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.
Ariana Quiñones-Miranda, Deputy Director
Ariana has been closely involved with education reform efforts in the District, most recently as the Advocacy and Policy Director at Fight For Children and prior to that as the first Executive Director of the DC Public Charter School Association. Ariana spent eight years at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) in Washington, DC, working her way up to position of Deputy Vice President for Education. There her work involved oversight of programs targeted to Latino students and English language learners in the areas of early care and education, alternative and charter schools, and adult basic education. Before joining NCLR, Ariana was the Deputy Director of the Latino Civil Rights Task Force, a local grassroots advocacy organization also in Washington, DC. As an attorney and a foster parent, she has spent much of her career as an education activist focusing on at-risk youth and English language learner students in DC and nationally and within district and charter public school settings. Ariana holds a Bachelor’s degree in graphic design and journalism from the University of Maryland in College Park, and a J.D. from the District of Columbia School of Law. Ariana, her husband Samuel, and daughter Felicia live in Washington, DC where Felicia attends the Latin American Montessori Bilingual (LAMB) Public Charter School.
Naomi Rubin DeVeaux, Director of Academics
Becoming a high school English teacher in 1997 with a credential from Chapman University, Naomi was surprised to find students with inadequate literacy skills to function at grade level. After four years in the classroom trying to understand and solve the problem, she became the Literacy Coach at an urban high school, simultaneously earning a master’s in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis on literacy from California State University, Long Beach. When her family moved to Washington D.C. in 2004, Naomi joined the staff at the School of Education, Evolution and Development (SEED) PCS, where she became the English Department’s co-chair and worked with the faculty on using reliable assessment methods to create, collect, and analyze data to implement effective instruction. Prior to working in the American public school system, Naomi graduated from Reed College, taught English in the former East Germany as a Fulbright scholar, and worked in a non-profit in D. C.
Karen Byer, Communications Manager
With a Master’s degree in Public Communications, Karen has throughout her
career gained experience in all facets of the field, including strategic
planning, speech writing, media training, and event management, among
others. Prior to joining FOCUS Ms. Byer worked for many years as a
communications specialist both for the Air Line Pilots Association in
Washington, D.C. and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in her native Barbados.
Erika Wadlington, Program Assistant
Erika Wadlington organizes FOCUS’s Charter School Startup Program and works with school founders on the business and operations sections of their charter school applications. She also supports FOCUS’s advocacy efforts. Erika graduated from Howard University, where her concentration on community development inspired her to be a catalyst for change and to encourage others to build capacity in their communities.
Board of Trustees
Malcolm E. Peabody, Chairman and Founder
President, Peabody Corporation Real Estate Developers; Chairman of the Board of Washington International School, 1984 – 1995; Deputy Assistant Secretary of Equal Opportunity, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1969 - 1973 (founded the Housing Allowance Program); Executive Secretary, N.Y.S. Commission Against Discrimination, 1960 - 1962.
Dana T. Ackerly II
Partner, Covington and Burling; specialist in tax-exempt financing
Kevin Chavous
Formerly head of the Education Committee on the D.C. City Council. Strong supporter of public charter schools at the District and national level. Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Education Reform (CER), Mr. Chavous works with legislators, policy makers, and grassroots advocates in states across the country.
Boyden Gray
Partner of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering; White House Counsel to former President George Bush. Currently, U.S. Ambassador to European Union.
Brett Greene
Principal in A-1 Construction. Active in D.C. Council affairs and as finance chairman for council members Gray and Alexander.
Harold Bardonille
Former Chairman of the Board, Paul PCS; Former Director of Facilities, Howard University; Former Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia; founded a “charter school” within the D.C. public school system, offering bilingual instruction.
Edward Han
Partner in the law firm of Howrey & Simon, Antitrust and Litigation Group
Anne Herr
A co-founder of Capital City Public Charter School and served as the chair of the school’s Board of Trustees prior to becoming its Executive Director. She also spent fifteen years as an analyst of Russian and Soviet foreign policy at the US Department of State. Anne received her BA from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a Master of Public Management degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Judith Denton Jones
Chair, Maine Association for Charter Schools; former urban sociologist and education planner; former full-time consultant to D.C. public schools on facility and educational planning, 1987-1994; former president of the Six School Council, which organized a choice program for elementary schools.
Charles P. Lord
Formerly Washington Bureau Director of Children's Express; former Headmaster of Holton Arms and St. Timothy schools; board member of the SEED public charter school.
Linda Moore
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
Founding Chief of Staff of Friendship PCS. Former Director of Program Planning for the Department of State; Former Director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (OTA)
Eva Rainer
Deputy Director of the educational facilities financing center, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). Rainer specializes in project loans for non-profit and educational organizations, particularly for charter schools. She is the Chair of the Potomac Light House Public Charter School in Washington, D.C.
Donald Rappaport
Board member and Treasurer, Meridian PCS; CFO and CIO, U.S. Department of Education, 1997-1999; National Director, Price Waterhouse national services group, 1979-1987; partner, Price Waterhouse, 1963-1987.
Irasema Salcido
Irasema Salcido is the founder and CEO of the Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy. Before founding the first Chavez school in 1998, Mrs. Salcido worked for nine years in the DC public school system. She received a BA in Business Administration from California State University at Fullerton. She also holds a MA in Education, Administration, and Social Planning from the Harvard University School of Education.
Howard H. (Terry) Williams, III
Formerly a senior director of McKinsey & Company, Inc.; currently consultant to non-profit organizations and Vice Board Chairman for Alliance for Nonprofit Management; Board member of the DC Community Partnership and Arts & Technology Public Charter School.
Advisory Board
James G. Banks
Chairman, Anacostia & Congress Heights Partnership; formerly Executive Director, Washington Board of Realtors and Director of D.C. Public Housing Agency.
Emmanuel Carr
Former Director of Equal Opportunity, D.C. Public Schools.
Ann Fairbanks
Partner in Keystone, Inc.
David R. Gergen
Editor-at-Large, U.S. News & World Report; White House counselor to Presidents Bush and Clinton.
George W. Grier
Demographer, Greater Washington Research Center; Director, Greater Washington Research Consumer Survey, Inc.; formerly, Director of Research, N.Y.S. Commission Against Discrimination.
Mary Janney
Formerly of Washington Wider Opportunities for Women, Inc.; former at-large candidate for The D.C. School Committee and candidate for the D.C. Council
Caroline Macomber
Former board chair of Farmington School.
Dr. Carlotta Miles
Psychiatrist and specialist in school/student relationships.
Dr. Vincent Reed
Formerly vice president of communication, Washington Post; formerly Superintendent of D.C. Public Schools.
