Board Members
The Good Schools Pennsylvania Board is responsible for guiding the organization’s future direction.
Michael W. Krajovic, CEcD – Board Chairman
President and CEO, Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, Fayette County
George Aman, Esq.
Attorney, Philadelphia
Linda Croushore, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Mon Valley Education Consortium
James DeBord
Director, York Counts
Sean Flaherty, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, Franklin and Marshall College
David Hornbeck
Former Superintendent, Philadelphia School District
John McKelligott
Attorney, Lansdowne
Reverend Sandra L. Strauss
Director of Public Advocacy, The Pennsylvania Council of Churches
Linda C. Wagner
Director, Westmoreland School Readiness Initiative
Michael W. Krajovic, CEcD
President and CEO, Fay-Penn Economic Development Council (Fayette County)
Upon graduation from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, Mike joined Duquesne Light Company, the electric utility in Pittsburgh. After working in structural engineering for four years, he joined Duquesne Light’s economic development department and received formal training at the Economic Development Institute in Oklahoma. While working at Duquesne Light, he received his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh and has attended continuing education courses at Carnegie Mellon and MIT/Harvard Universities. He left Duquesne Light Company to help start up the Performance Review Institute, an affiliate of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) as the Business Development and Marketing Manager.
In 1992, Mike came to Fayette County, the most distressed rural county in Pennsylvania, to start up the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council. Fay-Penn provides a full-range of economic services from small business development, workforce, education and tourism development, to financing and site location services for companies looking to expand in Fayette County. Besides being President of Fay-Penn, Mike is also Executive Director of the Fayette Industrial Fund (FIF) and Vice President of the Fay-Penn Industrial Development Corporation (FPIDC). He is also responsible for the operations of a Federal Enterprise Community program, the Reaching Educational Achievement with Community Help (REACH) initiative, a business education partnership effort involving six school districts and Fayette Forward, a comprehensive county wide strategic planning effort.
Mike is a Certified Economic Development Professional by the International Economic Development Council. He has been an instructor of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Course sponsored by the International Economic Development Council. He also serves on numerous various regional task groups that address economic development issues. He serves on numerous boards such as the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association (PEDA) and the Laurel Highlands Visitor’s Bureau (LHVB). As champion of education, he serves on the board of Good Schools of PA, an organization devoted to addressing the inequities in public school funding.
Mike can be best described as a social entrepreneur. He has launched new initiatives in the areas of economic, community and workforce development, and education to serve as models for other communities and regions throughout the state and country.
George Aman, Esq.
Attorney, Philadelphia
George Aman is an attorney with High, Swartz, Roberts and Seidel, LLP, in Norristown, where he specializes in municipal law. He has published more than 20 articles for "Authority" magazine, the publication read by municipal authorities, and has drafted legislation on municipal matters for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. He is a member of several organizations of Local Government officials, and is past Chairman of the Municipal Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.
A graduate of Radnor public schools, George believes that all communities should have quality public schools. Both he and his wife, Ellen McMillan Aman, have been active in local government – his wife as a school board member, and himself as a former township commissioner and member of the planning commission. George is also an elder in Wayne Presbyterian Church, where he launched a Good Schools Pennsylvania chapter. George lectures widely on the need for adequate and equitable school funding.
Linda Croushore, Ed.D.
Executive Director, Mon Valley Education Consortium
Dr. Linda L. Croushore is the founder of the Mon Valley Education Consortium, a private, non-profit, community-based local education fund (LEF) that has had a profound effect on the public schools and communities in the Mon Valley. The Consortium grew out of the original Mon Valley Commission as that body struggled to come to grips with the aftermath of the collapse of big steel. The Commission tapped Dr. Croushore to lead the education initiative in 1985, and she created the Consortium to answer the needs of beleaguered school districts and communities up and down the Monongahela River valley.
Under her direction, the Consortium brought needed resources, boosted morale and held out hope for a better tomorrow. Today, the Consortium has a staff of 11 fulltime and 3 part time employees at its office in McKeesport, plus another ten at a satellite program in Clairton. The Consortium’s annual budget is $1.8 million, but the real impact of its work is measured in the resources (cash and inkind) it has generated for the students, schools and communities in the 25 southwestern Pennsylvania school districts where it now is engaged.
Dr. Croushore has shaped and guided this effort. She has the extraordinary ability to rally others to the cause and instill in them the same commitment that burns in her. She is a sought-after speaker, presenter and consultant. Her educational background includes work as a teacher and school administrator in McKeesport Area School District. She earned her B.A. at Grove City College (1968) and her M.Ed. (1970) and Ed.D. (1972) at the University of Pittsburgh. Her most recent honors include selection for the Stanford Graduate School of Business-Center for Social Innovation Fellowship (2001) Carlow College’s Women of Spirit Award (2002) and the Faison/Brennen Distinguished Woman in Education Award (2003).
Dr. Croushore and her husband Jack reside in White Oak. They are the parents of three children: Jeremy, Kristy and Katy.
James DeBord
Director, York Counts
James DeBord was named the Director of YorkCounts in February 2006. In that role James is charged with carrying out the YorkCounts mission to improve the quality of life in York County, and to provide support to the various YorkCounts compacts, engagements and implementation projects including the Metro-York initiative.
Prior to joining YorkCounts James served as the Governor’s Executive Policy Director for the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue from 2003 through early 2006. In that capacity James worked on a wide variety of issues including corporate tax reform and served on numerous committees on behalf of the Rendell Administration. James is also the co-founder and a senior partner with Jack Burden & Associates, a market, public policy and development research firm located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. At Jack Burden & Associates James has overseen projects for clients that have included the National Constitution Center, American Rivers, 10,000 Friends of Pennsylvania, and the Newseum, among many others.
Prior to his work with Jack Burden & Associates, James worked for Greater Philadelphia First, a non-profit organization business group comprised of the largest employers in the Philadelphia region. James graduated from Albright College in 1991 with a degree in History and Political Science. He received a master’s degree in Twentieth Century World History with a concentration in International Relations from Villanova University in 1994. In 2001, Albright College named James their outstanding young alumnus of the year. James resides with his wife Anne Louise and three children Andrew, Meredith and Matthew in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Sean Flaherty, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, Franklin and Marshall College
Sean Flaherty is a professor of economics and director of the Service-Learning Program at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster. As a service-learning director, Sean has been working in recent years to strengthen connections between the School District of Lancaster (SdoL)and Franklin and Marshall College, in particular by working with colleagues to establish credit-bearing opportunities for Franklin and Marshall students to provide curriculum and learning support services in SDoL classrooms and associated programs. Sean is an ongoing member of the Lancaster Health Improvement Partnership, as well as the Lancaster Community Indicators Project. He is a past member of the Community First Fund Board of Directors and of an SDoL task force convened to investigate the impact of school funding on the urban economy. Flaherty received his B.A. from Franklin and Marshall College in 1973 and his Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1981.
David Hornbeck
Former Superintendent, Philadelphia School District
For more than 30 years, David W. Hornbeck has devoted his career to improving educational and life opportunities for children and youth.
David was appointed to the International Youth Foundation in March 2003, succeeding Rick Little who founded IYF in 1990 and served as its CEO. David led the organization that operates in nearly 60 countries and territories and was supported by some of the world’s largest corporations, multilateral development banks, international aid organizations and foundations. IYF seeks a world where every young person has the essential resources for living healthy and successful lives.
A prominent youth advocate and education reform leader, David was Founder and Chair of Good Schools Pennsylvania, a grassroots initiative supporting quality public education for all students in Pennsylvania. He has a broad range of experience — as former Chairman of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and as an advisor to the Business Roundtable and numerous governments around world. From 1994 to 2000, David served as Superintendent of the Philadelphia Public Schools. From 1988 to 1994, through a variety of affiliations — including Visiting Professor, Johns Hopkins University; and partner in the Washington law firm of Hogan and Hartson — David was a national leader in systemic school reform in the United States.
From 1976 to 1988, David was State Superintendent of Schools in Maryland. From 1972 to 1976, he served as Executive Deputy Secretary of Education, the chief operating officer for the Pennsylvania Department of Education. David also is Chair of the Board of the Public Education Network, and a Director of Education Week and the National Center on Education and the Economy. Previously he was President of the Council of Chief State School Officers; Member, the Carnegie Corporation’s Council on Adolescent Development; and Chair, Carnegie Task Force on the Education of Early Adolescents.
In the early 1960′s, as a member of Operation Crossroads Africa, David lived in Ikenne in western Nigeria and worked with a team of Nigerian and American students to build a school library. Over the years, David has led and participated in missions and consultancies – under several auspices including the World Bank, Partners of the Americas, and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching – in multiple countries around the world.
David holds a B.A. in history and an honorary doctorate from Austin College, Sherman, Texas; a Diploma in Theology from Oxford University; a Bachelor of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary, New York City; and a law degree from University of Pennsylvania Law School.
He and his wife, Becky Hornbeck, whose career is also in youth development, have two grown children, both of whom are educators.
Attorney, Lansdowne
A long-time resident of Lansdowne, Delaware County, John McKelligott, a lawyer and former school board president, joined Good Schools Pennsylvania’s board of directors. In addition to a distinguished career as a civil litigation lawyer, for 12 years Mr. McKelligott was an elected member of the the Board of School Directors of the William Penn School District, serving for more than half of his tenure as president. Under his leadership, the school district implemented a comprehensive, district-wide curriculum and improved test scores, achieving Adequate Yearly Progress in one of the years following the initiation of the new curriculum.
In addition, Mr. McKelligott was the Republican candidate for State Senate in the 8th District in 2002, and although he wasn’t successful in that election, Mr. McKelligott has remained actively involved in schools and other regional equity issues including the Southeastern Pennsylvania First Suburbs Project, where he serves as a member of the project’s steering committee. In 2007, Mr. McKelligott was invited to participate in the Oxford University Public Policy Roundtable on Public Education and presented a paper entitled, "Breaking the Logjam: Changing the Culture in a Low Performing School District."
Reverend Sandra Strauss
Director of Public Advocacy, The Pennsylvania Council of Churches
The Reverend Sandra L. Strauss joined the staff of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches as its Director of Public Advocacy in April 2004. The Director of Public Advocacy is a member of the Council’s executive staff with responsibilities to inform, educate, and empower people of faith on significant public issues and to coordinate and articulate public policy positions that reflect the Council’s constituent church bodies’ commitment to peace, justice, equality and compassion for all people.
Sandy received her Master of Divinity degree in May 2003 from Lancaster Theological Seminary and was ordained into the ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA) on January 25, 2004. She also holds a Master of Arts in Public Policy Studies from the Institute of Policy Sciences and Public Affairs, Duke University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Music from the Lindenwood Colleges (St. Charles, MO).
Prior to beginning her theological education, Sandy worked for nearly 16 years in the field of solid waste and recycling. She is happy to be married to David Arnold, “mother” to three cats and a parrot, and appreciates having a little time to putter in the garden.
Linda C. Wagner
Director, Westmoreland School Readiness Initiative
Ms. Wagner has been director of Westmoreland County’s School Readiness Initiative since January 2001. This Early Childhood Education Initiative is a community impact project of the United Way of Westmoreland County, with the mission of establishing a foundation for ongoing school achievement for children birth to six years, through quality learning and care in all environments.
Ms. Wagner also is an adjunct faculty member of the early childhood education departments of Westmoreland County Community College and Carlow University. She is president of the Pittsburgh affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), a PA Key trainer, former trustee for the Greensburg-Hempfield Area Library, and past board member and education committee chair of the YWCA of Westmoreland County.
With a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin, elementary and special education certificates, and a Masters of Early Childhood Education from Carlow College, Pittsburgh, Ms. Wagner has been a professional educator since 1973. Her teaching experiences include: parochial schools and the Intermediate Unit in Oregon, special education projects in southern California and at Arizona State University, public school Kindergarten in Phoenix, Arizona, and preschool and Head Start in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Ms. Wagner was the director of the Westmoreland County Community College Campus Children’s Center from 1997- 20001.
She has served on the Arizona Governor’s Early Childhood Education Council, was a Congressional Contact Chair for the National Education Association, and a past member of the Pennsylvania Head Start State Association Board, where she served as Chair of the Personnel Committee.
Ms. Wagner is the recent widow of Robert Jack Wagner, former Director of the Health and Welfare Council of Westmoreland County. Linda and her five unique cats live in an antique-filled Greensburg home inherited from Jack’s parents in 1990, and spends leisure time hiking in the woods and around the pond at the Wagner family farm property in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.
