Board of Directors

  • Jim Horne

     

    Jim Horne CPA

    President and Chair
    CEO, The Horne Group
    Former Florida Commissioner of Education

    Jim Horne was the founder and president of Horne Group, a governmental consulting and business development firm. From 1994-2001, Horne served in the Florida Senate where he held key leadership positions, including chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, Finance & Tax Committee, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee. In 2001, Florida Governor Bush appointed Senator Horne as the 1st appointed Commissioner of Education.

     

     

  • John Kirtley

     

    John Kirtley

    Treasurer
    Chairman, Florida School Choice Fund
    Vice Chairman, American Federation for Children

    John Kirtley is co-founder of KLH Capital, a private equity firm based in Tampa. In 1998, Mr. Kirtley created the Children’s Scholarship Fund of Tampa Bay, which partnered with the national organization and provided privately funded scholarships for lower income children to attend the schools of their choice. He is former president of Children First America and a former Director of the American Education Reform Foundation. Mr. Kirtley is currently vice chair of ASC, chair of the Florida PRIDE Scholarship Fund, and chair of the Florida affiliate of All Children Matter. He also serves on the Board of the James Madison Institute.

  • Patricia Levesque

     

    Patricia Levesque, M.A.

    Executive Director, Foundation for Florida's Future
    Executive Director, Foundation for Excellence in Education

    Patricia Levesque heads the foundation begun by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush to improve the quality of education in Florida and across the nation. Ms. Levesque is also the managing partner of Meridian Strategies, LLC, a communications, strategic planning, and governmental consulting firm in Tallahassee, Florida. Prior to her leadership of these foundations, Ms. Levesque served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Governor Jeb Bush beginning in October 2003. In this capacity she oversaw state agencies responsible for education, general government services, business and professional regulation, elder affairs, veteran’s affairs, work­force, lottery, and juvenile justice.

  • Tom Majdanics

     

    Tom Majdanics

    Executive Director, KIPP Jacksonville Schools, Jacksonville, FL

    Tom Majdanics is the Founding Executive Director of KIPP Jacksonville Schools. KIPP, the Knowledge is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a renowned track record for preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and life. There are currently 109 KIPP schools in 20 states across the U.S. serving over 32,000 students. KIPP Jacksonville opened its first charter school, KIPP Impact Middle School, in August 2010 – the first KIPP school in the state of Florida.

    Prior to joining KIPP, Tom served as a founding board member of KIPP Jacksonville, while running a $30M business unit as a Director for MSC Group, a Jacksonville-based health care firm. Earlier in his career, he worked in the strategy consulting and private equity industries in Chicago for firms such as Bain & Company, Citadel Investment Group, and First Analysis Venture Capital. Tom presently serves on the boards of the Jacksonville Children’s Commission and Hubbard House.

  • Emilia May Fanjul

     

    Emilia May Fanjul

    Emilia May Fanjul is a Founding and Board Member of Fundacion MIR and active in the Central Romana Hospital in La Romana, Dominican Republic. She is the Board Chair of Everglades Preparatory Academy and Glades Academy Elementary charter schools in Pahokee, Florida and on the Advisory Board of New Hope Charities, Inc. in West Palm Beach, Florida. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Animal Medical Center in New York City; is an Associate Trustee of Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts, and a former Member of the Board of Trustees of the Palm Beach Day School in Palm Beach, Florida. She is also a Dame of Malta – American Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Mrs. Fanjul attended Chapin School, New York City, through the eighth grade then St. Timothy’s School in Stevenson, Maryland, 1964. She attended Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, 1964-1966 and graduated from Barnard College, New York City, Bachelor of Arts, 1966-1968.

  • Judith W. Stein

     

    Judith W. Stein, Ed.D.

    Executive Director, National Institute for Educational Options

    Dr. Judith Stein was on the founding board of two Florida charter school organizations and organized the first four Florida charter school conferences through NIEO. Dr. Stein has also served as the Executive Director of the Division of Magnet/Innovative Programs for The Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She was the Director of Career Education and a national leader in the career education movement. She served as President for the American Association for Career Education, a policy board member of the American Vocational Association; Guidance Director and the Executive Chairman of the International Collaboration Conference on Career Education in Miami.

    Dr. Stein was also the founding President of the State organization for Magnet Schools/Programs, Consortium of Magnets/Public Choice Schools (COM/PCS).