February 22, 2012

Management Team

	Dr. Spyros Catechis Founder and CEO Dr. Spyros Catechis is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Bridge School. As CEO, Dr. Catechis is responsible for the overall management, strategic direction, and oversight of The Bridge School. After meeting with community leaders regarding the gaps in education services in the Houston area, Dr. Catechis founded The Bridge School as an alternative educational service for those students with various unique life circumstances. During his career in education which spans over thirty years, Dr. Catechis has been intensely interested and involved in working with children and families who are facing adversity. Dr. Catechis has worked in a variety of roles with children and families as a school psychologist, certified teacher, and professor at the university level.
	Sherry Dieckmann Director of Education Ms. Dieckmann is the Director of Education for The Bridge School. Ms. Dieckmann’s background includes twenty years experience in education as a teacher with emphasis on program development for at-risk students in residential treatment facilities. It was there she cultivated an interest in electronic learning as a means of credit recovery for students. She has served as an Academic Counselor for students in grades 9 – 12 while managing online classes for students engaged in credit recovery from their homes. Ms. Dieckmann holds a Bachelor degree from Rice University and a valid teaching certificate.
	Hugh Conway General Manager Mr. Conway began his career as an educator over 30 years ago. He has been a special education teacher, a school administrator, and has taught undergraduate courses in educational psychology and philosophy at the university level. He has a master’s degree in educational psychology and graduate coursework in school administration. For over 25 years he has worked with leading educational technology companies, including Jostens Learning, Simon & Schuster, Carnegie Learning, Class.com, and eChalk, to help them develop, market, and implement programs that were designed to have a positive effect on increasing the efficiency of student learning. For the last 12 years he has focused on leading the business development for innovative online learning programs in K-12 schools. At The Bridge School, Hugh is responsible for helping the school grow effectively, while maintaining the ability to meet each individual student’s unique education requirements.
	George Browne Director of Operations George Browne is the Director of School Operations for The Bridge School. Mr. Browne is a certified network engineer and Microsoft professional with over 20 years in support of local area networks and desktop systems. For the past 13 years Mr. Browne has employed his management and technology skills in the arena of Distance Education; first with the Houston ISD Virtual School, and now with The Bridge School. Mr. Browne has presented at education conferences around the country including NECC, TxDLA, TCEA and the Secretary of Education’s “No Child Left Behind” Leadership Summit. Mr. Browne is a published author with several articles on Distance Learning and Virtual School implementation.
	Mr. Warner Ervin Consultant Mr. Ervin has over 38 years of solid tenure, interest and involvement in various positions in the educational system of the Houston Independent School District (HISD), including supervising, mentoring and creating high quality instructional teams. Most recently, Mr. Ervin was the HISD Regional Superintendent (South Region) and was responsible for over 40 schools. Mr. Ervin was also the Principal at James Madison High School, James D. Ryan Middle School and Charlotte B. Allen Elementary School. Mr. Ervin’s philosophy of education is that every child can learn if we do what is right for children, because every child has a right to a quality education.
	Dr. Dwain Estes Consultant Dr. Dwain M. Estes has been a teacher, administrator, university professor, and technology consultant. He was the founding Executive Director of Education Service Center, Region 20 in San Antonio, Texas and served there for eighteen years. His school teaching and administrative experience occurred in Texas school districts in Pharr-San Juan-Alamo and Midland. He has taught in multiple universities and helped develop doctoral programs in educational leadership in three of them. His doctoral degree was earned at The University of Texas, Austin. He has traveled widely and visited schools in approximately forty-five countries around the world.
	Frank Ha Consultant Mr. Ha was a business attorney in China before he moved to the United States 16 years ago. He also has an MBA from the University of South Carolina. Frank is actively building business networks with the Asian business leaders that will help Asian students in both the greater Houston area and around the world take advantage of The Bridge School program. He is coordinating joint venture programs with The Bridge School’s Asian counterparts to fulfill the growing demand for quality education in the Asian market.