Who We Are

Our goal is to ensure every DC student receives a quality education that makes them feel valued and prepares them for lifelong learning, fulfilling careers, and economic security. We do that by creating the policies and conditions that empower teachers and school leaders to do their best work, and that's educating students.

DC PCSB is an independent government agency of the District of Columbia, created in 1996, led by a volunteer seven-member board. As the sole public charter school authorizer in our nation’s capital, we provide oversight to 136 public charter schools which are managed by 69 independently run nonprofit organizations called local education agencies. These schools educated 46,392 students in school year 2022-23, nearly half of DC’s public school students.

DC PCSB Organization Chart

DC PCSB Bylaws

Our Vision

Every DC student receives a quality education that makes them feel valued and prepares them for lifelong learning, fulfilling careers, and economic security.

100

OF DC CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS

Our Mission

DC public charter schools are environments where all students, especially those in historically marginalized groups, thrive. As DC’s charter authorizer, we:

Approve, monitor, and evaluate schools, with an emphasis on equity and academic excellence

Create policies and conditions to empower educators to do their best work in service of students

Actively engage families, schools, and communities to inform our decision-making

100

COMMITTMENT

Our Commitment to Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Work

Grounded in our Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI) work, we pledge to take time to reflect, listen, and hold space for one another in service of our mission. We are united in the following beliefs and commitments that will guide our authorizing work moving forward:

We acknowledge the prevalence of interpersonal, institutional, and systemic racism in our country

We seek to understand the collective impact of racism and inequity on public education and our role in perpetuating these harms

We believe an excellent school is equitable

We work to eliminate the impact of racism and inequity on students as DC’s public charter school authorizer

We commit to continuous learning about ourselves, our work, and our city to inform our policies, practices, recommendations, and behaviors

We engage all voices in our decision-making process thoroughly and consistently, and we embrace discord that can come when people share their personal experiences and perspectives on our work

Everyone

Melodi Sampson

Interim Chief School Performance Officer

Michelle J. Walker-Davis, Ed.D.

Executive Director

Raven Freeman

Chief of Staff

Sarah Hampton Cheatham

General Counsel

Tomeika Bowden

Chief External Affairs Officer

Will Henderson

Chief Operating Officer

Aaron Hall

Operations Manager

Aisha Berkeley

Executive Administrative Specialist

Andrys Rojas-Suarez

School Quality and Evaluation Specialist

Audrey Williams

Senior Manager, Intergovernmental Relations

Bijon Lane

Sector Planning and Compliance Specialist

Carol Harris

User Support and Knowledge Management Specialist

Charlene Haigler-Mickles

Operations Specialist

Courtney Hall

Equity and Access Coordinator

Daniel Quandt

Associate Attorney

Daniel Rodman

Senior Data Engineer

Danielle Bell

Specialist, Sector Planning and Compliance

Dayarelis Quinones

Public Policy Fellow

Drew Snyder

Policy and Legislative Affairs Director

Eduardo (Eddie) Roblero Diaz

Operations Coordinator

Ernecia White

HR Generalist

Geoffrey St. John

External Affairs Coordinator

Gordon Read

Analytics Engineer

Hannah Cousino

Senior Manager, Sector Planning and Compliance

Isabel Hardy

Communications Coordinator

John Carlos Green

Community Engagement Manager

Jonathan Fisher

Analytics Engineer

Kathleen Rickmann

Finance Manager

Kierra Jenkins

Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator

Kirsten James

Director of Data and Accountability

Kristie Dennis

Manager, Sector Planning and Compliance

Lawrence Hayes

Senior IT Lead

Maddie Houck

Policy Specialist

Michael Bayuk

Director of Finance

Michele Gray

Senior Manager, Equity and Access

Mitch Suzara

Data Engineer

Nada Mousa

Strategic Initiatives Manager

Ozair Ahmed

Data Engineer

Shakerah Sampson

Specialist, Learning and Development/Recruiter

Sharif Hodges

Communications Coordinator

Sneha Verma

Junior Analytics Engineer

Starling Temp

Goals Specialist

Theresa Kemp

Specialist, Equity and Access

Travis Hartberger

Manager, School Quality and Evaluation

Tricia Francisco

Specialist, Equity and Access

Tyler Troy

Manager, Data Analytics

Valeria Sanders

Finance Manager

Vanessa Pinto

Analytics Engineer

Vladimir (Vlad) Valchev

OCFO Accountant

Yariany Perez-Nieto

Senior Manager, Data and IT Systems

DC PCSB Board

DC PCSB is governed by a seven-member volunteer Board, nominated by the Mayor with the advice and consent of the DC Council.

Contact This Department

Lea Crusey

Chair

Jim Sandman

Vice Chair

Shukurat Adamoh-Faniyan

Board Member

Nick Rodriguez

Board Member

Shantelle Wright

Treasurer

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Executive Team

Culture, Talent, and Strategy

The Culture, Talent, and Strategy Department leads all of DC PCSB’s human resources, strategic roadmap design and monitoring, racial equity diversity and inclusion priorities, cross-agency alignment, and other strategic initiatives and outreach.

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Raven Freeman

Chief of Staff

Aisha Berkeley

Executive Administrative Specialist

Ernecia White

HR Generalist

Nada Mousa

Strategic Initiatives Manager

Shakerah Sampson

Specialist, Learning and Development/Recruiter

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External Affairs

The External Affairs Department is responsible for making sure communications, public affairs, community outreach, and intergovernmental efforts fulfill the agency’s mission.

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Tomeika Bowden

Chief External Affairs Officer

Audrey Williams

Senior Manager, Intergovernmental Relations

Dayarelis Quinones

Public Policy Fellow

Drew Snyder

Policy and Legislative Affairs Director

Geoffrey St. John

External Affairs Coordinator

Isabel Hardy

Communications Coordinator

John Carlos Green

Community Engagement Manager

Kierra Jenkins

Intergovernmental Relations Coordinator

Maddie Houck

Policy Specialist

Sharif Hodges

Communications Coordinator

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We''re open for any suggestions or just to have a chat. For more ways to connect, visit our Contact Us page. Please note that all fields are required.

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Finance, Operations, Systems and IT

The Finance and Operations Department is responsible for DC PCSB’s finances and office maintenance, and school’s finances and contracts and procurement.

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Will Henderson

Chief Operating Officer

Aaron Hall

Operations Manager

Carol Harris

User Support and Knowledge Management Specialist

Charlene Haigler-Mickles

Operations Specialist

Daniel Rodman

Senior Data Engineer

Eduardo (Eddie) Roblero Diaz

Operations Coordinator

Kathleen Rickmann

Finance Manager

Lawrence Hayes

Senior IT Lead

Michael Bayuk

Director of Finance

Mitch Suzara

Data Engineer

Ozair Ahmed

Data Engineer

Valeria Sanders

Finance Manager

Vladimir (Vlad) Valchev

OCFO Accountant

Yariany Perez-Nieto

Senior Manager, Data and IT Systems

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We''re open for any suggestions or just to have a chat. For more ways to connect, visit our Contact Us page. Please note that all fields are required.

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Legal

The Legal Department provides legal and policy knowledge, expertise, and advice across all aspects of DC PCSB’s operations, including both school oversight, such as charter agreements and charter reviews, and internal agency functions. The Legal Department processes all Freedom of Information Act requests.

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Sarah Hampton Cheatham

General Counsel

Daniel Quandt

Associate Attorney

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School Performance Department

School Performance

The School Performance Department is responsible for reviewing academic performance for schools, including creating the Accountability Framework, conducting Qualitative Site Reviews, reviewing and renewing charters, new charter application reviews, and monitoring students with disabilities and Emerging Multilingual Learners.

Contact This Department

Melodi Sampson

Interim Chief School Performance Officer

Andrys Rojas-Suarez

School Quality and Evaluation Specialist

Bijon Lane

Sector Planning and Compliance Specialist

Courtney Hall

Equity and Access Coordinator

Danielle Bell

Specialist, Sector Planning and Compliance

Gordon Read

Analytics Engineer

Hannah Cousino

Senior Manager, Sector Planning and Compliance

Jonathan Fisher

Analytics Engineer

Kirsten James

Director of Data and Accountability

Kristie Dennis

Manager, Sector Planning and Compliance

Michele Gray

Senior Manager, Equity and Access

Sneha Verma

Junior Analytics Engineer

Starling Temp

Goals Specialist

Theresa Kemp

Specialist, Equity and Access

Travis Hartberger

Manager, School Quality and Evaluation

Tricia Francisco

Specialist, Equity and Access

Tyler Troy

Manager, Data Analytics

Vanessa Pinto

Analytics Engineer

Contact Us

We''re open for any suggestions or just to have a chat. For more ways to connect, visit our Contact Us page. Please note that all fields are required.

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Subject

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Michelle J. Walker-Davis, Ed.D.

Executive Director

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We''re open for any suggestions or just to have a chat. For more ways to connect, visit our Contact Us page. Please note that all fields are required.

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