Ian Arnof, Board Chair

Ian Arnof is the retired Chief Executive Officer of First Commerce Corporation in New Orleans, Louisiana, a $9.3 billion regional banking holding company at the time of his retirement. Arnof is a graduate of Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee and received his MBA from Harvard Business School. Arnof has over 30 years of banking experience, has held the role of Chief Financial Officer and became the Chief Executive Officer in First Commerce Corporation when it merged with the Bank of New Orleans in 1983. Arnof has held leadership positions on numerous civic, charitable and professional organizations including Chairman of the Jewish Endowment Fund, Member. Visiting Board of Xavier University; Chair, Community Hospital of Monterey (CA) Hospital; Trustee, Big Sur Land Trust.

Stephen W. Hales, M.D., Board Vice-Chair

Dr. Hales has practiced pediatrics in New Orleans for over thirty years. He is a member of the clinical faculty of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, where he teaches a first year course in medical ethics. Dr. Hales has served on and chaired the boards of New Orleans' Children's Hospital, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, St. George's Episcopal School, Metairie Park Country Day School, and the New Orleans Regional Alliance of Not-for-Profit Hospitals. He also serves on the boards of the Parenting Center, the Research Institute for Children, the Pro Bono Publico Foundation, and the Good Shepherd School, a Nativity Mission School serving inner city children. He is a Director and serves on the Executive Committee of Fidelity Homestead Savings Bank.

Anthony Recasner, Ph.D., Board Secretary

Operator of the city's first charter school, Dr. Recasner is a psychologist whose nontraditional school experience allows him to approach school design from a different perspective. Dr. Recasner was trained as a child psychologist, and specialized in working with kids and their families. He is a graduate of New Orleans' Walter L. Cohen High School, Tulane University and Loyola University. Dr. Recasner now leads New Orleans Charter Middle School and S.J. Green Charter School, and the education methods applied there have served as a model of success for other charter schools in New Orleans.

Stephen Rosenthal, Board Treasurer

Stephen Rosenthal is owner and CEO of Strategic Comp, a workers compensation insurer. A New Orleans native, Rosenthal graduated from Amherst College and received his MBA from The Wharton School. Rosenthal has been actively involved in New Orleans public education for more than 20 years and is a strong advocate of charter schools. He was a founding board member and has served as board president of the New Orleans Charter Middle School and S.J. Green Charter School. He is a founding board member of KIPP in New Orleans which currently runs KIPP Believe College Preparatory School and McDonough 15 School for the Creative Arts. Rosenthal was named Volunteer of the Year by the National Association of Partners in Education and the 1990 Business/Education Leader by the University of New Orleans.

Jim Peyser, Board Member

Jim Peyser is a partner with NewSchools Venture Fund, a non-profit grantmaking organization that supports education entrepreneurs throughout the United States. Jim is a former chairman of the Massachusetts Board of Education, a position he held from 1999 through 2006. During his tenure, the Board instituted comprehensive learning standards along with the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), established the state’s first performance-based high school graduation requirements, developed a school and district accountability system, reformed the teacher preparation and certification process, and expanded the number of charter schools. Prior to joining NewSchools, Jim served as education advisor to Governors Mitt Romney and Jane Swift. He worked for close to eight years as executive director of Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research. Before joining Pioneer in 1993, he worked for over seven years at Teradyne Inc., a world leader in the manufacture of electronic test systems. Jim also served for three years in Washington, D.C. as director of the Export Task Force, a bi-partisan congressional caucus on international trade. Jim serves as a board member of five charter management organizations in New York and Chicago. He is also a member of the board of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers. Jim holds a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School (Tufts University) and a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University.

Cathy Pierson, Board Member

Pierson is a graduate of LSU, and has a Master's degree in history and a Master's degree in social work from Tulane University. She was the first female chair of the Tulane University Board of Administrators, founding board member and former chairman of the Louisiana Children's Museum, and founding chairman of the Tulane Cancer Center Community Advisory Board. Currently Pierson serves as co-chair of a task force working to bring the Edible Schoolyard program to Samuel J. Green Charter School. She also serves on the boards of New Orleans Charter Middle School and S.J. Green Charter School, marketumbrella.org, New Orleans Botanical Garden Foundation, Institute of Mental Hygiene, and the Cowen Institute For Public Education Initiatives. Past board affiliations include Kent School in Kent Connecticut, New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Trinity Counseling and Training Center, and Bureau of Governmental Research.

Matt Candler, Non-voting Member

Sarah Usdin, Non-voting Member