Board of Directors

Jude Melville, Chairman

Chairman and CEO, Business First Bank

Born and raised in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, Jude Melville graduated cum laude from Harvard College, which he attended on a military scholarship, and received a master’s degree from the London School of Economics, which he attended as a Rotarian International Ambassadorial Scholar. He spent a number of years as an officer in the United States Air Force, achieving the rank of Captain, serving at various times in Turkey, Oman, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and at the Pentagon.

Jude co-founded Business First Bank, a Louisiana-based bank that caters to businesses, entrepreneurs, and not-for-profit organizations, in 2006. The bank operates in six markets and maintains approximately $640MM in assets. He is currently Chief Executive Officer of the bank. He is also a founding director of Roemer, Robinson, Melville, and Co., a boutique private investment firm.

Jonathan Bertsch

Director of Advocacy, KIPP New Orleans

Jonathan Bertsch serves as the Director of Advocacy at KIPP New Orleans Schools.  A founding KIPP New Orleans staff member, Jonathan has managed development, operations, communications, growth and advocacy as the organization has grown over the past eight years from one school to nine schools serving nearly 4000 students in grades K-12.

 

 

 

 

Kenneth Campbell

Executive Director, Southern Louisiana IDEA Public Schools

Kenneth Campbell is the Executive Director for IDEA Public SchoolsSouthern Louisiana. IDEA is one of the nation’s most highly regarded charter school management organizations that operates with a relentless focus on providing an educational experience that ensures all students get to and through college. As IDEA’s leader in Louisiana, Mr.Campbell is responsible for successfully launching IDEA’s first charter schools outside of the state of Texas and for building a network of high performing college preparatory charter schools that serve students and families across south Louisiana. A retired Army Reserve captain, Campbell began his career in education reform by helping to secure passage of Washington, D.C.’s landmark charter school law. He later founded the D.C. Charter School Resource Center, served as vice-president of business development for the nation’s second-largest education management company, and helped develop schools in Qatar as part of the most progressive education reform effort in the Middle East. He also served as the founding director of charter schools at the Louisiana Department of Education. In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he helped engineer the rebuilding of NewOrleans’s education ecosystem and accelerated the growth of high-performing charter schools across the state. Prior to assuming his role with IDEA Public Schools, Campbell served as national President of the Black Alliance for Educational Options(BAEO). Under his leadership, BAEO played a key role in advancing bold education policy reforms in key states and helped to change the narrative about education reform and parental choice in the Black community nationwide. Campbell holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s in educational leadership. He and his wife live in Louisiana, and they have a son serving on active duty in the United States Army.

Tina Chong

Vice President of Communications, City Year

Tina Chong is the Vice President of communications for City Year, where she leads the national communications team in the work to deepen public understanding of City Year as an education innovator and national service leader.

Prior to her current role, Tina led communications efforts for a variety of education organizations in the nonprofit and public sectors, including the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools, the Jefferson Parish Public School System, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Tina holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale University and a master in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She is based in the great city of New Orleans, though she’ll always call Los Angeles home.

 Cleland Powell

Executive Vice President, IberiaBank

Cleland Powell is the Executive Vice President and Senior Commercial Manager at IBERIABANK. In the last four decades, Cleland has served on more than 50 boards, both for public and private organizations. Currently, he serves as the treasurer of the Health Education Authority of Louisiana (HEAL) and is a member of the Louisiana Endowment for The Humanities Board, the Industrial Development Board of the City of New Orleans, the Board of Commissioners of the City Park Improvement Association for the City of New Orleans, and the Dillard University Board, among others. He is a past chairman of the Board of Governors of Tulane Health Sciences Center and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

Cleland is a graduate of Newman High School and received a bachelor’s degree in English and economics from Tulane University. He holds an MBA from The Gouzetta School of Business from Emory University. He is also a graduate of The Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

Delano Wilson

Owner, M*A*C*S* LLC

Delano Wilson is an entrepreneur who loves his community and lives by the motto “each one, reach one.” A McDonald’s franchise owner and operator at the age of 27, Delano oversees all finance, development, marketing, production, human resources, and administrative affairs for his restaurant as well as offers career opportunities to more than 110 people in the Shreveport area.

Delano serves on multiple boards or has memberships in the following groups: the ARC of Caddo Parish Foundation, the Rotary Club of Shreveport, Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center, Red Cross of America, and Caddo Youth Planning Commission. He was recently recognized by McDonald’s USA for 20 years of dedicated service, going back to his first job with the company at 14 years of age.