NJCSA Staff
Carlos Pérez
President and CEO
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609-989-9700, ext. 4412
Carlos joined the New Jersey Charter Schools Association (NJCSA) on 2010 as CEO after years of work in Illinois organizing the charter school community for policy reform for charter schools.
Carlos joined the Illinois Network of Charter Schools (INCS) in the winter of 2005 after spending the previous four years organizing political campaigns. He has organized new immigrant and Latino communities in Virginia, Minnesota and Missouri. His political organizing also took him to Louisiana and has mobilized voters in his home state of Illinois. After working to bring new people into the political process, Carlos joins INCS to build a community network of school leaders, parents, students and community groups to advocate on behalf of charter schools.
As the director of public policy, he worked closely with INCS grassroots advocates and charter school leadership to educate and work with state decision-makers to support Illinois’ charter schools. This includes the recent passage of SB 612, doubling the number of charter schools in Illinois from 60 to 120.
As CEO of the New Jersey Charter Schools Association, he focused the organization’s efforts on closing the quality gap between low and high performing charter schools, increasing the growth of charter schools, and protecting and equalizing charter school funding levels.
Carlos received a master’s in public services from DePaul University and lives in Jersey City with his wife, Lindsey Perez.
Donna Siminski
Director of Policy and Advocacy
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609-989-9700, ext. 4414
As director of policy and advocacy, Donna will focus on the policy issues impacting the charter schools in New Jersey, as well as working with members, charter families, and charter school professionals to advocate for high-quality charter schools and the children they serve.
Donna has worked on social justice policy issues for the past five years for Volunteers of America Delaware Valley. She has deep knowledge of the public sector, having worked for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency as the Director of External Affairs; the Governor’s Office of Constituent Relations; and for NJ Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts as Chief of Staff.
Donna attended Rutgers University, Camden, where she earned a bachelor's of science in political science and a master’s in public administration.
Rick Pressler
Director of School Services
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609-989-9700, ext. 4411
Rick is a founder of the Greater Brunswick Charter School (established 1998) where he served as chairman of the Board of Trustees and then as executive director until 2008. He has also consulted with numerous charter schools throughout the state and helped establish the Gaining Ground charter school facilities initiative in partnership with Build With Purpose (formerly Real Estate Advisory & Development Services, Inc.), the New Jersey Charter Schools Association, and Greater Brunswick Charter School.
Prior to working in the charter school movement, Rick worked in book publishing, software development, project management, and business process analysis, primarily in the telecommunications and internet industries. He serves on the board of the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education South Africa Initiative, the Greater Brunswick Charter School Advisory Board, and the New Jersey Arts Education Steering Committee.
Rick has a bachelor's in music composition and theory from Haverford College and a master's in public affairs and politics from Rutgers University. He lives in Metuchen with his wife Hope (a charter school teacher) and his three sons William, Zachary and David (a founding student and graduate of Greater Brunswick Charter School).
Jennifer M. Bredehoft
Director of Growth & Development
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609-989-9700, ext. 4417
Jen joined NJCSA in September 2011 and will primarily be responsible for implementing and executing the organization's fundraising strategies and goals.
Most recently, she was a manager with DAF Greenwood USA, a start-up manufacturing company using a revolutionary technology to create a green alternative to wood from recycled plastics and natural fibers. Prior to DAF Greenwood, she was Vice President, Communications & Investor Relations, with New Jersey Community Capital (NJCC), where she was responsible for the organization's fundraising, marketing and communications projects, and public policy efforts. Much of NJCC's work is centered around charter school facilities financing, which provided her with extensive opportunities to interact with charter schools around the state and not only become familiar with the industry, but develop a strong affinity for quality charter schools and public school choice.
Jen is currently pursuing a master's degree in public administration at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, with a concentration in advanced management and finance. She graduated from New York University's College of Arts & Science in 2004 with a major in history and minors in education and Irish studies, where she was first introduced to charter schools while completing education coursework and observation hours in New York City public schools. Jen was a fellow in Leadership New Jersey's 2010 class and continues to be involved with LNJ as a class representative for the Graduate Organization board. She is also a founding member of the NJ Young Community Development Professionals Association and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of Monmouth County Hunt. Jen has been riding horses competitively for 20 years and spends much of her free time with her beloved horse, dog and cat.
Marcy Bostwick
Manager of New School Development
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609-989-9700, ext. 4415
As Manager of New School Development at NJCSA, Marcy provides guidance and support to new founding groups during all stages of the charter development process and post application approval to ensure that all new schools receive the best foundation to be successful, high-performing and sustainable. Marcy also works with pre-operational and newly opened schools to implement best practices in all areas of school operations. Marcy will provide charter 101 workshops and technical assistance in key areas related to developing quality charter schools.
Marcy started her professional career in the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where she decided that accessibility to quality public education was the most effective means of crime prevention. She then became the founding director of an educational, employment and empowerment program for out-of-school youth and formerly adjudicated youth. Prior to that, Marcy worked with the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition, as project manager at its Institute for the Advancement of Working Families.
Marcy received a bachelor of arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania and a juris doctorate from the Beasley School of Law at Temple University.
Carrie Wetherby
Manager of Membership and Events
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609-989-9700, ext. 4410
As the Manager of Membership and Events, Carrie is responsible for producing the annual New Jersey Charter Schools Conference and managing the membership program. She also produces marketing pieces, works on special projects, and manages daily operations of the office.
Prior to joining NJCSA in 2006, Carrie was owner/operator of Wetherby Productions, LLC, a small event production company, where she managed the logistics for private trade shows and community festivals. Prior to that, Carrie was an exhibits project manager at Jack Morton Worldwide; an associate editor at MMS Education; and an account manager at Sparks Exhibits and Environments in its Philadelphia headquarters. She has extensive experience in print, web and e-mail communications, event logistics, and program management.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature with an art history minor from the University of Delaware. Carrie is originally from the Finger Lakes area in New York and resides in Newtown, Bucks County, PA. She is a Daughter of the American Revolution and an avid fan of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Gayle Horvath
Manager of School Services
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609-989-9700, ext. 4413
Gayle administers pass-through grants that support charter schools’ programs, analyzes school testing and demographic data, and coordinates technical assistance and professional development workshops on topics of specific interest to charter schools throughout the school year and during the annual conference.
Gayle was a high school mathematics and computer science teacher for about 12 years, in addition to teaching computer science courses in the local adult education program. After leaving the school environment, she spent 21 years as a technical writer, project coordinator, and manager at AT&T, Lucent Technologies and Cisco Systems.
Gayle has been involved in several education-related community organizations. She helped start the Red Bank Charter School, serving on its board for 7 1/2 years. Her activities included overseeing the school’s financial activities, writing grants, starting the Parent/Guardian Network, and helping to start the Friends of Red Bank Charter School nonprofit fundraising organization.
Working with other community members, Gayle helped create the Navesink Maritime Heritage Association (NMHA) in 2001, and has been serving on its board since then. NMHA is a nonprofit membership organization in Monmouth County that focuses on maritime and environmental education of children and adults. NMHA offers on-the-water exploratory programs for children, a public speakers series, boat building and repair projects, and collaborates with local and statewide organizations to further NMHA’s mission of maritime stewardship.
As an advocate for arts education within schools and the community, Gayle co-chaired the 38th and 39th implementation of the Monmouth Festival of the Arts and has organized the Festival’s Symposium for Art Educators for the past six years.
Janel Wright
Community Outreach Manager
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609-989-9700, ext. 4416
Janel has more than 10 years’ experience working on public policy issues related to education and community affairs. She spent four years as a Legislative Advisor on education through the California Senate Fellows Program, and has also worked with the California Secretary of State to increase voter registration for 18-25 year olds.
Through her work with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Fox Entertainment Group and Fox Interactive Media, Janel organized rallies, served as the corporate liaison for neighborhood councils, and recommended charitable and political contributions to nonprofits and elected officials. She has also collaborated with law enforcement, NGOs and parent organizations to develop stronger safety policies for minors on MySpace.com. Prior to joining NJCSA, she was influential in developing the first advocacy campaign for the New Jersey College Bound Association, where she prepared parents, teachers and students to testify at state committee hearings and contact their local and state representatives.
Janel holds a bachelor's degree in government and a master's degree in planning and development studies from the University of Southern California. She and her husband are active members within their community and have two children.
