SCORE Team

Since 2009, SCORE has played a critical role in advancing student achievement in Tennessee. Our team is composed of mission-driven professionals who work every day to support student success across the state by insisting on high expectations, empowering educators, and fostering a culture of innovation.

SCORE Team

Cynthia Yeldell Anderson

Director of Communications
Cynthia leads SCORE’s communications strategy with a focus on improving education policy and practice in Tennessee.
Read More

Kristina Bachman

Director of Grants Management
As director of grants management, Kristina manages the full grant lifecycle for SCORE's philanthropic portfolio and implements key development processes for SCORE's strategic investments.
Read More

Dr. Richard Bailey

Director of Strategic Practice
Richard leads SCORE’s efforts to analyze data, identify gaps and work with practitioners in the field to develop and learn from innovative pilots.
Read More

Courtney Bell

Vice President of Strategic Practice
Courtney leads SCORE’s strategic practice portfolio, which focuses on piloting research-based approaches to improving student outcomes and working to spread and scale those effective practices across Tennessee.
Read More

Donata Blobaum

Administrative Coordinator
Donata manages day-to-day internal business operations and provides administrative support for the SCORE team.
Read More

Janelle Brown

K-12 Program Director
Janelle leads K-12 program development and implements new and emerging activities for SCORE’s K-12 priorities.
Read More

Arshia Saiyed Freeman

Senior Director of Impact & Strategic Initiatives
As senior director of impact and strategic initiatives, Arshia works closely with SCORE’s team to ensure alignment between SCORE’s mission and the organization’s strategic priorities and investments.
Read More

Leigh George

Director of Events
Leigh leads the planning and execution for all SCORE events.
Read More

Amrit Ghimire

Director of Finance
Amrit leads annual budget development, the annual audit, regulatory compliance, payment process, and internal and external financial reporting.
Read More

Amanda Glover

Senior Policy Analyst
Amanda leads policy analysis on education issues impacting Tennessee students.
Read More

Aleah Guthrie

Vice President of Policy and Government Relations
Aleah leads SCORE’s policy and government relations work to improve outcomes for K-12 and postsecondary students in Tennessee.
Read More

Carolyn Hanesworth

Executive Assistant
Carolyn is responsible for providing administrative leadership and support to SCORE’s President & CEO and Leadership team.
Read More

Emily Hawthorne

Director of Talent
Emily leads SCORE's focus on talent management, including supporting recruitment and hiring through performance management, with a focus on cultivating a diverse and inclusive environment.
Read More

Diane Hughes

Communications Manager
Diane manages SCORE’s communications, focusing on content production, social media, and online strategy.
Read More

Mara Laverentz

Executive Assistant
Mara uses her extensive background in executive administration to support SCORE’s leadership team by being proactive and anticipating shifting priorities.
Read More

Karen Lawrence

Senior Director of Networks and Partnerships
Karen leads SCORE’s efforts to design and pilot research-based practices with its partners in order to improve student outcomes and share learnings that promote effective practices at scale.
Read More

David Mansouri

President and CEO
David sets the strategic vision for SCORE, guides SCORE’s leadership team, and builds and strengthens SCORE’s partnerships with leaders in Tennessee and across the nation.
Read More

Emma McWeeney

Director of Charter Initiatives
As director of charter initiatives, Emma leads SCORE’s strategy to support high-quality charter school growth in Tennessee.
Read More

Mary Cypress Metz

Senior Vice President of Strategy
Mary Cypress drives organizational strategy and innovation to ensure impact toward SCORE’s mission.
Read More

Ëric Olmstead

Director of Operations
Ëric leads SCORE's pursuit of operational excellence, supporting the organization's policy, advocacy, and innovation efforts by ensuring best-in-class nonprofit infrastructure and driving strategic process improvement.
Read More

Alexis Parker

Director of Data
As a member of SCORE's research and innovation team, Alexis leads data analysis efforts at SCORE, providing key insights on how Tennessee is supporting student success across K-12 and higher education.
Read More

Madeline Price

Director of Policy
Madeline leads policy analysis and research to develop SCORE's annual policy agenda.
Read More

Jordan Racca

Operations Assistant
Jordan provides operational support to SCORE workstreams that include grants management, impact monitoring, and finance.
Read More

Dr. Sharon Roberts

Chief K-12 Impact Officer
Sharon leverages deep expertise, experience, and credibility in K-12 to provide thought leadership across teams and activate key relationships in the field to drive impact in Tennessee.
Read More

Dr. Shelby Rogers

Senior Director of Postsecondary Innovation
In leading SCORE’s postsecondary innovations and strategic practice, Shelby relies on his experience in launching innovative, data-driven, and evidence-based approaches to close equity gaps in education relating to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.
Read More

Henry Savich

Education and Workforce Data Specialist
Henry uses cutting-edge data analytics techniques to explore how education can best set up students for success in the workforce.
Read More

Nicole Floyd Smith

Vice President of Advocacy
Nicole serves as the strategic leader and architect of SCORE’s advocacy, outreach, communications, and engagement efforts.
Read More

Dr. Jamia Stokes

Vice President of Postsecondary Programs
Jamia leads SCORE’s postsecondary strategy, relying on her deep experience in higher education to build relationships in the field to ensure all Tennessee students have access to postsecondary opportunities that prepare them for a career.
Read More

Peter Tang

Senior Director of Research
Peter leads SCORE’s strategic research efforts, identifying and studying new and emerging trends that could advance student success in Tennessee and collaborating across the Research and Innovation team to apply the findings across the K-12 to career continuum.
Read More

Bryce Warden

Director of Education-to-Work Initiatives
Bryce manages SCORE’s education-to-work portfolio, executing strategy to better connect K-12, higher education, and industry to ensure all Tennessee students are prepared for jobs that enable economic independence.
Read More

Ashley Warrington

Director of Advocacy
Ashley leads SCORE’s advocacy efforts, which includes creating and leading advocacy, outreach, and engagement strategies focused on ensuring that all Tennessee students can succeed in college, career, and life.
Read More

Rick Zadd

Vice President of Finance and Operations
Rick leads the finance and operations team at SCORE and serves on the organization’s leadership team.
Read More

Graduate Fellows

Zachary Hyder

Graduate Fellow
An education policy scholar with an interest in the areas where education and workforce/economic development intersect, Zac is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Read More

Jack Jue

Graduate Fellow
Jack is pursuing a master’s of public policy at Vanderbilt University and is driven to ensure all students live choice-filled lives.
Read More

Ellie Lasarow

Graduate Fellow
Ellie holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Lewis & Clark College and is currently pursuing a master’s of public policy in education policy at Vanderbilt University.
Read More