past couple of years. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and two daughters. He enjoys building relationships with students and staff and is proud to be part of the Verrado family. One Verrado!  

Raised in Denver, Colorado until the age of 9, Mr. Butler moved to Eugene, Oregon until his sophomore year of high school but ultimately moved to the Phoenix area to finish high school. Mr. Butler was always involved in sports growing up, specifically playing football, basketball, and baseball. Mr. Butler has been in education since 1997 and was formerly a social studies and CTE teacher. Additionally, Mr. Butler was a head basketball coach for 17 years and coached multiple sports throughout his career. Currently, Mr. Butler enjoys the fairways and greens of the many golf courses in the Valley of the Sun. Mr. Butler relishes the opportunity to challenge students to be creative and think outside the box during their education experience and is a strong supporter of project based learning. Mr. Butler looks forward to his return at Verrado and is proud to embrace the Viper Spirit! One Verrado!