Meet our Team

Alex Quigley is the Executive Director of Durham Charter School, a turnaround K-9 school serving over 600 students. Alex has over 20 years of experience creating and leading high-performing organizations, leading the successful transformation of three different charter schools in two states. In the most recent three consecutive years as a principal, schools Alex led were ranked in the top ten of all charter schools in the state each year in terms of academic growth.

In addition to his work as a school leader, Alex has been a member of the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board for the last eight years, serving as Vice-Chair for the first two years and Chair for six years. Prior to his time as a school leader, Alex was the Executive Director of Teach For America – Eastern North Carolina. During his time with TFA in NC, he led the organization through a period of rapid growth, securing the first ever state appropriation for the organization, and established a customized program to train and license TFA teachers at East Carolina University, where he served as an adjunct faculty member.

Alex holds a B.A. in Government from Colby College, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and an EdS in School Leadership from the University of Mississippi. Alex graduated with honors from the Relay School of Education National Principals Academy Fellowship and from Cohort 8 of the Leverage Leadership Institute, where he earned Platinum Distinction. Alex began his career as a 2nd grade teacher in the rural Mississippi Delta. Alex lives in Durham with his wife of 20 years, Ashley, and four children.

Ms. Palmer is a dynamic leader who serves as the K-6 Principal Resident at Durham Charter. Her daily duties involve overseeing curriculum implementation and ensuring expectations are met to achieve Durham Charter’s vision, teacher development, and student academic success.

As an educator for 15 years, she started her teaching journey in Jamaica. Ms. Palmer attended St. Joseph’s Teachers’ College, earning a Diploma and Bachelor’s in K-6 education. After serving seven years as an elementary teacher in Jamaica, Ms. Palmer was recruited by Visiting International Faculty/Participate to teach in Cumberland County, North Carolina. She spent four years in Cumberland County, where she exceeded growth in Math for two consecutive years and earned Teacher of the Year.

Ms. Palmer joined the Durham Charter School family in 2018 and has spent the last four years collaborating with colleagues and administrators to improve instruction at Durham Charter. During her tenure, she has served as a 4th and 5th grade teacher, Mentor, and Grades 3-5 instructional coach.

Ms. Palmer continues to make her indelible mark in education as she earned a Master of Science in Education from Walden University. She is a member of The NC ACCESS Aspiring Leaders Program, was awarded The Administrative Leadership Certificate Program at Appalachian State University, and later received her license as a North Carolina K-12 principal.

tpalmer@durhamcharter.org

Aronda Hill currently serves as the Director of Operations at Durham Charter School where she oversees the school nutrition and school transportation programs, student services, human resources, and leads a 5 person office team.

Aronda has been employed at Durham Charter for 23 years. Prior to this role, she served as staff assistant to the Dean of Student Affairs at the Duke Fuqua School of Business and the CEO and Director of Human Resources at Mitsubishi Semiconductor of America, Inc. Early in her career, Aronda worked as a customer service supervisor at a call center and was voted Employee of the Year three years straight by her peers. Her charismatic personality and love of helping people drive her in her daily life and in the position of Director of Operations.

Ms. Hill is passionate about the success of DCS and has witnessed first-hand the transformation of Healthy Start Academy from a consistently failing school to now Durham Charter School, the 10th highest growth school in the state of North Carolina. Ms. Hill was instrumental in turning around the school’s nutrition program in its initial phase and is frequently called upon by the state nutrition department to assist other charter school leaders with establishing school nutrition programs and sharing her best practices.

Ms. Hill attended Tennessee State University for two years. She then moved home to care for her grandfather and completed a two-year degree in Business Services from Tri-Cities Technical Community College. She also holds a B.S. in Religious Studies from Safe Haven Bible College.

A native of Kingsport, TN, Aronda has lived in Durham, NC for 30 years. Having raised her 3 children to adulthood, she now loves to spend “Gigi Time” with her 8 grandchildren and is proudly married to Bob Hill who served as AD of Hillside High School for 24 years and is a 2019 member of the NCADA Hall of Fame. In her spare time, you can find Aronda volunteering, reading, or watching her favorite tv show – Perry Mason.