Distinctive Leadership | Executive Team

Distinctive Schools is excited to announce an evolution to our executive leadership team structure, aimed to better address the needs of the staff, students, and families we serve. 

“Growth of our leadership team is designed to best position Distinctive Schools for the future, so we can continue to grow student achievement and positively impact our school communities.” said Dr. Joseph Wise, Distinctive Schools Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Ultimately, with these new roles, we will be able to make great strides in education and begin the 2018-19 school year with success.”

The additions to the executive leadership team include the appointment of Brianna Terrell as Chief Strategy Officer and Erin Lanoue as Chief Operations Officer. Terrell and Lanoue will join the executive leadership team, working closely with Scott Frauenheim, President, and Dr. Jennifer Ferrari, Vice President and Chief Schools Officer.

“Both Brianna and Erin bring a wealth of talent and invaluable perspective to our work, and their unique expertise will strengthen our collective efforts to offer high-quality public education opportunities for our students.” said Dr. Ferrari.

Terrell previously served as Network Chief of Staff for the past year. In her new role, she will be responsible for overseeing Distinctive Schools’ partnerships, development, school growth, and strategic initiatives. In bringing these components together, Distinctive Schools sees the opportunity to share best practices and leverage skills across the organization. ​

“After a thorough and thoughtful planning process, Brianna was the clear choice to lead strategy at Distinctive Schools,” said Frauenheim. “She is an accomplished, results-oriented, and high-integrity leader with a track record of improving organizational efficiency. We are looking forward to having Brianna lead our strategy and development work into the future.”

With experience as a management consultant at Deloitte and an Education Pioneers fellow, Terrell brings a new perspective to Distinctive Schools through valuable resources and best practices in organizational development and planning. ​

Newly appointed Chief Operations Officer, Erin Lanoue brings operational and charter school expertise to the executive leadership team. She will assume responsibility for operations, talent, finance, and marketing at Distinctive Schools, as well as be responsible for the alignment and prioritization of these teams to the schools to ensure operational excellence across the organization.

Lanoue is a seasoned and trusted leader who continuously delivers results. Prior to this appointment, she successfully led operations for Charter Schools USA and served in leadership roles with Chicago International Charter School for over ten years. She has overseen effective growth of school sites, as well as improved administrative and school procedures and strategic planning.

“Distinctive Schools will benefit greatly. We are excited to appoint a highly respected charter leader like Erin as COO, and be able to leverage her tremendous experience in education.” said Dr. Wise.