Staff

Robert Cane, Executive Director

Prior to getting into public education in 1992, Robert worked as a political campaign organizer, lawyer, law teacher, and law school associate dean. After a year of doctoral courses at the University of Virginia Curry School of Education, he served as assistant principal at two Virginia public high schools and principal at another. Frustrated by the lack of a commitment to meaningful reform in the three school districts in which he served, Robert joined FOCUS in November 1998. Robert is a graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern University School of Law.

Michael Musante, Senior Director of Government Relations

Michael created a national government relations plan for Edison Learning, Inc. at the federal, state and local levels. He has been involved in advocating for the public charter school community for the past seven years. For three years, Michael headed Musante Strategies, a public relations firm offering a full range of public affairs and issue management services. In addition, he was served as Communication Manager for Koch Industries Inc. and The Charles G. Koch Foundation, and as Communications and Development Director for The Center for Education Reform. Michael also worked as a public affairs officer and project manager at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he was responsible for the development and implementation of an outreach and communications strategy designed to reach local government officials, including mayors and state legislators. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a Masters of Public Administration from The George Washington University. Michael was elected to a two-year term as a local advisory commissioner in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, where he resides with his wife and two children.

Alison Collier, Director of Operations & Programs

Alison directs the organization's charter school startup and training activities. She comes to FOCUS with experience in the DC charter community; prior to FOCUS, she worked with young people at YouthBuild Public Charter School. At YouthBuild she led the employment and career activities for youth, including the development of an internship program for the school. Her commitment to supporting charter schools and school choice for students in Washington, DC led her to FOCUS. Prior to YouthBuild, Alison served as Communications Assistant for an international HIV research program, where she coordinated online, print and in-person communications activities both locally and internationally. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and Spanish from Tufts University, and is bilingual in English and Spanish.

Theodore (TJ) Jansma, Assistant Director of Information Technology

TJ maintains and improves the IT infrastructure at FOCUS, while handling web development duties and graphic design projects. Prior to joining FOCUS, TJ served as the Systems Administrator for the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, where he created and implemented a web site and content management system. His varied background brought him to work as a community organizer for Environment America during the 2008 national election. In addition, TJ taught English in Antofagasta, Chile with the Chilean Ministry of Education’s English Opens Doors Program in 2007. Previously, TJ worked as Post Judgment Collection Desk Legal Advocate with CARPLS in Chicago, helping unrepresented defendants assert their legal rights. He also worked as a Website Content Editor with Illinois Legal Aid Online. TJ holds a Juris Doctor from Michigan State University and a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Denison University. He currently resides in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC.

Steven Taylor, Assistant Director of Performance Management

For the past year and a half at FOCUS, Steven has been working to increase education data transparency in the District and help public charter schools use data more effectively. He is the architect of the current version of the FOCUS School Quality Dashboard and has created similar transparency tools for several other states. He has also published an analytical paper (Choice Without Options) in conjunction with the American Institutes of Research that documents the scarcity of high-quality public school options in DC. He began his tenure at FOCUS with a one year apprenticeship as a part of his Masters of Science in Public Policy and Management program at Carnegie Mellon University, from which he graduated in May of 2011. Prior to joining FOCUS, he worked as an admissions counselor for a healthcare training school, an instructor for international graduate admissions exam courses, and an executive search consultant for procurement professionals. His passion for education policy began early, during family discussions with a long line of New York City educators; it is that passion that continues to drive his professional life.

Roland Carter, Policy/Advocacy Data Analyst

With FOCUS, Roland is tasked with providing data support for FOCUS’ policy and advocacy efforts. In order to maintain and improve FOCUS’ standing as a leader in state education data and its policy and advocacy efforts, Roland is also creating innovative data warehousing techniques. Prior to joining FOCUS, Roland worked as a Financial Data Analyst for an auto loan company, though his true passion has always been in education and its data. As an undergraduate student at Howard University, Roland spearheaded a tutoring and mentoring program with two local public schools. Also, while a student at Howard, Roland worked at the Howard University Office of Institutional Assessment and Evaluation and the Howard University Center on Race and Wealth, two experiences that spawned his love for data as a driving force for institutional transparency and assessing education data. Roland earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree from Howard University in Pure Mathematics.

Lauren Outlaw, Policy & Advocacy Associate

Lauren joined the FOCUS advocacy team in April 2012 to support a variety of legislative and policy initiatives. In this role she conducts background research and legal analysis on a variety of issues confronting charter schools in the district. She works with appointed and elected government officials, the D.C. Public Charter School Board, and the Office of the State Superintendent of Education and represents FOCUS on governmental and non-governmental task forces, committees, and working groups. She also keeps charter leaders informed about government actions affecting their schools. Before working at FOCUS, Lauren was a policy intern at the Children’s Defense Fund where she helped organize a campaign that would ensure all children in the U.S. have access to full-day kindergarten. She obtained her Juris Doctorate from the Indiana University Maurer School of Law-Bloomington in May 2011 and has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Columbia University. It was during her studies at Columbia, in a class entitled “The Changing American Family,” where Lauren developed a passion for child advocacy and education policy, compelling her to pursue a career in this field.

Nicole Gates, Operations & Programs Coordinator

As Operations & Programs Coordinator, Nicole is in charge of office administration and provides support to the School Quality and Development Departments. Prior to joining FOCUS, she served as an Americorps volunteer, working in a tribal setting with the Dry Creek Pomo Indians of Northern California. Her project sought to restore the traditional ways of the Tribe by strengthening the link between formal and cultural education. She assisted in the Tribe’s Language Revitalization Program, helping to set up a dictionary and curriculum to teach tribal youth the native language. After her year of service, Nicole worked as an Afterschool Program Coordinator at a Boys and Girls Club in California, where she taught health and life skills, and formed reading groups to improve the literacy skills of the Hispanic youth. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from the George Washington University and is bilingual in English and Spanish.

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BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Malcolm E. Peabody, Chairman and Founder

Mike Peabody is President of Peabody Corporation Real Estate Developers. Among many other accomplishments, he served as Chairman of the Board of Washington International School from 1984 – 1995; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1969 - 1973 (where he founded the Housing Allowance Program); and Executive Secretary, N.Y.S. Commission Against Discrimination from 1960 - 1962).

Dana T. Ackerly II

Tod Ackerly is Senior Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP. He has a broad corporate transactional and advisory practice, and is a specialist in tax-exempt financing. Previously he served on the boards of Kingsbury Center and St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School.

C. Boyden Gray


Boyden Gray, a partner at WilmerHale, served as White House Counsel to former President George H.W. Bush. He was previously the US Ambassador to European Union. He has been appointed to the US Special Envoy for European Affairs and for Eurasian Energy. In 1993 he received the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Clinton. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Atlantic Council and The European Institute.

Karl Jentoft

Karl Jentoft serves as Charter School Development Corporation's Vice President of Corporate Development. Karl is responsible for strategy development, marketing, contract negotiation, risk analysis, establishing operations, and developing business partners. Prior to joining CSDC in 2010, Karl served as a director with Octopus Investments where he redesigned and overhauled marketing, customer communications, and public relations. Karl has held senior management positions in both banking and real estate development firms throughout his career and has been involved with public charter schools for more than a decade.

Judith Denton Jones, Emerita


Judith Denton Jones is the Chair of the Maine Association for Charter Schools. A former urban sociologist and education planner, she served as a full-time consultant to DC public schools on facility and educational planning from 1987-1994. She was president of the Six School Council, which organized a choice program for elementary schools.

Joshua M. Kern

Daniel Magder

Dan is Director of US Investments at Lone Star Funds, a private equity fund. He was formerly an investment banker and a Director of Corporate Development at Capital One. Dan has worked in international development and economic policy analysis, and published research papers on economics and business policy. Dan is former chair and founder of the Seeds of Peace Young Leadership, and serves as the Treasurer of FOCUS and Chairman of its Finance Committee.

Phillip Mann

Phillip Mann’s practice at Miller & Chevalier covers a broad spectrum of counseling, controversies, and legislative and policy work with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury for both domestic and foreign-based clients. Mr. Mann is the immediate past President of the American Tax Policy Institute, an educational organization providing independent tax policy research, and is a former Chair of the 19,500-member Section of Taxation of the American Bar Association(ABA).

Linda Moore


Linda Moore is the Founder and Executive Director of the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, in Washington, DC. Throughout her career, Ms. Moore has worked with public and community-based organizations to improve conditions for children and families. She serves on numerous boards, including the DC Charter School Association and Martha’s Table, and is the former chairperson of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area Board of Directors and the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education.

Mary Procter


Mary Procter was the Founding Chief of Staff of Friendship PCS. Prior to that, she was Director of Program Planning for the Department of State and Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA). She has served on the boards of many non-profit organizations, including the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, the Harvard Board of Overseers, and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.

Mark Schneider

Mark Schneider is vice president for Education, Human Development and Workforce issues at the American Institutes for Research (AIR). He is a former commissioner of the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, and he has authored and coauthored numerous scholarly books and articles, including the award-winning Choosing Schools: Consumer Choice and the Quality of American Schools (Princeton University Press, 2000).

Howard H. (Terry) Williams, III


Terry Williams was formerly a senior director of McKinsey & Company, Inc.; he is currently a consultant to non-profit organizations and Vice Board Chairman for Alliance for Nonprofit Management. He serves on multiple non-profit boards, including the DC Community Partnership and Arts & Technology Public Charter School in Washington, DC.

Jessica Wodatch

Jessica is the executive director of Two Rivers Public Charter School located in Ward 6, Washington DC. Prior to working at Two Rivers, Jessica was the middle school director at Kingsbury Day School. She also worked for two years as an administrator at St. Coletta School, a school for students with developmental disabilities. She earned a master’s degree in education administration from George Washington University and a bachelor’s degree from Macalester College. Jessica is a member of Policy Studies Associates' Institutional Review Board.