Board of Directors
Jeannine LaPrad is President of the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, a national organizaton focused on education and workforce development. Jeannine is responsible for strategic leadership and management as well as the development of policy and program innovation and evaluation work within the state of Michigan and other states nationally. Jeannine has spent the last 12 years researching and promoting innovative economic, education, and social policies and practices that help people successfully engage in sustainable work and lifelong learning. Her work has been focused on helping reshape adult and postsecondary education to make it more accessible for low-income, low-skilled workers. More recently she has been working with states and communities on the development of policies and programs that help increase the number of jobs and skilled workers in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable electricity, and agriculture and natural resource conservation. She has a Bachelor’s degree in organizational psychology and communications and a Master’s degree in higher education policy from the University of Michigan.
Susan Santone is the founder and Executive Director of Creative Change. A former classroom teacher, she specializes in instructional design and training for sustainability, ecological economics, and cultural issues. As head of Creative Change, she has led multiple curriculum reform and teacher education initiatives, working nationally with public schools, universities, and nonprofit organizations. Under her leadership, Creative Change has developed a broad client list ranging from Purdue University College of Engineering to the United Nations. Her expertise in sustainability education has landed her a role as content advisor for children's media being developed by public TV producers WGBH. She is also an adjunct instructor in Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University, where she has taught "Schools in a Diverse and Democratic Society" and "Teaching Ecological Economics." She earned teacher certificates in social studies, music, and TESOL; and has a Master's degree in Intercultural and International Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont.
Shari Saunders is a faculty member at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She works with prospective teachers in the university classroom as well as in school sites. Her primary responsibility is facilitating the development of future K-12 teachers to become empowered educators who are committed to working toward social justice in education. Some of her areas of interest include place-conscious education, restorative justice practices in education, and school lunch reform. She has a Master’s degree in Learning Disabilities from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. in Education from the University of Virginia.
Nicole Stetson is a faculty member and Coordinator of Academic Services at the Community College of Vermont. in addition to teaching, she directs course development and on-line learning, manages staff, and counsels students. Her non-profit experience includes serving as the Chief Operating Officer and Membership Director for The International Ecotourism Society, directing a micro-loan project for low-income women in Nevada, and coordinating educational services for homeless children in Brazil. She has a Master's degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, VT.
Brian Tell is founder and President of ShadePlex, a Toledo, Ohio based manufacturing integrator of high power, low-cost, solar module mounting solutions for permanent fabric structures such as vehicle shade canopies for cars and trucks. Brian has nearly two decades of experience in business management, capital raising, marketing, communications, and research, including serving as director of business development for Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (Ann Arbor), where he raised more than more than $15 million for joint projects involving CSW and its partners. He is a member of the executive committee of the Greater Detroit Network for Social Innovators, and is an active affiliate with the Innovation Network for Communities."
Ken Thomson is an attorney with Hooper Hathaway in Ann Arbor. His past education related experience includes policy work for the U.S. Department of Education and serving as an Education Policy Fellow for Governor Granholm. His focuses are teacher quality, English language acquisition and NCLB. He earned a BA, a Master's of Public Policy, and a law degree from the University of Michigan.