Executive Management

James Rhyu, Chief Executive Officer, joined Stride in June 2013 and became CEO in January 2021. He has more than 20 years of financial management experience in various global industries

Mr. Rhyu works with leaders across the company to expand the market for Stride and reach new students. He also drives product innovation and improvements in the customer experience that are designed to attract more students to the company’s services. Prior to his CEO role, Mr. Rhyu served as Stride’s President of Corporate Strategy, Marketing, and Technology, Chief Financial Officer, and President of Product and Technology. In these positions, Mr. Rhyu led the development of marketing and messaging to support market expansions and executed on merger and acquisition opportunities that support Stride’s growth strategy.

Before his tenure at Stride, Mr. Rhyu served as CFO and Chief Administrative Officer of Match.com, a subsidiary of publicly traded IAC/InterActiveCorp. In those roles, he was responsible for overseeing a broad range of functions, including human resources, legal, information technology and operations, and certain international operations and product development.

Prior to his roles at Match.com, Mr. Rhyu was a SVP of Finance at Dow Jones & Company where he ran the global financial function. Previously, he 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 spent six years with Ernst & Young LLP in the United States and South America.

Mr. Rhyu holds a bachelor’s degree from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from London Business School.

Donna Blackman, Stride’s CFO, brings more than 20 years of experience in accounting, finance, and strategic planning. As CFO, Blackman informs Stride’s efforts to lead innovation in education for learners of all ages. She had previously served as Stride’s Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer.

Prior to joining Stride in 2020, Ms. Blackman served as the SVP of Business Operations at BET Networks, where she oversaw finance, strategy, research, live events, security, facilities, and operations. During her tenure at BET, she also held roles as SVP and Head of Finance, SVP, Financial Planning and Analysis, and SVP Finance and Controller.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Blackman worked for Marriott International and KPMG in a variety of leadership roles in accounting and finance.

Ms. Blackman earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, a bachelor’s degree in accounting from North Carolina State University, and is a certified public accountant.

Greer McMullen is Stride’s General Counsel and Secretary. He has over 30 years of international legal experience spanning FMCG, consumer services, industrial, life sciences, and luxury hospitality. His expertise includes M&A, commercial contracting, corporate governance, compliance, and risk management.

Before joining Stride, Mr. McMullen previously served as General Counsel and Company Secretary at LGC Ltd in London. Prior to that, he was Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Coty Inc. and held senior legal roles at Schweitzer Mauduit International, The ServiceMaster Company, CNL Hotels & Resorts, and Global Signal Inc. He spent nearly a decade with General Electric in various legal positions and began his career at Sullivan & Cromwell in Washington, D.C., and Paris.

Born in New York City, Mr. McMullen spent his childhood in England, Ireland, and France before attending boarding school in England. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. Mr. McMullen has three children and enjoys fencing in his spare time.

Mr. Chavous joined us in January 2017 and currently serves as Senior Advisor to the CEO. He was a member of our Board of Directors from January 2017 to October 2017 before resigning to take his current position. Previously, he was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Chavous Group, an educational consulting firm, a position he held from January 2012 until January 2018 and was a founding board member of the American Federation for Children (“AFC”). He served as AFC’s Executive Counsel from 2012 to 2016. Previously, Mr. Chavous was a partner at the SNR Denton law firm from 2002 to 2012 and served as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia from 1993 to 2005, where he was Chair of the Council’s Education Committee. He also has served on the boards of various charter schools across the country, including the Friendship Charter Schools in Washington, D.C. Mr. Chavous holds a B.A. from Wabash College and a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law.

Valerie Maddy, SVP & Chief Human Resources Officer at Stride Inc., brings more than 20 years of global leadership and innovation in the full range of human resources disciplines. At Stride, Ms. Maddy is leading the development and implementation of new systems, processes, policies and programs aimed at maximizing every employee's contribution to student academic success. As part of that effort, she is working with business teams to drive alignment, clarity and competitive advantage across the company and plan, acquire, develop and retain the talent required to achieve organizational goals.

Prior to joining Stride, Ms. Maddy was Vice President, Global Human Resources Operations for Ciena Corporation, a global leader in next-generation network infrastructure, where she introduced reliable automation to HR systems, significantly increasing efficiency levels, and led the HR due diligence efforts and integration activities of eight acquisitions. Before rising to this position, Ms. Maddy served in a number of leadership roles at Ciena in the areas of Global Total Rewards and Global Risk Management.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Maddy held leadership roles in Human Resources and Finance at Crown Vantage, a specialty paper manufacturer and distributor. Prior to that, she served in Human Resources and Auditing roles at SAFECO and American General, both providers of financial and insurance services.

Ms. Maddy is a graduate of Humboldt State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. She holds a certificate in Global Benefits Management, a designation from Fellow Life Management Institute, and is also a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist and Certified Internal Auditor.

Todd Goldthwaite, managing director, has more than 25 years of experience in technological innovation, marketing, operations management, and enterprise sales. At Stride, Mr. Goldthwaite manages a growing number of portfolio companies. He also leads Stride’s enrollment and customer service operations.

Prior to this role, Mr. Goldthwaite served as Stride’s chief marketing officer. He also previously served as senior vice president of school services for Stride's online public schools. In this position, he amplified best practices and drove improvements in academic performance, teacher effectiveness, and student retention.

Before joining Stride, Mr. Goldthwaite managed operations for Blackboard Student Services. He also spent 18 years in the telecommunications field. This includes a position at MCI Communications where he launched operations for the company's emerging telemarketing and customer service business, established call centers across the country, and expanded the company's global sales and service footprint to five international locations.

Janice Gruneberg, EVP, K12 Operations, brings more than 30 years of education experience from the classroom to administration to the Stride management team. At Stride, Ms. Gruneberg is part of the managed school senior leadership team where she is responsible for leading the operational and compliance excellence efforts across the schools to drive improved student and school outcomes.

In previous positions Ms. Gruneberg managed the development efforts of the K-8 curriculum and materials, supported the launch and rapid growth of several new schools as well as pioneering new positions across Stride as the organization grew from start up to the industry leader seen today. Stride’s managed school compliance and operations programs are best in class for risk mitigations, customer service and revenue assurance and improvement.

Prior to joining Stride, Ms. Gruneberg led the development online course work for adults with MindQ and served as a Special Education teacher in Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia.

Ms. Gruneberg is a graduate of George Mason University with a Master’s Degree in Special Education.

Bryan W. Flood, SVP & Chief Public Affairs Officer, joined Stride in 2002. Mr. Flood previously served as a public affairs strategist, consultant, and spokesman for corporations, interest groups, and senatorial, gubernatorial, and presidential campaigns.

As Vice President at the MPGH Agency, a Virginia-based public affairs consulting firm, he advised clients ranging from high tech start-ups to Fortune 500 firms, including several leading education companies. Mr. Flood helped clients like MCI, The Learning Company, and Achievement Technologies win complex public policy and opinion battles by designing and managing advocacy campaigns at the local, state, and national levels. While serving at MPGH in 1999, Mr. Flood helped direct a sweeping review of the military recruitment process for the United States Department of Defense.

Mr. Flood was chief spokesman for Michigan Governor John Engler's successful reelection campaign in 1994, and was national spokesman for United States Senator Lamar Alexander's presidential campaign in 1995-96.

Mr. Flood holds a BA in Public Policy from New College of Florida.

Peter Stewart, Senior Vice President of School Development, works with parents, teachers, community groups, school districts, school boards, departments of education, and policy makers across the United States and internationally to start new high-tech schools that use the Stride academic program.

In the past seven years Mr. Stewart has helped develop large-scale, public e-learning programs in sixteen states that currently serve over 100,000 courses annually.

Prior to joining Stride in 2000, Mr. Stewart was a Head of School, a teacher, a school principal, and a curriculum director with ten years' experience working in urban, rural, and international schools.

Mr. Stewart holds a BA in English from Williams College, and an MA from Columbia University Teachers College.

Deb Hannah, Stride's chief marketing officer, brings more than 25 years of experience in marketing, brand development, and digital strategy to the Stride management team.

At Stride, Ms. Hannah leads a variety of product and integrated marketing initiatives, creative strategy, website performance, customer relationship management (CRM), and data analytics.

Prior to joining Stride, Ms. Hannah served as senior vice president of marketing at Shoe Carnival, where she led the company's broader marketing organization in addition to e-commerce, store design management, and corporate communications. Previously, Ms. Hannah spent more than 20 years in various marketing, merchandising and management roles in the consumer-packaged goods and retail industries for companies such as Kellogg's, the Starbucks Coffee Company, and the Kimberly-Clark Corporation.

She earned a Master of Business Administration from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.

Vida is a visionary advocate committed to ensuring that innovation serves humanity. With a background in data science, she leverages her expertise to catalyze social and economic progress within communities. Her diverse experiences span across industries, including energy, healthcare, and education, where she has consistently championed transformative change.

Vida served as Chief Digital and Branding Officer at the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority. Prior to that she assumed the dual roles of Chief Data Officer and Chief Diversity Officer at SingleStone, a testament to her belief that technological advancements must be guided by principles of inclusivity and ethical responsibility.

Recognized as an industry leader, Vida served as the inaugural "Innovator in Residence" at VCU's da Vinci Center in 2017, further solidifying her reputation as a trailblazer in innovation and education. In 2013, she co-founded Axis Partners, Inc., a social enterprise consulting firm dedicated to empowering mission-driven organizations through data architecture, process engineering, and data sciences.

Beyond her professional endeavors, Vida remains deeply engaged in her community, serving on the boards of esteemed organizations such as the Biotech Authority Board, Code VA, Activation Capital, and Dominion Energy Innovation Center. Through her multifaceted contributions, Vida continues to drive positive change at the intersection of technology, data, and society, leaving an indelible mark on the world around her.