Leadership | Center City PCS

Leadership

President & CEO

Russ E. Williams, Jr. was appointed President and CEO of Center City Public Charter Schools in April 2013, after serving in leadership and teaching roles in Washington, DC charter schools for more than 15 years.

Center City has achieved significant growth during his tenure. Center City’s improvement in achievement in the two years since PARCC was first administered in 2015 is the largest of any multi-campus LEA in the city. In addition, Center City serves more than 1,000 students who are classified as either Special Education, English Language Learners, or At-Risk, and each of these populations outperformed their peers across the city on the PARCC in the spring of 2017.

Our Board members bring valuable expertise and leadership experience to Center City informing decisions that push our six schools to be better for the students we serve.

Lydia Adelfio

CCPCS Board Chair

2019 – 2020 Board Members

The Board of Directors is the governing body for Center City Public Charter Schools.

We are fortunate to have a diverse and committed group of individuals who bring their perspectives and skills from different sectors to support our scholars and help build a sustainable future for our organization.

Lydia Adelfio
Betsy Hanlon
Diedra Henry-Spires
F. John Duncan
Chantal Eldridge
Gretchen Guffy
Margaret Horn
Roneal Josephs
Art Moran
Thomas O’Hara
Neville Waters
JD Wilde

Lydia Adelfio

Chair

Betsy Hanlon

Chair

Diedra Henry-Spires

Chair

F. John Duncan

Chair

Chantal Eldridge

Member

Gretchen Guffy

Member

Margaret Horn

Member

Roneal Josephs

Member

Art Moran

Member

Thomas O’Hara

Member

Neville Waters

Member

JD Wilde

Member

Jeffrey D. Wilde is a Managing Partner at Omicelo, LLC, where he oversees acquisitions and asset management. Omicelo is a mission-based real estate investment firm tasked with improving the lives of community members in low to moderate income areas by providing safe and affordable housing along with necessary services to catalyze wholesale economic change. Prior to Omicelo, JD was a Vice President in US Real Estate at The Carlyle Group, where he managed real estate funds and led various housing research projects. As part of the research projects, he developed econometric models to analyze supply and demand imbalances and quantify investment opportunities throughout the US. In addition, he has held various positions in the financial industry ranging from investment management to financial consultant. Mr. Wilde holds bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and statistics from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in statistics from Purdue University. He lives in the DC area with his wife and two children.

Our Mission

Empower our students for lifelong success by building strong character, promoting academic excellence, and generating public service throughout Washington D.C.

Our Campuses

Brightwood
Capitol Hill
Congress Heights
Petworth
Shaw
Trinidad

CCPCS News

Coronavirus Update 3.4.2020

CCPCS Central Office

900 2nd Street NE | Suite 221
Washington, DC 20002
(202) 589-0202
(202) 589-1629 (fax)
info@centercitypcs.org

The Center City Public Charter Schools Newsletter provides pertinent information for our School community

Lydia Adelfio, Chair

Lydia W. Adelfio served as Assistant Head of School for Administration at Sidwell Friends School as well as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. She touched on myriad functions of the School including governance, development, special events, strategic planning, and community and Quaker Life. Her support of the School continues on the Alumni Association Executive Board, fundraising for financial aid and other volunteer capacities. Ms. Adelfio also serves on the Siena School Board, a school in Silver Spring, MD for children with mild to moderate language-based learning disabilities, on The Friends of Holly Hill Farm, an organic educational farm with programming for children and adults and a focus on teaching sustainable agriculture, providing schools the tools to learn and provide produce to food pantries and exposing inner city children to farm life, and she directs an annual fundraiser for Bethesda Friends Quaker Meeting to raise scholarship funds for Ramallah Friends School, a Quaker school in a the war torn country of Palestine. A graduate of Vassar College, Ms. Adelfio was an Institutional Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst covering the Technology and Telecommunications Sector at Kidder Peabody Inc. prior to moving to the education field.

Betsy Hanlon, Vice Chair

Betsy Hanlon is a senior financial executive who has held financial, strategic and administrative positions with private, public and non-profit companies. Ms. Hanlon recently rejoined CAF America as Interim CFO, a role she previously held in 2015. From 2016-April 2019 served as CFO and Director of Finance and Administration for Climate Advisers, Inc., where she was responsible for several functions, including finance, human resources, contracts, facilities and IT. Previously, Ms. Hanlon was COO for Grayling (formerly Dutko), a subsidiary of Hunstworth PLC, an international communications group, and held senior positions with Cambridge Information Group, a privately held investment and management company. From 2007 to 2010, she directed all financial operations of CIG and the company’s Sotheby’s Institute of Art, Bach to Rock, and Jindy Stores after serving as Controller of Sotheby’s Institute of Art New York.

Previously, she was associated with prominent telecommunications, public relations, biomedical and law firms in the DC area. She began her career at Price Waterhouse in Philadelphia. A graduate of The College of William and Mary, Ms. Hanlon holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a Nonprofit Management.

Diedra Henry-Spires, Secretary

Diedra Henry-Spires is the staff professional for human services and income security for the United States Senate Committee on Finance, where she began her tenure in 2006 as a Brookings Institute LEGIS fellow. Her legislative portfolio includes Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, child support enforcement, child welfare, maternal and child health, social services, unemployment insurance and women’s issues. Mrs. Henry-Spires also served for 10 years at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she was the Principal Public Health Advisor on violence against women where she developed national policies in violence against women, HIV/AIDS and young women’s health. She holds a degree in Health Policy and Administration from Penn State and is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program in Shaping the Health Care Delivery System. Ms. Henry-Spires is the parent representative from the Congress Heights campus.

John Duncan

John Duncan is a Principal at Meridian Research Group, which he co-founded. Meridian provides public policy insight to leading investment management firms. John brings a perspective developed from his time in various senior-level government and corporate roles. John has served as Director of Policy for the U.S. Secretary of Commerce and as acting Chief of Staff to the U.S. Secretary of Labor. He also served as a senior advisor and campaign manager to Newt Gingrich, the former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Throughout his time in government, John has worked with the White House, Congress, and federal agencies to develop policy across a broad variety of issue areas. John also brings a rigorous analytical perspective to his role in developing and advising on public policy. He has led corporate strategy, industry analysis and new technology initiatives at Microsoft Corp. and SEVEN Networks. In addition, he has worked in the venture capital community at Ignition Partners, a leading Seattle-based firm, where he contributed to investment decisions. John Duncan has a MBA from the Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Georgetown University.

Chantal Eldridge, Member & Parent Representative

Chantal N. Eldridge serves as the Section Chief, Installation Personnel Readiness section of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, District of Columbia. The command’s 900 military and civilian employees are responsible for providing joint installation support to over 17,000 military and civilian employees and their families throughout the National Capital Region. This responsibility includes engineering, information technology, logistics, personnel, procurement, security and morale, welfare and recreation services. The 1,018 acre Joint Base is home to 48 mission and tenant units, including the United States Air Force Honor Guard and Band, the Navy Ceremonial Guard, the Defense Intelligence Agency and White House Communications Agency.

After graduating from Friendly High school in Fort Washington MD, Ms. Eldridge enlisted in the United States Air Force in 2000 at the age of 18. She began her career as a Unit Deployment manager with the 343d Reconnaissance Squadron. She was awarded an Outstanding Performer and Airman of the Year award for her pivotal response to the events of September 11, 2001. She played a vital role preparing the Air Force members during this tragic time to deploy within 18-hours after the events. Throughout her 13 year active duty career, she served at Offutt Air Force Base, NE; Osan Air Base Republic of Korea; Pentagon; Randolph Air Force Base San Antonio, TX; Seymour Johnson Air Base, NC. One of the most rewarding experiences of her career happened during her deployment to Shindand Air Base Afghanistan. She worked as an advisor to Afghan women going through the pilot program. Ms. Eldridge organized several morale events for women-only building strong relations with female Afghan counter-parts. She also volunteered her off-duty hours working with the United Service Organizations (USO).

After separating from the Air Force, Ms. Eldridge relocated back to the National Capital Region and joined Civil Service. She has been a part of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling Air Force Element for four years assisting Air Force members and their families prepare for various deployments around the world. Ms. Eldridge is the parent-representative from the Shaw Campus.

Gretchen Guffy, Member

Gretchen is the Senior Director of Policy and Planning with ACT, Inc. where she leads the development of the organization’s education and workforce policy agendas and associated recommendations. Gretchen has nearly twenty years of experience in the education sector, having begun her career as a high school teacher. She has held positions with Chicago Public Schools, DC Public Schools, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), and 50CAN. Gretchen earned a bachelor’s degree and teaching certificate from the University of Iowa and a master’s in public policy from the University of Chicago. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.

Margaret Horn, Member

Margaret Horn is CenterPoint’s Chief Development and Partnerships Officer. In this role, she is responsible for expanding business opportunities across the K-16 spectrum and deepening the organization’s external partnerships to advance its mission of empowering educators and readying all students for success after high school.

Margaret began working in the education field at an EdTech startup focused on providing technology-based tools to support teachers in the classroom. From there, her career in education has included roles at the local level, in state government, and in higher education. Margaret served as the education advisor to Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen, where she led the development of the state’s successful Race to the Top proposal. She also led an eight-campus higher education service-learning program based at Duke University and served as Tennessee’s AmeriCorps Program Officer. Prior to joining CenterPoint, Margaret worked at Parcc Inc. and Achieve, leading the organizations’ state and higher education engagement strategies.

Margaret earned her bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and her master’s degree from the University of North Carolina. Margaret lives in Washington, D.C., where she is active in the community, serving as Academic Committee Chair for the board of Center City Charter Schools.

Art Moran, Member

Art is a Sales Manager at The CW Television Network, WDCW-TV in Washington, D.C. He has over 28 years of marketing experience in the broadcast, digital and social mediums. He has held various management positions in Pittsburgh, Houston, Los Angeles, Austin, Miami, Dallas and DC. His area of expertise is building high performance organizations and transforming stagnant to vibrant business growth.

Art also serves on the Community Advisory Board Member, John F. Kennedy Center for The Performing Arts, a world premier performing arts organization and nation’s busiest arts facility, with unmatched theater, dance, and musical performances for all ages and as a Board Member, Gala Hispanic Theatre, groundbreaking “theater” presenting classical and contemporary plays in Spanish and English, with accompanying program of dance, music, poetry, spoken word, art, and film.

Art holds a bachelor’s degree from The University of Scranton. He lives with his partner in DC.

Thomas O’Hara, Member (Former Board Chair)

Mr. O’Hara has served in leadership positions in education 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.

Neville Waters, Member

Neville Waters currently serves as the Public Information Officer with the Department of For-Hire Vehicles. Previous work experience spanned the sports, hospitality, media, and music industries. Mr. Waters has held various roles in broadcasting, including on-air announcing, research and programming, media planning, promotions, public affairs and production. Other endeavors involved organizing, promoting and managing shows and events such as the Taste of DC; the Tibetan Freedom Festival; the Human Rights Campaign Concert; the WHFS Festival; World Cup soccer matches; tours for U2, N’Sync and the Promise Keepers; and the unique mass wedding sponsored by the Unification Church. His professional achievements include the NBC Fellowship Award; the National Black MBA Scholarship; the Walter Kaitz Foundation Award; the Achievement in Radio Award; an Addy Award; an Effie Award; the Adrian Award for hospitality marketing; and Radio Program Director of the Year. He also won $5,000 on the TV game show Scrabble. A fifth-generation resident of the Georgetown neighborhood in Washington, DC, Waters graduated Magna Cum Laude from Springfield College in Massachusetts and also received a Master’s Degree in Psychological Services. He later earned his MBA from Georgetown University.

JD Wilde, Member

Jeffrey D. Wilde is a Managing Partner at Omicelo, LLC, where he oversees acquisitions and asset management. Omicelo is a mission-based real estate investment firm tasked with improving the lives of community members in low to moderate income areas by providing safe and affordable housing along with necessary services to catalyze wholesale economic change. Prior to Omicelo, JD was a Vice President in US Real Estate at The Carlyle Group, where he managed real estate funds and led various housing research projects. As part of the research projects, he developed econometric models to analyze supply and demand imbalances and quantify investment opportunities throughout the US. In addition, he has held various positions in the financial industry ranging from investment management to financial consultant. Mr. Wilde holds bachelor's degrees in mathematics and statistics from Pennsylvania State University and a master's degree in statistics from Purdue University. He lives in the DC area with his wife and two children.