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Team

"Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Meet Our Team

Central Leadership Team

Alex Quigley
Executive Director
Elizabeth Wiley
Elementary School Principal
Tanice Palmer
Middle School Principal
Adrian Edwards
High School Principal
Melissa Altemose
Chief Academic Officer
Aronda Hill
Director of Business Operations
Emily Chambers
Director of Operations
Beatriz Brown
Assistant to the Executive Director

Aaliyah Rogers
Academic Dean K-2
Sarnia Thompson
Academic Dean 3-5
Kimberly Downey
Dean of Students
Sam Beauregard
MLL
Jessari Alvir
MLL
Carldine Jean-Francois
Culture Coordinator
Carolina Garcia
Intervention K-2
Pearline Brown-Thompson
Intervention 3-5
Ingrid Goodman
EC/ Kindergarten Aid
Maria Chaves
Business Operations Manager
Mary Stancil
Long-Term Substitute
Cecile Jeffries Bowen
K-5 Dance
Martinely Hernandez
K-5 PE
Jason Roane
K-5 Art
Kaylen Campbell
Teacher Resident
Yamile Henao
Kindergarten Teacher
Tajin Bell
Kindergarten Teacher
Odessa Grospe
Kindergarten Teacher
Ainsley Patton
Kindergarten Teacher
Margaret Howard
Kindergarten Teacher
Bridgette Able
First Grade
Taronya Smith
First Grade
Claudia Rose
Second Grade
Patrice Allen Powell
Second Grade
Deniesha Ebanks Walters
Third Grade
Emma Uhrlass
Fourth Grade
Shidoria Williams
Fourth Grade
Ewan Lilly
Fifth Grade

Hannah Warren
Academic Dean- ELA
Oneida Foster
Academic Dean – Math
Denton Ellis
Dean of Students
Marilyn Fernandez
MLL
Catherine Aguilar Raudales
Business Operations Manager
Bobby Hill
MS Counselor
Daniel Levin
Arts Director
Janice Wright
6-8 Drama/ AIG Coordinator
Vale Campbell
6th Math
Karen-Lee Thompson-Cunningham
6th Social Studies / Writing
Travise Lott
Teacher Resident
Simone Angus
7th Science
Jennifer Rankin Brown
8th Math
Jonathan Bloom
8th Social Studies / Writing
Raymon Boney
8th Social Studies / Writing

Hayley Gearhart
Assistant Principal
Kellane Kornegay
MLL
Rosa Williams
Business Operations Manager
Molly Teague
HS Counselor
Deborah Jones
College Transport / Support
M. Lacson
PE / Health
Anu Jhamb
English I & II
Autumn Oldham
English III & IV
Petronia McDonald
Math I & II
Shanieca Wilson
Earth Science & Bio
Pamela Esparragoza
Spanish & French

Delmarie Blidgen
EC Coordinator
Karen Kimber
Case Manager and Teacher
Maria Sanchez Browning
Case Manager and Teacher
Paul Agor
Case Manager and Teacher
Latoya Huie-Henry
Teacher

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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.

Adrian Edwards is currently a Principal Intern and High School Math teacher at Durham Charter School. He is a Principal Fellow at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he is pursuing his Masters in School Administration. He also serves  in the capacity of Instructional Coach, Mentor, and Mathematics and Science Department Chair. He holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from American College of Education, Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics Education from the University of the West Indies, and a Diploma in Mathematics and Computer Studies from Church Teachers’ College. He has been a part of the Durham Charter School family for the past 7 years and has a total of 17 years of teaching experience.

Mr. Edwards’ extensive experience has equipped him with a deep understanding of pedagogy and a strong commitment to educational excellence. He is deeply passionate about teaching and is dedicated to creating a nurturing and intellectually stimulating environment for scholars. He derives great satisfaction from witnessing scholars excel academically and personally.

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.

Emily Chambers born in Miami, Florida and moved to Slidell, Louisiana at the age of 10. She is a proud graduate of Louisiana State University (Geaux Tigers!) where she earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Political Science and East Carolina University where she earned an M.Ed. After graduating from LSU, she worked for Senator Mary Landrieu in her New Orleans field office providing direct support to the Senator and her constituents. Later, she worked as a pro bono legal services coordinator and fundraiser for the Baton Rouge Bar Association where she also launched the nationally recognized Self Help Resource Center at East Baton Rouge Family Court. During her time working with indigent litigants in Family Court she observed first hand the lasting effects that poor literacy skills have on individuals and the generations that follow. She also spent lots of her free time working with children in a care setting and decided to follow that passion for service and desire to work with families and become a teacher full time. 
 
Emily joined Teach for America and relocated to North Carolina and has been working in education for 8 years. She taught 2nd grade at West Oxford Elementary School before trying her hand at teaching in the Big Apple. She continued her career at Democracy Prep Harlem Elementary where her passion for teaching blossomed into a love of charter schools. She joined the Durham Charter School team in 2019. At DCS she has worked as a 2nd grade teacher, instructional coach, MTSS coordinator and is now the MTSS/EC Coordinator. Emily is a Cancer Survivor, (amateur) gardener, and (very amateur) tennis player. She loves exploring greenways and beaches!