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.”

Areas of Expertise

• Communications strategies
• Public policy initiatives
• Coalition building

Toryah Cameron

Chief of Staff & 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.

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.

Areas of Expertise

• Nonprofit finance
• Compliance
• Operations

Roby Chavez

Communications & Public Relations Director

Email: rchavez@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8479

Roby Chavez has more than 30 years experience as a communications professional. He spent the majority of his career as a television journalist but has also worked in radio, advertising and marketing, and political communications. At LAPCS, Roby utilizes his extensive background in broadcast; website, social and new media; community outreach and message development; political and crisis communications strategies to assist LAPCS and its members in communicating effectively with parents, policymakers, and the public.

Born and raised in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, Roby is a graduate of Loyola University. He launched his television career as a reporter/anchor at KATC-TV in Lafayette and WVUE-TV in New Orleans before working in top television markets in the country including New York, Dallas, Atlanta and Washington, D.C.  Additionally, Roby was an anchor at CNN Headline News.  As a journalist, he covered major stories ranging from 9/11 to the Oklahoma City Bombing, major natural disasters, presidential campaigns, and inaugurations. He also carried out many investigative reports that helped expose wrongdoing and unethical practices.

In 2011, Roby left television to work as communications director for a mayoral candidate in San Francisco, before founding Chavez Communications Consultants.

Roby has received awards from the National Press Photographers Association, New Orleans Press Club, Greater New Orleans Broadcasters and the Louisiana Association of Educators. He has also served on boards and as a public speaker, moderator, and master of ceremonies. Roby is married and is the father of two young boys who attend a public charter school. He resides in New Orleans.

Areas of Expertise

• Crisis Communications
• Media Training / Media Relations
• Social & New Media
• Communications Strategy
• Political Campaign Messaging

Neil Ranu

Governance Director

Email: nranu@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8478

Neil Ranu has counseled business owners, companies, community groups, and nonprofits in all aspects of their operations as an attorney at major law firms in Louisiana and California. He has worked closely with executives and boards of directors throughout his career, engaging in conflict resolution, advising executives of their fiduciary duties, and assessing operational systems for organizations; he has also provided legal services through local pro bono programs. Neil received his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. In 2010, he moved to New Orleans from California to attend the graduate Creative Writing Workshop at the University of New Orleans. Prior to joining LAPCS, he practiced transactional law at Adams and Reese LLP in New Orleans, and before that, in the Sacramento office of DLA Piper LLP.

Areas of Expertise

• Nonprofit corporate governance
• Board of directors duties and responsibilities
• Consensus building

Brady Shannon

Director of External Relations - New Orleans

Email: bshannon@lacharterschools.org
Phone: 504.291.8476

Brady Shannon serves as the External Relations lead for LAPCS. In this role, Brady works with schools, districts, partner organizations and elected officials.  Brady also started and leads LAPCS’s sister 501(c)4 organization Louisiana Charter Schools in Action (LCSA), which advocates for Louisiana’s charter school community by increasing the number of charter school champions, educating stakeholders, and lobbying public officials to support high-quality charter schools.

Before joining LAPCS, Brady spent two years at the Louisiana Department of Education as the Executive Director of New School Strategy and managed the charter school application process.  Brady is a life-long educator, having begun his career as a teacher and having held various teaching and leadership positions in both traditional and charter public schools.

Areas of Expertise

• Teaching and learning
• K-12 administration
• Program management
• Strategic planning

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.

Areas of Expertise

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