CFM Team
Mr. Joel Scharfer, Chief Executive Officer of CFM, has over 30 years of management and executive experience in corporate finance, real estate development and real estate financing. Joel began his financial career as a Certified Public Accountant and then became a founding executive and CFO of Land Rover of North America, Inc. where he played a key role in the successful launch and expansion of this new entry to the U.S. market over a fourteen year period. Joel also served as the CFO of Learn Now Schools, Inc. a for profit education management organization and as the Chief Operating Officer of Charter Schools Development Corp. (CSDC). He has a B.A. degree from the University of Pittsburgh with a major in economics and has an M.B.A. degree from Rutgers University.
Ms. Mel Harper is the Director of Finance and Procurement of CFM. Ms. Harper has served as Finance and Administration Manager for over 25 years. Thirteen of those years were at a quasi private/public school in Norwich CT. She has developed and maintained budgets, managed the financial operations, purchasing, and warehouse operations, developed and managed human resource policies and procedures and organizational procedures. Ms. Harper received an AS in Business Administration/Public Option from Three Rivers Community College and a BS in Business Administration/Information Technology from Colorado Technical University.
Ms. Rebecca Rudder is the Administrative Assistant of CFM. Rebecca has ten years experience working in the building and operations for school systems. She will be graduating in October 2010 with a BA in Organization Management from Ashford University.
Board of Directors
Michael B. Ronan Founder, President and Chairman of the Board, is the President and CEO of Lighthouse Academies, Inc. Mr. Ronan has provided management and consulting services to charter schools and school districts nationwide since 1997. Mr. Ronan began his career as a middle school history teacher and later served as a Director of Curriculum and Instruction and School Superintendent. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and holds advanced degrees in school administration.
Mr. Robert Stearns is the Vice President of Finance of Lighthouse Academies, Inc. Mr. Stearns has served as a financial controller and analyst for charter schools in several states since 2000. He is a Certified Public Accountant since 1984 and has worked as an audit and tax manager. He has overseen budgets, forecasts, monthly and year-end closings, and performed annual audits of several charter schools around the country. Mr. Stearns has acted in a fiduciary capacity with appropriations in excess of $50 million. Mr. Stearns has a Master's degree in Taxation from Bryant University where he also attained a B.S. in Business Administration, major Accounting.
Mr. David O'Keefe is the founder and CEO of Bay Point Capital, Inc. located in Boston, MA. Mr. O'Keefe has originated over $50M in lease lines for charter school management companies throughout the United States. He is a graduate of the business school of Villanova University and serves as a Trustee Advisor at Boston College HS as well as a board member of The Caritas Carney Hospital Foundation.
Mr. Edward Mahaney-Walter is a currently a joint MBA and JD student at the Wharton School and at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Past business experiences include serving as an investment analyst at Mooring Financial Corporation, a hedge fund in northern Virginia, and as an associate in the real estate and secured lending businesses of Morgan Stanley in New York City. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Brown University, with a double concentration in economics and international relations.Mr. Peter Newman is the Program Administrator for the Juvenile Justice & Child Protection Resource Section of the Circuit Court of Cook Country in Chicago, Illinois. He creates initiatives to bring the court into coordination with the community and to better serve children and families within the Juvenile Court jurisdiction. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor at DePaul University College of Law and the DePaul University School of New Learning. He also taught English, Reading, and Louisiana History to middle school students in rural Louisiana from 1993 through 1995 as a Teach for America corps member. Mr. Newman received his LLM in Child Law and Family Advocacy at Loyola Law School, Juris Doctor from Massachusetts School of Law, and a Bachelor's of Arts degree from Muhlenberg College.
Mr. Joel Scharfer, Chief Executive Officer of CFM.