About our Board of Directors

KIPP WAYS Academy is governed by a Board of Directors. The Board of Directors’ primary mission is to ensure that the school performs according to the terms and conditions of its charter and in compliance with KIPP’s educational philosophy.

The Board of Directors, as a collective group, is responsible for:

* Serving as ambassadors for the school by clearly articulating the school's mission, accomplishments, and goals to the community and by garnering support from important members of the community.

* Assuring that there are adequate resources for the school to fulfill its mission by working with the principal and development staff, if any, to raise funds from the community.

* Monitoring the management of financial resources by approving the annual budget and ensuring that proper financial controls are in place.

* Supporting the principal by ensuring that he has the moral and professional support he needs to further the goals of the school.

* Evaluating the performance of the principal in conjunction with KIPP National and offering constructive feedback for areas of growth.

* Monitoring and ensuring compliance with the Georgia Department of Education regulatory statutes and other local, state, and federal laws by regularly reviewing school policies, programs, and practices.

* Assessing its own performance annually by evaluating its success as a board and its performance in fulfilling its responsibilities.

* Identifying, recruiting, and screening candidates for the Board of Directors and Advisory Council.

* Resolving student, staff, or parent grievances that are unable to be resolved at the school level.

The following individuals serve on the KIPP WAYS Academy Board of Directors:

ShaJra Johnson Mitchell - Campus Recruiting Lead, Accenture (Chair of the Board of Directors)

Ms. Mitchell is currently the Campus Recruiting Lead for Accenture’s East Region. Accenture is a global management and information-technology consulting firm. She’s been with the firm for over 9 years and is responsible for setting the strategy and delivery of 700 new hires from 65 campuses across 18 offices in the East Region. Before joining Accenture, Ms. Mitchell worked for the University of Georgia as an Assistant Director of Admissions for five years.

Carice Anderson—Consultant, Deloitte Consulting

Carice has held various positions at Hewitt Associates, Arthur Andersen, and Deloitte Consulting in their health and welfare practices. As a senior consultant in Deloitte's Organization and Change group, Carice focuses on addressing the critical elements of organizational effectiveness such as talent management, change management, learning and development and culture. Carice brings a unique skill-set to KIPP WAYS Academy, including the ability to develop and implement strategies to recruit, develop, and retain our most valuable resource, our people. Carice has volunteered with Junior Achievement at Booker T. Washington High School and she is a graduate of the United Way VIP program. Carice has a B.S. in Marketing from the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Raheem Beyah, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor, Georgia State University

Raheem Beyah is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Georgia State University where he leads the Georgia State Communications Assurance and Performance Group (CAP). He is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and his Masters and Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining Georgia State, Dr. Beyah was a research faculty member with the Georgia Institute of Technology's Communications Systems Center (CSC) for four years and remains a part of the Center. He also worked as a consultant in Andersen Consulting's (now Accenture) Network Solutions group. Dr. Beyah is member of LEAD Atlanta class of 2007 and is the founding faculty advisor the Georgia State University National Society of Black Engineers.

Gene Burnett – Director of Commercial Architecture, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods

Gene Burnett has practiced Architecture since the late seventies. Currently he manages the Commercial Architecture Department at John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods. Previously he was a founding partner of Atelier Architects in Washington DC practicing commercial architecture. His professional experience includes various types of design work including office, healthcare, educational, residential and food service. His educational background includes a Bachelor of Architecture from Howard University, Washington DC and he is currently a Registered Architect in Maryland and New Jersey and a member of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Tiffany Friesen – Consultant, Ahmman

As a consultant with Ahmman, Ms. Tiffany Friesen consults with public entities to support the establishment of public-private partnerships. Prior to joining Ahmman, Ms. Friesen was a Senior Campaign Manager with Coxe Curry & Associate with her work ranging from annual, capital and endowment campaigns to feasibility studies, development audits and the coordination of campaign materials. Her clientele included The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Project GRAD Atlanta, Saint Joseph’s Mercy Foundation, and The Atlanta Urban League. Prior to joining Coxe Curry & Associates in 1999, Friesen managed the School-to-Work Program in the education department of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

Marni Mohr – Community Volunteer

Marni Mohr has many years of educational experience and history with KIPP that is valuable to KIPP WAYS Academy. She was formerly the Director of School Relationships for the KIPP Foundation and she worked to connect KIPP schools to best practices, share best practices amongst each other, and secure internal and external resources to help schools achieve their goals. Prior to joining KIPP, Ms. Mohr served in a variety of capacities with non-profit education organizations. Her educational background includes B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

Michael Ray – Attorney, Miller, Hamilton, Snider & Odom, L.L.C.

Mike Ray specializes in banking law, commercial finances and lending, treasury services, and international trade. From 1990 to 2002, Mr. Ray was General Counsel and Secretary of Wachovia Bank of Georgia, N.A. and Associate General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Wachovia Bank, N.A. He was a charter member and a past Co-Chairman of the Diversity Program of the State Bar of Georgia. In addition, Mr. Ray serves on the Board of Directors of the Bank Counsel Section of the Georgia Bankers Association.

Shannan Reese – Major Gifts Officer, The Westminster Schools

As a Major Gifts Officer at The Westminster Schools, Shannan works with members of the school community to help them understand the school’s current funding priorities and to assist them in reaching their philanthropic goals. Shannan recently joined The Westminster Schools after serving as Director of Development at Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. Her work at The Children's Museum of Atlanta resulted in the establishment and implementation of sustainable funding strategies that have helped to foster and build the educational vision of the Museum from its transitional first year to its current solvency. Before moving back to her hometown of Atlanta in 2004 to work at The Children's Museum, she spent four years in New York City building a non profit, fundraising consulting firm through which she focused on securing funding support for inner city, private schools located in Harlem and the Bronx. Shannan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Georgia.

Vernon Sermons – Senior Manager of Analysis Finance, Georgia Pacific

Vernon is a Senior Manager of Financial Analysis with over 20 years of accounting and financial analysis experience with Georgia Pacific and Domtar Corporation. He is currently responsible for financial analysis for the GP Commercial division supporting the marketing function. He has been a Controller at GP’s Wisconsin operations. Additionally, he has been a Cost Manager at several of GP’s manufacturing operations. Vernon has significant experience in Budgeting, Income statement and Balance sheet analysis, and cost analysis.

Spencer H. Wiles - Retired Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Personnel & Curricular Services, City School District of New Rochelle, NY

Spencer Wiles was responsible for the supervision of the Departments of Special and Alternative Education, Pupil Personnel Services, Health Services, ESL and Bilingual Services, the District Technology Department, and coordination of all grant funded programs (12 million annually). His professional experience also includes twenty years as an Elementary School Principal, and nine years working for NBC as the Manager of Community Relations for WNBC-TV and as a Sales Account Executive for NBCs’ TV Stations Division. He holds a B.A. degree from Lincoln University, P.A., Masters and Professional diplomas in Educational Administration from New York University.

Ashley Williams – Solution Realization Manager, Accenture

Ashley is currently a Manager for Accenture, a global management and information-technology consulting firm. She provides project management oversight in the Application Outsourcing practice. She has been project coordinator for Accenture’s Hands On Atlanta sites, including KIPP WAYS Academy, and is involved in various other community activities.

If you would like to contact the chair of the KIPP WAYS Academy board, you may email her at boardchair@kippways.org.