Chief Financial Officer

Melissa leads 4th Sector’s finance practice. She joined 4th Sector in 2008 with over 15 years of accounting experience, split between the non-profit and for-profit sectors. Melissa’s range of activities includes finance and accounting, reporting systems and procedures, and facilities financing for independent charter schools management organizations. She works closely with school and CMO leadership, as well as site-based operations managers to ensure the financial health, control, and stability of the charter schools other non-profit programs supported by 4th Sector. Melissa was previously a senior accountant for a rapidly growing restaurant chain that expanded from 14 to over 50 stores during her tenure. Her duties called for a wide range of financial reporting and accounting functions. Melissa holds a BS in Accounting from Southeastern Louisiana University.

Chief Operating Officer

Joe has over 15 years of educational management experience in New York and New Orleans. Most recently he was Chief Operating Officer of FirstLine Schools, which operates five charter schools in New Orleans. Joe has extensive charter school financial and operating expertise, and organized the Charter School CFO Roundtable in New Orleans. He leads or supports 4th Sector’s operations, human resources, finance and business development activities.

Vice President of Finance, New York
CFO, School Food Solutions

Bob leads 4th Sector’s New York finance practice. Bob previously served as Director of Finance for the Algiers Charter School Association, managing budgets and grants for New Orleans’s oldest and largest charter management organization. He also served as the Director of Procurement and Finance for the Recovery School District, a special statewide school district administered by the Louisiana Department of Education. Bob also serves as CFO of School Food Solutions L3C, a 4th Sector affiliate. A New York native, Bob received his B.S. from Boston College in Business Management.

Vice President of Human Resources

Brandy Whitfield is the Vice President of Human Resources at 4th Sector Solutions. Prior to joining 4th Sector in early 2014, Brandy worked with the Recovery School District of Louisiana (RSD), where she managed on-boarding, off-boarding, training and development, payroll, benefits, and certifications. In her current role at 4th Sector Solutions Brandy provides similar services to charter schools in four states. She works closely with school staff to ensure all staff are equipped with the tools needed outside of the classroom to perform inside of the classroom. A native of Baton Rouge, Brandy attended Northwestern State University where she received a BS in Biology and has an MBA with a concentration in Human Resource Management.

Head of Finance Team, New Orleans

Kevin leads 4th Sector’s New Orleans finance practice. He graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science majoring in economics. Kevin later completed his studies in accounting at the University of New Orleans to become licensed as a Certified Public Accountant. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants as well as a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. He brings over eight years of public accounting experience to 4th Sector with a background in financial accounting, tax accounting and payroll services.

Vice President of Finance Team, New Orleans

Jonathan is Vice President of Finance at 4th Sector Solutions. He joined 4SS from New Orleans College Preparatory Academies (NOCP), where he was Chief Financial Officer for seven years. NOCP operated an early learning center as well as a K-8 and high school. Prior to NOCP, Jonathan held senior finance roles with the Recovery School District of Louisiana for two years, and internal audit and analyst roles with ExxonMobil. He has a BA in Finance and Management from Tulane University (where he was a member of the rowing team) and MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. He is also a board member of the Children’s Bureau of New Orleans and the Melange Dance Company.

Director of Operations

Jennifer has built a career and reputation assisting school leaders with business operational tasks. She joined the 4th Sector Solutions team in April 2014 as an Operations Manager, where she managed the start-up planning and executions of Baton Rouge University Preparatory Elementary. Previously she served as the State of Louisiana Recovery School District Director of Operations, overseeing 10 schools that were direct-run through the RSD within East Baton Rouge, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena and Caddo Parish. Her responsibilities include managing the schools start-up process, vendor management, contracts, data/state reporting, recruitment and technology.

CEO School Food Solutions

Tess Bradford is the Chief Executive Officer of School Food Solutions L3C (a 4th Sector affiliate) and also provides human resources, operational, and compliance support to 4th Sector’s New Orleans clients. She has eight years of Louisiana charter school experience. She was previously the Chief Operating Officer of the Algiers Charter Schools Association, the oldest and largest Charter Management Organization in New Orleans. At Algiers Charter School Association, Tess directly managed a team of 15 Directors in finance, operations, HR and talent management, student data, technology, exceptional student services and compliance for the organization. Prior to Algiers she was Executive Director of the Recovery School District of Louisiana, where she oversaw the restructuring of the RSD’s shared services for Charter Schools in New Orleans and went onto managed day-to-day operations for the ten direct run campuses across four Louisiana parishes.