Board Of Trustees 

The Honorable Kevin P. Chavous, Chairman

Former Member of the Council of the District of Columbia


Kevin P. Chavous is a noted attorney, author, and national school reform leader. In his current role, he serves as President of Academics, Policy and Schools at K12. He is a founding board member of the American Federation for Children, and heads The Chavous Group, an education consulting firm. He is Chairman Emeritus of Democrats for Education Reform and a former chairman of the Black Alliance for Educational Options. He served for 12 years on the D.C. City Council, including as chairman of the Council’s education committee where he led the effort to enact the D.C. charter school law and helped shape the city’s three-sector education partnership with the federal government.

Donald Hense, Treasurer

Chairman and Founder of Friendship Public Charter School


Donald Hense is Chairman and Founder of Friendship Public Charter School. Mr. Hense is a graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and attended graduate school at Stanford University. He was a Rockefeller Intern in Economics at Cornell University; a Merrill Scholar at the University of Ghana; a Ford Foundation Fellow at Stanford; and a Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley.  Prior to founding Friendship, Mr. Hense served as Vice President at the National Urban League; Director of Development at the Children’s Defense Fund; and Director of Governmental Relations at Howard University, Boston University and Dartmouth College. He was also Vice President of Prairie View A & M University of the Texas A & M System. In 2011, he was inducted into the National Charter School Hall of Fame.

Sheila Morris

Community Leader


Sheila Morris is a parent activist and community leader in Washington, D.C. Her daughter Shawnee entered the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program in elementary school and graduated in 2013 as valedictorian of her high school. She is a strong advocate for parents in the city to be able to choose the best educational environment for their children and continues to work in the community to educate and engage parents about their educational options. 

David Rich

President, Rich Entertainment 


David Rich has held several roles during his tenure at Verizon since 2007 and currently works as a Product Line Manager-Mobile Backhaul Center of Excellence. Strategic planning, product enhancement, revenue forecasting and financial analysis are some of the responsibilities he oversees in his current position. He has served as the President of Rich Entertainment since 2010, providing concert promotions, event management and entertainment consulting. He received his MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management and his B.S. in Technology from Excelsior College. He recently authored a book titled Phase In: How Changing Your Mindset can Lead to Exponential Career Growth published in October 2016.

Thomas O’Hara

Member of the Board of Directors – Center City Public Charter School 


Mr. O’Hara has served in several educational leadership positions in the Washington DC area for many years. He joined the Center City PCS Board in 2010. He has served on the boards of Archbishop Carroll High School, Oxford House, and the Center City Consortium Schools. He was Chair of the Board of his alma mater, Mt. St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland from 2003-2009. From 1980 to 2000, Mr. O’Hara was the Vice President for Government Affairs of Prudential Insurance Company. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Mt. St Mary’s, the juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law School and an honorary doctorate from Mt. St. Mary’s.

Emmanuel S. Bailey

President and CEO – DC09


Mr. Bailey serves as President and CEO for DC09, a joint venture with Intralot Inc. LLC.  He has over 20 years of experience in Commercial and Retail Banking, Secondary Mortgage Finance, Human Resources, Gaming Systems and Operations Management. Prior to partnering with Intralot, he served in various positions at Fannie Mae over a 15 year career including the role of Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer. Mr. Bailey serves as a Director for the Greater Washington Urban League, Executive Board Committee Member of the Greater Washington Boys & Girls Club of America and President of the Board of Directors for the Kevin Durant Charity Foundation.  Mr. Bailey has a degree in Business Administration from Eastern Kentucky University and holds and Executive MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Emily Lampkin

President – The Lampkin Group 

Emily Lampkin is the Founder of the Women Leaders Series and is a sought-after speaker and advisor known for her pragmatic style and effective counsel to women in corporate,
non-profit, education and political spheres. The Women Leaders Series is the culmination of more than 25 years of experience advising women leaders, on ways they can perfect their skills to maximize opportunities. Emily has trained thousands of women across the country and around the world in this one-of- a-kind workshop. As a powerful communicator, Emily offers her unique perspective on major TV networks, radio, podcasts, and social media. Committed to building a diverse multi-decade pipeline, she also speaks to young women in college, high school, and even middle school via her Young Women Leaders Series. With a reputation as one of Washington, D.C.’s most well-respected connectors, Emily brings with her a wealth of insights from her years serving in senior private, political, and public sector leadership roles. She orchestrated some of the largest and most impactful public affairs campaigns both in and outside of government. Emily has a keen understanding of how to thread policy and cultural priorities into communications to reach and influence people. Globally respected, Emily was selected to join the Women’s Democracy Network Advisory Council’s elite group of speakers committed to training women across the world in the skills necessary to assume greater leadership roles in burgeoning democracies. Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed Emily as the Northern Virginia representative to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. With offices in Germany, Japan, and South Korea, the partnership collaborates with local, regional, and state entities to encourage the expansion and diversification of Virginia’s vast and expanding economy. Emily is the founder of Changemakers PAC, leading a movement of committed Virginians to fund key races across the state. A St. Louis native, Emily is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri. She resides in Virginia with her husband, Marc Lampkin, and their three teenage sons.

John Williams 

Managing Director – Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management 


John Williams has been with the firm or predecessor firms for over 30 years.  As of January 1, 2020, he oversees approximately $2 billion on behalf of foundations, endowments, and high net worth families.  John has been recognized by several national financial publications including Barron’s as one of the Top 1000 Financial Advisors from 2009-2013 and one of the Top 1200 Financial Advisors from 2014-2020.  John is a native Washingtonian, and graduated from Blessed Sacrament School and Gonzaga College High School.  He earned his BS in Economics from Siena College in 1984.

John currently lives in Washington, DC with his wife of thirty years. John recently finished serving terms as Vice Chairman of the President’s Council at Gonzaga College High School, Gonzaga’s Development Committee and the board of SHARE Food Network.  He is a past board member of the Consortium of Catholic Academies ( Chairman of the Finance Committee), the Washington Jesuit Academy (Chairman of the Development Committee), and Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Washington ( Chairman of the Investment Committee).  Coach Williams was retired in 2013 after more than 20 years of CYO basketball, by his wife.  John currently serves on the investment Committee for the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Federal Association.  He is a member of the Order as well as a member of the Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, Washington, D.C.  

The Honorable Anthony A. Williams,  Board Member Emeritus

Former Mayor of Washington, D.C.


Anthony A. Williams is Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Federal City Council. Serving as a catalyst for progress, the Council tries to enhance the Nation’s Capital by focusing the creative and administrative talents of Washington’s business and professional leaders on major problems and opportunities that are facing the City. Mayor Williams served as mayor of the District of Columbia from 1999 to 2007. During his two terms, he stabilized the city’s finances, as well as effectively managed resources to improve services, lower taxes, improve the performance of city agencies, and invest in infrastructure and human services.  As Mayor, Williams, together with then-Councilman Kevin Chavous, also worked with President Bush, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, and Congress to enact the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program as part of a three-sector federal initiative to support educational improvement in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Washington

Vice President, External Relations

Kevin Washington is Vice President, External Relations for Koppers Inc., where he provides global leadership and team management across several functions including  legislative and regulatory public policy, community outreach, and corporate communications, branding, marketing and giving. Mr. Washington joined Koppers in June 2022 after almost 10 years leading Government Affairs for Illinois Tool Works Inc., a Fortune 250 global diversified manufacturer of commercial and industrial products, equipment, and services. In addition to other senior advocacy roles, Kevin began his career in the nation’s capital with appointments staffing Congressional Leadership members and within the Executive Branch. Mr. Washington has long been engaged with a range of peer and civic organizations, including as an active member and past president of the Business-Government Relations Council, a select peer leadership group comprised of the chief corporate government relations officers, and as a past officer with the Kiwanis Club of Washington, D.C., where he also resides.


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