The E.L. Haynes Board of Trustees makes critical decisions pertaining to facilities, management, finance and fundraising and serves in the role as School Board.

Guy Cecil, Chair. Guy Cecil is Chief of Staff to Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado. Prior to his time with Senator Michael, Cecil was the President of Thomas Circle Strategies, a public affairs and issue advocacy firm based in Washington, DC.  Cecil has more than 10 years of experience managing high-profile political, non-profit, and corporate issue advocacy campaigns.  He is also recognized as a leading Democratic strategist, specializing in campaign management, targeting, voter contact, and getting out the vote, with experience in every region of the country.  From 2007 through 2008, Cecil was the National Political and Field Director for Hillary Clinton's campaign for President.  Prior to joining the campaign, he was the Political Director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.  During his tenure, Cecil developed and managed a $26 million voter contact program, leading the Democrats to a historic six seat gain and a new majority in the Senate.  He has managed political and grassroots campaigns in every region of the country.  Born and raised in Miami, Cecil is a former high school teacher and minister.  He is a graduate of the University of Florida.

Susan Colby. Susan Colby has over 30 years of educational and admissions consulting experience.  In 1984, she launched Susan Colby Associates, an educational consulting firm focused on providing assessment and guidance services to students applying to secondary and undergraduate institutions.  With offices located in New York City, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Washington, DC, and referral relationships with several multi-national corporations, Ms. Colby’s client relationships extend throughout the U.S. and internationally.  Ms. Colby has held administrative and teaching positions at Chapin School and Nightingale-Bamford School in New York, The Holton Arms School in Maryland, and Seymour High School in Connecticut.  She graduated from Smith College and received an MAT from Yale University.  Ms. Colby currently sits on the board of Arts and Technology Academy, another charter school in Washington, DC.  She served as Vice-Chairman of the Board and Director of Strategic Planning for the Latino Student Fund from 2000 to 2004.

Jacquelyn Davis. Jacquelyn Davis is Executive Director of the Washington office of New Leaders for New Schools. She was previously a founding leader of the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School in Washington, DC. Ms. Davis is also co-founder of Hands On DC, a volunteer organization that leads an annual, community-based effort to refurbish and bring volunteer services to DC public schools and to raise scholarship funds for DC youth. She has extensive national and state legislative and political experience, including service as a Congressional Chief of Staff and an education policy worker for the Governor of Rhode Island. Ms. Davis is a graduate of Brown University and the Georgetown University Law Center. In January 2006, she was honored as a Washingtonian of the Year by Washingtonian magazine.

Carlos A. Garcia. Carlos Garcia is an attorney, real estate professional, entrepreneur and community leader. He lives in Washington DC with his wife Lucinda and their three children. Mr. Garcia and his wife head the Eng-Garcia Group, an investment-minded, design-conscious real estate team serving clients with residential and commercial properties in DC, Maryland and Virginia. Previously, he practiced law for nearly 15 years at the U.S. Commerce Department, the firm of Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher, as a dotcom general counsel, and as Senior Corporate Counsel for a Pitney Bowes subsidiary. An active social entrepreneur since the early 1990s and former member of the DC Commission for Asian Pacific Islander Affairs, Mr. Garcia is dedicated to the fields of education and social justice. In 2003, Carlos received the Linowes Leadership Award for exceptional work in fostering organizational change and sustainability within nonprofits. Mr. Garcia is president of the board of the Higher Achievement Program, which he nurtured from a small, floundering group to a highly acclaimed model that is nationally recognized for bringing innovative programs to DC's youth to improve grades, attendance, academic achievement, and success. He also serves on the board of directors of the Frederick B. Abramson Foundation and is a member of Oyster Bilingual Public School's Restructuring Team. Mr. Garcia is a graduate of Boston College Law School, Connecticut College, the Fieldston School (NYC) and Manhattan Country School (NYC).

Leander Gray, Parent Trustee. Leander C Gray is the managing partner of Gray Haile LLP. Mr. Gray represents acquirers, sellers and targets in a significant number of mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts as well as in connection with corporate governance and securities matters. He is directly involved in all phases of these transactions, including initial planning, structuring, negotiation, implementation and advice. Mr. Gray also counsels clients on a broad range of corporate, securities and business-related matters, including directors' duties and responsibilities and other aspects of corporate governance, disclosure issues and corporate compliance. Mr. Gray has substantial transactional experience in the automotive, manufacturing, and oil and gas industries. Mr. Gray began his career as a Mergers and Acquisitions Associate in the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, where he represented clients in a variety of high profile mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and leveraged buyouts.

Michael Hall, Vice Chair. Michael Hall is an architect at his firm, Studio CrowleyHall, with his wife, also an architect. Mr. Hall has 20 years of experience designing buildings and working on private and public art commissions. His work focuses on communities and neighborhoods, with an overarching interest in environmental themes. He combines both his technical and management expertise as an architect with his experience and training as an artist to provide thoughtful, sustainable, and technically sound buildings and art installations. A native of Northern Michigan, Mr. Hall lives in Washington, DC with his wife and three sons. He holds a Master's Degree in Architecture from the University of Michigan and has won awards for his work from the Cranbrook Institute of Art and the University of Michigan College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

Roy Jones. Roy Jones was born and raised in New York City and attended New York City public schools, including the Bronx High School of Science. He graduated from Columbia University with a BA in Physics and received a PhD in Astrophysics from Rutgers. Dr. Jones has always wanted to get involved with educating children, especially in science. For the past five years, he has volunteered for Horton's Kids, working with pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, and first grade students. Dr. Jones is currently a Staff Scientist at SAIC.

Marianne Keler, Secretary. In February 2006, Marianne M. Keler retired from Sallie Mae following a 21-year career where she most recently served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Consumer Lending, and Administration. Ms. Keler began her career at Sallie Mae in 1985 as a securities lawyer, was named Vice President, Corporate Law in 1990, and General Counsel in 1997. Prior to her employment with Sallie Mae, Ms. Keler spent three years at the Securities and Exchange Commission as staff attorney and as assistant to then Chairman John Shad and one year in a judicial clerkship at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Marianne Keler currently chairs the board of Building Hope, a charter school facilities developer. She also serves as a member of Georgetown University Law Center's Board of Visitors and as a trustee of the American University of Bulgaria and the National Student Clearinghouse In 2005, Ms. Keler was named one of 25 "Women Who Mean Business" by the Washington Business Journal and received a Distinguished Alumnae Award from Georgetown University Law Center in 2004. Ms. Keler earned both her undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University. She resides in Potomac, Maryland with her husband, Michael Kershow, and has two grown children.

Winston Bao Lord. Winston Lord is a Consultant at Portfolio Logic, which he joined in 2006.  Winston is leading PL’s efforts in postsecondary healthcare education. Prior to joining Portfolio Logic, Winston was the Executive Director of the Washington Baseball Club, a group of national business and philanthropic leaders who worked with the city to return Major League Baseball to Washington DC after thirty-four years.  Prior to Washington Baseball Club, Winston ran his own PR and Advertising Firm which delivered media consulting services to select national organizations.  His clients included America’s Promise, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, National Geographic Chanel Asia, and Capital One Financial.  He also was the Senior Vice President for Stevens, Reed, Curcio & Company, where he led the strategic development, execution, and production of television and radio ads for over fifty political campaigns.  Winston is on the board of directors for the Urban Alliance Foundation and the Washington Ballet where he serves as the Chairman of the Ballet’s Jete Society annual gala. Winston received a BA in History from Yale University in 1990 and studied Chinese at Beijing University during the Summer of 1987.

Jennifer C. Niles, Founder and Head of School. Jennie Niles is the Founder of E.L. Haynes Public Charter School.  E.L. Haynes’ mission is for every one of its students to reach high levels of academic achievement and be prepared to succeed at the college of his or her choice.  In April 2008, E.L. Haynes was chosen from DC’s 56 charter schools as the recipient of Fight for Children’s first-ever Quality Schools Initiative award.  The school was ranked 6th among a consortium of 99 charter schools nationwide and, as such, was also the winner of a Silver-Gain Award from New Leaders for New Schools’ Effective Practice Incentive Community grant program. In June 2003, Ms. Niles finished her fellowship with New Leaders for New Schools, an intensive, year-long program to prepare urban principals. New American Schools sponsored Ms. Niles through her fellowship, supported the development of the charter application, and housed the start-up of the school. Prior to New Leaders, Ms. Niles was the Director of Education Initiatives at The Ball Foundation of Glen Ellyn, IL, an operating foundation that partners with school districts to increase student achievement through systemic reform. Before that, Ms. Niles headed the Charter School Office for the Connecticut State Department of Education where she oversaw all aspects of the charter school program and led a multi-disciplinary team to create the accountability system. Ms. Niles also taught middle school and high school science and directed service learning programs at schools in California and Massachusetts. Ms. Niles holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, a Masters in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management, and a Masters of Science in Public Administration with a focus on Educational Administration from Trinity University (DC).

Ilene Rosenthal. Ilene Rosenthal is a seasoned educator and executive who uses her expertise in education to help all children succeed academically. Through her work with schools, education associations and government agencies, she develops partnerships that help to disseminate best practices for improving education for all children. Ms. Rosenthal has co-founded several companies that have used technology to accelerate learning. She currently is the President and Founder of Footsteps to Brilliance, a comprehensive preschool program designed to expand traditional strategies for parental involvement and help all children realize their full potential. The curriculum emphasizes reasoning as well as math, literacy, language and music. Prior to this, Ms. Rosenthal served as President of Strategic Initiatives for Achieve3000, a company that became a leader in differentiated instruction by delivering current events news articles tailored to each student's individual reading level. She also co-founded Lightspan, an educational software company that successfully bridged the gap between school and home using videogame technology. Ms. Rosenthal began her career as a teacher, during which time she designed curriculum and authored textbooks. In her capacity as a lawyer, she has served as General Counsel to the Software Publishers Association (today called SIIA) and Special Assistant to the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). She also served as the General Counsel to the Government Operations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, and as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia. Ms. Rosenthal received her J.D. from Georgetown University and her B.A. from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. She is on the Board of the award winning E L Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, DC. This school was named the overall highest performing elementary charter school in DC by the Public Charter School Board. She also serves on the Board of New Futures, an organization that provides at-risk youth with college scholarships and mentoring. She is married to Steve Rosenthal, a partner at the law firm of Kaye Scholer, and she is the proud mother of two daughters adopted from China.

Sonia Shelton, Parent Trustee. Sonia is currently a full-time caregiver for sons, Justice (E.L. Haynes first grader) and Jameson. After graduating with her bachelors from Cornell University, she rose quickly through the management ranks of customer service operations at leading health insurance companies. She later completed her masters degree in Sociology from Duke University and managed a Freedom School in rural North Carolina. After completing her graduate study, Sonia transitioned to college admissions serving at Stevens Institute of Technology and then Barnard College. Compelled by the low enrollment of students of color and low income students, Sonia joined the team of the Goldman Sachs iLead program, an award winning college access program, and founded a firm to support students and parents during the college application process. As both staff member and volunteer, Sonia has led successful student enrollment and parent outreach campaigns as well as chaired record setting fundraising campaigns.

Nelson Smith. Nelson Smith, a nationally-recognized expert on charter schools and education policy, is the President of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. His experience includes senior management positions at the U.S. Department of Education, the DC Public Charter School Board, the New York City Partnership, and most recently at New American Schools, where he served as Vice President for Policy and Governance. In 2002, he was appointed by Education Secretary Rod Paige as one of 21 negotiators who developed federal regulations for the No Child Left Behind Act. Mr. Smith is a graduate of Georgetown University and a resident of Washington, DC.

Karim Zia, Treasurer. Karim Zia also serves on the Board and as Treasurer at St. John’s Episcopal Preschool and on the Finance Committee at The SEED Foundation. He worked for ten years as an equity research analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, Credit Suisse First Boston, and Deutsche Bank in New York City. Covering the cable and satellite industries, he was regularly named to the Institutional Investor All-American Research Team and worked on numerous debt and equity financings. He founded and continues to manage a real estate development company in the Charleston, SC, residential market, as well as a charitable foundation dedicated to helping underprivileged children realize their potential through high quality education. Mr. Zia holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a concentration in Finance.

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