Adrienne Collopy
Chief Academic Officer, Audubon Charter School
Adrienne has been a proud Rarebird at Audubon Charter School in New Orleans, Louisiana for twelve years and loves working in Audubon’s creative, diverse, and unique public school environment. After serving for six years as Principal at Audubon’s Upper Campus, she is now the Chief Academic Officer. Audubon maintained a letter grade of B and earned an A progress rating in 2019.
Ashley Daniels-Hall
Executive Director, 826 New Orleans
Ashley has been an instructional leader in New Orleans schools for over 7 years. She has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Instructional Officer at Einstein Charter Schools. Additionally, Ashley has served as principal, instructional coach, and teacher at Einstein Sherwood Forest and as assistant principal at Einstein Village de l’Est. Under her leadership, the school earned an A progress rating in 2019. In years prior, she served Renew Accelerated High School’s students as their Director of Curriculum and Instruction, increasing student achievement and engagement by 30 and 60 percent, respectively.
Avione Pichon, Esq.
Partner, The Management Center
Avione has served in urban education for over 10 years and is currently a Partner in the Education Equity Sector of The Management Center. Prior to her current role, she served as Chief Operations Officer to facilitate the partnership of two local charter management organizations (CMOs) to form a new CMO, Community Academies of New Orleans. As a local attorney, she also represented charter schools and founded the first education law group at the largest law firm in Louisiana.
Danielle Dufauchard
Chief Operations Officer, Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans
Prior to the Chief Operations Officer role, Danielle served Lycée as Interim Chief Executive Officer. Lycée was named a Top Gains Honoree in 2019. Danielle’s previous experience has been in engineering, education (high school and college in-structor), the non-profit sector, and the healthcare industry. Her passion for mathematics and being a positive agent of change propelled her to leave the engineering world to teach high school math.
Dione Singleton
School Director, Phyllis Wheatley Community School
Dione Alexander-Singleton is a native New Orleanian and has been a Firstline community member for 17 years. She began her career as a teacher assistant with FirstLine in 2005 at Samuel J. Charter School, two months after Hurricane Katrina. As the primary principal for six years at Phillis Wheatly Community School (formerly John Dibert Community School). After four years as the School Director at FirstLine Live Oak Charter School, Dione has returned to her roots at Phillis Wheatley Community School as the School Director. As a product of New Orleans Public Schools herself, Dione is committed to providing all students with an educational experience to prepare them for a productive and successful life.
Kendall McManus-Thomas
Principal, Andrew H. Wilson Charter School
Kendall McManus-Thomas is the Principal at Andrew H. Wilson Charter School. Prior to his recent appointment, Kendall served as the Executive Director of Academics at Warren Easton Charter High School. While there, he co-presented at the national Model Schools Conference on Creating and Sustaining a Positive School Culture and Climate. Kendall has completed the Leading Educators program with a focus on literacy and math content development and professional learning cycles. He was formerly a science teacher, Summer Science Program Director, Head Track & Field Coach, Head Cross Country Coach, and Science Department Chairperson.
Mark Burton
Director of Growth and Strategic Projects, KIPP New Orleans
Mark has served in education for 17 years and in school leadership roles for 11 years. Under his leadership as Primary Principal, KIPP Morial earned an A progress rating in 2019. After 10 years in the Principal seat, Mark is now serving as KIPP New Orleans’ Director of Growth and Strategic Projects.
Nicolette London
Chief Executive Officer, The Willow School
Nicolette London has served New Orleans schools for 28 years. Over those years, her experiences range from teacher to school district leader. Prior to becoming CEO at The Willow School, formerly Lusher Charter School, Nicolette’s leadership on the district level was instrumental in transforming the culture of the OPSB as it relates to fiscal and programmatic grant implementation. She later served as the Chief Administrative Officer at Benjamin Franklin Elementary. Under her leadership, “Baby Ben” earned a B progress rating in 2019.
Shawn Persick
Chief Operations Officer, Hynes Charter Schools
Shawn has served in education for 26 years and in school leadership at Hynes Lakeview for 17 years. Hynes Lakeview has maintained a letter grade of A, was recognized as a Top Gains School, and was named to the state’s “Excellence Honor Roll” for early childhood education in 2019. In 2021, she became Chief Operations Officer for Hynes Charter Schools Network, which is now compromised of three campuses: Hynes- University of New Orleans, Hynes-Parkview, and Hynes Lakeview. Shawn is the inaugural recipient of the Leadership Impact Award.