Meet Our Team
We know the unique challenges charter schools face. Meet our expert staff and board of directors who are passionate about championing Charter Schools in Rochester NY.
Dr Paul Miller, CEO
Dr. Paul Miller has emerged as an expert in education having produced consistent results for young black men, graduating 95% of his students yearly. He builds systems that work for children that look like him.
He has been in education for 23 years as a teacher, Asst. Principal, Principal and CEO, in the public and charter worlds. Dr. Miller's career has been devoted to the practice of "doing better"; not allowing complacency in education, continuously pushing for excellence in our schools. He is known to be "Pro-GOOD Schools."
He is an author who writes about improving the mindset of children through Family, Community, and Education, with the goal of helping communities all over the country.
Currently, as the CEO of Rochester Charter Champions, Dr. Miller is looking to build an organization to provider the necessary support for Rochester Charter Schools. He aims to accomplish an equitably educated Rochester.
Melinda Goldberg, COS
Melinda brings a strong background in development, marketing, and communications to Charter Champions. Prior to joining Charter Champions as Chief of Staff, Melinda served as Director of the Council of Agency Executives, a membership association of nonprofit organizations in greater Rochester NY. She previously worked for several nonprofit organizations, Hillel Community Day School, and also served as a grants and fundraising consultant to nonprofits.
Melinda believes that every child deserves the best possible education, with guidance from teachers who can help them thrive and be successful in school and beyond. Melinda currently serves on the boards of the Breast Cancer Coalition and the Greater Rochester Quality Council. She received a BA from the University of New Hampshire and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Center for Community Engagement at St. John Fisher University.
Meet Our Board
Joe Klein, Board Chair
Realizing the struggles students in Rochester City Schools(RCSD) faced, Joe sold his business, Klein Steel, in order to focus on providing high quality K-12 public charter school education to children growing up in impoverished homes in Rochester. Joe's focus is strictly on charter schools, as every report shows RCSD dead last in the nation in academic growth due to every pervasive dysfunction; with no hope of improvement as school board members are only concerned with adult interests. Our mission is to make Rochester the nation's proof point that all children can learn by growing and supporting our public charter school sector.
Carlos Garcia
A committed member of our community, Carlos Garcia has been involved in countless diversity, equity and inclusion efforts for the betterment of the greater Rochester NY area. Most recently, in the role of founding Member of both Charter Champions of Rochester and St. Michael Society. Garcia has also worked as Chief Communications Officer for the Rochester City School District, Executive Director of both Partners in Restorative Initiatives, Inc., and Catholic Charities of Livingston County, positions he accepted after a distinguished career with the Rochester NY police department.
Rev. Robert K Hoggard
Rev. Robert K. Hoggard currently serves as the Associate Director for Academic and Student Affairs at the Rochester Institute of Technology- wher he leads the fundraising for diversity, equity, and belonging efforts. Robert also serves as the Senior Pastor of East Penfield Baptist Church, the first African-American pastor in its nearly 200-year history. He recently helped lead Rochester Regional Health Foundations as the Founding Development officer for Health Equity and Inclusion Initiatives, focusing on fundraising for the Social Determinants of Health initiatives. He's pursuing an EdD in Educational Administration with a focus on Higher Education at the University of Rochester. His research seeks to understand African-American male college students' racial trauma and healing. Robert has taught and mentored students at the Leadership Academy for Young Men, Vanguard High School, Villa Maria College, and Keuka College.
Michael Perlson, PhD
Mike Perlson, President of Perlson Associates has over 50 years of experience in management development and organizational effectiveness. He is a graduate of Perdue University with a doctorate in Industrial Psychology. Perlson Associates works with organizations that are committed to long term performance improvement through the growth of their people. He is the author of the book, "How to Understand & Influence People and Organizations." He is a licensed psychologist and diplomate in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, awarded by the American Board of Professional Psychology.
On charter school performance Mike offers these words of wisdom:
"We proved this at school 52 where reading at grade level went from 35% to 85% in 3 years. Top charter schools are proving it every day."