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About Our Board

Student U’s Board of Directors oversees our financials, provides expertise and strategy to ensure Student U is financially sound and focused on our mission. With staggered terms, each year several Board Members roll off and new Board Members join. Student U intentionally attracts new ideas and expertise to the Board each year.

Kristin Miller Clauson

Director of Corporate Partnership Development for Share Our Strength and the No Kid Hungry campaign

Kristin Miller Clauson

Kristin Miller Clauson is proud to be a Durham native and Durham Public Schools graduate, back again as she raises her own family. In her professional life, she is the Director of Corporate Partnership Development for Share Our Strength and the No Kid Hungry campaign, a national nonprofit ending childhood hunger in America.

In this role, she's responsible for building innovative partnerships with corporations to raise funds and awareness to move the No Kid Hungry mission forward. At home in Durham, she enjoys being active outdoors, cooking and eating, and is devoted to her family and friends.

"From its founding, Student U has been an unwavering source of hope and inspiration in my life. Student U, its leaders, and its students prove that it is possible to be both ambitious and expansive in our dreams for the future, while also homing a clear-eyed focus on a single individual, a single accomplishment, a single change today… all with the power to ensure our community flourishes tomorrow."

Victoria Chavis

Program Director for Duke College Advising Corps Program

Victoria Chavis

Victoria works with recent Duke graduates and the National College Advising Corps to increase college access and enrollment in North Carolina. Services provided include application assistance, help with applying for financial aid, help with applying for housing, and more. Prior to joining Duke, Victoria led a college-transition program and first-generation college student support at the UNC-Chapel Hill. She has experience in admissions, peer mentoring, and was a college adviser at Purnell Swett High School from 2014-2016. Victoria is a citizen of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and a first-generation college graduate from Maxton, North Carolina. Victoria earned both her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Social Work from UNC Chapel Hill and is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at North Carolina State University.

Myra Griffin, JD

Superior Court Judge in Durham County

Myra Griffin, JD

Myra brings 26 years of legal and public service experience to Student U's board. Her career began as an intern at the Land Loss Prevention Project, where she supported farmers navigating crisis. She went on to serve as a law clerk at the Industrial Commission and later as an Assistant Attorney General, representing the Commission statewide. In 2005, she was appointed Deputy Commissioner, where she presided over contested claims under the Workers' Compensation and Tort Claims Acts. Governor Roy Cooper appointed Myra to the Full Commission in 2018 and named her Vice-Chair in 2019, and the General Assembly has since confirmed her to serve two six-year terms. Most recently, Durham County voters elected her as a Superior Court Judge. Myra earned her degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her law degree from North Carolina Central University. She is a first-generation college graduate with deep engagement in rural North Carolina communities and the General Assembly.

Dr. Iwinosa Idahor

Executive Director of Equity Affairs and Program Evaluation for Durham Public Schools

Dr. Iwinosa Idahor

As the Student Equity, Engagement and Opportunity Coordinator for Durham Public Schools she primarily provides support and facilitates additional professional learning for boys/girls of color programs (We Are KINGS/We Are QUEENS) and coordinators across the district. Along with supporting coordinators, in collaboration with various stakeholders, she also supports the design/development, implementation and evaluation of equity-focused initiatives that centers students from historically marginalized and underrepresented groups. Her myriad of experiences with students spans over 10 years and includes work at the K-12 and college levels, in traditional and non-traditional settings. Iwinosa is dedicated to amplifying the voices and experiences of students through (counter)narratives, advocacy and creating/cultivating spaces and access to meaningful, impacting opportunities and resources. She hopes that her work and impact will lead to equitable and optimal educational experiences and outcomes for students and their families.

Iwinosa is a Student U teacher alumni and received her B.S. in Middle Grades, her M.Ed. in Counselor Education, and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy and Human Development from NC State University.

Zack Kaplan

Civil Rights Lawyer

Zack Kaplan

Zack Kaplan is a civil rights lawyer passionate about advancing education equity and racial justice in North Carolina. He previously served as a law clerk on the North Carolina Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, a Dellinger Fellow at the North Carolina Department of Justice, and a 5th grade teacher at Maureen Joy Charter School in Durham. Zack joined the Student U community as a Summer Academy teacher in 2014 and has done his best to stick around ever since. He attended UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke Law School, and lives with his wife and two puppies in Durham.

Virginia Lee

Dr. Virginia Lee

A professional educator with a forty-year commitment to fostering holistic human development for all students . From 2005-2018 Virginia was principal and senior consultant of her own consulting firm, specializing in teaching, learning and assessment in higher education. She served as President (2007-2010) of the POD Network in Higher Education, the largest professional organization for educational developers in higher education in North America. Previously she was an administrator at centers for teaching and learning at UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University where she was also an adjunct faculty member.

Virginia received her B.A. cum laude, Smith College; M.B.A ., Stern School, New York University ; and Ph.D., School of Education, UNC-Chapel Hill.

Nelson Jared Lopez

7th Grade Social Studies Teacher at Maureen Joy Charter School

Nelson Jared Lopez

Jared is a member of Student U's inaugural Class of 2014. Since graduating from college, he has served at Maureen Joy Charter School for seven years, where he currently teaches 7th grade social studies. He also serves as grade-level team lead, a member of the school improvement committee, and head coach of the school's soccer team. Jared earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As a Student U alumnus, current public school educator, Durham native, and Latino native Spanish speaker, he brings a unique perspective as both a graduate of the program and an educator continuing that work in Durham's classrooms today.

Dave Michelman, JD

Education Consultant

Dave Michelman, JD

Dave led independent schools education for 35 years, serving as head of two schools, most recently Duke School, where he led for 14 years. Prior to becoming a Head, he served for 10 years as both a lower and middle school division director. For the past five years, Dave has coached nonprofit senior leaders and leadership teams. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Hamilton College and his Juris Doctorate from George Washington University Law School. As a former Student U Board Member and Chair, Dave brings deep institutional knowledge of Student U along with expertise in leadership coaching.

Jason Mundy

Middle School Director, Durham Academy

Jason Mundy

Over the course of a 26-year career in education, he has been a classroom teacher, college counselor, dean of students, diversity practitioner, and spent a decade as a high school principal. Jason founded the Colorado Diversity Network as a statewide effort to train teachers and school administrators around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. His past board work with the Breakthrough Collaborative, and The Challenge Foundation has focused on equal access of educational opportunity.

Jason received his B.A. in History from Duke University in 1996 and an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University in 2006.

Leslie Person

Community-Focused Leader

Leslie Person

Leslie is a Community-Focused Leader Advancing Health, Financial Wellness and Access to Capital, with more than 18 years of experience in financial services. He began his career in retail management, starting in larger format stores before moving into the drugstore industry during the height of consolidation through mergers and acquisitions, and spent 17 years in retail leadership before transitioning to financial center management with Bank of America. He provided guidance to small business owners, helping them gain the confidence, resources, and skills needed to follow through on their business plans and long-term financial goals. He earned his B.A. in Psychology and Business Administration from East Carolina University and serves on the Board of Directors for the Carolina Small Business Development Fund.

Michael Romanus

Senior Vice President Commercial Banking

Michael Romanus

Michael currently serves as Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at First Horizon Bank and brings 25 years of experience in commercial and small business banking, with deep expertise in financial analysis, credit structuring, capital planning, and risk management. He studied at Duquesne University. Michael brings expertise in finance and banking, risk management, and prior board service to Student U.

Meetal Shah, PhD

Researcher at Instructure

Meetal Shah, PhD

Meetal has more than fifteen years of experience spanning classroom teaching, curriculum development, and educational technology. As Associate Director of Research at Instructure, she leads research teams that evaluate learning solutions for efficacy and implementation quality. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Sydney, a Postgraduate Diploma in Education from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Education in Mathematics from Macquarie University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics Education from North Carolina State University. A graduate of the NC Education Policy Fellowship Program, Meetal brings expertise in research and evaluation grounded in her years in the classroom.

Lauren Shor

Corporate Lawyer

Lauren Shor

Lauren is a former Student U summer academy teacher and advocate. Lauren graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies and later earned a Juris Doctor degree, both with High Honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a corporate lawyer focusing on mergers and acquisitions and maintains a robust pro bono practice with a focus on asylum matters.

Chantal Stevens

Executive Director at ACLU of North Carolina

Chantal Stevens

Chantal serves as the Executive Director of the ACLU of NC, after working in education for 20 years prior, first at the university level at CUNY and the City College of New York, and then moving to nonprofits where she first served as the National Director of Programs at A Better Chance. She left A Better Chance after a decade to become the Executive Director of The GO Project and in 2017, she joined Oliver Scholars as the Interim CEO.

Chantal tried out being an entrepreneur, running a small, one-woman consultancy, through which she worked with education focused nonprofit organizations on strategy, systems and process creation for finance, fundraising, Board development and programs before moving to Raleigh to work for the ACLU of NC.

An active member of her community, Chantal has served as a Board Member of St. Mark the Evangelist School for five years. For 13 years, she served as a volunteer fundraiser and Parent Chair for the Annual Fund of the Spence School. For 12 years, Chantal served as an Advisory Board Member of the National Partnership for Educational Access.

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