Board of Directors

Dana Balick: Dana is a non-profit consultant, focusing mostly on K-12 education reform. She has worked for many national non-profits in the charter school field and on a variety of policy and leadership issues. Dana received her BA from Tufts University and a EdM from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.   She was born and raised in Wilmington and returned here several years ago with her family after more than 20 years in Boston and DC. 

Lakiyah Chambers: Lakiyah is a Human Resources Manager in Pennsylvania.  She has been in the field of Human Resources for the past eleven years. Lakiyah is a graduate of Morgan State University, where she earned a B.S. in Communications and of Towson University, where she earned a M.S. in Human Resources Development and Certificate in Educational Leadership.  Ms. Chambers also has a certificate in  Professional Human Resources Management from Villanova University.  She and her family are residents of Chester County, PA.

Vergie Cooper: Originally from Queens, New York,  Ms. Cooper moved to Delaware with her family when her father retired from the Air Force more than 30 years ago. She is employed by Bank of America and has held positions in Compensation, Market Research and Quality Assurance; she currently works as a Trainer supporting the company's consumer card business.  Ms. Cooper is a  graduate of University of Delaware, where she earned a B.A. in Psychology and of Michigan State University, where she earned an M.S.  degree in Labor Relations.  She resides in Wilmington with her parents and her son Eric, who is a Prestige Academy founding scholar.

Vandell (Van) Hampton, Jr.: Van currently serves as Executive Director of First State Community Loan Fund in Wilmington, Delaware. First State Community Loan Fund is a not-for-profit Community Development Financial Institution that specializes in providing financing for small businesses, micro enterprises, and affordable housing developers throughout the State of Delaware. In 1993, Mr. Hampton earned a BS in Marketing from Delaware State University. Van lives in Wilmington with his wife and four children.

Tarik J. Haskins: Tarik Haskins is an attorney with the law firm of Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP and practices in the area of business and corporate law.  Mr. Haskins serves on many non-profit boards in the Wilmington area.  Mr. Haskins is an active member of Canaan Baptist Church in Wilmington and serves as one of the Church’s Youth Directors.

Donald Mell: Don is a longtime resident of Wilmington. He is currently engaged in the real estate business with Patterson-Schwartz and is active with the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Mell serves as Treasurer of the Board of Meals on Wheels, Delaware, is a Wilmington Housing Authority Commissioner, and is a Board member on the Mt. Olives Cemetery Preservation Fund.

Rodney Merriweather: Rod is a lifelong professional within the Wilmington community. Prior to his work as a Senior Marketing Manager and Consultant, he built a 24-year career with DuPont, working in a variety of marketing, business and financial leadership roles. Mr. Merriweather received an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan, majoring in Finance and Marketing, and a B.B.A. in Business Management from the University of Notre Dame.

Reverend Vincent P. Oliver: Rev. Oliver served nearly three decades at and was Executive Director of the Kingswood Community Center until retiring in May 2006. He has served as a member of the New Castle County Ethics Commission, and the Communities in Schools of Delaware Board of Directors. He received undergraduate and post-graduate training from Aquinas College, Grand Rapids, MI, and Michigan State University. He has served as the senior pastor of the New Calvary Baptist Church of South Wilmington for the past 20 years.

Robert Ritterbeck: Bob is senior executive at Barclays Bank in Wilmington Delaware. Mr. Ritterbeck has been volunteering at educational institutions in Pennsylvania, Washington DC, and Delaware continuously since 1995. Mr. Ritterbeck received a BS in Mathematics from the University of Scranton. Bob and his family have been residents of Newark, Delaware since 1999.

Dr. Rita Vasta: Rita is a certified Science teacher at The Charter School of Wilmington and works with the Delaware Department of Education in the development and assessment of the State Science Standards. Prior to becoming an educator, she had a long career in industrial chemistry working in research and management at DuPont. Dr. Vasta earned an M.S. in Chemistry, and a Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from Drexel University.