National Leadership Team

Chad Soleo

Chad Soleo

President & Chief Executive Officer

Chad Soleo serves as the President & Chief Executive Officer at Green Dot Public Schools. He has also served as the Chief Operating Officer, Vice President of Advancement, an Area Superintendent, prior to which he was the founding principal of Ánimo Pat Brown Charter High School, and an assistant principal at Locke. Ánimo Pat Brown became a California Distinguished High School under his leadership. Chad began his career as an English language arts teacher at Alain Leroy Locke High School through Teach for America. At Locke, Chad ran a college preparatory program that lead to a significant increase in college awareness and graduation rates, while pursuing his graduate degree in Secondary Education at Loyola Marymount University. Chad has also taught within the charter school leadership cohort for Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education administrative credentialing program, and has lead professional development in Los Angeles Unified School District, within the Southern California AVID community, and within the Teach for America organization. Chad earned his undergraduate degree in English Literature from the University of Arizona.

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Ellen Lin

Chief Operating Officer

Ellen Lin serves as the Chief Operating Officer at Green Dot Public Schools National. Ellen is responsible for overseeing the Human Resources, Information Technology, Information Systems, Data and Analytics, and Compliance services for all Green Dot regions. Ellen joined Green Dot in 2007. Prior to joining Green Dot, Ellen worked as a Center Director for SCORE! Educational Centers, a subsidiary of Kaplan that provided supplemental tutoring for students pre-K through 9th grade. Ellen earned her Bachelor of Arts from Pomona College with a major in Politics and a minor in Music and an MBA from UCLA Anderson.

Sabrina Ayala

Sabrina Ayala

Chief Financial Officer Consultant

Sabrina Ayala is the Chief Financial Officer of Green Dot Public Schools and is responsible for managing all financial aspects, including financial strategy, budgets, cash management, accounts receivables, accounts payable, facility financing and purchasing. She brings ten years of Wall Street experience to Green Dot. Prior to joining Green Dot in 2006, Sabrina was an Institutional Equity Trader with Merrill Lynch, a Valuation and Compensation Consultant with Stern Stewart & Co. and an Investment Banker with Kidder, Peabody & Co. All were based in New York City. Her areas of expertise include natural resources, cyclical chemical industries, consumer products, REITS and arbitrage. Sabrina, an Eli Lilly Scholar, received her MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in 2002 with majors in Finance and Entrepreneurship. Her Bachelor of Science degree in Finance, with minors in Accounting and Sports Management, is from Northern Illinois University, where she graduated with honors, cum laude and Outstanding Woman Graduate of the Year.

Megan Quaile

Dr. Megan Quaile

Chief Growth Officer

Megan Quaile serves as the Chief Growth Officer at Green Dot Public Schools. She has also served as an area superintendent and the Vice President of Education during her six-year tenure. Before joining Green Dot, Quaile worked as Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Civitas Schools, the Chicago-based charter management organization that served 2200 students in grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12. Megan has also served as a teacher, coach and school principal. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Quaile spent her first years after college in corporate positions before choosing education. She holds a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California.

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Abby Pontzer Kamkar

Chief of Staff

Abby Pontzer Kamkar is Chief of Staff for Green Dot Public Schools National. Prior to GDPSN, she was the Director of Strategy and Communications for Pacific Charter School Development, a non-profit real estate organization specializing in charter school facilities solutions. Before PCSD, she was a Project Manager in the Los Angeles Unified School District. At LAUSD, Abby led a $30M technology pilot with 21 high schools, giving 17,000 students access to a personal laptop. She has also worked as a Teach for America high school teacher, a financial analyst, and a market researcher. Abby received her MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, a Masters in Educational Leadership through the Broad Residency, and a BA from the University of Minnesota.

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Douglas Weston

Chief Development Officer

Douglas is a senior member of the Green Dot organizational leadership team (OLT). Beginning in 2009, Douglas worked closely with founder, Steve Barr, former CEO, Marco Petruzzi, the leadership team and the Board of Directors, initially leading communications and brand work for the organization at a critical stage in Green Dot's growth in Los Angeles. Subsequently, he built and has led the Development team at Green Dot for the past decade as the organization has expanded in LA, and nationally in Memphis and Washington. While Green Dot is proudly sustainable on the public dollar, philanthropy enables critical aspects of the Green Dot mission, supporting organizational growth and influence, and an 'innovation' culture to benefit more students, directly and indirectly. Major gifts and institutional partnerships with individuals, foundations and corporations help Green Dot develop thriving public school systems across the US, with a focus on nurturing the innate talent and drive of youth in low-income communities of color.

Douglas thrives in the collaborative, fiercely mission-driven culture at Green Dot. Under his leadership, Green Dot has competed for and won major federal and state level grants, and developed high quality partnerships with innovative private sector and non-profit organizations. A graduate of Princeton University, Douglas is an experienced writer, editor, and presenter. He has a background in finance, as an entrepreneur and small business owner, and has been a professional actor for 30 years in film, TV and theatre. He is a longtime member of the Screen Actor's Guild and Actor's Equity Association.

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Randi DeMagistris

Managing Director Of People

As the Managing Director of People for Green Dot Public Schools National, Randi DeMagistris supports the people-related processes and systems for GDPSN, GDPST, GDPSTX and UPAS to help develop and retain top talent. Prior to joining GDPSN, she served as the Chief Talent Officer for GDPST, led hiring initiatives in Chicago, Texas, and California, and taught middle school English in Philadelphia. Randi received her Doctorate in Education and MBA from Texas Christian University, a Masters in Education from the University of Pennsylvania, and an undergraduate degree in journalism and sociology from the University of North Carolina.

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Michael Garner

Director of Data & Analytics

Michael Garner is the Director of Data & Analytics of GDPSN. Prior to joining Green Dot in 2008, Michael taught math and science at Alliance for College Ready Public Schools in South Los Angeles as a founding teacher. He started at Green Dot as the sole data analyst and, since then, has grown to lead the department with its robust team of seven analysts and managers, helping Green Dot stand out as a leading data-driven organization within the education sector. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

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Jose Juaregui

Director of Information Technology

As the Director of Information Technology for Green Dot Public Schools National, Jose Jauregui oversees technology infrastructure, computer services, and IT procurement. He began working with Green Dot in 2002 as an IT consultant. He joined Green Dot in 2007 as its Network Administrator. He then served as Senior IT Manager for GDPS National. Prior to joining Green Dot, Jose worked in the Information Technology Department of Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Jose earned a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Science in Network and Communications Management from DeVry University, Long Beach.

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J. Omar Mahmud

General Counsel

Omar is the General Counsel for GDPSN, responsible for providing legal counsel and managing the legal affairs of the organization. Prior to joining GDPSN in March 2020, Omar served as Deputy General Counsel for District of Columbia Public Schools. Prior to that, he worked in private practice for law firms in Washington, DC and the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in investment banking in San Francisco. While living in Washington, DC, Omar was active in his local community, volunteering for various community organizations and serving two terms as an elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. Omar received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. He is a member of the bar in California and Washington, DC.

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Dr. Jeff Shultz

Director of Information Systems

Jeff is the Director of Information Systems at Green Dot Public Schools. He originally joined Green Dot as PowerSchool Administrator in 2007 and subsequently was promoted to Applications Engineer, Senior Applications Engineer, and Senior Data Systems Manager. Jeff and his team of systems administrators are charged with implementation, administration, and support of varied systems including PowerSchool, Workday, GSuite, Tableau, and many more. Jeff has a bachelor’s in social science from California State University, Sacramento, a master’s in technology leadership from Brown University, and a doctorate in education from the University of Southern California.

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Abby Snider

Director of Development Strategy & Operations

Abigail Snider serves as the Director of Development Strategy and Operations. Abby is responsible for partnering with Green Dot leadership to develop, execute, and track progress towards ambitious fundraising goals, manages the Grant Writing team, and manages donor engagement. She joined Green Dot in 2016. Abby holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley with a major in English Literature, and a juris doctorate from William & Mary Law School. She is a member of the California Bar Association.

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Karla Ward Chavarin

Director of Public Programs and Authorizer Relations

Karla Ward brings 15 years of charter management experience to her role as the Director of Public Programs Relations at Green Dot Public Schools National. She is responsible for providing services and supports to uphold mandatory compliance in a variety of areas, including funded federal programs and program requirements for all Green Dot regions.

Prior to joining the organization in 2021, she led and implemented operations, compliance, and managed data in other charter organizations in the Los Angeles area. In addition, she played a key role in growing the number of high quality charter schools in California in her role at California Charter Schools Association.

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Ben Stratman

Director of Finance

As Director of Finance for Green Dot Public Schools National, Ben oversees budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling for the organization. Prior to joining Green Dot in 2021, he held various financial and operational roles at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory over ten years including the role of Manager of Financial Planning an Analysis for the lab. Ben received his B.S. in Business Administration from Colorado State University in 2009.