Caroline Roemer

Executive Director

Email: croemer@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8476

Caroline Roemer has more than 20 years of experience organizing, developing and managing corporate and political communications strategies and public policy initiatives with an emphasis on message development and coalition building. Born and raised in Bossier City, Louisiana, Caroline left her home in 1991 to work around the country on political campaigns, eventually founding her own consulting firm, Roemer Bell, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Clients have included mayors, congressmen, governors and Fortune 500 companies.

Returning to Louisiana in 2005, Caroline became the first executive director for the Louisiana Association of Public Charter Schools in the fall of 2007. LAPCS currently represents more than 90 percent of charter schools in Louisiana and is recognized as the leading advocacy organization on behalf of charter schools in the state.

Caroline is a former board member of the Orleans Public Education Network and currently serves as an advisory board member for Education Research Alliance and Education Pioneers – New Orleans. She was a 2012 Pahara-Aspen Education Fellow and a fellow with Leadership Louisiana, a Council for a Better Louisiana program. She has also been recognized as one of Baton Rouge Business Report’s “Forty Under 40.”

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Areas of Expertise

• Communications strategies
• Public policy initiatives
• Coalition building

Toryah Cameron

Chief of Strategy & Development

Email: tcameron@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8480

Toryah, a native of Mississippi, graduated from Harvard University and received her J.D. from Howard University School of Law. She began her professional career as a corporate finance attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell in Washington, D.C. before moving to New Orleans to teach at the Tulane University School of Law as a Forrester Fellow and instructor of legal research and writing. She became a staff attorney at Juvenile Regional Services before teaching in New Orleans’ public schools for almost three years. Prior to joining LAPCS, she served as the development director for Teach For America-South Louisiana.

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Areas of Expertise

• Nonprofit development
• Organizational management

Melissa Carollo

Finance & Operations Director

Email: mcarollo@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.274.3651

Melissa, a native of New Orleans, became involved in public education post-Katrina and found a passion in helping organizations lay a solid foundation for financial operations and management.  After being certified in nonprofit finance by the Kellogg School of Management Melissa went on to assist in the formation of many charter schools and other local education non-profits. Prior to joining LAPCS, Melissa was the founding director of operations and finance at New Schools for New Orleans. She also worked with Sojourner Truth Academy and spent nearly four years as an independent non-profit consultant with expertise in finance and operations.  Prior to joining the education industry, Melissa spent more than ten years in finance and operations with local companies.

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Areas of Expertise

• Nonprofit finance
• Compliance
• Operations
• Certified Ethics Trainer

Shannon Cian

Program Coordinator

Email: scian@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8476

Shannon, a New Orleans native, has over 15 years of experience in community outreach, fundraising, and program/executive support. She previously served as Community Development Specialist at ASI Federal Credit Union, Grants Manager at The National WWII Museum, and Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at LSU Health Sciences Center–New Orleans. Additionally, Shannon was a founding board member and prior Chair of the Development Committee for Foundation Preparatory Charter School in New Orleans. She enjoys using her community engagement and program management skills to support equitable public education for students throughout Louisiana. Shannon and her husband have two young daughters, both enrolled at a New Orleans charter school.

Areas of Expertise

• Fundraising and Stewardship
• Community Outreach
• Program Development and Management

Angele DeLarge

Director of External and Governmental Affairs (New Orleans)

Email: adelarge@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8478

Angele is a native New Orleanian and has been working to provide high-quality public education in Louisiana for the past 13 years. She earned her bachelor’s in political science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and her Master of Public Administration from Louisiana State University.

Angele spent seven years educating students in both New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Following her time in the classroom, she joined the Teach for America-Greater New Orleans staff as the Director of Teacher Leadership Development, coaching and developing classrooms, working alongside the strategic partnerships team, and strengthening connections with schools throughout the Greater New Orleans area. Prior to joining the LAPCS team, Angele designed and developed talent strategy, building teacher pipelines, and increasing organizational diversity.

She lives in New Orleans with her husband and two children, who both attend a public charter school in New Orleans.

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Areas of Expertise

• Organizational Partnerships
• Strategic Planning
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Kevin Guitterrez

Governance Director

Email: kguitterrez@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504-291-8479

Kevin Guitterez brings his extensive 25-year background spanning the classroom to the boardroom in Louisiana to his role as Governance Director for LAPCS. In this role, he supports LAPCS member schools to achieve excellence in school governance and amplify the work of charter board members.

Kevin Guitterrez is the founder of Greenfield Partners, LLC, which helps organizations build their capacity in areas including human capital, operations, academics, programming, external relations, governance, and succession planning.

Before founding Greenfield, Guitterrez spent 13 years in New Orleans, where he helped improve some of the most challenging schools in the country. He led ReNEW Schools as CEO and president and provided leadership for its unique commitment to students from birth thru high school.

Prior to leading ReNEW, Guitterrez was Vice President of Services and Partnerships for the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching and deputy superintendent of the Louisiana Recovery School District, where he helped develop innovative initiatives to transform schools into successful places for students to learn. He also served as the founding chief academic officer for the Algiers Charter School Association in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Earlier in his career, Guitterrez worked for the Louisiana Department of Education’s Distinguished Educator program and was an administrator and teacher in St. Charles Parish Schools. He has served on the Louisiana Department of Education’s Accountability Commission and Blue Ribbon Committee for Teacher Quality, the New Orleans United Way School to Career Advisory Committee, and the board of Reconcile New Orleans.

Kevin is a New Orleans area native and holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of New Orleans and is a fellow of Loyola University’s Institute of Politics.

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Latoya Taylor

Administrative Assistant

Email: ltaylor@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.264.5841

Sarah Vandergriff

Legal & Policy Director

Email: svandergriff@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8477

Sarah Vandergriff, a New Orleans native, received her bachelor’s degree from Sewanee: The University of the South in religion and psychology. After briefly teaching at her alma mater, the Academy of the Sacred Heart, she then earned a dual J.D./M.A. from Loyola University of New Orleans in law and religious studies (ethics). A William Crowe Scholar, she primarily focused her legal studies on constitutional law and received a Certificate in International Law, with an emphasis on human rights. Prior to joining LAPCS, she worked for the law firm Phelps Dunbar, LLP in the commercial litigation section.

Sarah has been recognized as a “2017 Leader in Law” by New Orleans City Business Magazine and a “2017 Top 40 Under 40 Professional” by New Orleans Gambit Weekly Magazine. Sarah was also the recipient of the “2016 Good Apple” Award by Louisiana Appleseed and has been a selected participant for various leadership programs including the Aspen Institute, the Loyola Institute of Politics, and the Anti-Defamation League. Additionally, Sarah currently serves on advisory committees for the National World War II Museum and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

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Areas of Expertise

• Charter school law and policy
• Louisiana Sunshine Laws and the Code of Ethics
• Employment law and HR best practices