Meet Our Executive Team

Kimberly Zentz, President

Kimberly Zentz is a Carroll County resident with three (3) young children, one who currently attends Carroll County Public Schools (CCPS).  Kim retired at 39 after a decade in corporate sales to become a stay-at-a-home mom.  Together with her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, minor in Marketing, and a passion for education public policy, Kim advocates to improve educational outcomes and expand educational options for all Carroll County families.  Ms. Zentz exemplifies civic engagement and through her experiences and active community involvement has developed an extensive combination of knowledge, skills, values and motivation to make a difference in her community.  Ms. Zentz also currently serves on the curriculum council for CCPS.  All of which she will apply to the start up and operations of the charter school.  

Bryan Thompson, Vice-President

Bryan Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics from Drexel University.  Mr. Thompson is the founding Vice President of the Carroll Learning Alliance. With over 24 years of experience as an information technology business owner, Mr. Thompson has successfully managed business operations and provided executive consulting to organizations ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. He has extensive experience leading skilled teams both domestically and internationally.  A resident of Carroll County for 13 years and the parent of four (4) public school students, Mr. Thompson has been actively involved in several community initiatives related to the public school system. He served on the Family Life Curriculum Council for three years, including a term as chair.  Initially, his role is to manage the websites and provide technical support, as well as leverage his experience as a business owner to help navigate the operations of starting and running the charter school.

Megan Mann, Secretary

Megan Mann holds dual degrees, Bachelor of the Arts in Communication and Bachelor of Science in Marketing, from the University of Maryland.  With over 13 years experience in Government Contracting, Ms. Mann has awarded and administered multi-million dollar contracts.  This involves ensuring contracts contain appropriate Federal Acquisition Regulations as well as applicable supplemental agency regulations.  Four (4) of those 13 years were spent as Branch Chief and Supervisor of nine (9) contracting officers and contract specialists.  Her experience has developed a wealth of knowledge pertaining to mentoring, procurement, negotiations, change management, transition planning, and more.  Apart from serving as secretary, she will manage social media for the school and assist with its marketing.  She has been a resident of Carroll County for one (1) year, and has two (2) children that will be eligible to attend CCPS.

Danielle Daley, Treasurer

Danielle Daley received a Bachelor of the Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland.  She is a CPA, licensed in the State of Maryland, with over a decade of experience in Accounting and Finance leadership roles, growing and running various successful companies.  In these roles, she has developed a deep knowledge of Budgeting and Financial Operations for multi-million dollar organizations.  Ms. Daley has also volunteered her services to a non-profit in the past, and she worked as a substitute teacher in HCPSS following college graduation.  Her role will be to leverage her experience as a CPA and ensure the charter school is managed in a fiscally responsible manner.  She has been a resident of Carroll County for 15 years and will have three (3) children eligible to attend CCPS. 

Tom Neumark, Volunteer Charter School Consultant

Tom Neumark started the Frederick Classical Charter School, currently ranked by U.S. News as the #2 middle charter school and #1 elementary charter school in Maryland.  He is a national top 10 finalist for the bi-partisan Moonshot for Kids contest to improve education.  He has trained Maryland teachers in computer science instruction, written for the Maryland Public Policy Institute, and is a regular opinion columnist for the Frederick News Post.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from West Virginia Wesleyan College and a Master’s in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins.  He works for Microsoft and has over 23 years of experience in education policy.  His role is to guide CLA through the intricate process of opening a charter school, identify lessons learned from his own experience opening Frederick Classical Charter School, and serve as a sounding board capable of identifying resources or subject matter experts, as needed throughout the process.

Diane Safar, Retired Carroll County Educator

Diane Safar is a retired, national board certified, CCPS teacher with over 30 years of experience.  She is certified in biology and agriculture with a certificate in special education. She taught agriculture for over 20 years and helped open Winter’s Mill High School in Westminster, MD in 2002.  In addition to her experience in the classroom, she also served as an FFA Advisor, served as a CCEA building representative, as well as on the CCEA master agreement committee.  Additionally, she served as President of Maryland Agriculture Teachers Association (MATA) and earned many agriculture program and teacher awards, both MATA and National Association of Agriculture Educators (NAAE). Her knowledge and breadth of experience makes her a tremendous asset.  Through the lens of an educator, she is capable of providing insight to both the future curriculum of the charter school as well as lessons learned and growing pains associated with opening a new school.  

Jennifer Laws, MTSS Resource Teacher and Education Specialist

Jennifer Laws is a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Resource Teacher in Baltimore County Public Schools, with 15 years of experience in classroom instruction, coaching, and professional development roles.  In these roles, Ms. Laws has developed a deep understanding of evidence-based practices that promote successful outcomes for students and teachers.  She earned a master’s of Education in School Improvement Leadership from Goucher College and specializes in coaching and professional development for teachers.  Her expertise will lend critical support in ensuring the charter school has established routines, school wide procedures and consistency across daily operations.  She has been a resident of Carroll County for four (4) years and will have one child eligible to attend CCPS.