Board of Directors

Michael J. Curran blends his legal, teaching, leadership, and management experience in order to help individuals and organizations reach their full potential.  He is able to leverage his extensive background in growing, improving and leading companies and business units by working with people who desire to realize higher levels of satisfaction and potential.

Michael practiced law for seven years at the beginning of his career and then spent the past three decades working for public and private companies in the commercial real estate investment management industry.  He has served as President, CEO, Partner, COO, and Senior Managing Director transforming organizations and motivating the people with whom he worked to learn and achieve far more than they thought possible.

Former Minnesota State Senator Ember Reichgott Junge is author of Minnesota’s 1991 first-in-nation charter school law, a winner of the 2000 Innovations in American Government Award from Harvard University’s JFK School of Government. The 18-year legislator served as Senate Assistant Majority Leader before stepping down from public service in 2000. In honor of the 20th anniversary of chartering, Reichgott Junge wrote Zero Chance of Passage: The Pioneering Charter School Story, a candid memoir of her challenging journey of pioneering the first charter school law from idea to national movement. The book has won multiple national awards, including 2013 Grand Prize Winner of Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards, and Third Grand Prize Winner for Nonfiction Books in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (www.embercommunications.com). Reichgott Junge is an international education policy leader and spokesperson for charter public schools, having presented in 34 states, Guam, Canada and India. She consults with K-12 education, chartering, business and philanthropy entities around the U.S. She is past founding board member of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, and current board vice chair of Maryland-based Charter Schools Development Corporation (CSDC), copublisher of Zero Chance of Passage. She was inducted into the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame in 2008, and received the Brian Bennett Education Warrior Award from Democrats for Education Reform in 2012. She served as founding board chair of Level Up Academy, a Minnesota charter school that opened in fall, 2015. As President of Ember Communications, Inc., Reichgott Junge is a national speaker and trainer on leadership, messaging, strategic communications, and public services redesign for leaders in business, nonprofit and government sectors. In addition to public service, she draws on over thirty-five years of experience in business and nonprofit law, five years as nonprofit executive for a large human services organization, twenty years of media messaging as frequent television political analyst, former radio host, and editorial writer, and lifetime of board service, including Citizens Independent Bank, Twin Cities United Way, and Minneapolis Chapter of the American Red Cross. Ember received her BA from St. Olaf College (Northfield, Minnesota), JD from Duke University Law School (Durham, North Carolina), and MBA from University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN). She is an avid ballroom dancer and co-founder of the nonprofit that is bringing Dancing Classrooms of Mad Hot Ballroom fame to Minnesota fifth and eighth graders. She most enjoys spending time with her husband, Michael Junge.

Brian Casey is an accomplished real estate finance executive with over three decades
of experience in commercial lending, asset management, and capital deployment. Prior to retiring in 2023, Brian most recently served the last 10 years as a Senior Managing Director at Walker & Dunlop, specializing in sourcing and underwriting discretionary capital for multifamily bridge loans across the country.

Brian has expertise in credit process review, merger and acquisition valuation, and commercial lending.  Prior to Walker & Dunlop, Brian held key leadership positions at prominent financial institutions. As Managing Director and Head of Real Estate Debt Strategies at MetLife Real Estate Investors, he oversaw domestic and international commercial mortgage production and portfolio management. His responsibilities included chairing the Real Estate Debt Investment Committee with $125 million authority and managing a $42 billion mortgage portfolio.

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His diverse background and extensive experience make him a respected figure in the real estate finance industry.

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Brian Neal is an entrepreneurial leader working to advance causes that support underserved students and their families. Since 2016, Brian has served as the chief executive officer for Accelerate Great Schools, a multimillion-dollar fund helping to ensure every student in Cincinnati has access to high- quality school options. Prior to this role, Brian served as the education program officer for the Farmer Family Foundation, a private foundation that invests in causes that promote educational opportunities for under privileged youth, stability for the economically disadvantaged, and healthcare research.

Brian has worked across various sectors to support Ohio students and families. Most notable was his work as the Ohio Director for the SEED Foundation’s Ohio expansion effort, a $60M campaign to launch Ohio’s first public, college-preparatory boarding school for underserved children. Brian has also assisted parents/caregivers in advocating for their student’s success through leading the U.S. Department of Education’s Ohio Parent Information and Resource Center and was a founding resource coordinator during the Cincinnati Public Schools’ district-wide Community Learning Centers launch. Brian’s efforts have led to statewide policy changes, Ohio-specific public-private partnerships, and strong local and statewide community collaborations.

Brian received his bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing from the University of Cincinnati. He is passionate about giving back and volunteers on several non-profit boards, including Every Child Succeeds (Cincinnati, OH), Consider the Poor (Columbus, OH), and Educate NKY (Northern Kentucky). Brian is happily married and is the proud father of three daughters.

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Christina Ryan is the Managing Director for the Greater Washington Market  at Hartman Executive Advisors, where she has worked since 2007.  As Hartman’s first employee, for nearly a decade she has diligently worked to change how many of the top executives in the nation’s capital and in the Baltimore metropolitan region perceive technology – from that of a “necessary evil” to one of the greatest underutilized sources for revenue growth, strategic insight and competitive advantage.

To Christina, collaboration is the key to success. Since technology catalyzes change at an incredibly rapid pace, she believes that Hartman’s executive level subject matter experts who deeply understand unique industry challenges are true game-changers for the C-Suite. An advocate for helping executives navigate the intersection of technology and business, her greatest satisfaction comes from connecting business leaders with Hartman advisors who can help them reach their strategic goals. Outside of the office, Christina enjoys traveling, trying new restaurants and spending time with family. She is an active volunteer in her community, serves as a mentor to other young professionals, and is a member of several professional organizations.

Christina obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance and Marketing from Elon University.

Mr. Glymph is a Partner and Head of the Public Finance team in the Washington, D.C., office of Orrick, Herrington &Sutcliffe LLP and a Band 1 ranked public finance lawyer by Chambers USA.  He has over 30 years of municipal bond and public finance experience.  Mr. Glymph's practice focuses primarily on transactional matters, such as general obligation and revenue financings, economic development incentives, financings for charter schools and other non-profit organizations, securities law matters and legal issues relevant to state and local governments. He has served as bond counsel to the District of Columbia (the “District”) on numerous general obligation financings and off-balance sheet economic development incentives, including the District’s first Public-Private Partnership (P3) transaction, Income Tax Secured Revenue Bonds and tax increment financing (“TIF”) financings. In addition, Mr. Glymph has also worked with other municipalities, including the State of Maryland, Prince George’s County, Maryland, the City of Richmond, Virginia and the City of Detroit, Michigan.  He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Virginia Bar and attended Williams College, Williamstown, MA and Tulane University School of Law, New Orleans, LA.  Mr. Glymph is very active in local and civic organizations and is the Treasurer of Friendship Public Charter School, in Washington, D.C., Chairman of the Wanda Alston Foundation, a former commissioner on the District of Columbia Commission on Arts and the Humanities and the former Chairman of the District of Columbia Small and Local Business Opportunity Commission.

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Jim Goenner serves as President & CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute, a mission driven organization dedicated to transforming education through the relentless pursuit of excellence. Jim joined the charter schools movement in 1995, and has played an influential role in its evolution ever since. In 2010, his pioneering efforts earned him an induction into the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame. Prior to joining the Institute, Jim served as the Executive Director of The Governor John Engler Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University, where he led the first and largest university authorizer of charter public schools in the nation. 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. Jim helped found and chaired the board of directors of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (2007-2010) and the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers (2002-2010). He also helped found and served as the first President of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (1996-1998), which serves as the unified voice of Michigan’s charter schools movement. Jim currently serves on the board of The Center for Education Reform, the leading voice and advocate for lasting, substantive and structural education reform in the U.S., on the board of the Charter Schools Development Corporation which specializes in helping charter schools with facility and financing needs, and on the National Advisory Board for Pathways in Education, Opportunities for Learning and Options for Youth. 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 Governors John Engler and Jennifer Granholm. He earned his doctorate in educational administration from Michigan State University and has authored numerous articles, including “Charter Schools: Revitalizing Public Education,” which appeared in Phi Delta Kappan and “Michigan’s Chartering Strategy,” which appeared in the Summer 2012 issue of Education Next. Jim and his wife, Theresa, have seven children and two grandchildren.

Jay Hromatka is a Managing Director in the public financing and investment banking group at Piper Sandler. Prior to that, he was an Executive Vice President with HJ Sims, a privately held investment bank and one of the country’s oldest underwriters of tax-exempt and taxable bonds. He has more than 30 years of experience as a public finance professional providing investment banking services to governmental entities throughout the country. For the past 19 years, Mr. Hromatka worked extensively as a senior banker specializing in structuring and underwriting more than 100 charter school transactions that financed over $1 billion in facility projects.

Throughout his career, Mr. Hromatka has acted as lead banker on financings across the country and has developed a significant base of experience and relationships with diverse clients ranging from charter schools to state and local governments, school districts and not-for-profit agencies.

Mr. Hromatka holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Minnesota. He is active in many civic and not-for-profit organizations.

Lanette Dailey-Reese is currently serving as the founding executive Director of the Capital Experience Lab.  She and a dynamic group of educators are committed to launching an innovative school model that immerses students in place-based learning experiences within the robust museum, research and cultural centers of DC.

Prior to this she served as the Executive Director of City Arts and Prep Public Charter School.  For more than 15 years she has personally and professionally committed to increasing the quality of education by facing the diverse challenges schools face to improve student learning and achievement.  Prior to working for City Arts and Prep, Lanette served as Executive Director for International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). During her time with she worked in partnership with school leaders across the Mid-Atlantic region focused on improving student outcomes through high quality professional learning for the leaders and teachers.  Her varied career includes corporate, public, charter, post-secondary, and non-profit education experiences.

Lanette has a dynamic set of strengths as a visionary thinker with a systemic understanding of the optimal educational environment that is needed for teachers and students to be successful.

Upon moving her family to Washington D.C., Lanette pursed volunteer opportunities within the educational community.  Through a partnership with Education Board Partners she selected City Arts & Prep Public Charter School where she has served as Academic Chair for two years.  Lanette is a sports enthusiast with a passion for golf, cooking and family travel.

Lanette holds two graduate degrees one in Higher Education Leadership and Management from Drexel and a Community and Regional Planning degree from Temple University.

LaShanya Washington is the Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for CityFirst Bank and has over two decades of experience in commercial banking with a track record of executing change management processes to drive increased performance.  In her current role, LaShanya manages the ongoing credit analysis of the banks diverse loan portfolio.  In addition, she oversees the loan closing process for the commercial and wholesale lending divisions.    As the head of the Credit Administration department, Ms. Washington is also responsible for reporting & analytics, portfolio management, CECL implementation and stress testing the portfolio.  

Prior to her current role, Ms. Washington was the Senior Vice President and Deputy Chief Officer and formerly the Credit Risk Manager for City First Bank.  As the SVP, Deputy Chief Credit Officer and Credit Risk Manager, Ms. Washington oversaw board reporting, credit risk, reporting and managed a portfolio of complex deals including NMTC, PACE and Charter Schools.

Prior to joining City First Bank, Ms. Washington spent her career in commercial banking in various capacities including underwriting, managing loan accounting, loan operations and post booking review for community and regional banks headquartered in the Washington DC metro area.  

Ms. Washington is a graduate of Columbia Union College with dual degrees in Business Administration and Healthcare Administration.  She holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. In addition, she holds a Project Management Certification with a concentration in Risk Management from George Washington University.

Ms. Washington is active in her community volunteering for several non-profits as well as supporting local athletic teams by coaching and officiating events.  

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Tom Nida is the Executive Vice President/Market Executive at City First Bank. Prior to joining City First Bank, he served as a Regional Executive for John Marshall Bank and as an Executive Vice President & Managing Director – Community Development/Non-Profit Banking for United Bank for Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Mr. Nida has been very active in the charter school movement in Washington, DC, serving as a board member and treasurer of the Arts and Technology Academy Public Charter School, for which he helped obtain DC Revenue Bond, tax-exempt financing. He was appointed to the DC Public Charter School Board by Mayor Anthony Williams in 2003, and was elected Chairman of the Board in 2004, and served in that capacity until February 2010. He also has real estate development experience, having founded and managed several land trusts focused on renovation of historic commercial properties over the past twenty-four years. Mr. Nida is recognized nationally for his expertise in charter school financing, having written two articles published in the RMA Journal.

Mr. Nida graduated from the University of Wisconsin and completed an Executive Program at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Valdez has over 40 years of experience in municipal finance in the Southwest. His extensive experience includes industrial development authority bonds, sales tax (excise tax) revenue bonds, infrastructure finance, school districts, multi-family housing, single-family housing, hospitals, special needs revenue bonds, tribal finance, charter schools and New Market Tax Credit transactions. Mr. Valdez also has experience with rating agency and insurance company presentations. He has participated for many years in bond elections and tax referendums. Prior to working in the investment banking industry, Mr. Valdez worked for the United States Department of Agriculture. At the U.S.D.A., he was a specialist loan officer under the Business & Industry Loan Note Guarantee Program in Washington D.C. and later became the Chief for the program in the State of Arizona. He brings expertise in implementing government programs to assist issuers and borrowers in obtaining government loans, loan guarantees and grants. Mr. Valdez holds aBachelor of Science degree in Agriculture Business from New Mexico StateUniversity and a Master of Science degree in Finance from American University,Washington, D.C. Mr. Valdez currently sits on several charitable boardorganizations including The Arizona Foundation for Educational Advancement,Charter Schools Development Corporation, the City of Espanola Chamber ofCommerce, and the SER Foundation.

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Joe Keeney has over 25 years of experience in school development, finance and operations. Joe is the Founder and Chairman of 4th Sector Solutions Inc. and School Food Solutions L3C. 4th Sector Solutions is a leading provider of charter school finance, human resources, operations, and facility development services, and School Food Solutions helps charter schools comply with the National School Lunch Program. Prior to founding 4th Sector Solutions, from 1997-2005 Joe was president of Edison Charter Schools, where he helped build one of the nation’s largest networks of public charter schools -- serving 30,000 students in 15 states. His responsibilities at Edison included school operations, client development, finance, and real estate design and construction. Joe had previously been a divisional president and chief operating officer of a Fortune 1000 global manufacturer, and a corporate strategy consultant at LEK Consulting.

Joe has a BA in economics from Columbia College and an MBA with high distinction from Harvard Business School, where he was elected a Baker Scholar and received the Macy Scholarship and the Uhlmann Award. Joe also earned an EdM in education leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University.