Capital One-UNO Charter Network Administration

James Meza, Jr. 

Dean, UNO College of Education and Human Development

James Meza, Jr., Ph.D., Dean and Professor of Educational Leadership at the College of Education and Human Development at the University of New Orleans, providing leadership for all faculty and academic programs as well as overseeing administrative services for more than 3,000 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs. Meza’s background includes state and national experience in policy development and education reform. He has served as the Executive Director of the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE), the chief policy making body for PK-12 education in Louisiana, and as the Interim State Superintendent of Education for the State of Louisiana. He is the former Chair of the UNO Department of Educational Leadership, Counseling, and Foundations.

At the national level, he was the founding Chair of the National Policy Board for the Accelerated Schools Project at the University of Connecticut. During the last 10 years, he conducted research nationally on comprehensive school reform in urban settings. This experience became the major theme of more than 40 refereed journal articles and book chapters. In addition, he was able to secure more than $20 million to further his research focusing school reform for children of poverty and charter schools.

Recently, Dr. Meza spearheaded UNO’s takeover of Pierre A. Capdau, a failing school in Orleans Parish and redefined the role of universities by assuming responsibility for the academic outcomes of kindergarten through twelfth grades students in public schools. Currently the college is managing and providing technical assistance for four charter schools. As a result of the early successes of the school takeover initiative the U.S. Congress has awarded Dr. Meza $4 million to advance his work. The UNO College of Education and Human Development received a $900,000, a competitive grant award from the Louisiana Board of Regents to support its PK-12 partnership with its charter schools. Finally, Dr. Meza received $1million from Capital One to develop a Charter School Center that will support the development a PK-16 charter school network. Dr. Meza is the recipient of the Education Innovator of the Year 2005 Award presented by New Orleans City Business.

Dr. Meza is the founder of UNO Teach Greater New Orleans (TGNO), a non-traditional alternative fast-paced path to teacher certification which is addressing the critical shortage of teachers in the area’s school districts. The program recruits high quality mid-career professionals who have a passion and ability to work with high poverty children in schools. Since the inception of the program three years ago, TGNO has placed more than 200 highly qualified teachers in urban schools in the critical shortage areas of math, science, special education and middle schools in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes. TGNO has made a significant contribution in UNO receiving an A+ Teacher Education Program rating by the Louisiana Board of Regents.

Education

• B.S., Loyola University of New Orleans; Business Administration, 1970
• M.Ed., Nicholls State University; Educational Administration, 1975
• Ph.D., University of New Orleans; Educational Administration, 1981

Andre Perry

Chief Executive Officer

As the charter school network’s chief executive officer, Andre Perry, Ph.D. is responsible for leading a pre-kindergarten through high school educational network and fulfilling its mission of providing access and placement in community colleges and The University of New Orleans. He also serves an advocate for quality public education, leading UNO’s mission to rebuild its surrounding neighborhoods. Perry is charged with advancing the working partnership between UNO’s faculty and our charter school teachers, as well developing community partnerships with businesses, non-profit organizations, universities, schools and neighborhood organizations.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Perry earned his Ph.D. in education policy and leadership, with an emphasis in higher education from the University of Maryland. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Allegheny College. His research and teaching interests are college access and retention, immigrant educational rights, and philosophy and history of education. He has held administrative appointments in scholarship and retention programming, multicultural affairs, and study abroad.

 Through his weekly newspaper column in The Louisiana Weekly, Perry provides political commentary on K-16 leadership and governance in Louisiana. He can also be heard on WWNO 89.9-FM during NPR’s “All Things Considered”. He also serves on the boards of the Greater New Orleans Fair Action Housing Center, Urban League of Greater New Orleans and WWNO-FM

Vera Triplett

Chief Operating Officer 

Vera Triplett, Ph.D. most recently served as an assistant professor of counseling at Our Lady of Holy Cross College and the clinical director of the Thomas E. Chambers Counseling and Training Center. She earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in School and Community Counseling and Counselor Education from The University of New Orleans. Triplett has worked and continues to work extensively in the areas of child abuse prevention and awareness and juvenile justice reform. She currently serves as the education committee chair for the Task Force on Child Sexual Abuse, and also teaches Play Therapy courses. She also served on Governor Blanco’s Children’s Cabinet Research Council.

Triplett is a proud Gentilly resident. She is a founder of and former vice president for the Gentilly Civic Improvement Association. She is also an active member of the Milneburg Neighborhood Association, a great neighborhood in Gentilly.

Her philosophy on education is – every child has unique gifts and talents.

Capital One–UNO Charter Network Staff

Andre Perry, Ph.D.: Associate Dean, CEO
ph: 504-280-6443,

Vera Triplett, Ph.D.: Chief Operating Officer
ph: 504-280-2313,

Stephen Osborn: Chief Financial Officer
ph: 504-280-2308,

Janice Adams: Educational Diagnostician
ph: 504-280-2314,

Gilbert Bennett III: Technology Specialist
ph: 504-280-2319,

Georgi Bienvenu: Program Manager
ph: 504-280-2317,

Jovon Brumfield: Accounts Payable Analyst
ph: 504-280-2311,

Lisa Hawkins: Coordinator of School Enrollment & Data Management
ph: 504-280-2315,

Dottie Martin: Positive Behavioral Support
ph: 504-280-2315,

Neifa Ramsey: Coordinator of After School and Special Programs
ph: 504-280-4034,

Susan Wetwiski: Executive Assistant to the COO
ph: 504-280-2309,