Board of Directors

Dr. Barrett served as Chief Executive Officer of Intel Corporation from 1998, until his retirement in 2009, and was also Chairman of the Board of Intel from 2005 to 2009. He previously served in various roles at Intel Corporation, including Chief Operating Officer, since joining Intel in 1974. Prior to Intel Corporation, Dr. Barrett was a member of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering faculty of Stanford University. Dr. Barrett currently serves as Co-Chairman of Achieve, Inc., an independent, bipartisan, non-profit education reform organization; President and Chairman of BASIS Charter Schools, Inc.; Vice Chair of the Science Foundation Arizona; and a member of the Board of Trustees of Society for Science and the Public.

Dr. Barrett holds a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science from Stanford University. Dr. Barrett was selected as a director because of his deep knowledge and experience in information technology innovation, as well as his global, operational, and leadership experience as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Intel Corporation. He also brings a unique perspective to the Board of Directors from his tenure as a professor and his volunteer work and support of numerous educational organizations.

Ms. Alvarez currently serves as Chair of the Latino Community Foundation. As Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, she was a member of President Clinton’s Cabinet from 1997 to 2001. Previously, Ms. Alvarez served as the Director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight from 1993 to 1997, where she was charged with financial oversight of the secondary housing market, the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”). Prior to that, she worked for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, Bear Stearns & Company, Inc. and the First Boston Corporation. She has served on the boards of directors of Bill.com since May 2022; Fastly, Inc. since August 2019; HP Inc. since February 2016; and Oportun, Inc. (formerly Progress Financial Corporation) since 2011. From 2006 to June 2016, Ms. Alvarez served on the board of directors of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., and from 2004 to 2014, served on the boards of directors of MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation (formerly UnionBanCal Corporation) and MUFG Union Bank N.A. (formerly Union Bank N.A.). From 2014 to 2019, she served on the board of directors of Zoosk, Inc.

Ms. Alvarez holds a B.A. from Harvard College. Ms. Alvarez was selected as a director because of her financial expertise, government experience, and ability to bring diverse perspectives to the Board of Directors.

Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Mr. Cohen currently serves in various roles including strategic advisor, investor, and board observer to high growth education technology companies including 2U Inc. Since May 2020, Mr. Cohen has served as a director of SPiGlobal. Mr. Cohen served as President and Chief Operating Officer of 2U through January 2016. He was appointed President in November 2013 and Chief Operating Officer in April 2012. In addition, Mr. Cohen was 2U’s founding Chief Financial Officer beginning in June 2008. From 2001 to 2008, Mr. Cohen held several senior roles at The Princeton Review, including Executive Vice President of Strategic Development and Executive Vice President and General Manager of K12 Services. From 1983 to 2001, Mr. Cohen founded and operated the largest network of franchises of The Princeton Review before selling them back to that company.

Mr. Cohen attended Princeton University. He was selected as a director because of his deep knowledge and experience in the education technology industry, as well as his operational and leadership experience as Chief Operating Officer of 2U.

Financial Expert
Member of the Audit Committee
Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Mr. Fink is the Co-Chairman of Heron International. He served as a director of Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. from 2003 to 2011 and as Chairman of the Board of Life Storage, LLC from 2013 to 2016. In addition, Mr. Fink is a member of the boards of The Jackson Laboratory, City of Hope, St. Helena Hospital, OLE Health Foundation, and the Herb Ritts Foundation. From 1999 to 2009, Mr. Fink served as a director of Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. and was its Chairman from 2004 to 2009. From 2000 to 2008, Mr. Fink was the Chief Executive Officer of Lawrence Investments, LLC. Mr. Fink has also previously served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Anthony Manufacturing, Chairman and Managing Director of Knowledge Universe and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Nextera Enterprises, Inc.

Mr. Fink holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. and an L.L.M. from New York University. Mr. Fink was selected as a director based on his significant experience in operations and financial oversight gained as serving as director or chairman for various public and private companies, in addition to his membership on various company audit committees which enables him to contribute significantly to the financial oversight, risk oversight and governance of the Company.

Financial Expert
Member of the Compensation Committee
Chair of the Audit Committee
Member of the Audit Committee

Mr. Knowling serves as Chairman of Eagles Landing Partners, which specializes in helping senior management formulate strategy, lead organizational transformations, and re-engineer businesses. From 2002 to 2005 he served as Chief Executive Officer of the NYC Leadership Academy, an independent non-profit corporation created by Chancellor Joel I. Klein and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg that is chartered with developing the next generation of principals in the New York City public school system. Mr. Knowling has also held roles as Chief Executive Officer of Telwares, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of SimDesk Technologies, Inc. and Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Covad Communications. He was awarded the Wall Street Project’s Reginald Lewis Trailblazers Award by President Clinton and the Reverend Jesse Jackson in 1999. Mr. Knowling serves on the board of directors for CECO Environmental Corp., Citrix Systems Inc., Rite Aid Corporation and Stream Companies. He also previously served on the board of directors of Heidrick & Struggles, Inc. from 2010 to 2015, Convergys Corporation from 2017 to 2018, and Roper Technologies, Inc. from 2008 to 2021.

Mr. Knowling holds a B.A. in theology from Wabash College and an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He was selected as a director based on his experience in public education, public company leadership roles, technology and organizational development.

Financial Expert
Chair of the Compensation Committee
Member of the Audit Committee

For nearly 20 years, Allison Lawrence has worked for Stanley Black & Decker - a worldwide leader in tools and outdoor products. Currently, Lawrence serves as President of the company’s global eCommerce business where she leads the strategic expansion of its online sales, direct-to consumer, digital media, and merchandising initiatives.

Prior to her current role, Lawrence held a number of executive leadership positions at Stanley Black & Decker including BLACK+DECKER Business President, Vice President and Chief of Staff to the CEO and various commercialization roles. Among her many accomplishments during her tenure, Lawrence led efforts that accelerated company-wide programs in ways that optimized return and delivered value for the company and continually placed Stanley Black & Decker’s iconic brands front and center for its dedicated end users and customers.

A member of the Executive Leadership Council, Lawrence currently serves on the national board for A Better Chance, a non-profit organization dedicated to substantially increasing the number of well-educated young leaders of color who can assume leadership positions. Lawrence also serves on the board of Hartford Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in New England.

Lawrence earned a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Oklahoma State University where she graduated magna cum laude. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Member of the Compensation Committee

Ms. McFadden joined us as a director in August 2017 and chairs our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. She founded LIZA and Partners LLC which provides consulting services for nonprofits and foundations. Previously, she served as President and CEO of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, an organization that believes education is a civil right, no matter one’s age. McFadden's experience in education is well rounded: she is a former high school teacher, Florida Department of Education administrator, and served in Governor Jeb Bush's administration where she spearheaded efforts to encourage 200,000 mentors to support public school children.

McFadden was appointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate to serve on the National Institute for Literacy Board. She is the inaugural recipient of the Women Who Mean Business Service Award in her hometown of Tallahassee for her community service and currently serves as a board member for Reading Partners, Florida State Parks Foundation, Suwannee River Area Council Boy Scouts of America and was recently appointed by Governor DeSantis as a member of the Children Services Council of Leon County. McFadden holds a master’s degree from Florida State University and a bachelor's degree from Fitchburg State University.

Mr. Rhyu joined us in June 2013, serving as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer until April 2020. In April 2020, he was appointed the Company’s President, Corporate Strategy, Marketing and Technology. In January 2021, Mr. Rhyu was appointed and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Rhyu served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of Match.com, a subsidiary of publicly traded IAC/InterActiveCorp, since June 2011. In those roles, he was responsible for overseeing a broad range of functions, including finance, human resources, legal, information technology and operations, certain international operations and product development. Prior to his roles at Match.com, Mr. Rhyu was a Senior Vice President of Finance at Dow Jones & Company from January 2009 until May 2011, where he ran the global financial function. Previously, Mr. Rhyu served for three years as the Corporate Controller of Sirius XM Radio Inc. and its predecessor company, XM Satellite Radio, as well as serving in the same role for Graftech International. Mr. Rhyu also served six years as an auditor with Ernst & Young LLP in the United States and South America.

Mr. Rhyu holds a B.S. from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and an M.B.A. from the London Business School.

Ralph Smith is the Founding Managing Director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: a collaborative effort supported by foundations, nonprofit partners, business leaders, and individual donors. This organization supports a network of 350+ communities in developing and implementing plans to ensure early schooling for children of economically challenged families.

Prior to his current position, Smith served as Executive Vice President of the Annie E. Casey Foundation where he also led the Making Connections initiative, a comprehensive effort to assist local communities committed to improving outcomes for families in disinvested communities. Smith served on the Foundation’s senior leadership team for 22 years.

Additionally, as a member of the law faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, Smith taught corporations and securities law and education law and policy for two decades. He also served as Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer for the School District of Philadelphia and as a senior advisor to Philadelphia’s mayor on children and family policy.

Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University of Los Angeles and a law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee

Joseph A. Verbrugge joined Stride’s Board of Directors in August 2022. Mr. Verbrugge serves as Chief Commercial Officer of Sirius XM Holdings Inc., where he leads all commercial elements, outside of advertising sales, focused on growing subscribers and revenue for the SiriusXM, Pandora and Stitcher brands.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Verbrugge was a management consultant with The Dealy Strategy Group LLC where he advised senior leaders of media, technology and services companies on strategy, operations and transactions. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Sirius XM Canada. He is also on the Board of Advisors for Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

Verbrugge earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Michigan, a Master of Business Administration from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and a doctoral degree in management studies from the University of Oxford.

Member of the Compensation Committee