Board of Directors
Barbara Conroy
Co-founder & President
Barb is a former public school elementary teacher who now enjoys volunteering in the classroom and with the PTA. As a classroom teacher, Barb regularly applied for teacher grants through the education foundation serving the school where she worked. Barb and her husband live in Cary with their two daughters who both attend Laurel Park ES.
Tony Kline
Vice President
Tony is the co-owner of 360 Painting Apex & Chapel Hill, along with his wife. Previously, he served as a school administrator for 13 years in both California and Missouri and was COO of United Way of Greater Kansas City. In addition to running his business, he provides school finance consulting services. Tony has served on numerous non-profit boards and has raised more than $7 million for public schools in his career. His wife, Lisa Kline, is the 2023-24 president of the Apex Middle School Band Boosters. They have two sons at Apex Middle and one son at Apex Elementary.
David Yetter
Treasurer
David is an actuary with the North Carolina Department of Insurance. He is a former school board member (Yukon, Oklahoma) and is married to a WCPSS Speech Pathologist. He and his wife have two sons attending Apex area public schools.
Christina Grimes
Secretary
Chris is a retired educator who began her career in the 1970’s as a special education teacher in Wake County Schools (Wilburn Elementary, North Garner Jr. High, Millbrook HS, Dorothea Dix adolescent inpatient unit). She then received her Ph.D. in psychology from Duke University in 1996 and served on the faculty there until retiring in 2018. She and her husband Rob have two young-adult children, Catherine and Michael, both of whom attended Apex public schools.
Diane Talley
Teacher Grants Chair
Diane is a contract psychometrician with Facebook and independent consultant with Talley Consulting, LLC. She holds a Ph.D. in educational measurement from UNC Chapel Hill. In the field of measurement, Diane has focused her career on industry credentialing programs and IT education and assessment. Her passion in these industries is performance-based testing and education and assessment innovations. Diane has lived in Cary, NC for three years and has two students in Apex Public Schools (AMS/AHS).
Jack Otepka
Fundraising Co-Chair
Jack is the owner of 621 Productions, LLC in downtown Apex. He has held many board positions over the years - most recently as Vice President of the Apex Downtown Business Association. Jack strives to help local schools and the community in any way he can. He is married and has two children that attend Wake County Public Schools.
Jack Roelofs
Fundraising Co-Chair
Jack is a passionate advocate for the life-changing potential of education and is dedicated to helping students and communities meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. In his day job he designs business strategy with federal departments and agencies. Jack holds graduate degrees in business and international relations, and is ever so close to completing his doctorate in economics. Jack spent two decades in uniform before switching from combat boots to far more sensible footwear, and is quite happy to wake up after sunrise most days.
Alicia Harvey
Programs Chair
Alicia Harvey is a connector and transformational leader with over two decades of equity work. She currently serves as a Development Director with the North Carolina Coalition to End Homelessness. Her work as a Development Director focuses on connection, fundraising optimization, and economic stability. As the owner of a real estate investment firm, her primary focus is on providing affordable housing in low-income communities. As an advocate with over two decades of experience, Alicia has a fierce unwavering belief in people and their ability to be able to learn and create change, so she leads from a place of transformation. Alicia enjoys a good Netflix mystery but can also be found having fun in the Caribbean Sun.
Jennifer Job
Communications Chair
Jennifer is principal at BreakGlass Strategies, an online advocacy and fundraising firm. She holds a Ph.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill in Culture, Curriculum, and Change, and she was a professor of Teacher Education at Oklahoma State University, as well as an English teacher at Chapel Hill High School, Carrboro High School, and Walworth Barbour American International School. She lives in Apex with her husband, Steven, and daughter, Hannah, as well as her parents, two dogs, and a rabbit.
Michelle Woods
Director
Michelle is an educational consultant with RTI International and has over 18 years experience in education. She works with school districts, schools, and teachers around the country who are committed to creating equitable access and improved outcomes for students. Michelle is also a certified Authentic Leadership Coach and the owner of Woods Life Coaching, based in Apex, NC. Michelle has lived in Apex since 2009 with her husband Chris, their two teenage boys, and their yellow lab Chewie.
Brian Adkins
Director
Brian is an engineer and IT executive with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech. Since retiring in 2020, he has been volunteering with nonprofits to help them adopt new technology to make their operations run easily, efficiently, and inexpensively. Brian has lived in Apex since 1999 with his wife, Deanna. They have three children, Sam, James, and Zoe who have all attended Apex-area public schools.
Board of Advisors
Katie Caggia | Principal, Apex Elementary School
Jon Enns | Southwestern Area Superintendent
Elaine Hoffman | Principal, Apex High School
Lacey Peckham | Principal, Middle Creek High School
Dr. Ashlie Thompson | Southern Area Superintendent
Volunteers
Jenna Armstrong
Kristy Buchanan
Marcia Evans
Rachel Knieriem
Carrie Anne Krall
Liz Mascherino
Adrian Phillips
Claire Phillips
Louise Porto
Tony Proctor
Christie Vereckey