Abby (Ramirez) Andrietsch, Co-Founder & Executive Directorabby.andrietsch@stcmilwaukee.org
Prior to joining Schools That Can Milwaukee, Abby Andrietsch was Vice President of Finance & Administration for INCOVA Technologies, Inc. (ITI), a subsidiary of HUSCO International. Involved with HUSCO since joining the Board of Directors in 2003, she formally joined the company in 2008 to lead the Finance and HR functions for ITI. Prior to joining HUSCO/ITI, Abby worked as the Director of Policy and Programs at the Doris & Donald Fisher Fund in San Francisco. Her role at the Fisher Fund included managing policy and political relationships for the foundation (including the California State Board of Education, EdVoice, and the California Charter School Association) and strategic investing with partner organizations of the foundation. During business school, Abby worked as a Summer Associate at the Broad Foundation, working on an investment in Vision 2015, an innovative effort to develop a world-class public education system in Delaware. Prior to business school, Abby worked as an investment banking analyst at Robert W. Baird & Company in Chicago focusing on Industrial M&A and Equity transactions.
Abby has a B.S. in Commerce with a concentration in Finance from the University of Virginia, an M.B.A. and a M.A. in Education from Stanford University. She resides in Milwaukee and is a member of TEMPO Milwaukee, Alverno College’s Board of Trustees and the UCC Education Committee.
Kristi Cole, School Leadership Coach
kristi.cole@stcmilwaukee.org
Kristi is currently the Chief Compliance Officer for Milwaukee College Preparatory School, a highly successful charter school in Milwaukee, serving 1,500 students across three campuses. Kristi served as principal at Humboldt Park K-8 School, a premiere multi-cultural charter school in Milwaukee Public Schools from 2000 to 2007. She was the Project Director for the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative and the Director of Diversified Community Schools. She later served as the Chief Charter School Officer under the direction of the Milwaukee Board of School Directors. Kristi was selected as a Wallace Urban Leader Fellow, being named as one of the top 30 urban principals in the State of Wisconsin. Kristi also served on the State Superintendent’s Charter Schools Advisory Council and was a representative of the State Superintendent’s Committee of Practitioners. Kristi has served as a mentor to numerous new principals within MPS for many years.
Kristi received her B.S. in Elementary Education from the UW-Milwaukee, her Masters in Library and Information Science from UW-Milwaukee, and her Masters in Administrative Leadership from Concordia University of Wisconsin-Mequon. In 2010, Kristi earned her Superintendent’s License from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. She is currently working to obtain her Ph.D. from Cardinal Stritch University. Kristi is married with two daughters who attend Milwaukee Public Schools. She has dedicated herself to supporting the children and community of Milwaukee.
Stephanie Ely, School Leadership Coach
stephanie.ely@stcmilwaukee.org
Prior to joining Schools That Can Milwaukee, Stephanie Ely was the Middle School Math Adjunct Professor at Hunter College’s Teacher U program for middle school math teachers and the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction at Williamsburg Collegiate Charter School, part of the network of Uncommon Schools. Williamsburg Collegiate ranked as one of the top public middle schools in New York City under Michael Bloomberg’s report card system. Stephanie facilitated the development of the 5-8 math curriculum for the Collegiate network of Uncommon Schools. Through this curriculum, 100% of the students in grades 5-8 scored Advanced Proficient or Proficient on the New York State Math Exam in 2009. She also supported the curriculum development and classroom instruction of history, science, and writing in grades 5-8. Prior to joining Williamsburg Collegiate, she taught for three years at Vailsburg Middle School through the Teach For America program. She also served as a content specialist for new TFA math teachers and as a corps member advisor at the TFA Institute. Stephanie is prominently featured as a master teacher in Doug Lemov’s Teach Like a Champion taxonomy video database. She graduated from Colgate University with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and French.
William Hughes, School Leadership Coach
William H. Hughes has worked in education for 34 years as a teacher, principal, superintendent of schools. He has served as Superintendent of the Greendale School District in Greendale, Wisconsin for the past 15 years. Greendale Schools is ranked as a Top Tier School District in the Milwaukee metro area. It is known for high student achievement, inclusive schools, and engagement and consistently has student achievement that is beyond what community demographics predict. He is a former board member of the Milwaukee Area Technical College, a member of the National School Climate Council, working with Schools That Can Milwaukee, Special Olympics International to bring Project Unify to national scale, board member of the National Center for Learning and Citizenship, Partner with Cascade Educational Consultants based in Bellingham, Washington, and teaches educational leadership classes at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Mark Ketterhagen, School Leadership Coach
mark.ketterhagen@stcmilwaukee.org
Before joining Schools That Can Milwaukee, Mark Ketterhagen served as the Vice-Principal at Messmer High School. In his time at Messmer, Mark also worked as the Director of Standards and Assessment and as an English teacher. While serving in these various roles, Mark supervised the implementation of a data-driven instruction initiative designed to increase students’ college readiness and raise ACT scores. Under Mark’s leadership, Messmer High School made dramatic gains in ACT scores. Mark also provided instructional support and professional development opportunities for teachers and was awarded with the distinction of 2007-2008 Educator of the Year. Prior to starting his urban teaching career, Mark taught English in Japan for one year. Mark graduated from the Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. Mark spends his free time playing ice hockey and traveling with his wife Sarah–they have visited more than 30 countries worldwide.
Kole Knueppel, Co-Founder & Managing Director of School Partnerships
kole.knueppel@stcmilwaukee.org
Prior to joining Schools That Can Milwaukee, Kole Knueppel was the Director for Wisconsin Lutheran’s Center for Urban Teaching, training future teachers and school leaders to be successful in Milwaukee’s urban schools. Prior to joining the Center for Urban Teaching in July 2008, Kole served as superintendent from 2004 to 2008 at the HOPE Christian Schools, a dynamic and aggressive growth-oriented urban school network based on outstanding student academic performance and behavioral transformation. Kole led the expansion of HOPE from one campus with 50 students in 2004 to three campuses and over 500 students in 2008. From 2001 to 2004 Kole led the revitalization of St. Marcus School from a low-performing urban school into a high-performing nationally-recognized model for faith-based urban education.
Kole has a B.S. in English with a Secondary Education Certificate from Wisconsin Lutheran, a M.S. in Educational Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and is currently working to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. In his spare time, he is a college football official and is a member of the Gus Macker 3-on-3 Basketball Hall of Fame. Kole is committed to community renewal and lives in the Harambee neighborhood with his wife, Anna, and daughter, Sophia.
Paul Knueppel, School Leadership Coach
Paul retired in the spring of 2005 after forty-one years in education—twenty-three years in grades seven through twelve serving as an instructor and guidance counselor in Montana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Paul taught for nine years on or adjacent to the Ft. Peck and Blackfoot Indian Reservations in Montana and mentored and coached several current tribal leaders. Paul then served for eighteen years at Wisconsin Lutheran College, eight as Athletic Director and twelve as Vice President for student services. Paul also was a long-time high school and college basketball coach and served as the Executive Secretary of the twenty-team Midwest Classic Conference for fifteen years. After retiring he was asked to act as commissioner of the Northern Athletics Conference made up of twelve private colleges. He has spent the last four years serving as a leadership mentor at HOPE Prima (2006-2008) and HOPE High School (2006-2010) supporting dramatic improvements at both campuses.
Paul is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin LaCrosse with a Masters degree from Northern Colorado College, Greeley.
Elizabeth Lavelle, Office Administrator
elizabeth.lavelle@stcmilwaukee.org
Prior to joining Schools That Can Milwaukee, Elizabeth Lavelle served a two-year AmeriCorps stint with City Year. Starting with City Year Rhode Island as a school-based team leader Elizabeth led a team of 7 AmeriCorps volunteers in providing classroom assistance, mentoring, and after-school programming to Providence middle school students. Elizabeth’s passion for improving the quality of education led her to join the start-up team for City Year Milwaukee supporting the development of school and community partnerships. She has also become well connected with the Milwaukee educational community through outreach support for the Milwaukee Public Library and coaching for the Marquette University crew team. Elizabeth is a graduate of Wittenberg University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and Developmental Psychology.
