LHA National Leadership Team

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	National Leadership Team						Click here for Bio
	Mr. Michael Ronan President and CEO *mronan@lighthouse-academies.org* Mr. Michael Ronan has provided management and consulting services to charter schools and school districts nationwide since 1997. He has been directly involved with the management of 50 charter schools including 25 start-up schools. He brings to the team a great deal of experience in urban charter school planning and development. His areas of expertise include curriculum, school leadership, finance and operations. Mr. Ronan began his career as a middle school history teacher and later served as a Director of Curriculum and Instruction and School Superintendent. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and holds a Master's degree in School Administration from that school, as well as a Master's degree in Program Planning and Evaluation from the State University of New York at Albany. Dr. Phillis Nichols-Anderson Vice President, Southern Region *pnicholsanderson@lighthouse-academies.org* Dr. Phillis Nichols-Anderson is the Vice President, Southern Region, for Lighthouse Academies. Dr. Nichols. Anderson has more than 20 years of experience in public education. She has served as a middle and high school English and journalism teacher and administrator in the Little Rock School District, District of Columbia Public Schools, Prince George's County Public Schools and Pulaski County Special School District. As an administrator, Dr. Nichols.Anderson has focused her energy on research and program development targeted to meet the needs of at risk populations. As a consultant she has provided support and training in the areas of teacher development and school reform. Dr. Nichols. Anderson earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, a Master of Education and Doctorate of Education in Education Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She holds Administrative Certification in Maryland and Arkansas and participated in Harvard University’s Charter Schools: Practices for High Performance summer institute. In honor of her work as an educator, the Chi Eta Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. awards annually the Dr. Phillis L. Nichols.Anderson Faith Based Scholarship. Return to top of page Ms. Regan Kelly Vice President, Northeast Region *rkelly@lighthouse-academies.org* Ms. Regan Kelly is the Vice President, Eastern Region, for Lighthouse Academies. Ms. Kelly most recently served as the Regional Director for this region as well as the Instructional Support Specialist on the Lighthouse Education team. Ms. Kelly has over eight years of experience in Education both in classroom teaching and in training classroom teachers. Through Teach For America, Ms. Kelly taught in an urban elementary school in Compton, CA. She then went on to work for Teach For America to enhance the curriculum and prepare teachers through designing and executing training institutes. Most recently, Ms Kelly has served as the Reading First Literacy Coach at the elementary school level in Los Angeles where she supported the teachers in implementation of Open Court reading program. Ms. Kelly has Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College at Columbia University as well as a Masters in Education from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. Return to top of page Ms. Kimberlee Sia Vice President, Midwest Region *ksia@lighthouse-academies.org* Ms. Kimberlee Sia is the Vice President, Midwest Region, for Lighthouse Academies. Ms. Sia most recently served as the Regional Director for this region. Prior to that, she served as Director of Professional Development for the Lighthouse Education Team, and before that, the Principal of West Gary Lighthouse Charter School from its opening in August 2006 until February of 2008. Ms. Sia began her teaching career as a Teach For America corps member in Newark, New Jersey where she taught 6th and 7th grade math for two years. She then taught for six years in Goleta, California, working with students in grades 1-6. Additionally, she worked on curriculum adoption as well as mathematics and literacy professional development at the district level. Ms. Sia currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Lighthouse Academies of Indiana as well as Lighthouse Academies of Arkansas. Ms. Sia has a B.A. in History and German from Northwestern University and a M.A. in Educational Leadership and Organizations from University of California, Santa Barbara. Return to top of page Mr. Robert Stearns Vice President of Finance *bstearns@lighthouse-academies.org* Mr. Robert Stearns is the Vice President of Finance of Lighthouse Academies. Mr. Stearns has served as a regional controller and a financial analyst for an education management firm. He has also been an audit and tax manager. He has overseen budgets, forecasts, monthly and year-end closings, and performed annual audits of several charter schools around the country. Mr. Stearns has acted in a fiduciary capacity with appropriations in excess of $50 million. Mr. Stearns has a Master’s degree in Taxation from Bryant University where he also attained a B.S. in Business Administration, major Accounting. Return to top of page Ms. Peggyanne Ecclesine Chief Academic Officer *pecclesine@lighthouse-academies.org* Ms. Peggyanne Ecclesine is the Chief Academic Officer for Lighthouse Academies. Ms. Ecclesine has been actively involved with the charter school movement nationally since 1996. She was a founding team member at two charter schools in Massachusetts. She was a classroom teacher, literacy coach and Regional Education Director for a charter management organization prior to joining LHA in 2003. At LHA, Ms. Ecclesine served as the Director of Talent Development and the Director of Curriculum for K-8. Ms. Ecclesine graduated from Providence College and received a Masters of Arts from Teachers College at Columbia University. Return to top of page Mr. Ron Darin Chief Information Officer *rdarin@lighthouse-academies.org* Mr. Ron Darin is the Chief Information Officer for Lighthouse Academies. Mr. Darin has more than 20 years of experience in the technology field, including over 13 years in K-12 education. Recently, Ron served as a Project Manager for the Orange County Public Schools in Florida where he managed a $12M Student information System Project supporting both staff and parent users. Prior to that, Ron served as the Director of Information Technology for Monroe Local Schools in Ohio, and as CIO for Summit Academy Schools in Michigan. In both of these roles, he designed, implemented, and managed all information systems and infrastructure for the organization. Ron has a B.S. in Computer Science from University of Michigan Ann Arbor. Return to top of page Ms. Tess Mitchner Asinjo Director of Recruitment *tmitchnerasinjo@lighthouse-academies.org* Ms. Tess Mitchner Asinjo is the Director of Recruitment for Lighthouse Academies. Ms. Mitchner Asinjo was the founding Principal at East Chicago Lighthouse Charter School where she served as the leader for the last three years. She came to Lighthouse Academies from Teach for America, as the Program Director in Chicago, IL. At TFA, she trained and supported over 200 public school teachers, while developing programs and workshops. Ms. Mitchner Asinjo also has experience teaching at charter schools in Illinois and California. Ms. Mitchner Asinjo received her Masters of Education in Educational Leadership at DePaul University in Chicago, IL, and her BA from Mount Holyoke College in MA. She received her Elementary Multiple Subject Credential with Cross-Cultural Language Acquisition Development Emphasis from San Francisco State University and attended the School for International Training in South Africa. Return to top of page Ms. Cheryl Bates National Office Manager *cbates@lighthouse-academies.org* Ms. Cheryl Bates has more than fifteen years of experience in office management. In her previous organization, she ran multiple offices with approximately twelve associates reporting to her. As the National Office Manager, Ms. Bates services the schools by supporting the office managers, managing the logistics for the network professional development summit, and arranging travel for school personnel. Ms. Bates holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Assumption College. Return to top of page						Michael Ronan President and CEO Dr. Phillis Nichols Anderson Vice President, Southern Region Regan Kelly Vice President, Northeast Region Kimberlee Sia Vice President, Midwest Region Robert Stearns Vice President of Finance Peggyanne Ecclesine Chief Academic Officer Ron Darin Chief Information Officer Tess Mitchner Asinjo Director of Recruitment Cheryl Bates National Office Manager


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