Board of Directors
Paul Norcross (Chair) is the Chairman and founder of Phoenix Academy, a public charter school in High Point, NC. In addition to his responsibilities at Phoenix Academy, Paul is the founder of the Seven Degrees of Change literacy program, a not for profit foundation supporting local and global literacy projects, and serves on the board of directors of the High Point Rotary Club. He also chairs Global Education Solutions LLC and the Global Supply Solutions Group.
Gail Scott Taylor (Vice-Chair) is the Principal of Carter Community School in Durham, NC. Prior to joining Carter Community, Gail Taylor worked as a Charter School Consultant at North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction. In her role as a consultant, Gail worked with public charter schools to ensure compliance with state and federal law.
Brandon Smith (Membership Co-Chair) serves as the executive director of East Wake First Charter and Superintendent of East Wake Academy. As chief administrator of the school in developing and implementing policies, programs, curriculum activities and budgets, Brandon promotes the educational development of each student and the professional development of each staff member. Prior to his role at East Wake, Brandon worked in the traditional public school system.
Michelle Godard Terrell (Communications Coordinator ) is an independent writer, has extensive national experience in education policy and research, particularly focused on public charter schools. In the past, Michelle served as Director of Policy and Research at the Public School Forum of North Carolina, as well as in positions at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction and Harvard University. Michelle has published several articles and policy papers on public charter schools.
Todd Havican (Membership Co-Chair) is a School Board Member at Union Academy Charter School where his three children attend school. He is a Product Manager at Duff Norton, manufacturer of industrial linear actuators in Charlotte, North Carolina. Todd has a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology from New Jersey Institute of Technology.
Staff
Eddie Goodall, President of the NC Alliance, works as a fulltime advocate for public charter schools and manages the operation of the organization. Eddie lives in Weddington, south of Charlotte, but will both travel the state meeting with the charter community and work from the Alliance’s Raleigh office. Eddie is a CPA and current state senator. He was a co-founder of Union Academy Charter and has sponsored the majority of proposed public charter school legislation in the NC Senate since 2005.
Samantha Colafrancesco, Director of Communications, Finance and Business Development, has a wide background in Marketing, Communications, TV Production and working with Elementary Schools to help at-risk students reach their full potential. She has combined those past experiences to work with the NC Alliance for Public Charter Schools and is looking forward to what the future holds. You can reach Samantha at 919-900-8951 or samantha.colafrancesco@nccharters.org
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