Our Board

Kaye Savage - Founder & CEO

Kaye Savage began her career as a certified special education teacher working with low-income students in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Her passion to make a difference led to policy research work at the Urban Institute and later into the public service arena concentrating on local and federal government programs targeting urban economically distressed communities. Kaye worked in the White House on the Historical Black College and Universities (HBCUs) Initiative. Most recently, she served the Program Manager for the District of Columbia Family Education Network, a special parent training initiative of Fight for Children.  She has also worked as the National Director for the 21st Century School Fund and as special Project Manager on a staff augmentation contract in the Office of Facilities Management of the District of Columbia Public Schools. Kaye began her college education at Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia and completed her undergraduate work with high honors at Howard University where she also earned a Master’s of Science degree with distinction with a concentration in developmental psychology. Kaye was an Intergovernmental Fellow during her tenure at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and earned her MPA from the University of Southern California. Kaye is a Building Excellent Schools Fellow and member of the Board of Trustees for the National Coalition of Girls Schools.

Vito John Germinario – Chair

Vito Germinario is the President/Partner of the architectural wall systems company GPR, Inc. in McLean, VA.  He also is the managing partner of Trinity Partners, LLC, a McLean consulting group.  Throughout his career, Mr. Germinario has held major leadership positions in architectural wall systems companies in Maryland, New York, and New Jersey.  Some of his partnership projects include: Andrews Air Force Bard Visitor’s Quarters, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Bicycle Transit Center, Herbert Hoover Building Renovation, International Monetary Fund, The Ronald Reagan Building, World Bank Restoration and Renovation, IBM Corporate Headquarters, and Pennsylvania Station Central Control.

Mr. Germinario is also a member of the National Italian American Foundation, St. Peter’s Preparatory School, and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for children suffering from brain tumors by pairing them with high school and college athletic teams.

Malcolm Poole – Vice Chair

Malcolm Poole is a professional educator with more than 13 years of experience. Currently, he works in education policy as a Senior Project Associate for the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), where he oversees national initiatives to improve student achievement, increase graduation rates and improve student fitness, health and well-being. Mr. Poole specializes in working with at-risk-youth and special needs students. Prior to joining NASBE he worked in various administrative capacities, most recently as an Assistant Principal and Dean of Students in the District of Columbia Public Schools. He began his education career as a Special Education Teacher in Camden, NJ.

Mr. Poole received dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Criminal Justice and Spanish from Mount Saint Mary’s College, where he still holds national titles in Track and Field. He also holds a Master of Arts in Education Leadership from George Mason University. He is the father to one very bright and precocious 7 year old little girl, the apple of his eye. Committed to improving the lives of youth, Poole mentors several young-men and works with youth to improve their health and physical condition through exercise and nutrition. Recently appointed to serve as a member of the Board of the Excel Academy for Girls, Poole is pleased to share his knowledge and resources with the Academy and its students.

Meridel Bulle-Vu - Secretary

Meridel Bulle-Vu is a staff attorney in the Family Law Unit at the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia.  Prior to joining Legal Aid, Ms. Bulle-Vu was the recipient of the Georgetown/Howrey Pro Bono Fellowship at Howrey LLP, where she represented clients exclusively on pro bono matters.  Ms. Bulle-Vu has also worked as a law clerk at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Health Law Program, and The Door - Legal Services.  During law school, Ms. Bulle-Vu was a student attorney in the Juvenile Justice Clinic, defending youth accusing of misdemeanors and felonies in the District of Columbia.  She was also a Note and Comment Editor for the Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy.  Prior to law school, Ms. Bulle-Vu worked as a researcher at the Center for Research on Child Wellbeing at Princeton University.

Ms. Bulle-Vu graduated from Princeton University, cum laude, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  She received her Juris Doctorate cum laude from Georgetown University.

Michael T. Vu – Treasurer

Michael Vu is an associate in the U.S. Real Estate Acquisitions group of The Carlyle Group.  Previously, Mr. Vu was an analyst in the real estate investment banking group at Lazard Frères & Co. in New York. He worked on major strategic advisory assignments, special committee advisory assignments and real estate portfolio sales. Mr. Vu had extensive experience in the mortgage financing, senior housing, office and land development sectors and has completed assignments for multi-billion dollar affordable-mortgage financing, lodging, and office companies. Prior to joining Lazard, Mr. Vu had spent time with the National Geo-Spatial Intelligence Agency and the National Telecommunications and Information Agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Mr. Vu graduated magna cum laude degree from Princeton University where received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with certificates in Finance and American Studies

John Barron

John Barron serves as the President of Foulger-Pratt Contracting, LLC. Previous to his present position, Mr. Barron was the Washington D.C. Division President of Manhattan Construction Company. Throughout his twenty-eight year career in the construction industry, John has contributed to a number of high-profile projects in nearly every capacity. His work has been widely recognized and praised. He was influential in the management, construction and/or development of many notable metro area projects, including work at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Portals, the George Washington University replacement hospital, the Columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery, FDR Memorial Forecourt, the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, and renovations to the Jefferson Memorial and National Gallery of Art. At the beginning of his career, John served seven years on active-duty as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His service included project management for several major Department of Defense construction projects at Fort Belvoir for which he received an Army Commendation Medal for superior performance. He also has experience in local school construction and it was under his leadership that both the Bell Lincoln Multicultural School and Randle Highlands Elementary School addition were built. John received a Master of Business Administration Degree from Virginia Tech and an Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering with Distinction from the University of Virginia.

Bridget Bond

Bridget Bond, a professional administrative manager with more than 25 years of experience, works at a law firm, where she serves on the Public Policy Committee and coordinates various morale boosting events for the team. Previously, Ms. Bond worked in the Procurement and Legislative Affairs fields in the federal government.

She serves as a volunteer Girl Scouts of America, Daisy Troop Leader. For more than 10 years, Ms. Bond has been a mentor for teenage girls and at-risk-youth, working to strengthen families and give our youth a voice.   Ms. Bond is the mother of two children, one of whom is a first grade scholar at Excel.  Determined to make a difference in the lives of not only her children but of the youth especially girls, Ms. Bond continues to display her commitment to education. Ms. Bond is thrilled to contribute her knowledge and time to Excel and our scholars.

Chanelle Hardy

Chanelle Hardy is the Senior Vice President for Policy for the National Urban League and Executive Director of the National Urban League Policy Institute, with primary responsibility for developing the League’s policy, research and advocacy agenda and expanding its impact and influence inside the beltway.   She serves as editor-in-chief of the NULPI signature publication, “The State of Black America,” and coordinates the NUL Legislative Policy Conference.  She is the former Chief of Staff and Counsel to US Representative Artur Davis, who represented the Seventh Congressional District of Alabama and served on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on House Administration.  Prior to coming to the Hill, Chanelle was a Staff Attorney at the Federal Trade Commission, a Policy Fellow and Legislative Counsel at Consumers Union, and a Teach for America Corps member, teaching fifth graders in Washington, DC.

Chanelle received her JD from the Howard University School of Law, where she finished fifth in her class, and was a member of the Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Moot Court Team.  She received her undergraduate degree in English, with Honors, and Piano Performance from the University of Maryland at College Park (UMCP).  She is a member of the board of the UMCP College of Arts and Humanities, Vice President of the Howard University Law Alumni Association and Secretary of the board of Industry Ears, a non-profit think tank dedicated to improving media literacy for young people of color.  She is a member of Alfred Street Baptist Church and a native of the Washington, DC area.

Valerie Holt

Valerie Holt is the Vice President for Audit for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority.  Her responsibilities include providing audit services to ensure that the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority has an effective system of internal controls for its accounting, finance, administration, operations and technology management.  She also oversees the conduct of the annual financial statement audit.

Ms. Holt previously served as the Chief Financial Officer and the Controller for the District of Columbia, as a Director for the District of Columbia Financial Responsibility and Management Assistance Authority, and as a Deputy Director for the District of Columbia Public Housing Authority.  Her 30 years plus work experience also includes eight years of public accounting experience including two "Big Four" firms.  Mr. Holt holds undergraduate degrees from George Washington University (B.A in accounting) and Eastern Michigan University (B.S. in Sociology) and a Master Degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan. Ms. Holt is the President of the Association of Airport Internal Auditors.  She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Internal Audit Institute and the Associate of American Airport Executives. She is the past president and state representative for the Greater Washington Area Government Finance Officers Association.  Ms Holt also served as the past chairman of the Committee on Auditing and Financial Reporting and as the President of the Black Caucus of the Government Finance Officers Association of North America.

Elizabeth Davenport Hughes

Elizabeth Davenport Hughes serves as the Advisory Board’s Managing Director of Business Intelligence Services where she is responsible for the company’s newest product introductions in the broader healthcare sector.  Prior to assuming her current role, Liz led the launch of the Advisory Board’s third business division, the Advisory Board Academies from 2001-2006.  The company’s most successful new product launch to date, the Nursing Leadership Academy, was Liz’s primary responsibility beginning in 2001.  Liz serves as the firm’s leading expert on management and expansion of the largest health system contracts with the firm’s most progressive and valuable clients.

Elizabeth graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1995 with BS in Human and Organizational Development.  She was selected to continue her studies in the United Kingdom at Cambridge University, allowing her to serve a formal internship at Cambridge’s Madingley Hall with a dedicated focus on expanding their Legal Studies continuing education programs.

Audwin Levasseur

Audwin Levasseur holds a B.S. in Administrations of Justice, and a B.A. in African American Studies from Rutgers University. He received his J.D. from Columbia Law School in New York. While at Columbia, Mr. Levasseur served as the Northeast Regional Director for the National Black Law Student's Association and was an associate editor for the Human Rights Law Review. Currently, Mr. Levasseur is an associate with the antitrust practice group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Washington, D.C. His strength lies in entrepreneurial business development and fundraising. Mr. Levasseur's expertise in research, analysis, and law is particularly valuable to the Excel Academy team. He resides in Ward 8 of the District of Columbia.

Deborah Lockhart

Ms. Lockhart’s expertise lies in the areas of human resources, marketing, and technical services. She has successfully launched and operated programs for corporate entities for more than two decades. Among the clients served, both domestically and internationally, are the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, Washington, DC; Riverside Hospital/Riverside Treatment Services, Inc., Washington, DC; Orion Marketing & Engineering Services, Frankfurt, West Germany; and International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, Riverside, CA.

Ms. Lockhart’s most fulfilling achievements are those associated with the success of the many young people that she has been fortunate enough to mentor and assist in their development. She also counts among her achievements the development of the Human Resources Department for a major hospital, including its recruiting, hiring, orientation and training, and retention of personnel functions; the establishment of a broad-based marketing and technical services firm for sales and installation of office products, telephone systems, intercom systems, and other support services; and spearheading the development team transitioning the human resources system at one of the largest airport facilities in the United States from a family of antiquated software and hardware systems to a multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art system affecting hundreds of employees at multiple base sites; and the development of a student program which seeks to optimize the potential of young people.

Ms. Lockhart’s undergraduate and graduate degrees are from California State University in Northridge, CA. As well, she is currently pursuing a graduate degree in human resources at Villanova University.