Bob Oliver, Chair (has served the board since 2009) is Senior Vice President for US Sales & Operations for Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. a multi-national holding company headquartered in Japan. Mr. Oliver has built an exemplary record as a sales and marketing leader over his more than 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry. He joined OAPI from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, where he served as Senior Vice President, Primary Care Sales and Commercial Operations. In that role he had responsibility for sales in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and he served as chair of Wyeth’s U.S. Sales Council. He also served as Vice President and Global Business Manager for Oncology at Wyeth, in this capacity he was responsible for WW marketing and domestic sales. Earlier in his career, Mr. Oliver spent 16 years in senior sales and marketing positions at Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Oliver earned an MBA degree in Marketing from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and a BA degree in Urban Studies from Rutgers University in Piscataway, NJ. Currently he serves on the Board of Elders at New Covenant Church of Philadelphia, where he is also an Associate Pastor.

Rita Kathryn Borzillo (has served the board since 2011) is a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Currently, she is employed by Eastern University as affiliate faculty and Director of the Fast Track MBA in Health Administration and M.S. in Health Services.  Prior to her employment with Eastern, Rita was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable John E. Stively, Jr, solicitor for Chester County Children and Youth Services, partner in the law firm of Crawford, Wilson, Ryan & Agulnick and corporate counsel for VisionQuest, Inc.  Rita provides pro bono legal services to elderly members of her church.  Her legal expertise is in juvenile law with an emphasis in behavioral health.  She holds strong beliefs in the need to  provide appropriate educational services to children with learning disabilities.  Her husband, Richard Spargo is the director of St. Gabriel’s Hall, a residential program for delinquent youth in Audubon, PA.  Her son is a sophomore at Syracuse University majoring in Mathematics and Secondary Education and her daughter is a sophomore at Conestoga High School in Berwyn, PA.

Colleen Bynum  (has served the board since 2011) has 25 years of experience in all modalities of Neurodiagnostics (recording brain activity, performing sleep studies, and monitoring brain activity during surgery).  Colleen has worked in healthcare networks in PA, NY, and NJ.  Colleen was honorably discharged from the United States Army Reserve (USAR) after 12 years of service and activated during Desert Shield/Desert Storm for six months.  While in the military she worked in supply, trained soldiers, and managed the military library.  Colleen has an AAS in Electrical Engineering Technology from New York City Technical College, a BS in Health Administration from Saint Joseph’s University (SJU), and is currently a MA student at SJU studying Health Administration. Colleen has a 17-year-old son, Grantley, heading to the University of Rochester in the fall and a 15-year-old daughter, Taylor, a sophomore at EUACS.

Dr. Heewon Chang (has served the board since 2009 and is currently Vice Chair) is professor of education and organizational leadership at Eastern University. She has served the School of Education as Graduate Education Chair for the last five years and will be transitioning into a new role as Interim Director of the Ph. D. in Organizational Leadership program.  As a multicultural educator, she believes in educational equity for all students and this belief has fueled her work with the EUACS Board as Vice Chair.  She has authored three books, Adolescent Life and Ethos: An Ethnography of a US High School (1992), Autoethnography as Method (2008), and Spirituality in Higher Education: Autoethnographies (2011, with Drick Boyd), and edits a peer-review scholarly journal, International Journal of Multicultural Education. She is originally from South Korea.

Jerry Clampett (has served the board since 2009) retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1998 after 34 years as an agricultural statistician and systems analyst.  Retirement interests have included part-time employment/volunteer stints with Habitat for Humanity International, Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia, Eastern University, Palmer Theological Seminary, Deeley-Mattes Author Escorts, The Philadelphia Project, political campaigns, and church/community leadership tasks.  Growing up on a small farm in Southern Illinois and attending a one-room elementary school (with the same wonderful teacher for all 8 grades) and a small high school provided the basis for a BS degree from Southern Illinois University and MS from Ohio State University.  Living and working in Springfield, IL; Columbus, OH; Columbia, MO; Raleigh, NC; and Washington, DC area (17 years) added much perspective to educational systems, people, food, and culture.  He and his wife, Mary, have two children and three granddaughters in Philadelphia and New York City area.

Michael Evans (has served the board since 2009 and is currently Interim Treasurer) is currently the Associate Director of Association of Christian Schools International’s (ACSI) Urban School Services with primary responsibilities for equipping urban educators, supporting schools serving urban children, and building networks for school leaders.  Before joining ACSI in 1998, Michael taught in two middle schools in Connecticut. He earned his BA in elementary education from Eastern College and a MA in Education from Oral Roberts University.  Michael is currently pursuing a PhD in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in education.  His dissertation will focus on charter school leadership and issues of social justice.  He serves on the board of two charter schools in Pennsylvania, Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School in Allentown and Eastern University Academy Charter School in Philadelphia.  He resides in Lancaster, PA, with his wife and five children and is an active leader in his church.

Dr. Webster Fitzerald (has served the board since 2011 and is currently Hearing Officer representing the board) has a Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Eastern University, a Masters in Education from Temple University, and an AB degree with honors from Lincoln University.  He has also attended the University of Arizona and the University of Michigan and has Certificates in Management from both. In addition, Webster has certificates from more than ten top businesses such as AT&T, General Electric, IBM, Smith-Kline, Morton-Norwich, American Management Association for attendance and completion of their executive management programs.  He has also been a consultant to the American Bar Association, the American Hospital Association, the American Management Association, and the Keller Graduate School of Management. For the last 19 years, he has done work for Eastern University as a VP  for Organization Development and Human Resources and as an adjunct professor at the Campolo School of Management and the Degree Completion Program. In addition to doing considerable community work as well as governmental work, he held various positions working with the Rev. Leon H. Sullivan, in the Non-profit OIC program both nationally and locally.  He was a special assistant to the Mayor of Philadelphia, has taught in the public schools, and helped develop Progress Plaza Shopping Center. He is a veteran of the Korean War serving as a Seargeant in the USAF. He is the recipient of more than fifty various awards from business, educational, public, and private agencies for volunteer work and accomplishments. With his wife, Webster has two children.

Grace Fornicola (has served the board since 2011) has over 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience in the child welfare field.  Her last position was Vice President  of Programs in KidsPeace. While in the nonprofit sector, her responsibilities included establishing and maintaining educational, therapeutic, and residential services for several hundred children across four states, including private and charter schools. Her leadership experience includes being an active participant in new program development/start up operations, supervising executive directors and other mid-level leaders across several states, and providing onsite support and professional development to many leaders within her former organization. She is currently a full time PhD student at Eastern University embarking on her dissertation study.

Jodie Greco (has served the board since 2009) is the founder and owner of the United Maids of America since 1998.  UMA is a commercial and residential cleaning organization serving the Philadelphia Tri-State area. Her role includes extensive top-to-bottom management of the business's day-to-day operations. Her company provides elite residential and commercial cleaning services. She holds a BS in management and finance from Drexel University.

Dr. Robert L. Jarvis (has served the board since 2009 and is currently Secretary) is currently directing multiple equity leadership initiatives through the Penn Center for Educational Leadership in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.  He brings to his role many years of experience in educational leadership and professional development training and consultation in K-12 and Higher Education, as well as Business and Industry.  Bob is currently working with over 40 school districts and their leaders throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region in building their capacity for increasing the academic and life success of  their diverse learners. He has served a Board Secretary at EUACS since its inception.

Larry Mays (has served the board since 2011) Group Director ADT Transportation & Logistics Security Services.  Larry has over 32 years of experience in consulting and the development of transportation industry mission critical information management systems.  Larry joined ADT in Oct 2008 as the Group Director of National Accounts Transportation & Logistics.  Prior to ADT Larry spent 13 years with Pan American World airways, 16 years with Unisys and 2 years with IBS software services as the Senior VP of the Cargo Line of Business.  Larry has conducted business in 40 cities in over 25 different countries around the world.  He has consulted with 14 of the world’s leading airlines and freight forwarders in engagements including business process reengineering, productivity improvement and systems integration.  Larry holds a BS degree in Business Management from Adelphi University an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University and an Executive Management education program sponsored by the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Dr. Robbin M. Washington-Smart (has served the board since 2009) is Deputy CEO and Principal of the New Foundations Charter School in Philadelphia in which capacity she has served for the past two years. Previously, for 9 years, she served as the Vice Principal, Deputy CEO, and Dean of the same institution. She has served as an educator for the past 21 years and is a member of the National Advisory Board of A Better Chance Program. She has recently obtained her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania. Her thesis focused upon the perceptions of belonging and racial experiences of middle school students of color in predominately white independent schools. She has an enduring interest in multicultural education and has co-presented papers at two professional conferences in 2010 and 2011 on the topic of the negotiation of racial tensions in schooling relationships.

James Turner (has served the board since 2009), as Director of Economic Development for the Chester Economic Development Authority (CEDA), oversees the Small Business Loan Portfolio, the Keystone Opportunity Zone Program, the Advantage Chester Business Development Program, and the city’s revitalization initiatives. He is also the President and CEO of Dunamis Marketing, a full-service marketing firm. He serves as the chairman of the Governor’s Targeted Community Revitalization and Crime Prevention Advisory Committee, Commissioner on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Chairman of the City of Chester’s Planning Commission. He is also an active member of The United Way of Southeast Delco, Community Capital Works, the Chester Business and Community Development Corporation, Widener Partnership Charter School, the President’s Advisory Board of Widener University, Eastern University Charter School, and the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce. Jim is an ordained minister at New Life Ministries International under the leadership of Apostle, Dr. Joyce E. Scott. He is married to his partner Deborah; together they have a blended family of 3 children.

If you would like to be considered for a seat on the board of directors please send an email to the Principal, Omar Barlow.

One of the hallmarks of our school is real world learning; that is, once students identify their passion, we aggressively seek to partner students with a mentor who can provide them with assistance in completing a real world project.

As a school we have a great opportunity to build partnerships with individuals, companies, and nonprofit organizations.  We are creating a culture in which our "Excel at Life Partners" - persons who have made the commitment to mentor a student - remain committed to the school.  A number of these mentors ask, "How else can I be involved with the school?" A committment to the school can be exercised in donations of equipment, services, professional support, etc.  If you would like to become a part of a network of professionals who provide internships and mentor students please send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Eastern University Academy Charter encourages the parents/guardians of all Eastern University Academy students to participate in The Academy Parents group. This group will serve as the following:

• A source of information about Eastern University Academy
• Support for parents seeking to help their children’s learning
• An opportunity for input on school policies

The Academy Parents group meets regularly. Meetings are convened by the group’s elected officers. A typical meeting agenda might include:

• informational updates about Eastern University Academy Charter School
• expert advice about how parents can support their children’s learning and promote appropriate behaviors
• opportunities to provide school leaders with input, suggestions, and to ask questions
• opportunities to volunteer or participate in school activities