Team

Chris has 20-plus years of experience in education. He has served as a classroom teacher, Dean of Students, supporting administrative roles, School Director (school leader), Area Superintendent, Director of School Performance, and currently serves as the CEO for CS Partners. Chris is currently a School Finance Research Collaborative member and serves on the School Finance Committee for Launch Michigan. Chris holds a bachelor of arts from the University of Michigan-Flint, a master of arts from the University of Alabama, an MBA from the University of Michigan-Flint, an educational specialist degree from Oakland University, and he is completing his dissertation in educational leadership at the University of Michigan-Flint. Chris is also a certified System & Soul Coach.

Laura has been with CS Partners for 14 years, serving our schools by leading the budget and accounting team and, most recently, leading our school operations support team as well. Laura has a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA in professional accounting from Michigan State University. She’s been a licensed CPA since 1994. Laura is passionate about strategizing with our school leaders on how best to use financial resources to improve academic outcomes. As the director of school operations, she leads the teams supporting our schools in many aspects, including board support, facilities, food service, grants management, and budget and accounting. This team has more than 20 professionals with decades of combined experience in assisting charter schools in succeeding.

Carlie started her career by earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Michigan University and her SHRM certification. After working in finance, she moved to CS Partners in 2004. As the Chief Human Resources Officer, she oversees all areas of service for over 2,000 employees at 33 schools. She and her team have developed detailed human resources processes in serving charter schools. Carlie manages the employer of record services, focusing on five key aspects of the employee lifecycle: applicant tracking support, onboarding and compliance, payroll, benefits and retirement, and HR consultation. These back-office services allow charter school leaders to focus on educating their students and giving focus to staff and families. CS Partners believes this is why leaders chose the field of education, not to be consumed by the back office headaches CS Partners aims to remove.

Dr. Ticheal Jones has over 25 years’ experience working in schools. Ticheal was a teacher for 8 years and served 18 years as an administrator (Dean, Assistant Principal, Principal, Director of Operations, Executive Director, Superintendent). Ticheal currently leads the School Performance Team at CS Partners and their primary focus is supporting school leadership in successfully implementing their school mission, vision and academic program. Ticheal earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, a master’s degree in Administration and Supervision, and a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership. She has also completed postdoctoral work at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in "positive leadership". She holds Michigan administrator K-12 certification and holds endorsements in district level Curriculum & Instruction and Central Office.