About Us

Board of Trustees
   
John Casais: John is currently a partner in the Debt Finance and Capital Markets group of the law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP. He previously served as an associate, and then a partner, with Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP. Prior to that, he was associated with the New York office of Shearman & Sterling LLP.

Rebecca Cass: Rebecca is currently the Director of National Activities for the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. She previously served as the Director of Charter School Research and Finance with the Massachusetts Department of Education.

Debra Cave: A life-long resident of East Boston, Debra is currently the Program Director for City Roots Alternative High School, a program that serves at-risk high school students in Boston. In addition, Debra is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Massachusetts - Boston and is President of the East Boston Social Centers Board of Directors.
 

Chris DeLorey: Chris is an independent insurance broker and President of Financial Services at Telamon Insurance and Financial Network in Newton. He is a past President of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters and active in the healthcare reform process in Massachusetts.  

Israel Lopez (Treasurer): Israel is currently a Senior Vice President in the Commercial Real Estate Banking division of Bank of America. He has served as a Board member of the bank's Commercial Diversity Leadership Team and its Commercial Banking Executive Council. Israel is also the Founder and former President of the Boston Chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs.
 
Jordan Meranus: Jordan is currently a Partner at NewSchools Venture Fund, a venture philanthropy firm that makes investments in organizations serving K-12 public education. Previously, Jordan served as a Managing Director at Imagitas, a company that provides services to government agencies and also co-founded Jumpstart, a nonprofit organization that provides intensive individual attention to low-income preschool children.

Stephen Mugford: Steve is the current Executive Vice President, Head of Strategy at Capital One Financial Corporation. Prior to joining Capital One, Steve worked with the Boston Consulting Group where he led consulting engagements with Fortune 500 clients in a variety of industries. Steve is a resident of Wellesley.
 
Susan Passoni: A life-long research analyst, Susan began her career at Goldman Sachs and worked her way to the Managing Director level in the technology departments of SG Cowen, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and Credit Suisse First Boston. In 2005, Susan ran for Boston City Council.
 
Seth Reynolds: Seth is currently a Senior Principal at the Parthenon Group, a strategy consulting firm, where he advises clients across a variety of industries including education. Seth started his career as a bilingual teacher through the Teach For America program.

Juan Rivera: Juan is a Partner and Managing Director in the Boston office of Simon-Kucher and Partners, a strategy and marketing consulting firm, where he specializes in pricing, reimbursement and new product planning in the life sciences.

José Rodriguez-Villalobos: José Rodriguez-Villalobos is a Director of Credit Suisse Private Bank in Boston where he serves the wealth management needs of entrepreneurs, their families and corporations. José has previous charter school governance experience and is also a board member of Teen Empowerment.
 
Owen Stearns (Chair): Owen currently works for The Monitor Institute, the social change arm of the Monitor Group. Prior to this, he worked at The Foundation Strategy Group, a consulting firm that advises foundations. Earlier in his career, Owen co-directed the City School, a youth leadership development non-profit.