Susan Miller Barker currently serves as the Interim Executive Director at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. Responsible for the oversight of all Institute operations at its two office locations, Ms. Miller Barker is charged with setting the course for future growth of the Institute including enhanced collaboration with and contributions to the broader University and the state-wide Power of SUNY strategic plan. Ms. Miller Barker is the founder and CEO of Smart Hounds Solutions and a Principal with Shanahan Capital Ventures, LLC.

Previously a Senior Associate with the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) from 2006 through 2009, Ms. Miller Barker served as NACSA's Vice President for Research and Evaluation. She led NACSA's research, evaluation and accountability initiatives designing NACSA’s first national data project on authorizer practices and authoring The State of Charter School Authorizing 2008. Prior to joining NACSA, Ms. Miller Barker was the Senior Vice President and Senior Fellow at the State University of New York (SUNY) Charter Schools Institute, where she led the development and implementation of SUNY’s charter school research, evaluation and renewal activities as a statewide charter authorizer. As Associate Commissioner of Education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Ms. Miller Barker led the implementation of school and charter accountability under Massachusetts’ groundbreaking 1993 Education Reform Act. Ms. Miller Barker is a member of Harvard’s Urban Superintendent’s Program where she worked as intern superintendent in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, NC Schools alongside Dr. Eric Smith the current Florida Commissioner of Education. A former Vice President at the Hudson Institute, Ms. Miller Barker taught at the Indian Creek Discovery Science and Technology Magnet School in Indianapolis, Indiana receiving Indiana’s Excellence in Education Award in 1990.

Ms. Miller Barker has been a visiting lecturer at Columbia University and Butler University, and was the founding chairperson of the board at the True North Troy Preparatory Charter School in Troy, New York. She holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, where she has completed all doctoral coursework in Administration, Planning and Social Policy and was awarded the 1999 Edward J. Meade, Jr. Fellowship. 

Ralph A. Rossi II, Esq. joined the SUNY Charter Schools Institute in 2004 as its General Counsel. He currently oversees all legal, charter and fiscal compliance issues for, and is a Vice President of, the Institute. He also serves as counsel to the SUNY Trustees’ Education, College Readiness and Success Committee. Mr. Rossi is nationally regarded for his expertise in charter school law and is frequently consulted by charter schools, other school authorizers and charter-related organizations from across the country. He has been instrumental in developing and refining Institute policies throughout his tenure. Prior to joining the Institute, Mr. Rossi served as the General Counsel for the Office of the New York State Inspector General for six years, and as Director of Industrial Finance and Special Counsel for the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation for two years. Mr. Rossi was previously associated with the law firm of Chadbourne and Parke LLP where he practiced in the firm’s litigation and white collar groups. Mr. Rossi is a graduate of Columbia College in the City of New York and Rutgers School of Law - Newark. He is admitted in New York, New Jersey and several federal district courts.

Ron Miller, Ph.D. is the Vice President for Accountability at the Charter Schools Institute. After teaching for seven years in New York City public schools, Dr. Miller joined the central offices of the New York City Department of Education, where he conducted evaluative research and organizational studies. As Director of the Office of School Planning and Accountability, he served as the educational accountability officer for the Department. In that capacity, he developed school accountability reports for the city schools and coordinated staff development on their use for district administrators in all the high school and community school districts. In addition, he worked with school leaders to develop their competence to use data for school improvement. In this role he developed PASS, a school performance review system which was adopted in 600 city schools. Dr. Miller has regularly presented papers at annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association and has served as Adjunct Assistant Professor at Teachers College Columbia University and Pace University. He holds a BA degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from Columbia University.

Lori Clement is a Senior Analyst for school evaluation at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. Ms. Clement is responsible for coordinating the Institute’s ongoing oversight and evaluation program for SUNY authorized charter schools. She also supports the detailed evaluations conducted by the Institute when a school applies to renew its charter contract. Ms. Clement previously worked as a consultant focused on projects involving non-profit monetization planning and small business plan development. Ms. Clement served as a Fellow at Education Pioneers where she worked as a Summer Associate with Victory Schools, Inc. In this role, Ms. Clement established and implemented a Business Manager Operations Manual for 9 New York charter schools to ensure legal compliance; designed a school board training program and continuous assessments to increase knowledge and governance capacity of school board members during the first three years of a school’s operation; and established a pilot program and assessments for the launch of a company intranet to increase communication and promote best practices across office locations. Ms. Clement received her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Communications from Syracuse University and her Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School.

Shawn C. Davis is the Director of Administration for the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. She is responsible for managing all fiscal and administrative matters related to the Institute, including: development of the operating budget and master contract; authorization of vendor/consulting agreements and other payments; and the processing of all personnel actions. In addition, Ms. Davis oversees all administrative processes related to the work of program staff, as well as general office operations. Prior to joining the Institute in October 2004, Ms. Davis worked as a Project Staff Associate with the University Center for Academic and Workforce Development (SUNY), providing programmatic and fiscal oversight to 10 welfare-to-work programs across New York State. Ms. Davis formerly worked as a Business Analyst with Public Consulting Group, a management consulting firm located in Boston. Ms. Davis received her B.A. in Policy Studies from Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, and a Masters in Public Administration with a concentration in Public Management/Human Resources from the University at Albany, Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.

Sean Fitzsimons is a Program Analyst for the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. He supports SUNY’s new charter school application process by addressing questions from applicants, reviewing and analyzing new applications, coordinating the review of applications to establish new charter schools by Institute staff and external educational experts, and drafting application summaries and other related documents. Mr. Fitzsimons most recently served as Chair of the Social Studies Department at Manassas Park Middle School in Manassas Park, Virginia where he guided curriculum sequencing and pacing to align the school’s courses with state standards, trained and mentored faculty, and designed and implemented courses in Civics and Economics, American Studies, American History, and World Geography. He also taught remedial reading curriculum to special education students and English language learners. Prior to his service at Manassas Park Middle School, Mr. Fitzsimons was an Administrative and Research Assistant at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C. In addition, Mr. Fitzsimons was a visiting instructor at Shanghai Teachers University in Shanghai, China, where he designed and taught curriculum for English language learners. Mr. Fitzsimons received his Master of Education degree in Curriculum and Instruction and Secondary Education Social Studies from George Mason University and his Bachelor of Arts degrees in International Relations and Political Science from the State University of New York, College at Geneseo.

Thomas J. Franta, Esq. joined the SUNY Charter Schools Institute in 2009 as its Staff Attorney and was promoted to the position of Associate General Counsel in 2012. He is responsible for analyzing initial and renewal applications for charter schools to ensure compliance with SUNY requirements and applicable state and federal laws; performing due diligence for new and existing charter schools with regard to management contracts, opening requirements and facilities agreements; monitoring existing schools for compliance with applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations, charter agreements, corrective action plans, probation plans and remedial action plans; assisting with the drafting and updating of Institute policies and procedures, and overseeing the charter revision process for schools seeking to amend their charters. Prior to joining the Institute, Mr. Franta represented public school districts, administrators, teachers, and students throughout central and northern New York on a wide variety of matters. A United States Marine Corps veteran, Mr. Franta received his Juris Doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law, where he was a member of the Syracuse Law Review, The Digest, and the Moot Court Honor Society, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

Danielle Keen is an Analyst for School Evaluation at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. Ms. Keen will support the oversight and evaluation team in managing the requirements of the school evaluation process and conduct ongoing data analysis of SUNY authorized charter schools. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Keen served as a Strategy Consultant for the United Nations World Food Program. On this project she served as Team Finance Director, where she managed all the financial elements of a six-person consulting team and worked to compile a 5-year strategic plan for school feeding implementation, the use of gender effective programming, and the shift from food aid to food assistance in the Central African Republic. Ms. Keen also served as a Development Team Member for Pencils of Promise, an organization which partners with local communities to build schools and increase educational opportunities in the developing world. In addition to this work, she served as a Teacher for America corps member, teaching middle school in East Harlem and the Bronx, where she created and implemented a rigorous reading and writing program resulting in significant student growth and achievement. Ms. Keen received her B.A. in International Studies from the University of Illinois, her Master of Science for Teachers from Pace University in New York, a Master of Public Administration from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs and a Master of Public Affairs from Sciences Po-Paris.

Maureen C. Murphy is the Director of Charter Accountability at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. She is responsible for the ongoing refinement and management of the Institute’s practices and procedures regarding school compliance including: serving as an initial point of contact for SUNY authorized charter schools on compliance relating questions; monitoring enrollment; facilitating requests for changes in program; conducting an annual review of school admissions information; and handling school facilities issues including coordinating public hearings and tracking open issues.  Ms. Murphy also serves as the Institute’s compliance liaison with the New York State Education Department. Ms. Murphy joined the Institute in 2006 as the Institute’s Senior Grants and Finance Analyst.  Previously, she served as Finance Director for the New York State Small Business Development Center (NYS-SBDC). Ms. Murphy received her B.S. degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Albany.

Cynthia M. Proctor is Director of Public Affairs of the SUNY Charter Schools Institute.  With more than 15 years experience in the communications field, including eleven years in education, Ms. Proctor brings a comprehensive set of writing, editing, and media relations skills to the position.  Ms. Proctor responds to external inquiries to the Institute as well as oversees the implementation of the Institute’s multi-faceted communications plan.  Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Proctor served as a member of the senior leadership team of the Office of the Provost at the State University of New York System Administration.  Ms. Proctor received her B.S. degree in Public Relations/Journalism from Utica College of Syracuse University.  

Jason Sarsfield is Director of School Applications at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. He is responsible for overseeing the Institute’s review of both proposals to establish new schools and applications from existing schools to renew their charters. Mr. Sarsfield was promoted from the position of Senior Analyst. As a Senior Analyst, he was responsible for reviewing school applications, analyzing data to identify critical issues for renewal visit teams, monitoring the development of all renewal recommendation reports and supporting the refinement of the Institute’s renewal processes. Mr. Sarsfield took a one-year hiatus from the Institute to serve as a teacher at the SUNY authorized Bronx Charter School for Better Learning. He taught Social Studies and Basic Skills to 5th graders and also supervised the administration of standardized assessments, conducted analysis of student achievement data for purposes of program evaluation, and oversaw the development and submission of reports to state, federal and local agencies. Mr. Sarsfield was formerly a contract analyst for the Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University, where he evaluated the academic performance of authorized charter schools and provided technical assistance for school improvement initiatives and the analysis of student achievement data. Mr. Sarsfield also served as a teacher and coach for Bad Axe Public Schools in Michigan and was a teacher at a residential high school in rural Alaska. Mr. Sarsfield received his Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education from Northern Michigan University and is a candidate for a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from Central Michigan University.

Rebecca Slaughter is a Special Projects Assistant at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. She is responsible for preparing the office for meetings of the State University Trustees and tracking related actions. She also supports the Institute's communications efforts, including updates to the Institute’s website and document and report finalization. Rebecca joined the Institute in August 2009 as an Intern. As an Intern, Rebecca helped to support the Institute’s research needs and assisted in projects with many of the Institute’s staff members. Ms. Slaughter received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Psychology from the State University of New York at Albany, and her Master of Public Administration degree with concentration in Education Policy/Decision Science from the University at Albany, Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy.