Carrie Gee, Esq., Chief Counsel
Carrie Gee has more than 20 years of experience practicing education law, representing school districts, charter schools, charter management organizations, private schools, and universities. Since 2022, she has served as Chief Counsel at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute, providing general legal counsel to both the Institute and the SUNY Board of Trustees’ Charter School Committee. In this role, she also oversees the Institute’s legal department and advises on all legal aspects of the chartering and oversight process.
Carrie joined the Institute in 2013 as Senior Associate Counsel, a position she held until her promotion to Chief Counsel. Prior to her tenure at the Institute, she was an associate at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, Hinman Straub, and Ingerman Smith LLP, where she worked in the education and labor practice groups. Her areas of specialization included student-related legal issues such as special education, student discipline, and homelessness, as well as board governance, policy development, and implementation.
Carrie holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Theater from Colgate University and a Juris Doctor from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University.
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Alexandra Monson, Assistant Counsel
Alexandra J. Monson is the Assistant Counsel for the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. Ms. Monson is responsible for drafting legal guidance for initial and renewed charter school applications, advising on legal inquiries and compliance issues, and coordinating with other state and local education departments. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Monson was a litigation associate specializing in administrative law. Ms. Monson received her Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Villanova University and her Juris Doctor from Emory University School of Law.
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Kishena Bruno, Paralegal
Kishena Bruno serves as the Paralegal at the SUNY Charter Schools Institute. In this role, she is responsible for providing support to the legal department, including managing complex contracts, performing research for Institute attorneys, assisting with the new charter school and renewal application process, and managing various other projects. Kishena previously worked as a Lead Complaint Investigator for the New York State Department of Health. She earned her AAS degree in criminal justice from Hudson Valley Community College.
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Jean Flaherty, School Operations Data Analyst
Jean R. Flaherty serves as the School Operations Data Analyst for the State University of New York’s Charter Schools Institute. In this role, Jean is responsible for the ongoing gathering, tracking, analysis and reporting on information associated with monitoring charter school compliance, governance, handling public Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests for information from the public, and other related tasks. Jean also interacts with proposed, opening, and operating charter schools, boards, leadership and staff, and charter management and partner organizations to determine compliance status and escalate significant issues as appropriate. She also coordinates and travels to conduct hearings, pre-opening visits and other statutory and regulatory required reviews. Jean holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from The New School of Social Research in New York City.