About MAPSA

Quite simply, we believe in better education opportunities for every child. A better tomorrow depends on it.

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Our Story

MAPSA, Michigan’s Charter School Association, represents a statewide movement of charter school stakeholders. For over 20 years, we have harnessed the power of our charter community through direct and digital grassroots engagement, identifying their shared challenges and developing resources that support their work. We facilitate public support for the movement by utilizing our effective legislative avenues to build positive government relations, amplifying stories of success from our schools, educators and students statewide, and working closely with charter stakeholders to understand their needs and challenges, so that we can effectively give the charter community a voice on the issues that matter.

Our commitment to diversity & inclusion

We are incredibly proud of the diversity reflected in our movement - from educators, to students and families. That diversity is something we strive to elevate in all our efforts - from advocacy, to storytelling, to supporting educators who service varying communities of color across the state. Our goal as an organization is simply to advance educational equity - and that equity should not depend on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or any other factor of identity.

The MAPSA team

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Dan Quisenberry
President

MAPSA's strategic leader, government affairs and policy development veteran, business specialist and proud father and husband. 

danquisenberry@charterschools.orgLinkedIn

24 YEARS
WITH MAPSA
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Alicia Urbain
Governmental & Legal Affairs, Attorney

Legislative policy guru, MAPSA's eyes and ears at the capitol, active hockey mom, softball coach and proud UofM supporter - Go Blue!

aurbain@charterschools.orgLinkedIn

12 YEARS
WITH MAPSA
A photo of Becky Carlton.
Becky Carlton
Strategy and Partnerships
Collaborative communicator, creative problem solver, marketing specialist, passionate musician and education supporter.

LinkedIn

13 YEARS
WITH MAPSA
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Kyra Biscarner
Communications and Brand

Brand strategist, creative writer, front-end web developer, avid dancer and Marshall University Grad - Go Herd! 

kbiscarner@charterschools.org  LinkedIn

1 YEAR
AT MAPSA
Headshot for Heather Risner
Heather Risner
Membership and Development

Our longest-serving MAPSA team member, member school relationship builder, strategic collaborator and mother of three.

hrisner@charterschools.orgLinkedIn

25 YEARS
WITH MAPSA
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Buddy Moorehouse
Public Relations & Media

Award-winning newspaper industry veteran, public relations leader, school outreach officer and husband to a Michigan charter school leader. 

bmoorehouse@charterschools.org LinkedIn

11 YEARS
WITH MAPSA
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Marianne Fant
Grassroots and Outreach

MAPSA's outreach master, collaboration specialist for our schools, proud mom of two, lover of the beach and MSU Alum 

mfant@charterschools.org 
LinkedIn

1 YEAR
at MAPSA
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Melissa MacLaren
Professional Innovators in Teaching Program Director

Motivated and driven team leader, committed coach, practical mentor, outdoor enthusiast, wife and proud mother of four.

mmaclaren@charterschools.org 

1 YEAR
at MAPSA
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Grace Gallagher
Project Coordinator

Interpersonal and creative team player, artist, skier and CMU Grad, Fire Up! 

ggallagher@charterschools.org 
LinkedIn

4 MONTHS
AT MAPSA

MAPSA's Board

Check out the passionate people who help guide our work.

Meet The Board
An artistic photo of Downtown Lansing.
Centrally located
Downtown Lansing
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Tech-friendly​ &
Mac Integrated
A photo of several students standing in a hallway and facing away from the camera.
Mission-driven​
We keep the focus on kids
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Collaborative & creative
We're a team first

Discover our vision for better education

Every child deserves a quality education in a quality school; in our ideal tomorrow, those quality options will be abundant and accessible. 

Our vision