Patricia A. Brantley Chief Executive Officer Patricia A. Brantley, the CEO of Friendship Public Charter School, is an education reformer, charter school advocate and supporter of the right of all children to receive a high-quality education. Ms. Brantley served with the founding planners of the charter school over twenty-five years ago, when she joined with others under the leadership of Donald L. Hense to create better opportunities for the children of the District of Columbia. Ms. Brantley became Friendship’s chief operating officer in 2003 and chief executive officer in 2015, helping to grow the organization and deepen its impact. During her tenure she engineered the acquisition and development of multiple public charter school campuses, rapidly growing academic, operational, and financial outcomes. Prior to joining Friendship, Ms. Brantley served in corporate and nonprofit leadership positions, including as founder of the Partnership for Academic Achievement; chief development officer and adviser to civil rights leader Dr. Dorothy Irene Height; and executive director of the Dance Institute of Washington. Ms. Brantley is a graduate of Princeton University and Chair of the DC Charter School Alliance. Ken Cherry Chief of Staff Ken Cherry joins Friendship Public Charter School as chief of staff with 27 years of experience working with students at all learning levels in rural, suburban and urban environments. During his 17 years in leadership roles, Ken served as an assistant principal, principal and central office executive director in the Baltimore City Public Schools; assistant superintendent in the School District of Philadelphia; and superintendent of the Dover Area School District. He also served as vice president of educational services for EdisonLearning in Philadelphia. In his 10 years in the classroom, he has been a fifth-grade teacher, a middle school ELA/social studies teacher and a high school alternative education teacher. Ken holds a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Slippery Rock University and a Master of Science in administration and supervision of schools from Johns Hopkins. He received his Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mary Torian-DunnockDeputy Chief Academic Officer Dr. Mary Torian-Dunnock is a change agent for helping educators improve instructional quality and raise achievement standards. As a teacher early on, Mary developed practices modeled by other educators and school leaders. She has led several schools to National Blue Ribbon recognition, including Friendship Woodridge International, whose accomplishments earned a visit from President George W. Bush and Education Secretary Margaret Spellings. Mary also served as senior vice president of educational services at Edison Learning in the Mid-Atlantic region. Mary improved performance and culture as principal of several Pennsylvania schools, and she received statewide recognition in Maryland as an outstanding principal and principals coach. Committed to reversing negative trajectories, as a senior vice president of Edison Learning, Mary led efforts averting “state takeover” status for schools across three states. Mary currently develops Friendship’s principals and academy directors, coaching empowerment strategies for meeting school performance goals. She also played a major role in Friendship’s expansion campuses in science, engineering and technology. She has served on the D.C. Public Charter School Board. Mary earned a Bachelor of Arts at Morgan State University and a Master of Science at Coppin State University. She further studied at Cheney University and received her doctoral degree in Educational Leadership at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Mary is a dedicated wife and mother who enjoys opening her home to family and friends. Dr. Felicia Owo-GrantDeputy Chief Academic Officer Dr. Felicia Owo-Grant serves as Deputy Chief Academic Officer at Friendship Public Charter School, where she helps lead academic and talent strategy, school improvement, leadership development, and systemwide initiatives designed to improve student outcomes, strengthen teaching and learning, and deepen leadership impact. Throughout her career, she has remained grounded in a core belief: when educators and leaders are developed, strong systems are built, and expectations for children remain high, extraordinary outcomes are possible. Felicia began her career in education as a kindergarten teacher before progressing through school and system leadership. She has served Friendship as an assistant principal, principal, head of school, Director of Strategic Development, and now Deputy Chief Academic Officer. As principal of Friendship Woodridge International School, she led significant academic and organizational improvement, including a 20-point increase in school performance, multi-year Tier 1 designations, and a Top 10 ranking among D.C. schools. In her current role, Felicia supports school leaders in driving strong outcomes for students while leading strategic academic and talent initiatives across the organization. She coaches and develops school and district leaders, designs leadership development experiences, and leads cross-functional work to strengthen organizational systems and performance. She is also helping shape the emerging Friendship Institute to codify effective practices, develop education leaders, and share Friendship’s proven approaches to support leaders and schools serving children in communities beyond Friendship. Felicia earned her Doctor of Education in Educational and Organizational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania, master’s degrees from Trinity Washington University and George Mason University, and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The University of Texas at Austin. Joseph E. Speight, Jr.Deputy Chief Academic Officer Throughout his career, Mr. Speight has served in a variety of impactful leadership roles, including Teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, Chief Academic Officer, and currently Deputy Chief Academic Officer for Friendship Public Charter School. Joseph is the Founder of the Black Male Teacher Residency (BMTR) powered by Friendship PCS and Co-Founder of the National Association of Black Male Educators (NABME). Through these initiatives, he has helped create pathways for aspiring educators and inspired countless leaders to advance educational equity and excellence across schools and communities. Mr. Speight’s commitment to lifelong learning mirrors the values he instills in others. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia State University, a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Nyack College, a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Trinity Washington University, and an Executive Master of Leadership degree from Georgetown University. He is currently pursuing an Education Doctorate (Ed.D.) in Policy and Leadership at American University. Dylan Gruver Chief People Officer Dylan Gruver is the Chief People Officer at Friendship Public Charter School, where he is dedicated to attracting, hiring, developing, and retaining a diverse and exceptional team of professionals. Before rejoining Friendship, Dylan led Talent at KIPP SoCal Public Schools in Los Angeles, guiding the network’s expansion to 20 schools across Southern California. His tenure at Friendship began in 2012, where he previously held leadership roles as Director of Human Resources and Deputy Chief of Talent. Dylan’s career in education and civil rights began as a middle school math and science teacher in New York City with Teach For America. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, a Master of Education from Lehman College in the Bronx, and a Master’s Certificate in Human Resources Management from Cornell University. Additionally, he completed the Chief Human Resource Officers Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. Zac Morford Chief Performance Officer Zac Morford has spent the past 20 years assisting local governments and school districts from Serbia to Washington, D.C., in using data to improve the outcomes of citizens and students. Since 2007, Zac has helped D.C. teachers, school administrators and school-district executives monitor and improve the performance of their teams. This work has resulted in more effective interventions and supports for students, more targeted teacher retention strategies and more influential investments in educational programs. In his current role, Zac is responsible for the the assessment of students and the analysis and reporting of student performance data. Prior to joining Friendship, Zac spent four years working as the SchoolStat director for D.C. Public Schools. He tailored this local government practice to the education sector by creating performance dashboards for central office departments and by facilitating weekly performance meetings between department chiefs and the DCPS chancellor. Zac is an avid runner who loves to travel and play games with his wife and two daughters. Vielka Scott-Marcus Chief Academic Officer Vielka Scott-Marcus is committed to ensuring that students with special needs receive equal access in the least restrictive environment. After 10 years as a speech language pathologist in schools, incarceration facilities and long-term care centers, Vielka transitioned to education and executed various leadership roles with D.C. Public Schools, ranging from director of related services to chief of staff in the Office of Specialized Instruction. During her tenure, Vielka was charged with seeing that every school was equipped with necessary personnel and intervention programming to ensure compliance and instruction quality in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. Vielka’s desire to more directly affect student achievement led her to the role of principal at Payne Elementary. There, she collaborated with Gallaudet University to develop the district’s only multigrade class taught wholly through American Sign Language. Currently, she refines and develops Friendship’s curriculum. Vielka earned a bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and disorders at Alabama A&M University, a master’s degree in speech-language pathology with a concentration in special education at Long Island University-Brooklyn, and an executive master’s degree in leadership at Georgetown University. She lives in Maryland with her husband and younger son. James WallerChief of Schools James F. Waller joined Friendship Public Charter School in 2008. As chief of schools, James leads the school operation functions, including student information, health services, food services, community and corporate engagement, and facilities and building operations. He previously served as deputy chief academic officer for Friendship, overseeing school budgets, special education and student support services. James has worked for more than 20 years in various leadership roles supporting child and youth development initiatives. Prior to joining Friendship, he served as national executive director for EVERYBODY WINS! USA, a youth mentoring and literacy program. There he provided program oversight and fund development for a network of 15 national affiliates. James also served as senior vice president for MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership. In this role he advocated for youth development policy and funding to support youth mentoring at the national and state level. In addition, he served as chief of staff for U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. James has served as a mentor for more than 10 years and is the founding president of 100 Black Men of Greater Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor of Science in education from the University of Virginia. Catherine Somefun Chief Financial Officer Catherine Somefun joined Friendship Public Charter School in 1999, serving in multiple positions providing support and leadership in finance. Ms. Somefun has extensive experience in public charter school finance and operations at both the charter management organization and school site levels. As one of the founding business managers for Edison’s Washington, D.C. charter schools, she established finance and operating procedures for the first Friendship campuses. In recognition of her outstanding work with Edison, in 2001, the Board of Friendship asked her to become the organization’s first CFO. In this role, she helped guide Friendship’s first tax-exempt bond offering – the largest charter school bond issue in the U.S. at the time – and create a fully functioning finance department. Ms. Somefun oversees the organization’s accounting, grants, procurement and finance team. Ms. Somefun received her B.A. degree from the University of Missouri and her M.B.A. from Howard University. She lives in Maryland with her husband and four children. John Glover Chief of External Affairs John Glover serves as the Chief External Affairs Officer at Friendship Public Charter School where he leads Marketing and Communication, Development, Government Relations, and Family and Community Engagement. Before joining Friendship, John was the Founder and CEO of Alpha Public Schools in East San José, California. Founded in 2010 by a group of East San José parents who recruited John to their community, Alpha’s network of four high-performing charter schools prepare traditionally underserved (or at-risk) students to be the community’s next leaders within the diverse and complex Silicon Valley landscape. Alpha’s schools have been recognized as Top Schools by Innovate Public Schools and have received the California Distinguished Schools Award for demonstrating significant gains in narrowing the achievement gap. An experienced teacher and administrator, John worked as a financial advisor before entering the field of urban public education. He rose quickly from effective teacher to leader and administrator, including School Principal, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director at a network of high-performing charter schools in Oakland, California. John earned his bachelor’s degree in English and theology from Boston College and holds an executive certificate in non-profit management from Stanford University. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two daughters.
