Board of Trustees

George Brown, Chair
Mr. Brown is Senior Vice President and Director of the Center for Responsible Lending in their Washington, DC office. The Center for Responsible Lending is focused on policy research and advocacy to stop predatory lending practices. George’s distinguished 30-year career includes founding the Community Development Corporation and working for the District of Columbia Government and the United States Department of Housing and Development, as well as teaching courses at the University of the District of Columbia in the School of Business and Public Management. George is a graduate of Howard University and the Georgetown University Law Center.

Elizabeth Hale, Vice Chair
Ms. Hale is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership, Inc. She is actively involved in the Institute’s efforts to create action and learning networks to improve outcomes for children and their families. She earned her B.A. from the University of Kentucky, and her Ed. M. and MPA from Harvard University.

Jocelyn Henderson, Treasurer
Ms. Henderson is an Assistant Controller at The Washington Post Company. She is responsible for managing the Company’s ongoing finance compliance efforts with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Prior to joining The Washington Post Company, Jocelyn spent much of her professional career in Atlanta serving as Assistant Vice President of Corporate Audit and Director of External Reporting for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. She earned her B.S. and B.A. from Duke University.

Bruce Baffer
Mr. Baffer is a Rear Admiral in the United States Coast Guard and serves as the Director of Acquisition Programs, where he manages a portfolio of new ships, boats, aircraft and computers in support of all Coast Guard missions. He holds a BSCE from the Coast Guard Academy, an MSCE from the Univ. of Illinois, an MBA from the Univ. of Massachusetts, an MS in the Management of Technology from MIT and an MS from the Marine Corps War College. He is a licensed professional engineer and a DHS certified level III acquisition professional.

Jerome Epstein
Mr. Epstein is a partner in Jenner & Block LLP’s Washington, DC office. He handles a wide array of commercial disputes for Fortune 500 companies, with particular emphasis on complex contract and fraud litigation. In 2007, Jerry was recognized by Legal Times as one of the ten Leading Business Litigation Lawyers in DC. He earned his B.S. and J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.

Katharine Herman
Ms. Herman is a former Thurgood Marshall Academy administrator, serving as Managing Director from 2005–07 and as the Director of Strategic Initiatives from 2007–2008. During her tenure, Katie oversaw the academic program, youth development programs, partnerships, and general school operations, as well as spearheading the Executive Director search. She earned her B.A. from Brown University.

Kevonya James
Kevonya is the mother of three Thurgood Marshall Academy students and serves as a Parent Representative on the Board of Trustees.

Richard Roe
Mr. Roe is a professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the director of its Street Law Clinic. In addition, Rick established and directs the D.C. Family Literacy Project, which helps incarcerated parents of young children to build their capacities to develop their children’s literacy, and the Georgetown Even Start Project, which works with homeless families. He earned his B.A. from Yale College and his J.D. from the University of Maine.

Norean Sharpe
Ms. Sharpe joined Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in June 2009 as the Undergraduate Dean as well as an Adjunct Professor of Statistics. Dr. Sharpe is responsible for developing curriculum, overseeing the framework for mentoring and advising students, and implementing academic policies and assessment initiatives for the undergraduate program. Dr. Sharpe earned a Ph.D. in systems engineering from the University of Virginia, a M.S. in biomathematics from the University of North Carolina, and a B.A. in mathematics and German from Mount Holyoke College.