Board of Directors
Dana Balick: Dana is a non-profit consultant, focusing mostly on K-12 education reform. She has worked for many national non-profits in the charter school field and on a variety of policy and leadership issues. Dana received her BA from Tufts University and an EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She was born and raised in Wilmington and returned here several years ago with her family after more than 20 years in Boston and DC.
Tarik Haskins: Tarik is a professional and resident in the city of Wilmington. Mr. Haskins is an Attorney with Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell, LLP in Wilmington where he handles a wide variety of corporate and commercial matters including advising clients on Delaware Law matters with respect to Delaware business entities, and compliance with corporate governance matters. Mr. Haskins received his B.A. in Mass Communications from Clark-Atlanta University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Anthony Hill: Tony is a Director of Corporate Development at Barclays Bank in Wilmington, Delaware. Prior to this, Mr. Hill was with ING Direct managing the corporate strategy group. Mr. Hill has spent over ten years performing philanthropic activities in both Wilmington and New York City. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University and resides with his family in Wilmington, Delaware.
Tonya Jackson (Parent member): Tonya is the mother of a Prestige Academy 6th grader who is entering his second year at Prestige. She is also a member of the Academic Achievement Committee.
Charles Madden: Charles resides in Wilmington and has been actively involved in community development for over 15 years. Mr. Madden is currently the Executive Director of the Wilmington HOPE Commission. In this role he is responsible for working with community groups, private business and non-profit agencies, along with elected officials and community leaders to develop solutions to reduce violence in the City of Wilmington. Charles has held management positions in the military, corporate, legal and academic sectors. He holds an MS in HR Management and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Donald C. Mell III (Chair): Don owns the consulting firm, Mell3strategies, which provides its clients with a unique blend of government, media and public relations at the local, state, federal and international level. Mell positions clients’ messages and goals in a positive and proactive manner with elected and appointed officials at the state and federal level as well as with the national and local media. He provides clients with intelligent, creative, and forward-looking advice and solutions to their problems. He is the government relations representative for JPMorgan Chase in Delaware.
Rodney Merriweather (Treasurer): Rod is a lifelong professional within the Wilmington community. Prior to his work as a Senior Marketing Manager and Consultant, he built a 24-year career with DuPont, working in a variety of marketing, business and financial leadership roles. Mr. Merriweather received an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, majoring in Finance and Marketing, and a B.B.A. in Business Management from the University of Notre Dame.
Vladimer Ortega: Vlad is head of Community Reinvestment Act Investment and Lending at ING Direct. He manages the bank’s aggregate community development portfolio with an emphasis on lending and investment, as well as community reinvestment portfolio and works in concert with federal regulatory agencies to determine applicable statistical areas of community reinvestment investment, lending, and service. Previously he was with ING’s mortgage lending operations, the bank’s treasury department and its mutual funds department.
Robert Ritterbeck: Bob is a credit card banking executive with experience in marketing, credit risk management, direct marketing and analytics. He currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Independence Energy. Mr. Ritterbeck began his career at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. as an economic research assistant after graduating from the University of Scranton with a B.S. in Mathematics. Bob currently lives in Newark, DE with his wife Natalie and son Bobby.
Eric Mosely, Jr. (Teacher Member): Mr. Mosely has taught for over 13 years serving students at 5 different grade levels. In addition, he has been a Mentoring Coordinator with the Christina School District and continues to mentor youth in the New Castle County area. Mr. Mosely earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and is currently the 7th and 8th grade Social Studies Teacher.
Dr. Rita Vasta (Vice Chair): Rita is a certified Science teacher at The Charter School of Wilmington and works with the Delaware Department of Education in the development and assessment of the State Science Standards. Prior to becoming an educator, she had a long career in industrial chemistry working in research and management at DuPont. Dr. Vasta earned an M.S. in Chemistry, and a Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from Drexel University.
Fred West: Fred is currently a Director of Bank Operations for Capital One, specializing in Process Management. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware, holds a certification in Project Management and also a certified Green Belt, Black Belt and a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma Process Improvement methodology. He previously headed the Midwest Deposit Operations and Debit Card Operations for ING DIRECT. He is very active in educational causes having previously served as a board member on the Parent’s Fund Council for the University of Delaware, whose focus was on the first year and graduate student experience. He is also a certified instructor of business process management and six sigma, having taught over 50 classes with Capital One and ING.
Tarik Haskins: Tarik is a professional and resident in the city of Wilmington. Mr. Haskins is an Attorney with Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell, LLP in Wilmington where he handles a wide variety of corporate and commercial matters including advising clients on Delaware Law matters with respect to Delaware business entities, and compliance with corporate governance matters. Mr. Haskins received his B.A. in Mass Communications from Clark-Atlanta University, and his Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law.
Anthony Hill: Tony is a Director of Corporate Development at Barclays Bank in Wilmington, Delaware. Prior to this, Mr. Hill was with ING Direct managing the corporate strategy group. Mr. Hill has spent over ten years performing philanthropic activities in both Wilmington and New York City. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University and resides with his family in Wilmington, Delaware.
Tonya Jackson (Parent member): Tonya is the mother of a Prestige Academy 6th grader who is entering his second year at Prestige. She is also a member of the Academic Achievement Committee.
Charles Madden: Charles resides in Wilmington and has been actively involved in community development for over 15 years. Mr. Madden is currently the Executive Director of the Wilmington HOPE Commission. In this role he is responsible for working with community groups, private business and non-profit agencies, along with elected officials and community leaders to develop solutions to reduce violence in the City of Wilmington. Charles has held management positions in the military, corporate, legal and academic sectors. He holds an MS in HR Management and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Donald C. Mell III (Chair): Don owns the consulting firm, Mell3strategies, which provides its clients with a unique blend of government, media and public relations at the local, state, federal and international level. Mell positions clients’ messages and goals in a positive and proactive manner with elected and appointed officials at the state and federal level as well as with the national and local media. He provides clients with intelligent, creative, and forward-looking advice and solutions to their problems. He is the government relations representative for JPMorgan Chase in Delaware.
Rodney Merriweather (Treasurer): Rod is a lifelong professional within the Wilmington community. Prior to his work as a Senior Marketing Manager and Consultant, he built a 24-year career with DuPont, working in a variety of marketing, business and financial leadership roles. Mr. Merriweather received an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, majoring in Finance and Marketing, and a B.B.A. in Business Management from the University of Notre Dame.
Vladimer Ortega: Vlad is head of Community Reinvestment Act Investment and Lending at ING Direct. He manages the bank’s aggregate community development portfolio with an emphasis on lending and investment, as well as community reinvestment portfolio and works in concert with federal regulatory agencies to determine applicable statistical areas of community reinvestment investment, lending, and service. Previously he was with ING’s mortgage lending operations, the bank’s treasury department and its mutual funds department.
Robert Ritterbeck: Bob is a credit card banking executive with experience in marketing, credit risk management, direct marketing and analytics. He currently serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for Independence Energy. Mr. Ritterbeck began his career at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C. as an economic research assistant after graduating from the University of Scranton with a B.S. in Mathematics. Bob currently lives in Newark, DE with his wife Natalie and son Bobby.
Eric Mosely, Jr. (Teacher Member): Mr. Mosely has taught for over 13 years serving students at 5 different grade levels. In addition, he has been a Mentoring Coordinator with the Christina School District and continues to mentor youth in the New Castle County area. Mr. Mosely earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware and is currently the 7th and 8th grade Social Studies Teacher.
Dr. Rita Vasta (Vice Chair): Rita is a certified Science teacher at The Charter School of Wilmington and works with the Delaware Department of Education in the development and assessment of the State Science Standards. Prior to becoming an educator, she had a long career in industrial chemistry working in research and management at DuPont. Dr. Vasta earned an M.S. in Chemistry, and a Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from Drexel University.
Fred West: Fred is currently a Director of Bank Operations for Capital One, specializing in Process Management. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware, holds a certification in Project Management and also a certified Green Belt, Black Belt and a Master Black Belt in Six Sigma Process Improvement methodology. He previously headed the Midwest Deposit Operations and Debit Card Operations for ING DIRECT. He is very active in educational causes having previously served as a board member on the Parent’s Fund Council for the University of Delaware, whose focus was on the first year and graduate student experience. He is also a certified instructor of business process management and six sigma, having taught over 50 classes with Capital One and ING.