NATIONAL CHARTER SCHOOLS INSTITUTE - Key Persons
Alyson joined the National Charter Schools Institute as a Partner in November 2023. Alyson previously served the Grand Valley State University Charter Schools Office (GVSU CSO) for 13 years as the Director of Governance and Compliance and the Deputy Director for School Accountability. During her time as an authorizer, Alyson developed contracts for over 80 charter schools and provided continuous support and compliance oversight to the schools and boards. Additionally, Alyson led the application process for new schools, renewals, and school expansions at the GVSU CSO, and has served as an outside application reviewer for the Nevada Public Charter Schools Authority. Alyson was a member of the NACSA Leaders Program, both as a leader and a coach, has worked extensively with the national Higher Education Authorizers group, has led multiple conference sessions and professional developments, and has a passion for supporting the national authorizing community in the engagement of values-based authorizing. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Law & Society from Purdue University, followed by her Juris Doctor from Thomas M. Cooley Law School.
Loves reading books, gardening, and increasing users' comfort level in using their sites.
Values family, friends, and faith, and enjoys helping people optimize their Epicenter experience.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
Brave Veteran, mom, roller derby superstar, who loves her St. Bernards and helping our partners succeed.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Creative Services Manager
Passionate about adventuring, kittens, simplifying the complex and creating clean, effective design.
Joining the team in the fall of 2011, Christina Musinski leads the Institute's graphic design initiatives. Her passion for visual creativity and design strategy is evident across all aspects of the organization. In addition to being an accomplished photojournalist and designer, Christina is a dedicated advocate for children and young adults through providing leadership and service as a community volunteer. Her talent, touch and thoughtful ideas are an inspiration to all. Christina earned her Bachelor of Arts in 2009, from Saginaw Valley State University.
Job Titles:
- School Facilities Consultant
- School Facilities Expert
Dustin has experience working on nearly 20 new school construction projects, numerous building renovations and additions, and has completed nearly 100 space assessments. He has a Master of Architecture, Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering, and a Graduate Certificate of Real Estate Development. With his breadth of experience in the charter sector and depth of training, he knits together the big picture when it comes to school facilities.
Fond of her kids, flowers, cats, smooth processes, and getting every detail dialed in.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Finance and Administration
Having an extensive background in the financial and administrative sectors of business, Jackie brings a wealth of knowledge to our fiscal and administrative operations. She is responsible for managing the business functions for the organization and oversees the budgeting, internal controls, contracting and financial operations for the Institute. Prior to joining the Institute, Jackie launched her career in the hospitality industry, where she dedicated 22 years of service to LaBelle Management. Jackie earned her Associates Degree in Business Administration from Mid-Michigan Community College.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- Member of the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame
Loves family and inspiring others to dream big and make impact the lives of our kids and our country.
is a champion for excellence and a member of the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame. He is on a mission to change the arc of education. Jim sees chartering as a powerful strategy for challenging the givens of the educational system and an opportunity to create the conditions where innovation and excellence can thrive.
Jim currently serves as the President & CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the charter schools movement and equipping schools, boards and authorizers with the ideas, tools and resources they need to win for kids.
Prior to joining the Institute, Jim led Central Michigan University's chartering efforts, making CMU the nation's first and largest university authorizer of charter public schools. Under his leadership, CMU became known as the "gold standard" for charter school authorizing, earning recognition from both the U.S. and Michigan Departments of Education.
As a movement builder, Jim helped found the National Association of Charter School Authorizers and the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers. He also helped found and led the Michigan Association of Public School Academies, which continues to serve as the unified voice of Michigan's charter schools movement.
Jim has testified before numerous policymaking bodies, including the United States Congress, and was invited by the U.S. Department of Education to serve on the advisory board of the National Charter Schools Resource Center. He has received gubernatorial appointments from Michigan Governors John Engler and Jennifer Granholm.
Jim presently serves on the board of the Charter Schools Development Corporation, which specializes in helping charter schools with facilities financing. And he serves as a Blue Ribbon Panel Judge for the prestigious Yass Prize.
Jim earned his doctorate in educational administration from Michigan State University and is the proud father of seven children and two grandchildren.
Calmly enjoys avid skiing, complex thinking, new tech, and creating stunning imagery and design.
From web development to photography to graphic design, Jeff has a talent for making everything looked polished and professional. He has also run several businesses and has experience with creative marketing.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff
- Chief of Staff / Secretary to the Board
Enjoys supporting and nurturing people, teams, family, English bulldogs, and her gardens.
A faithful steward to the mission of transforming education, Jill leads our Human Resources initiatives focused on growing capacity and building a team composed of passionate professionals, known for their integrity and desire to win for kids. Positioning the team for success, Jill is responsible for providing leadership in serving as a liaison to staff and external publics and carrying out a wide range of day-to-day functions on behalf of Dr. Goenner, President and CEO of the Institute. Before joining the Institute, Jill worked in the authorizing industry for 14 years, where she oversaw the Human Resource initiatives for The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University, managed administrative functions for the Office of the Executive Director, and previously coordinated charter contract development initiatives. Jill earned her Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Central Michigan University and Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Research and Policy Analytics ( and Co - Founder ) at Momentum Strategy & Research
I come to this work with the students in the forefront of my mind. I was a disengaged teen who ended up dropping out of school at the end of my Jr. year of high school. While I can't say what would have happened if I had an alternative school option, I know that I was very detached from the large high school that I attended.
Job Titles:
- Program & Accounting Manager
Job Titles:
- Administrative Coordinator
Loves hanging out with her nieces, traveling with friends and quarterbacking our team to get where they need to go.
Job Titles:
- Academic Performance Specialist
Loves her boys, adventure, living life to its fullest, and helping people everyday.
Excited to be in large groups of people and passionate about school systems that work.
Lisa joined the Institute as a Partner in August of 2023. With a career that includes chapters as a classroom teacher, a school leader and an advocate for school choice, believes that the challenges in education require creativity, bold thinking and tenacious optimism. Lisa spent two decades working as a teacher and administrator in traditional public schools before taking her first role with a charter school in 2013. Most recently, she was the School Leader then Executive Director at Renaissance Public School Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. She has worked with state and national organizations, presenting at conferences and facilitating ongoing educational leadership support initiatives. The fundamental belief driving her work is the belief that significant transformation is possible in public education-even with the current constraints. She has studied school models from across the country and around the world and is fascinated by research exploring the impact of poverty and trauma influence on human connection in and out of the classroom. Most recently she has worked with leadership teams focusing on strengthening the wellbeing of school leaders. She holds a BS in Elementary Education and a Masters of Arts in Educational Administration from Central Michigan University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Leadership and Learning
Experienced world traveler, who is passionate about learning and providing great schools for kids.
Driven by a passionate belief that all children deserve a quality education, Mark leads our initiatives focused on measuring, supporting and helping people achieve breakthrough performance in the areas of leadership and learning. Mark has been an advocate and leader in the charter and larger public education community for over 20 years. Before joining the Institute, Mark was charged with leading U.S. operations for an international educational management company, served as the Director of Improvement and Accountability for a Michigan-based management company, and launched a virtual school. Prior to that, Mark worked at The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University for 10 years, leading their academic performance and accountability team, and serving as a school leader and teacher, nationally and internationally, prior to becoming an authorizer. Mark brings a wealth of experience and a steadfast commitment to ensuring those children in greatest need receive the quality education they deserve. Mark has played a key role in broadening the charter sector's capacity to influence practice and advance public education, impacting the educational opportunities for students in Michigan and throughout the nation. Mark earned his Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Central Michigan University and Bachelor's degrees from the University of Western Ontario and Brock University.
Passionate about traveling, exploring other cultures and providing great educational options.
Committed to the core mission of ensuring students are prepared for success in college, work and life, Mary has dedicated her career to strengthening leaders, building capacity, growing networks and impacting students. Mary joined the Institute team in 2019 as the Chief Operating Officer.
Mary hails from Chicago Public Schools, where she served as Executive Director of Innovation and Incubation for nearly four years. In this role, Mary led a dynamic team that provided oversight and support for over 140 campuses across the district including charter, contract, and alternative schools and programs. In addition, the team led the incubation of new district and charter schools, oversaw the selection and development of programs in district schools, supported co-location campuses, and strengthened the sharing of innovative and promising practices across sectors.
Mary began her career as a high school special and general education teacher working to ensure that students experienced an educational environment that they could thrive in. Prior to her role at CPS, she served as Associate Director and eventually Deputy Director at The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University, a leading state-wide charter authorizer in Michigan. Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in Education, Masters in Business Administration, a Juris Doctorate with a focus in administrative law, and is pursuing an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership.
Combined with her rich experience in public education and the charter sector, Mary is recognized as an expert in the industry and has contributed much thought leadership through numerous roles and opportunities throughout the nation.
Job Titles:
- Director of Partner Development
Enjoys traveling, family, and building valuable relationships with our partners.
Job Titles:
- Board Services Coordinator
Enjoys being an avid soccer and football mom, being on top of every detail, all with a friendly greeting and smile.
Joining the team in the fall of 2015, Michelle Wilson is charged with handling the day-to-day responsibility of ensuring service excellence in the areas of board policies and administrative guidelines. Michelle joins us with a background in legal studies, having recently worked in the legal arena as a manager for Schneiderman and Sherman, P.C., and Trott and Trott, P.C., prior to that. Michelle earned her Bachelor of Science in Legal Studies in 2002, from Grand Valley State University.
Enjoys living on a lake, spending time with grandkids and being an Epicenter "super-user."
Enjoys family, logic puzzles, all things academia and creating better ways to measure student success.
Dedicated to the core mission of providing quality schools for all students, regardless of income, race, or learning style, Naomi has focused her career on data-driven decision-making by providing families, school leaders, and policy-makers with transparent and actionable school performance information. To advance this commitment on a national level, Naomi joined the National Charter Schools Institute in the summer of 2019 as the Vice President for Authorizing and Accountability.
A national expert in charter school authorizing, Naomi served as Deputy Director for the DC Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB) where she led the team responsible for charter authorizing, including negotiating charter agreements and holding schools accountable for meeting quality standards. She and the DCPCSB team developed an innovative suite of monitoring strategies - now used by charter authorizers across the country - which measure school performance, examine non-academic indicators such as attendance and discipline, and evaluate learning based on classroom observations.
Before joining DCPCSB in 2012, Naomi was Deputy Director at DC-based Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS). She began her career as a classroom teacher and literacy coach at the SEED Public Charter School, two high schools in California, and as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany. In 2016, Naomi was invited to join the Pahara - Aspen Institute. She is also a member of the National Center for Special Education in Charter schools, and served two terms on the board of Charter Board Partners.
Naomi earned her bachelor's degree from Reed College, a teaching credential from Chapman University, and a Master in Curriculum and Instruction from California State University, Long Beach.
When I was a charter school authorizer in Washington, D.C., I felt confident using our frameworks that we built for K-12, adult education, and even early childhood programs. However, measuring the quality of our alternative schools remained amorphous. When the opportunity arose to work for the National Charter Schools Institute and partner with Jody at Momentum to create measures for non-traditional schools, I jumped at the opportunity. When the pandemic jolted life as we knew it, and education as we expect it, our work took even more relevance and significance. I am thrilled to be able to work with authorizers and schools across the nation on building better goals in a collaborative and holistic manner. I bring to the table a passion for quality schools and high expectations for all students, which cannot, not should not be measured by state assessments alone (or at all):
Job Titles:
- Digital Communications Manager
Loves time with family, all things pumpkin spice, creative projects and taking on new marketing challenges.
Fueled by a belief that successful organizations must invest in their people and offer excellence in client service, Ray leads our initiatives focused on client care, strategy and performance. Prior to joining the education sector in 2010, Ray served as an executive with a global, leading edge company for much of his career. Launching his career with McDonald's Corporation in 1980, Ray quickly assumed leadership roles and responsibilities. As a results driven leader, Ray swiftly retooled low performing businesses and turned them into success stories, ramping up their market share and profitability through a team approach and shared vision. Having gained extensive knowledge and management experience, Ray was tapped to assume a leadership role in operations. His early commitment to client service, operations excellence, systems and people development at local, state and national levels, largely contributed to his success. Ray's passion for people development is evident in his commitment to community and personal desire to positively impact the lives of children and young adults. His rich history of volunteering with organizations such as Junior Achievement, Ronald McDonald's Children Charities, the Michigan Department of Corrections and the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center speaks volumes to his dedication to making a difference in the lives of those around him, and winning for kids.
Focused on raising her girls, baking and effectively working behind the scenes to help everyone around her succeed.
Dedicated to ensuring the Institute's internal controls are sound and carried out with integrity, Shelly coordinates a variety of fiscal and administrative functions. Having extensive experience in various accounting roles in the business industry, Shelly brings an abundance of invaluable knowledge to our operations. She is responsible for coordinating numerous processes for the office, ranging from payroll to new hire processing to account reconciliation. Prior to joining the Institute, Shelly launched her career in the business sector, where she dedicated 25 years of service.
Enjoys family, time with friends and ensuring Epicenter meets the needs of our partners.
Enjoys time with her mom, Hawaiian sunsets, all things education and developing relationships with our partners.
Job Titles:
- Director of Policy and Partnerships
With a focus on advocacy of excellence in education for all Michigan children, Wendy joined the Institute in the summer of 2019 as the Director of Policy and Partnerships. In this role, she helps to lead external relations, communications, and strategic partnerships.
Wendy spent six years with the Michigan Department of Education. Her last position was Chief of Staff for the State Superintendent's office. She previously served as legislative liaison and supported communications, public relations, and strategic planning.
Before joining the Department, Wendy was an education policy advisor for the Michigan House of Representatives for nine years. She also served as a legislative director, a communications specialist, and as field staff handling fundraising, community events, and messaging for House members.
Wendy's diverse career began as a classroom teacher. She taught middle school English and Social Studies for five years in both public and private schools. She earned a Bachelor's in English and a Master's in Teaching and Curriculum from Michigan State University.
Enjoys coaching softball, being a family man and helping others problem-solve technology challenges.
Zac keeps us up and running with his expertise and knowledge of technology. He handles the complexities of our day-to-day technology needs and systems.