About Us

Charles R. Hokanson, Jr. serves as president of the Alliance for School Choice. Prior to joining the Alliance, Charles served in senior leadership positions at the U.S. Department of Education, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Strategic Initiatives in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and as chief of staff in both the Office of the General Counsel and the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. Charles also previously served as a professional staff member to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce, finance director and research fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, research fellow at the Manhattan Institute, and an associate at Steptoe & Johnson LLP. He received his A.B. (Phi Beta Kappa) and A.M. from Stanford University, his M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

John Schilling has been a successful public policy professional and executive at the state and federal levels. During his early career, John was deeply involved in elective politics as a former director of research and opposition research for the Republican National Committee. He also worked in senior legislative positions for two United States Congressmen. John has worked exclusively on K-12 education reform since 1997. He served four years as associate state superintendent and chief of policy and planning at the Arizona Department of Education, during which time the state was a leading innovator for education reform. John returned to Washington, D.C. in 2001 to become chief of staff for Education Leaders Council (ELC). In 2003, John formed a consulting business and his clients included Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 gubernatorial campaign and the Educational Testing Service (ETS). In January 2007, John accepted a position as director of national projects for the Alliance, and in May 2007, following the Alliance’s relocation to Washington, D.C., he was named the organization’s chief of staff. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego.

Rita Gainer joined the Alliance for School Choice in May 2007 as executive assistant to the president. Prior to joining the Alliance, Rita served as senior administrative assistant at Fight for Children, where she assisted in the implementation of various education initiatives as a project and research assistant at the Council of Chief State School Officers. In this role, Rita  worked on various projects including secondary high school reform, teacher quality, and Native American education. She has more than 10 years of experience in administrative functions, event planning, and office management at the executive level. Rita holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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As the Alliance for School Choice’s national consultant for state projects, Scott Jensen provides strategic advice to the state team in building public support for school choice around the country. Formerly the speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly and chief of staff to former Gov. Tommy Thompson, he played a crucial role in the creation, expansion, and defense of Milwaukee’s pioneering school choice program. Scott received his B. A. in political science and economics from Drake University in 1982 and his master’s of public policy degree at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1984.

Lori Drummer serves as a director of state projects for the Alliance for School Choice, providing support and resources for state-based school choice efforts. Most recently, Lori worked at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the nation’s largest nonpartisan, individual membership association of state legislators with the mission of furthering the principles of free markets, limited government, federalism, and free enterprise. At ALEC, Lori served as the director of public affairs; previously she directed ALEC’s Education Task Force, where she oversaw the development of ALEC policy related to education reform and school choice programs. Lori is the author of numerous articles on education policy and was the editor of three editions of ALEC’s Report Card on American Education. Prior to joining ALEC, Lori worked as Legislative Aide to then-Assistant Majority Leader Stephen Buehrer in the Ohio House of Representatives. Lori holds a bachelor’s degree from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Anna Varghese Marcucio serves as a director of state projects for the Alliance for School Choice, providing support and resources for state-based school choice efforts. Prior to joining the Alliance, Anna was manager of education investments at Fight for Children in Washington, D.C. There, she managed the District of Columbia Family Education Network and commissioned a comprehensive study on the D.C. charter school movement. Prior to joining Fight for Children, Anna was vice president for external affairs at the Center for Education Reform (CER). In this capacity, Anna managed all the grassroots and legislative initiatives around the country. Anna has an extensive background in charter school and school choice policy and worked in direct partnership with policymakers, school-based reformers, state education reform groups, and parents to develop common sense reform initiatives to provide high quality educational options for all children. Prior to joining CER, Anna worked in the national office of Teach for America in New York City. Anna holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Connecticut and a M.A. in public policy from The American University in Washington, D.C..

Robert A. Teegarden serves as a director of state projects for the Alliance for School Choice, providing support and resources for state-based school choice efforts. Most recently, Robert was the associate for education at the California Catholic Conference. There he was responsible for the equity of access issues facing private schools in the state with the No Child Left Behind Act, as well as public policy advocacy as a lobbyist for the Conference with the state legislature. During that time he was the president of the California Association of Private School Organizations (CAPSO) and the chair of the Federal Assistance Advisory Council of the United States Catholic Conference in Washington DC. Prior to his public policy career, Robert spent more than 20 years as a K-8 and 9-12 Catholic school teacher and principal. He received his bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College of California and M.A. in Education from the University of San Francisco.

Zack Dawes is a consultant for state projects for the Advocates for School Choice. He serves and assists state and local allies in advancing sound school choice policies. A Texas native, Zack managed and consulted in statewide political campaigns before transitioning to corporate, educational, and nonprofit public affairs consulting. Zack served with both of the Advocates’ predecessors, American Education Reform Foundation and Children First America. Currently, he is senior consultant for All Children Matter, a 527 political organization, and he is also a consultant for Connections Academy, a virtual school provider based in Baltimore.

Liz Dreckman serves as the outreach consultant for the Alliance for School Choice, building relationships with likeminded organizations and grassroots support for education reform. Liz previously served as the outreach coordinator for the Institute for Justice. She also conducted education research and authored education studies and publications for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan. Liz has an honors degree in political theory and constitutional democracy from James Madison College at Michigan State University.

Cheryl Hillen is the director of development for the Alliance and is responsible for working with the board and staff to craft and implement a fundraising strategy to fulfill program goals and objectives. Cheryl has been a professional in the political and public policy community for more than 20 years. Prior to coming to the Alliance, she was vice president for development at Children First America, one of the Alliance’s predecessors. She was director of development for a national free-market public policy organization, vice president of a Washington, D.C.-based consulting company, political director for a US Senate campaign, and legislative aide on Capitol Hill. Cheryl graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky.

As the development manager, Crystal Corriveau is responsible for managing the development team’s deadlines and work flow, leading the team in prospect management, and the coordination and facilitation of meetings and events. Crystal previously served on the development team at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of New Hampshire.

Joe Manzari serves as the research associate for the Alliance for School Choice, developing strategies for effectively communicating the case for school choice in philanthropic marketplace. Before joining the Alliance, Joe served as an associate at the Clapham Group, LLC, consulting for Walden Media, DEMDACO, Salvo Magazine, and the Wedgwood Circle, LLC. While at Clapham, Joe also served as the executive director for Faith and Law, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping congressional staff better understand the implications of the Christian worldview for their calling to the public square. Joe has also served as a research associate at the American Enterprise Institute, conducting research for Walter Berns, Leon Kass, Irving Kristol, Michael Ledeen, Charles Murray, Michael Novak, and Ben Wattenberg. He is the author of the appendix to Washington’s God (Basic, 2006), written by Michael Novak (George Frederick Jewett Scholar, AEI), refuting the notion of George Washington as a Deist and arguing for his orthodox Christian faith. While at AEI, Joe served as the associate producer for the award-winning PBS weekly series Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg. Joe has published numerous articles on philosophy of education and its relationship to the current crisis in achieving meaningful reform in schools.

Andrew Campanella serves as director of communications and marketing for the Alliance for School Choice and Advocates for School Choice. Andrew oversees the organizations’ public relations, publications, and research activities. Previously, Andrew served as senior director of teacher recruitment and communications for the national non-profit American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, where he oversaw the recruitment of more than 3,000 new teachers for America’s schools and conducted more than 250 public presentations, media interviews, and speeches. Prior to joining the education reform movement, Andrew gained recognition for his work in the travel industry, representing tourism boards in Atlantic City, New Jersey and Manassas, Virginia, as well as serving as spokesperson for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and political science from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Corey Kliewer serves as the production director for the Alliance for School Choice, providing artistic direction and design in all of the Alliance’s print and web publications. Corey has worked at the Washington, D.C. Convention and Tourism Corporation as their creative services manager and as an independent contractor in the roll of creative director for various profit and non-profit organizations. He brings to the organization over 12 years of experience in print design/publication and web design/implementation. Corey holds a B.S. from Towson University and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in graphic design with Savannah College of Art and Design.

Geoffrey Goodman serves as the research manager and senior writer for the Alliance for School Choice. In this role, Geoff is responsible for tracking the latest school choice research and writing about it in Alliance publications, including the School Choice Digest, of which he is the editor. Other tasks include writing opinion pieces for newspaper publication and researching key data on school choice programs. Before joining the Alliance, Geoff was at the U.S. Department of Education for more than four years where he worked in a wide variety of areas including communications, research and policy development for both K-12 and higher education policy. Geoff received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, and a master’s degree in philosophy with a concentration in social policy from The American University in Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Miller is the treasurer and chief financial officer for the Alliance for School Choice and Advocates for School Choice. Jennifer formerly held positions at Draper & McGinley P.A. and Kilner & Associates P.A., two firms located in Frederick, Maryland. During her eight years in public accounting, she specialized in audits of non-profit organizations in the Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. metropolitan areas. Jennifer received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.

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