Meet The Team

Scarlet Pressley-Brown

Scarlet Pressley-Brown is General Manager of Community Affairs at Delta Air Lines and Vice President of the Delta Air Lines Foundation. Joining Delta in June 2000, she has managed Delta’s presence in the community, establishing the company as a leading corporate citizen. Prior to Delta, Ms. Pressley-Brown spent six years with the East Lake Community Foundation as director of Community Affairs successfully restoring and revitalizing the historic East Lake Golf Course community. The restoration included the establishment and opening of Drew Charter School, Atlanta’s first Charter School.

Ms. Pressley-Brown has received numerous awards: the “Outstanding Georgia Citizen” Award presented by the Secretary of State, the Atlanta Business League named Mrs. Pressley-Brown one of “Atlanta’s Top Black Women of Influence” in 2006 and 2007, and the “High Heels in High Places Award presented by the Trumpet Awards Foundation . In February 2006, the Atlanta Tribune featured Scarlet and husband, Wendell, as one of Atlanta’s “Power Couples” and the Atlanta Urban League Guild recognized them with the “Transportation Achievement” Award.

Ms. Pressley-Brown received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and her MBA from University of Phoenix. She is on the board of directors for the Atlanta Business League, the Georgia Center for Children, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the Atlanta Medical Association. She is a member of the National Black MBA Association, the Clark Atlanta Guild, the American Institute for Managing Diversity, and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women.

Scarlet and Wendell have five children and two sons-in-law: Wendell, Jr., April Partridge (Kenya), Amber French (Jason), Kiesha and Dexter.

Betty L. Siegel, Ph.D.

Dr. Betty L. Siegel, the first woman to head an institution in the 34-unit University System of Georgia, has been president at Kennesaw State University since 1981. Under her administration, the university has evolved from a four-year college with an enrollment of 4,000 students and 15 baccalaureate-degree programs to its current university status, attained in 1996, with 13,000+ students and 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. A nationally known speaker, civic leader, and administrator, Dr. Siegel uses the "invitational model" to espouse methods for strengthening the education and leadership process. She has lectured or consulted with educational, professional, government, and civic groups in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and nine foreign countries.

Laura Turner Seydel

Laura Turner Seydel is a Trustee of the Turner Foundation, a private family environmental grantmaking foundation created in 1990. In her capacity as Trustee, Laura is involved in all aspects of the Foundation’s operations, from reviewing funding requests and establishing policy to identifying funding priorities and overseeing special initiatives. Laura is also a Trustee of the Jane Smith Turner Foundation, a private family grantmaking foundation, whose funding priorities include the arts, children’s health and education and the environment. A Georgia native, born in Macon, Laura holds a Bachelor of Arts from Ogelthorpe University. In 2001, Laura became Chairman of the Board for the Captain Planet Foundation. The mission of the Captain Planet Foundation is to fund and support hands-on environmental projects for children and youth. It encourages innovative programs that empower children and youth around the world to work individually and collectively to solve environmental problems in their neighborhoods and communities. Laura resides in Atlanta with her husband, Rutherford and their three children, John R, Vasser, and Laura Elizabeth.

Yolanda Watson, Ph.D.

Dr. Yolanda L. Watson currently serves as the Associate Executive Director of Project GRAD Atlanta, a P-16 educational reform organization working to ensure high academic achievement as well as successful high school and college graduations for Atlanta Public School students. She is also currently a Managing Partner & Principal Consultant for Strategic Consulting Solutions, a Decatur, GA-based consulting firm specializing in educational and organizational consulting. While Dr. Watson boasts a plethora of full-time work experiences, her most notable achievements include her service as the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs at Trinity College for Women in Washington, D.C., as well as in the capacity of Director of Research and Programs for the American Association of University Women in Washington, D.C. She also spent ten years in the employ of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education (Washington, D.C.) as well as in the Region IV Office of the Secretary’s Regional Representative (Atlanta, GA) where she served as the Region IV Public Affairs Director.

Ann Wilson Cramer

Ann Wilson Cramer is with IBM Corporation as its director for IBM Corporate Community Relations and Public Affairs. In support of IBM’s primary focus areas, Ms. Cramer currently serves as past chair of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE); chairs Communities in Schools—Georgia, the Georgia Chamber’s Education Committee, and the WorldClass Schools Foundation; and is on the board of Metro Atlanta Chamber Education Committee and Project GRAD. Ms. Cramer chairs the Council on Foundations Corporate Committee and represents IBM on the United Way of America’s National Corporate Leaders Council, the Center for Corporate Citizenship Advisory Board at Boston College, and the Southeastern Council on Foundations Communications Committee. She is past chair of the United Way of Metro—Atlanta, Research Atlanta, and the Arts and Business Council of Atlanta.

Judy Mauldin

Judy Mauldin is the executive director of R&B/Hip Hop 4 Humanity a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that focuses on education and health programs for at-risk youth. During the summer 2005, HH4H launched an Alternative Education Program at Emory University, a partnership with the Communities in Schools-Future Force Leadership Program and Georgia State University School of Social Work-MSW Program. This one-week summer camp involved more than 200 students who explored various career opportunities and college programs in the entertainment industry through interactive workshops, panel discussions and career fair.

Rob Kight

Robert L. Kight, is Vice President – Compensation & Benefits for Delta Air Lines at its world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mr. Kight began his Delta career as an analyst in 1985 and held positions of increasing responsibility including Director – HR Europe, Director – Compensation and International, Director – HR Services and was Managing Director – HR – Operations when he left Delta to pursue an opportunity in the technology industry in early 2000. Mr. Kight returned to Delta in July 2004 as Managing Director – Worldwide Benefits & Health Resources and was promoted to his present position March 1, 2005. His current responsibilities include the strategic alignment, development, planning and administration of all of Delta's global compensation and benefit programs as well as employee recognition programs and health resources.

Mr. Kight graduated from Duke University, cum laude, with a BA degree in English Literature and History. Mr. Kight is a Trustee of the Employee Benefits Research Institute.

Ricky Steele

Ricky Steele is the Chief Development Officer for Definition 6. In 2004, he wrote a book, The Heart of Networking, a blueprint for building business networks that create satisfaction among clients, customers, colleagues, bosses, investors, and the community. Prior to that, he built several companies from scratch along with engagements with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Korn/Ferry International. Ricky Steele was chosen as the Georgia Small Business Person of the Year and also one of the Georgia Jaycees' "5 Outstanding Young Georgians." He is the founding chairman of both Atlanta's Table and Hospitality Helping Hands, a former board director for the Atlanta Community Food Bank, Hands on Atlanta, Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau and most recently a Trustee for Leadership Atlanta.

Michael Marks

Michael Marks graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and moved to Atlanta, GA in 1986. He is a certified public accountant and has had his own firm since 1993. In the scope of his practice he has serviced numerous nonprofit entities and brings his tax and accounting knowledge to the Board of Directors of the Ron Clark Academy. His wife Beth is a professor at Kennesaw State University and together they have two sons.

Carlester T. Crumpler

Carlester T. Crumpler is the Assistant Vice President for Middle Market Health Care at Bank of America. A native of Greenville, NC, Carlester graduated from East Carolina University with a BSBA in Finance and an MBA. Prior to attending graduate school, Carlester played professional football in the National Football League from 1994-2000 with the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings.

Jaime Gimpelson

Jaime comes from a long line of passionate philanthropists. She is actively involved in breast cancer and HIV awareness and has served on several non-profit boards. She has a masters in Public Health and an undergraduate degree in Child Development. She is a certified Physician Assistant for Atlanta Gastroenterology at Emory Crawford-Long.

Jimmy Bartlett

Jimmy Bartlett has served on the Douglas County (Georgia) Board of Education for seven years, where he currently chairs the Technology and Transportation Committees. Jimmy is a business owner with operations in Atlanta and Nashville, and his company has been an active member of Partners in Education with Douglas County Schools since 1998. Jimmy has served in leadership roles for several organizations including the March of Dimes and the Chamber of Commerce. He and wife Sheri have two school-age children, and the family resides in Lithia Springs.

Matthew Perry

Matthew Perry is a world famous actor who is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit show Friends (1994-2004). Matthew has also appeared in several feature films, including Fools Rush In and Almost Heroes, and he was nominated for a Golden Globe for The Ron Clark Story, a TNT and Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation. Ron's teaching experiences are the subject of The Ron Clark Story, a Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation. Matthew has three Emmy nominations to his credit, one for Friends and two for his appearances on West Wing.

Naomi K. McLaurin, Esq.

Naomi K. McLaurin, Esq. is the Managing Director, Southeast Region for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). Founded in 1997, MCCA’s mission is to advocate for the expanded hiring, retention and promotion of minority attorneys in corporate law departments and the law firms that serve them. Ms. McLaurin is the Co-Founder and former Executive Director of The Atlanta Legal Diversity Consortium, Inc. (ALDC). She served as Dean of Career Services at Emory Law School and Director of Diversity & Outreach at Georgetown University Law Center. She practiced law at large firms in New York City and Washington, DC, and two minority owned DC firms. Prior to, and during law school, Ms. McLaurin was a claims representative with a major insurance company.

Doug Davis, Ph.D.

Douglas Davis, Ph.D is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Georgia State University in the Department of Educational Policy Studies. His main areas of expertise are teacher assessment and professional growth, the preparation of educational leaders, and history and philosophy of education. Doug has published in many educational journals and has presented at over fifty scholarly and professional conferences. He is currently the Editor of The Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education and is past president of the Society of Philosophy and History of Education. He was a public high school social studies teacher and coach in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for seven years.

Michael Julian Bond

Michael Julian Bond completed two successful terms as the representative from Atlanta’s Council District Three. During those terms, he served as the City Council's President Pro Tempore for the year 2001. As President Pro Tempore, Bond presided over proceedings in the absence of the Council President or in the event of conflict of interest for the sitting president. A fifth generation Atlantan, he is the son of famed Civil rights leader and NAACP Board Chairman Julian Bond and Alice Clopton Bond. Bond serves on the boards of the Ollie Street, Southeast and East Lake YMCAs, the Atlanta Empowerment Zone and is Chairman of the Board for Laffapolooza, a youth mentoring organization, Bond attended Morehouse College and Georgia State University, and is a member of Leadership Atlanta and the Black-Jewish Coalition's Project Understanding. He was also the Deputy Director and Chief Programs Officer of the Atlanta NAACP.

Derek M. Alphran

Professor Alphran joined the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law in the fall of 2003 as Associate Professor of Law and Director of Academic Support, where he teaches students the learning skills needed for a successful completion of the study of law. From 1992 to 1994, Professor Alphran served as Special Counsel to Atlanta, Georgia, Mayor Maynard Jackson. His portfolio included constitutional issues such as crack house legislation, handgun legislation, and criminal street gangs. He then worked in a community-based legal practice, focusing on state and municipal government law and federal civil rights law. Professor Alphran received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Morehouse College and his J.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law. He has also done post graduate study in Constitutional Law at Stanford Law School. Professor Alphran was a law clerk to the Honorable Elbert P. Tuttle, Senior Judge, United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, from 1986-87 and became a Palmer Weber Fellow with the American Civil Liberties Union, Southern Regional Office, where he worked on a number of voting rights cases and other civil liberties issues.

Kim Anderson - Advisory Board

Kim Anderson has over 20 years of experience as executive director, board member and legal counsel for not-for-profit, for-profit and public sector entities. She has served as Executive Director of AID Atlanta, the Southeast's largest AIDS service organization, and she has enjoyed an extensive legal career in the healthcare arena. Kim has also served as President of a number of organizations, including the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the Georgia Legal Clinic for the homeless.

Cindy Skaff - Advisory Board

Cynthia Skaff has been a middle school teacher with Toledo Public Schools for 24 years. Ms. Skaff has served on several community boards, including the Red Cross Blood Services and The Toledo Hospital Foundation. She is a past president of the Junior League of Toledo. Due to her experiences in urban education, community service, and fund development, she brings valued leadership to the Board of Directors of the Ron Clark Academy.

Faculty/Staff

The Ron Clark Academy is proud and honored to introduce our staff for the 2007-2008 school year. After reviewing hundreds of applications and teaching videos, we conducted interviews to find passionate educators who are innovative geniuses and gifted leaders in their respective fields.

Ron Clark, Founder and Mathematics Teacher

Ron Clark has been called "America's Educator." In 2000, he was named Disney's American Teacher of the Year. He is a New York Times bestselling author whose book, The Essential 55, has sold over 1 million copies and has been published in 25 different countries. He has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, and Oprah, and Ms. Winfrey even named him as her first "Phenomenal Man." His classes have been honored at the White House on three separate occasions. Ron's teaching experiences in New York City are the subject of the uplifting film, The Ron Clark Story, starring Matthew Perry, better known as Chandler from Friends. To learn more about Ron, visit his website. or check out Ron Clark's blog!

bearden@ronclarkacademy.com

Kim Bearden, Co-founder, Executive Director, and Language Arts Teacher

Kim Bearden was selected from over 70,000 nominations to be honored as the Disney American Teacher Awards Outstanding Middle School Humanities Teacher. The Milken Family Foundation selected her as one of 155 teachers from across the nation to receive the Award for Excellence in Education, and she was the chosen from among 7000 teachers as Teacher of the Year in Cobb County, Georgia. She was a Finalist for Georgia Teacher of the Year, and has been honored throughout the state for her achievements in education. Over the past twenty years, Kim has been a teacher, instructional lead teacher, school board member, staff development trainer, and middle school principal.

adkins@ronclarkacademy.com

Stan Adkins -- Science

Before becoming a teacher, Stan Adkins served in the Navy and as a marine biologist for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration where he conducted marine mammal research. He is a former director of the Pathways Program at Berry College, where he worked to actively recruit minorities into the teaching profession. Mr. Adkins was the creator of the ABC Learning Laboratory, an after school program for struggling at-risk students. He is the recipient of the 2006 Honeywell Scholarship for Educators and is an expert in everything from rocketry to environmental issues.

lokey@ronclarkacademy.com

Rhonda Lokey -- Social Studies and Reading

Rhonda Lokey has been honored as the Teacher of the Year at three different schools—a very rare achievement. During her 25 year career, she has been an instructional lead teacher, instructional technology specialist, and social studies teacher. She is a highly sought-after staff development trainer with expertise in countless areas including the Georgia Performance Standards, vocabulary instruction, backwards design, and technology integration. Her classroom is often used as a model classroom for educators, and videos of her teaching methods have been used at national conferences to demonstrate best practices.

dunkley@ronclarkacademy.com

Tina Dunkley —- Art

Tina Dunkley is currently the director and curator of Clark Atlanta University Art Galleries. Ms. Dunkley has many diverse experiences including serving as Program Manager for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Cultural Olympiad and serving as a faculty fellow for the Smithsonian Institute National Museum of American Art. She has taught art programs at several art agencies, including the Brooklyn Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and her works have appeared in numerous publications. Her awards include the Governor’s Award for Women in Visual Arts, the Brazilian Times Award, the Outstanding Young Women of America Award, and the Women in Design International Award.

scott@ronclarkacademy.com

Elizabeth Scott —- Counselor and Director of Student Services

Elizabeth Scott holds advanced degrees in counseling and psychology with minors in education and family and child development. During her career she has been a counselor, intervention specialist, psychologist, research assistant, and trainer/instructor. She has worked with students and adults of all ages. Her diverse expertise in numerous fields will enhance our school counseling program and other student-related programs.

kassa@ronclarkacademy.com

Mehari Kassa —- Director of Development

Mehari Kassa’s experience includes leadership development, operations management, market research, technology utilization, project management, and process improvement assignments for such companies as The Home Depot, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, and Shell Chemical. Mr. Kassa has a degree in chemical engineering with a minor in business administration. His numerous awards include the Drexel GPA Alumni Merit, National Society of Black Engineer’s Torchbearer, UPS Minority Scholarship, and Outstanding Academic Achievement awards. A graduate of the Lovett School, Mr. Kassa is a proud Atlanta native.

mosley@ronclarkacademy.com

Renita Mosley —- Office Manager

Renita Mosley has been in Administrative Services for the past 26 years at Bellsouth and has an extensive background in Project Management, Executive Secretarial Support and Business Operations. Renita attended Arizona State University where she majored in Journalism/Public Relations. An Atlanta native, she is involved with numerous community organizations. She is a Court Appointed Special Advocate for the Fulton County Juvenile Court, she conducts a home-based adult literacy program, and she also teaches Junior Achievement classes. At the corporate level, Renita has spearheaded several programs to eradicate homelessness and teenage pregnancy, and she has developed mentorship programs to offset reading/writing deficiencies among elementary and middle school students. Renita has served as a BellSouth representative to the United Way, and she has also served as their Job Shadowing coordinator for their local high school program.

mills@ronclarkacademy.com

Johnny Mills —- Facilities Maintenance Manager

Mr. Mills is an integral part to day-to-day operations of the Academy. In his role, Mr. Mills makes sure the school building, its climate and the entire school campus is operating at top-notch. Mr. Mills also works closely with general contractors in managing RCA’s future building projects. Mr. Mills lives in metro-Atlanta with his wife and children.

bruner@ronclarkacademy.com

Lazarus Bruner —- Executive Assistant

Mr. Bruner joined the Academy team in mid-October. While most of his time is spent assisting Mr. Clark with a long list of daily duties, including: grading papers, scheduling trips, and disciplining students, Mr. Bruner also coaches basketball on Wednesday afternoons. Mr. Bruner lives in the metro Atlanta area with his wife and two young sons.

walker@ronclarkacademy.com

Staci Walker —- Director of External Affairs

Ms. Walker officially joined the RCA Family on November 5, 2007. In her role at the school, she oversees the admissions process and supports the school's development efforts through community relations. Prior to RCA, Ms. Walker was with a small consulting firm working with Atlanta nonprofits to leverage corporate dollars through special events. Ms. Walker earned her M.S. in Broadcast Journalism from Columbia University in New York and her B.A. in English from Princeton University. A native Atlantan, Ms. Walker lives in East Atlanta and enjoys reading, cooking and running. She serves on the board for Easter Seals of North Georgia.

johnson@ronclarkacademy.com

Robyn Johnson —- Executive Assistant

Mrs. Johnson joined the RCA family on November 1, 2007. As a former police officer with Georgia State University and a former probation case manager with the state juvenile justice department, she has a host of experience working with young people. Most of Mrs. Johnson's time is spent working closely with Ms. Bearden. In addition to scheduling and coordinating all teacher visits, Ms. Johnson also manages various special projects for the school, including the coordination of parent and community volunteers. Ms. Johnson received her M.A. Ed. from Central Michigan University and her B.S. from Georgia State University. A native of Chicago, she lives in Lithonia with her husband and two sons.

barr@ronclarkacademy.com

Joey Barr —- Finance Manager

Mr. Barr joined the RCA Family as a part-time employee on September 1, 2007. Mr. Barr handles the day-to-day accounting operations for the school including accounts payable, tuition, and donation correspondence. Mr. Barr started his own firm, Barr Marketing, Inc. three years ago; the firm is a managing agency for Ron Clark's books and merchandise sales. Prior to Barr Marketing, Mr. Barr worked 7 years in the finance industry with Regional Acceptance Corp - a subsidiary of BB&T. Mr. Barr graduated from East Carolina University in 1997 with a BSBA in Finance.

davis@ronclarkacademy.com

Erin Davis —- Spanish Teacher and Special Projects Manager

Ms. Davis is a recent graduate of Georgetown University with a degree in Spanish and Theology. A native Atlantan, Ms. Davis received the International Baccalaureate diploma at Riverwood High School and attended the Georgia Governor's Honors Program for Spanish. She has lived in Spain as part of an immersion program and has had internships teaching English to Spanish-speaking immigrants at Heards Ferry Elementary. Ms. Davis enjoys volunteering as a translator for Egleston Children's Hospital and is an active volunteer in other Atlanta organizations such as The Wish for Wendy Cystic Fibrosis Benefit and The Festival of Trees.

ndavis@ronclarkacademy.com

Norman Davis —- IT Specialist

Mr. Davis is the newest member of the Ron Clark Academy family. He joins the Academy after three years with Promethean, Inc. where he served as both a Senior Quality Support Engineer and Trainer. In addition to managing all technology support at the school, Mr. Davis will continue to build the school’s technology advancement into the future. Mr. Davis is active in the community, with affiliations to Leadership North Fulton, NAACP, and the American Legion. He lives in metro Atlanta and is rearing four children.