Board of Directors and Board of Advisors

Paul Allaire

• Former Chairman and CEO, Xerox Corporation
• Former Chairman, Ford Foundation
• Trustee Emeritus of Carnegie-Mellon University

Lorraine M. Aronson

• Former Vice President and CFO, University of Connecticut
• Director, Hartford Education Foundation • Former Connecticut Deputy Commissioner
  of Education

Dr. Philip E. Austin

• Former President, University of Connecticut
• Board Member, MetroHartford Regional Economic Alliance
• Member, Governor’s Council on Economic Competitiveness and Technology

Timothy Bannon

• President-Executive Director, Connecticut Housing Finance Authority

Andy Boas, Member, Board of Directors

• Principal, Carl Marks Management,LLC
• Director, Bridgeport Public Education Fund

Cory Booker

• Mayor, Newark, NJ
• Former Senior Fellow, Rutgers School of Public Policy and Planning
• Member, Board of Directors of the Black Alliance for Educational Options

Christopher P. Bruhl

• President and CEO, The Business Council of Fairfield County (SACIA)
• Director, Connecticut Public Broadcasting Corporation

Dr. William J. Cibes, Jr.

• Former Chancellor, Connecticut State University System
• Former Deputy Speaker and Chairman of the Finance Committee, Connecticut General Assembly
• Former Secretary, Office of Policy and Management

Joyce Critelli

• Co-Chairwoman, Children’s Agency of Norwalk
• Trustee, Norwalk Community College
• Trustee, Critelli Family Foundation

Reverend Lindsay E. Curtis

• Pastor, Grace Baptist Church, Norwalk
• Chairman, Norwalk Children’s Foundation
• President, NAACP Norwalk Branch

John M. Danielson

• President and CEO, Chartwell Education Group
• Former Chief of Staff, U.S. Department of Education • Director, Center for Education Reform
  

Jonathan T. Dawson, Member, Board of Directors

• Chairman and CEO, Dawson-Herman Capital Management
• Co-Founder, New Beginnings Family Academy

Timothy Dutton

• Director, Bridge Academy
• Former President, Connecticut Charter School Network

Dr. Howard Fuller

• Founder and Chairman, Black Alliance for Educational Options
• Former Superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools
• Board Member, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools

Robert Furek

• Director, MassMutual Financial Group
• Former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hartford Public School System

William Ginsberg

• President and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
• Director, Regional Leadership Council

Stewart Greenfield

• Founder and Former Chairman, Oak Investment Partners
• Founder and Chairman, Alternative Investment Group, LLC

Sarah Greenhill, Member, Board of Directors

• Former Vice President of Finance, Ultimate Software Group

Janice M. Gruendel, Ph.D., M.Ed.

• Co-Chair, Early Childhood Education Cabinet Member, P-16 Council and CT Youth Vision Team
• Former Deputy Commissioner, Departments of Public Health, Mental Retardation and DCF
• Former Director of Health Service, DOC

Dr. Walter Harrison

• President, University of Hartford
• Director, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges
• Director, The Hartford Consortium for Higher Education

Darrell Harvey

• Co-CEO, The Ashforth Company
• Former Chairman, The Business Council of Southwestern Connecticut (SACIA)

Will Heins, Member, Board of Directors

• Former Senior VP, Greenwich Capital Markets
• Former Member, Stamford Board of Representatives
  

Marc S. Herzog

• Chancellor, Connecticut Community College System
• Member, National Council of State Directors, American Association of Community Colleges

Duane E. Hill

• Founder and Partner Emeritus, TSG Capital Group
• Former Vice President, J.P. Morgan and Co.
• Chairman, City of Stamford CT Planning Board

Carlton L. Highsmith

• Founder, President and CEO, Specialized Packing Group
• Director, Quinnipiac University
• National Board of Directors, I Have a Dream Foundation

Ron Howard

• Co-Chairman, Imagine Entertainment
• Awarded Best Director, Directors Guild of America, “Apollo 13”
• Awarded an Oscar, Best Director, “A Beautiful Mind”

John N. Irwin III, Member, Board of Directors

• Managing Director, Brookside International
• President, Achelis and Bodman Foundation
• Treasurer, Wildlife Conservation Society

Catherine Viscardi Johnston

• Partner, Midway Communications, LLC
• Former Executive Vice President, Conde Nast Publications, Inc.
• Co-Founder and Director, Harlem Village Academy and Leadership Village Academy

Michael M. Kassen, Member, Board of Directors

• Former Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, Neuberger Berman

Jeffrey Klaus

• Regional President, Webster Bank
• Former Market President, Bank of America
• Former Education Committee Chairman, Regional Leadership Council
• Former member, Governor’s Commission on Education Finance

Kevin Knight

• Founder and President, The K Group
• Director, Cities In Schools, Norwalk

George Knox III

• Former Vice President of Corporate Affairs, Philip Morris Companies
• Director and Vice-Chairman, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute
• Trustee, African American Experience Foundation

Konrad “Chip” Kruger

• Former Co-President and Co-CEO, Greenwich Capital Markets
• Co-Founder, Five Mile Capital Partners LLC

Dr. Richard C. Levin

• President, Yale University
• Director, Hewlett Foundation
• Chairman, AllLearn, a joint venture of Yale, Oxford, and Stanford universities.

Dr. Julia M. McNamara

• President, Albertus Magnus College
• Chairwoman, Yale New Haven Health Services Corporation
• Director, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven

Len Miller

• Partner, O’Connor Davies Munns and Dobbins LLP
• Founder and Former Chairman, SoundWaters

Dr. Cheryl Norton

• President, Southern Connecticut State University

Brian Olson, Chair, Board of Directors

• Co-Founder, Viking Global Investors
• Chairman, Civic Builders

Anthony P. Rescigno

• President, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce
• Executive Director, Regional Leadership Council
• Member of the Board, New Haven Public Education Fund

Jonathan Sackler, Past Chair, Board of Directors

• Founder and Managing Director, North Bay Associates
• Director, Purdue Pharma
• Vice Chairman, Micro Credit Businesses, Inc.

Dr. Theodore Sergi

• Former Connecticut State Commissioner of Education
• President and CEO, Connecticut Center for Science and Exploration

Reverend Eric B. Smith

• Pastor, Adoni Spiritual Formation Center of New Haven
• President, New Haven Reparations Coalition
• Member of the Board, Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund

Richard Sugarman

• Founder and President, The Connecticut Forum
• Board Chairman, Connecticut Center for School Change

Allan B. Taylor

• Partner, Day Berry and Howard LLP
• Chairman, Connecticut State Board of Education
• Former Councilman, Hartford City Council

Tom Vander Ark

• Managing Director at Revolution Learning
• Former President, X PRIZE Foundation
• Former Executive Director, Gates Education Initiative
• Former Superintendent, of Schools, Federal Way, Washington State