Board members
Members of the board, including ex-officio, non-voting members, are:
Mufaddal Baxamusa is an associate professor in the finance department. His research focuses on mergers and acquisitions, capital structure, the choices between different investment decisions and the human aspects underlying decisions in finance. He is widely published in leading academic journals, including Financial Management, and presents at prestigious national conferences, including the annual meeting of the American Finance Association. Baxamusa earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from George Washington University. Dr. Baxamusa is uniquely qualified for service on the charter accountability board as his professional interests and scholarship include both organizational governance and finance.
Terry Moffatt has almost 35 years of experience in education in a wide range of settings. She started her teaching career at a boarding school in rural New Hampshire where she stayed for 10 years before expanding her horizons overseas. Terry taught fifth grade English at a bilingual school in Bahrain for five years and then moved to Cape Town, South Africa, where she completed a master’s degree at the University of Cape Town as well as taught Grade R, Grade 1, and Grade 5. While in Cape Town, Terry also developed a curriculum for English language learners that was purchased by the South African Ministry of Education and is still being used in many schools across the country. Upon her return to the U.S. after being abroad for 10 years, she worked with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe as a start-up director for a new charter school in Sandstone, Minnesota. Terry then moved to the Twin Citiesmetro area where she joined DaVinci Academy of Arts and Science as the Academic Director, a role she has held for the last 13 years. In her spare time, Terry is an avid birder and recently hit the 300 species in Minnesota milestone. She also enjoys photography and traveling. She is looking forward to learning from schools across the St. Thomas network as well as sharing her knowledge and expertise.
Dana Peterson brings a broad range of experience in charter school development and nonprofit management to the assistant director position. As the director of Education for the 21st Century at LEED-Sacramento, Dana guided the development of research-based redesign plans for 9 high schools in Sacramento City Unified School District. She also supported the establishment and growth of a preK-12 charter school system in Sacramento, California, where she served in a variety of capacities, including school principal, director of operations and director of new site development. Additionally, she managed the chartering process for 2 new schools and led 2 schools through successful charter renewals. These experiences led her to serve as an advisor to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson where she oversaw initiatives in the areas of homelessness, arts, community service and education. Dana then returned home to Minnesota after serving as the development chief of staff for an education policy nonprofit. Prior to joining the University of St. Thomas authorizing team, she worked as a consultant for education, philanthropic and nonprofit organizations, undertaking projects such as the development of charter school accountability plans and the design of a funded program to disseminate charter school best practices. She has served on the Girls on the Run Twin Cities Board and the Big Picture Twin Cities board.
Dana grew up in Apple Valley, Minnesota. She earned her bachelor of arts degree from Carleton College and a master of education degree from Harvard University. In her free time, Dana enjoys being outdoors, running, cooking and walking her chocolate lab Oliver.
John A. Spry is an associate professor in the finance department. He earned his BS in economics at the Ohio State University, and his MA and PhD in economics at the University of Rochester. His current areas of research are state and local public finance, the economics of state lotteries, the effects of tax rates on tax bases, and applied non-parametric econometrics. He was a member of the Minnesota Governor's 21st Century Tax Reform Commission.
A 2007 PhD graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Dr. Lynn Stansberry-Brusnahan used to train Delta Air Lines flight attendants. The birth of a son with autism pointed her to her next career. Now, she is one of just a handful of faculty members in the country with a specialty in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Under her guidance, the University of St. Thomas has developed a highly successful certificate program in autism spectrum disorders. Appointed by Governor Jim Doyle, Dr. Stansberry-Brusnahan currently serves on the Wisconsin Board for People with Developmental Disabilities and is a member of the Autism Society of America Board of Directors.
Aura Wharton-Beck is an assistant professor in the department of educational leadership. Her career began as a teacher for hearing impaired students in the Chicago Public Schools, and she has also taught and served in leadership positions - including coaching, mentoring, and principal leadership positions for the Minneapolis Public Schools. Aura's passion for arts integration in education led her to create a pint-size orchestra in an elementary school. Among her student-centered achievements, Education Minnesota captured her philosophy of education in a statewide television commercial titled "validatED." The Minnesota Orchestra Showcase Magazine published her essay, "Practice, the Best Homework," which defined her lifelong pursuit of advocating arts education and academic equity for all students. The Minnesota Elementary School Principals’ Association (MESPA) recognized her for leadership accomplishments in 2012 by awarding her a Division Leadership Award. She was the recipient of the 2017 University Advocates for Women and Equity Award (Sapientia Award) for scholarly or creative work focused on women.
