Good day, CharterFolk.
Today it is our pleasure to share with you our fifth edition of “CharterFolk on the Move,” an update provided by Mollie Mitchell, the President and Founder of The K12 Search Group, about CharterFolk taking on new positions of leadership within the movement.
We provide a bio for Mollie below.
Mollie Mitchell is the President and Founder of The K12 Search Group, a national executive search firm focusing on charter schools and nonprofit organizations committed to improving educational outcomes for underserved communities. The K12 Search Group’s mission is to help these organizations have a greater impact by recruiting outstanding talent for C-level positions.
Since creating The K12 Search Group in 2007, Mollie has worked with over 100 high-performing charter school operators and education nonprofits nationwide to recruit executive talent.
Before founding The K12 Search Group, Mollie served over five years as Senior Director of Recruitment at The Broad Center, a nonprofit organization created by businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad to recruit leaders from multiple sectors into senior-level positions in urban school systems and charter management organizations.
Mollie started her career in executive search at Heidrick & Struggles International, a leading global executive search firm, where she executed high-level searches across several industries.
Mollie holds a BA from Brigham Young University and an MA from Marymount University. She is a dedicated advocate for education reform and has served on three charter school boards. She lives most of the year in Austin, TX but enjoys spending the summer months in Colorado and Santa Fe, NM.
CharterFolk on the Move Volume 5 – January 2025
Please join me in congratulating the following CharterFolk on their recent transitions!
Matt Ochoa joined RePublic Schools as Chief Financial Officer. He was previously Director of Finance at Summit Public Schools.
Elizabeth Fiveash was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Tennessee Charter School Center. She was previously Chief Policy Officer at the same organization.
Michael Gordon-Smith is now Chief Executive Officer at EDUPRIZE Schools. He joined EDUPRIZE from American Leadership Academy, where he was Executive Director.
Sarper Tucker is now Superintendent at Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools. He was previously Assistant Superintendent at the same organization.
Julia MacMillan Franklin has joined Nurses Middle College Capital Region as Executive Director. She joined the organization from KIPP Capital Region Public Schools, where she was the Managing Director, Schools.
Saskia Brown is now the Superintendent of Harlem Children’s Zone. She previously served as Deputy Superintendent at the same organization.
Michael Lipphardt joined Global Preparatory Academy as Chief Operating Officer. He previously served as Vice President of Organizational Strategy Execution at Project Lead the Way.
Drew Martin is now Chief Executive Officer at Thrive Scholars. He joined Thrive from KIPP New Jersey, where he was Executive Director.
Erin Slezak Scire joined IDEA Public Schools as Vice President of Growth. She was previously Deputy Chief of Advancement at KIPP Texas Public Schools.
Adam Miller is now the National Executive Director of IPS at IDEA Public Schools. He rejoined IDEA after an 18-month absence. His last role at IDEA was as Executive Director of IDEA Florida.
Nisha Vasavada is now Chief Academic Officer at Meeting Street Schools. She was previously Director of Instruction at Attuned Education Partners.
Maria Pilar Dyslin was promoted to Chief Academic Officer at One City Schools. She was most recently Executive Director of K-8 Schools at the same organization.
Yvonne Williams joined Achievement First as Managing Director, Strategy and Special Projects. She was previously Regional Director of Operations at the same organization.
Candice Lamarche is now Assistant Superintendent of Business Services at the California Montessori Project. She previously worked as an independent consultant.
Brenda Cora was named Chief Executive Officer of Noble Schools. She joined Noble in 2007 as Dean of Students and was most recently the Chief Schools Officer.
Kanika Burks has joined Howard Fuller Collegiate Academy as Chief Schools Officer. She previously served as Principal at Milwaukee College Prep.
Marvetta Thompson is now Chief of Staff at The Accelerated Schools. She was previously Data and Intervention Coordinator at the same organization.
Mairin “Mo” Finn is now the Chief Schools Officer at The Accelerated Schools.She joined Accelerated from Partnership for LA Schools, where she was the Director of School Transformation, Secondary Literacy.
Chris Korsmo was named Executive Director of the Washington State Charter Schools Association (WA Charters).Chris co-founded Copper Strategic and has served on the board of WA Charters since 2013.
Michelle Gieg is now Chief Operating Officer and Chief of Staff at Democracy Prep Public Schools. She previously served as the interim COO at the same organization.
Ayanna Yasmin Thomas is the new General Counsel at Democracy Prep Public Schools.She joins Democracy Prep from the law firm Bond, Schoeneck & King, where she was a Partner.
Joy Griffin is the founding Colorado Executive Director of Pacific Charter School Development. She was previously an independent consultant.
Eric Dailey is the new Executive Director of Rocketship Tennessee. He joins Rocketship from TNTP, where he was a Managing Partner.
Zakiya Sackor has been named the permanent Executive Director of Rocketship DC. She previously served as interim ED and was a member of the board of directors.
Dayna Sanders joined KIPP Kansas City as Executive Director. She was previously a self-employed consultant.
John M. Edwards is now Chief People & Strategy Officer at KIPP Kansas City. He was previously Interim Executive Director at The Vallejo Project.
Zach Trotsky is now Chief Operating Officer at KIPP Massachusetts. He joined KIPP MA in 2015 as an operations manager.
Susan Toth is now the Superintendent of KIPP DC.She previously worked as the superintendent of Schools at the same organization.
Ali Jaffrey is the inaugural Chief Advancement Officer at KIPP Jacksonville. He was previously Executive Director of Philanthropy at Nemours Children’s Health.
