Elizabeth Fiveash is the CEO for the Tennessee Charter School Center. Prior to joining TCSC, Elizabeth worked in state government relations for ACT and was the Assistant Commissioner for Policy & Legislation for the Tennessee Department of Education. Elizabeth has an extensive background in education policy and a deep commitment to ensuring all kids have the opportunity to attend a great public school. Elizabeth is a native of Alabama and worked in government affairs for eight years in Washington, D.C. prior to moving to Nashville. She received a BA in political science from the University of Alabama and a master’s in public policy from Georgetown University. Elizabeth resides in Nashville with her husband and two children. 

Jim Griffin is with Momentum Strategy & Research, a Colorado organization strengthening the nation’s charter community through collaborative research. Mr. Griffin leads the organization's strategy & policy efforts in areas such as public sector accountability systems, performance measures for atypical students and schools, and charter school facilities. Before Momentum, Mr. Griffin was the founding leader of the Colorado League of Charter Schools. He spent nearly 19 years in that position shaping Colorado’s charter school landscape and playing a key role in launching groundbreaking efforts and organizations, both locally and nationally – from accountability and legal advocacy, to facilities financing and group purchasing.

Greg Lippman is the founder and CEO of Groundswell Network. Before founding Groundswell in 2023, Greg established the Campaign for Highest-Need Students, a national coalition of education leaders who are successfully tackling some of education’s most intractable challenges and are animated by the opportunity to elevate excellence and break through the obstacles and disincentives that thwart progress and working together toward a public school system that truly serves all children. Greg spent over 22 years leading innovative charter schools, most recently as the founder & CEO of ACE Charter Schools in San Jose, a unique network of middle and high schools focused exclusively on serving struggling students. Prior to launching ACE, Greg was the co-founder and founding principal of Downtown College Prep (DCP), the first charter school authorized in Silicon Valley, whose mission is to help urban students become the first in their family to graduate from a four-year college or university

Dr. Bobby White is the CEO of Leadership Memphis, and is the founder and former CEO of Frayser Community Schools, a charter school network in Memphis. designed to transform and build family-centered schools with the support of local communities. Dr. White, who grew up in the Frayser neighborhood, has dedicated his life to improving Memphis’ low-income neighborhoods by leading schools that embody a culture of academic achievement and positive community-building. Prior to founding Frayser Community Schools, Dr. White was Assistant Director of the Tennessee Charter School Resource Center and worked as a teacher and school leader at some of Memphis’ highest-need schools for over a decade. Dr. White’s ideas about community transformation have appeared regularly in national media, and he has participated in fellowships at Mosaic, Flamboyan, the Broad Superintendent Academy and Pahara Aspen Institute among others. Having experienced homelessness himself as a young father, Dr. White understands first-hand how education and support and encouragement from caring adults can reset the course of a person’s life. While living in a shelter, he attended Shelby State Community College and received his associate degree in education; he went on to graduate from LeMoyne-Owen College and earn his Master’s from Freed-Hardeman University and his EdD in Curriculum and Instruction with an Urban Focus from the University of Memphis.