Building Hope was established in 2003 with the goal of providing more students in Washington, DC, access to quality public charter schools. Since then, we have grown into a national nonprofit organization focused on closing the educational achievement gap. Read More
Our start was made possible by a $28 million grant from The Sallie Mae Fund and a $2 million federal appropriation. Our initial focus was Washington, the capital of the world’s wealthiest nation but also home to one of its most troubled public school systems, with lower-than-average test scores and a high school dropout rate then hovering near 40 percent.
Building Hope set out to tackle one of the key barriers to charter school growth: identifying and financing viable facilities so that all students have access to a quality K-12 education.
Today, we partner with individual and institutional investors and philanthropic and government organizations to provide a full range of support to public charter schools across the nation. Our services include facilities financing, charter school facility development, incubator space, and back-office business services.
Specifically, we have provided over $200 million in direct loans, credit enhancements, and equity investments to support over $1 billion in school construction. This assistance has supported 200 charter school projects in 18 states and the District of Columbia, serving more than 70,000 students, more than half of whom live in underserved communities.
In Washington, DC, where Building Hope began and has enjoyed its biggest impact, our assistance has resulted in 39,000 public school students (45 percent of total enrollment) attending public charters. Another positive: the high school dropout rate has been cut by half, to 19 percent, since 2003.
Ms. Keler was previously Executive Vice President and General Counsel of SLM Corporation (Sallie Mae). She is on the Board of Directors at Sallie Mae and CubeSmart, and is a trustee of IAU College, a study-abroad program in Aix-en-Provence, France. Ms. Keler has served as a trustee for a variety of education industry nonprofits, including the National Student Clearinghouse; E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, DC; and the American University in Bulgaria. She obtained her undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University and served on its Board of Regents and Law Center Board of Visitors.
Mr. D’Alessandro owns Financial Solutions, LLC, which provides financial advisory services to closely held firms and high-net-worth individuals. Mr. D’Alessandro has more than 30 years’ experience in commercial banking, having held senior positions with Franklin National Bank/BB&T, Sovran Bank/DC National, American Security Bank and Mellon Bank. Mr. D’Alessandro specializes in structuring and negotiating bank credit facilities, subordinated debt and equity placements, internal financial controls and workouts and restructurings. He serves on the Board of Directors of Fairfax Publishing and ABC Imaging. He has been active with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the National Health Care Foundation for the Deaf and various youth sports organizations.
Mr. Barrueta is Managing Director of the D.C. office of Colliers International, the world’s third-largest commercial real estate firm. Prior to joining Colliers, Mr. Barrueta served as the CEO of the Hispanic College Fund, a nonprofit scholarship fund that has helped thousands of students enroll and complete college. He has spent the majority of his professional life in commercial real estate, founding Barrueta and Associates in 1986. In addition to being the fourth-largest such firm in the Washington region and the sixth-largest seller of distressed real estate loans in the country, Barrueta and Associates was the largest Hispanic-owned commercial real estate firm in the country. He is on the Board of Directors of the Latino Student Fund and Leadership Greater Washington. In his free time he counsels Latino students on how to access college scholarships.
Ms. Jayachandran is Acting Director of the Program Administration Office at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She assists the Deputy Assistant Secretary in establishing annual priority policies for development to ensure affordable housing for those most in need. Prior to HUD, she was a Senior Client Manager, Community Development Banking, for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she was responsible for business development of financial solutions for affordable housing and charter school developers in the Washington metropolitan area. Ms. Jayachandran also serves on the Board of Directors for the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND).
Ms. Lawicki is Chief Information Officer of Navient. She is responsible for all information technology functions, including application development, architecture, information security, infrastructure and operations, and enterprise data warehousing. Prior to joining Navient, she was Senior Vice President of global delivery for Walmart. She has been active with The Volunteer Center in the San Francisco Bay Area and in 2010 she received the Pacific Gas and Electric Corporate Community Champion Award, which recognizes outstanding volunteer leadership and achievements of a corporate officer.
Mr. Muffler is Vice President Real Estate and Asset Protection for Navient, where he manages the crisis management and business continuity departments. He also oversees operations for more than 20 facilities and Navient’s 7,000 employees. Prior to Navient, Mr. Muffler spent 20 years with US Airways, where he worked in both finance and real estate and managed properties and negotiated lease agreements at airports, reservations centers and office buildings at 40 sites nationwide.
Mr. Quinby is Executive Vice President, Co-Regional Manager of Savills Studley. Since joining the firm in 1987, he has completed commercial real estate projects totaling in excess of 25 million square feet. As an executive vice president and branch manager of the Suburban Washington office, he brings more than 32 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, representing clients throughout the D.C. metropolitan region and nationwide. Mr. Quinby’s background in architecture, development and project financing for tax-exempt, as well as taxable developments, has led to his success advising public and private-sector clients on more than 20 build-to-suits to date.
Ms. Ryan-Macie is Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff for Navient, where she assists the president in creating and managing strategic and tactical plans for all facets of the organization. Prior to Navient, she was Senior Vice President of Operations and Administration for Sallie Mae. Before that, she led strategic planning efforts for Nellie Mae and was the key company and industry spokesperson on education policy and servicing operations, leading and serving on numerous task forces and committees nationwide. In addition, she served as Vice President of America’s Charter School Finance Corporation, where she was responsible for structuring individual charter school transactions.
Joe Bruno joined Building Hope after a successful career in health care and financial services. As President, Mr. Bruno oversees and directs all aspects of Building Hope’s operations.
Joe Bruno joined Building Hope after a successful career in health care and financial services. As President, Mr. Bruno oversees and directs all aspects of Building Hope’s operations. He is a certified public accountant with 35 years of accounting, finance, business and management experience; was a partner in two of the “Big 4” international accounting firms; and was the CFO of a public company. Mr. Bruno, a finance and accounting graduate of the University of Maryland and a certified public accountant since 1972, qualifies as a financial expert under the Sarbanes-Oxley guidelines.
He was the first hire of Building Hope — as a consultant in 2003 — and has guided the organization ever since. In 2004 Mr. Bruno was named President and is most proud of the long-term stability of Building Hope’s loan portfolio.
Active with many charities, Mr. Bruno currently serves in board positions with Georgetown University Hospital, Center City Public Charter Schools, Somerset Prep D.C. Public Charter School, Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools, Idaho Charter School Network, Bluum, and the Federal City Council.
Paul Leleck is a certified public accountant with more than 35 years of accounting, finance, business and management experience. He has assisted development stage companies and has served as a partner in a “Big 4” accounting firm.
Paul Leleck is a certified public accountant with more than 35 years of accounting, finance, business and management experience. He has assisted development stage companies and has served as a partner in a “Big 4” accounting firm.
As CFO for Building Hope, Paul manages the nonprofit organization’s finances and underwrites financial assistance to public charter schools. He also works with client schools on their accounting and budgeting.
He currently serves on the boards of the Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School and the Paul Public Charter School, both in Washington, DC.
As General Counsel, Michael D’Alessandro evaluates and helps mitigate risk for the organization across all aspects of the business. He is also responsible for managing all corporate formalities for Building Hope and its affiliates.
As General Counsel, Michael D’Alessandro evaluates and helps mitigate risk for the organization across all aspects of the business. He is also responsible for managing all corporate formalities for Building Hope and its affiliates.
Prior to joining Building Hope, Mr. D’Alessandro worked for several law firms, focusing on debt collections, personal injury, residential real estate and estate planning/administration.
Mr. D’Alessandro holds a Juris Doctor degree from Duquesne University and is a member of the Maryland Bar. He also has a Bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Notre Dame.
Richard Moreno provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the southern region of the United States and oversees the day-to-day operations of Building Hope’s Florida office.
Richard Moreno provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the southern region of the United States and oversees the day-to-day operations of Building Hope’s Florida office.
Prior to joining Building Hope, Mr. Moreno served as the CFO of Pacific National Bank and has more than 19 years’ experience with various business enterprises in diverse industries.
His charter school experience includes working as the CFO for Charter Schools USA and as resource specialist for NCB Capital Impact. As a resource specialist he provided technical assistance with facilities development and financing to Florida and Georgia charter schools, assisting more than 90 schools representing more than $110 million in projects. He also served as Chairman of the Florida Schools of Excellence Commission.
Mr. Moreno has a master’s degree in business administration from Florida Atlantic University and a bachelor’s in finance (with honors) from the University of Florida.
Tom Porter manages real estate transactions and directs project management efforts for public charter schools in the mid-Atlantic region, including the District of Columbia.
Tom Porter manages real estate transactions and directs project management efforts for public charter schools in the mid-Atlantic region, including the District of Columbia. He also directs the Charter School Incubator Initiative and directs Building Hope’s nationwide credit enhancement program through Building Hope’s America’s Charter School Finance Corporation affiliate.
Mr. Porter has more than 20 years’ experience in key administrative positions in start-up organizations in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from San Francisco State University and a master’s in nonprofit administration from the University of San Francisco.
Mr. Porter volunteers in support of public education and health care and has served on numerous board of directors, including Washington Yu Ying and Two Rivers public charter schools, both in Washington, DC; and Chase Brexton Health Care services in Maryland. He was the second Building Hope employee and over his tenure has been instrumental in growing Building Hope in the D.C. market.
Dru Damico leads Building Hope’s charter school development and construction projects nationwide and provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the western region of the United States.
Dru Damico leads Building Hope’s charter school development and construction projects nationwide and provides comprehensive support services to charter schools in the western region of the United States.
With 20 years’ experience in real estate and construction, Mr. Damico has been active in community-based development and has overseen charter school, retail, and entertainment projects. These projects include historic and LEED-certified real estate development.
Prior to joining Building Hope, Mr. Damico served as an owner’s representative in the planning, design, financing, construction, and completion of new charter school space. He has served as Director of Development for Howa Construction Inc.; as a project executive for the Pyramid Companies; and in project management and business development positions with subsidiaries of two publicly held companies, Omnicom and Interpublic Group.
Mr. Damico has a bachelor’s degree in information systems from Fairfield University School of Management. He lives in Utah, where he is active in the local community and serves on several boards for charter schools and other nonprofits.
Eva Rainer Schweitzer is responsible for developing Building Hope’s lending goals and strategies; loan origination and servicing; and monitoring individual credit transactions.
Eva Rainer Schweitzer is responsible for developing Building Hope’s lending goals and strategies; loan origination and servicing; and monitoring individual credit transactions.
Mrs. Schweitzer comes to Building Hope with a wealth of finance and community development experience. As an originator at NCB Capital Impact and as Vice President of Lending at City First Bank of DC, she transitioned her private-sector finance and structuring experience into investments in community projects that included charter schools, small local businesses and community health centers. Most recently, Mrs. Schweitzer served as Deputy Director of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s Educational Facilities Financing Center, where she underwrote nearly $100 million in structured loan pools and credit enhancements that have enabled charter schools nationwide to obtain affordable facilities.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in French literature from Yale University and a joint master/master of business administration degree from the Yale School of Management.
As Director of Strategic Initiatives, Mark Medema advances the organization’s mission with new clients, new markets and new investors.
As Director of Strategic Initiatives, Mark Medema advances the organization’s mission with new clients, new markets and new investors.
Prior to joining Building Hope, Mr. Medema was President and COO of EdVillage, an international education reform organization dedicated to supporting great third-sector schools worldwide. Previously, he worked for the KIPP Foundation, helping replicate the success of KIPP in more than 50 schools.
Mr. Medema received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Northwestern University and has a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Susan Corsini oversees all administrative functions of Building Hope and directs the organization’s communications and outreach efforts.
Susan Corsini oversees all administrative functions of Building Hope and directs the organization’s communications and outreach efforts.
Mrs. Corsini has extensive operations and management experience, having started two corporate foundations, a private foundation and a public charity. She began her career in communications and has held senior positions at three of the top 10 communications firms in the world: FleishmanHillard, GolinHarris and Ketchum Communications.
Over the years, Ms. Corsini has utilized her operations and communication skills to address a variety of issues for many mission-driven organizations, including the AOL Foundation, The Case Foundation and The Sallie Mae Fund.
She received her bachelor’s degree in communications from California State University at Fullerton and is a 2007 graduate of the Leadership Greater Washington program.