Strada Education Network Elects Three New Members to Board of Trustees

INDIANAPOLIS, April 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Strada Education Network announces today the election of three new members to its Board of Trustees: Sureel Choksi, Wade Dyke and Jack Markell.

"We are excited about this news, and I thank our current board for their dedication to finding the right partners to strengthen our nation's education-employment pathways," said Ed Schmidt, chairman of Strada Education Network's Board of Trustees. "Sureel, Wade,and Jack have the aptitude, knowledge, skills and experience to join us on this mission."

Choksi is president and chief executive officer of Vantage Data Centers, based in Denver. Previously, he was an operating executive at Silver Lake Partners in Menlo Park, Calif. Choksi also served as chief executive officer at Elevation Data Centers, and chief marketing officer and chief financial officer at Level 3 Communications Inc. He earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business with concentrations in finance, accounting and entrepreneurial management. He also has a B.A.S. from the School of Engineering and Applied Science from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dyke is chief executive of Great Heart Academies, the largest classical charter school network in the country. Prior to Great Hearts, he was an executive vice president at Kaplan. He also served as CEO at Chancellor Beacon Academies, Inc., now Imagine Schools. Dyke held posts in federal and state government, where he helped advance policies to encourage innovation in education, including at the U.S. Department of Education and Governor Thompson's administration in Wisconsin. A Rhodes Scholar and White House Fellow, Dyke holds a doctorate in politics from Oxford University. He received a bachelor's in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

As Governor of Delaware from 2009-2017, Markell led significant investments to improve early childhood education and language immersion programs, and to increase college access for low-income students. He led some of the most progressive workforce development efforts in the country. Prior to that, Markell served for 10 years as Delaware State Treasurer. A native of Newark, Del., Markell earned an undergraduate degree in economics and development studies from Brown University and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Markell is a Henry Crown Fellow and a Rodel Fellow at the Aspen Institute.

"We are incredibly impressed with the caliber of these trustees," said Bill Hansen, president and CEO of Strada Education Network. "They each bring a unique skill set and experience to Strada's overall leadership team. We're excited about the new possibilities with Choksi, Dyke and Markell and look forward to the impact they'll have together with our current talented board members."

In addition to Hansen, Choksi, Dyke and Markell will join the following trustees on Strada Education Network's Board:

• Edward R. Schmidt, chairman of the board at Strada Education Network; president and CEO of Silver Creek Partners LLC
• The Rev. E. William Beauchamp, president emeritus, University of Portland
• Marlene V. Coulis, marketing strategy consultant, Coulis Consulting
• Blake E. Devitt, retired CPA and senior audit partner, Ernst & Young
• Marshall C. Grigsby, president and CEO, Grigsby & Associates LLC
• Michael D. King, vice president and general manager, Global Education Industry, IBM
• Thomas B. Mangas, chief executive officer of International Car Wash Group
• Erik I. Moreno, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and M&A at Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Ilene H. Nagel, President of Education Executives, LLC
• William R. Neale, senior counsel (retired), Krieg DeVault LLP
• Ernest J. Newborn II, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, USI Insurance Services LLC
• Mimi Wolfe Strouse, senior adviser, Accretive LLC

About Strada Education Network:

Strada is an Indianapolis-based national social impact organization dedicated to strengthening the pathways between education and employment.

SOURCE Strada Education Network