Jessie Kilgore, Jr., Chairperson

Jessie Kilgore Jr. is the Chief Administrative Officer for Plymouth Educational Center.  Before coming to Plymouth Educational Center, Jessie served as teacher, athletic director and assistant principal at Wayne State University Public School.  Because of his positive impact on the students Jessie was offered the principalship at Plymouth Educational Center.  During his tenure as principal, Jessie managed the school’s growth from 150 K-4 students to over 800 in grades K-8.  After serving as principal for five years, Jessie was unanimously selected by the board of directors to fulfill his current role as Chief Administrative Officer. During his years in administration, Mr. Kilgore has developed numerous partnerships with community organizations and businesses, written several successful proposals for school programs totaling over one million dollars and helped numerous students locate summer employment.

Barbara Barrett, Secretary

Barbara currently serves as a regional vice president for The Leona Group, LLC, and supervises public school academies educating students throughout Michigan. Barbara has worked in both the education and business fields.  Her career spans teaching, administration and executive leadership, including work in national and international arenas and the public and private sectors. After Michigan passed charter school legislation, she co-founded and directed the Michigan Center for Charter Schools, a technical assistance organization, the first of its kind in the nation.  Barbara provided extensive support for the fledgling movement, and was responsible for guiding many of the pioneers in the Michigan movement through the chartering process.

Nawal Hamadeh, Treasurer

Nawal Hamadeh is the founder, superintendent and CEO of Star International, Universal Academies and Universal Learning Academy in Dearborn Heights and Detroit.  She is also the Founder and President of Hamadeh Educational Services, Inc. which manages the schools.  Nawal has an extensive background in education and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children by providing them with the time, commitment and quality education.

John Cleary

John Cleary has worked to develop three new charter schools and is the Vice President of Finance and Real Estate for The Thompson Educational Foundation and is responsible for real estate and construction activities along with Contract Administrator duties for the Public School Academies of Detroit. Prior to work at The Thompson Foundation, John was the Vice President of Finance at DeMaria Building Company and directed accounting and finance functions for General Contractor/Developer with sales in excess of $100 million.

Greg Handel

Greg Handel is currently a charter school board member and professionally he is the Senior Director for Workforce Development at the Detroit Regional Chamber. He has worked at the Chamber for 20 years and has been responsible for the Chamber’s K-12 Education and Workforce Development policy for the past sixteen. In this capacity Greg has helped develop and advocate policy related Detroit Public School governance, state-wide education funding and school choice. He also takes the lead in planning the education and workforce sessions for the Chamber’s Mackinac Policy Conference every year and plays a similar role with the Leadership Detroit Education Session. Prior to working at the Chamber, Greg was a United States Peace Corps Volunteer for two and a half years in Botswana, Africa.

Imani Humphrey

Imani Humphrey, often referred to as Mama Imani, is the school leader at Aisha Shule/W.E.B. Dubois Preparatory Academy. Aisha Shule is a K –12 school with 291 students. A vast majority of its students pursue degrees in higher education, a success rate not typical in the Detroit area. Imani’s continued presence on the board brings additional insight from a school leader’s perspective as well as her personal leadership.

Carmen N’Namdi

Carmen N'Namdi grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio and attended Ohio Sate University. It was there that she received her BS in secondary education in 1971. In 1974, while living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the N'Namdi’s second child, Nataki Talibah N'Namdi, died at the age of fourteen months from a tragic accident. In an effort to immortalize Nataki Talibah, Ms. N'Namdi founded the Nataki Talibah Schoolhouse of Detroit in 1978.  Prior to the opening of the school, Ms. N'Namdi entered graduate school at Wayne State University and received a Masters in Education and an endorsement in elementary education. Under N’Namdi’s leadership, the Nataki Talibah Schoolhouse student body has grown from the inaugural 18 in 1978 to the current enrollment of 475 and has moved from a private school to a charter school.  Mrs. N’Namdi has been recognized by numerous organizations for her “unconventional” teaching style.

Nick Paradiso

Nick Paradiso serves as the director of government relations for National Heritage Academies (NHA), a leading education service provider to charter schools. As director of government relations, Nick’s primary role is to develop and coordinate the company’s government relations strategies, and he is responsible for selecting and managing the company’s relationships with its government affairs firms. Prior to joining NHA, he was the vice president of the New York Charter School Resource Center.

Bill Pistulka

Bill Pistulka was hired in April 2007, as the charter schools officer for Northern Michigan University. He brings 27 years of experience in public education to the position. His résumé includes nine years of experience as a superintendent in three different school districts in the Upper Peninsula: Gladstone, Big Bay de Noc and Mid Peninsula. Previously, he has educational experiences as a principal, teacher and coach in Rapid River and Clinton, Iowa.

Marvin Winans

Marvin Winans is the Pastor of Perfecting Church in Detroit and founder of the Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts in Detroit.  The academy operates on a strong foundation of love, discipline and high expectations.  Marvin has an unwavering belief in the ability of every child to learn.  He is an exemplary lyricist and composer and has earned many awards for his songs.  On May 27, 1989, Perfecting Church held it's first official service with just about a dozen people in attendance.  Since that humble beginning, the membership has increased to over 4,000 members.