Lindalyn Kakadelis of the North Carolina Charter School Coalition returns as she speaks with fill-in host Matthew J. Norcross (host of the Character in Action podcast) as they discuss recent legislation Kakadelis helped with, in addition to other challenges charter schools face.

Ashley Bacquero is the director of the Office of Charter Schools in Raleigh. A strategic leader with a proven track record of building and maintaining positive relationships with charter schools, stakeholders, and governing bodies. Possessing a deep understanding of education policy, governance, and best practices in charter school authorization and oversight.

Stay tuned for news on the next episode of the Charter School Marketplace podcast, as well as the upcoming Supplier Summit. You can find our more about our new initiative at csmusa.org.

This week's Public Policy Player of the Week is North Carolina State Senator Phil Berger, who has served his position since the dawn of the new millenium.

Among the education reforms Senator Berger has championed in the State Senate in addition to supporting the charter school industry is: providing opportunity scholarships for disabled students and those in failing schools, increasing state dollars going directly into classrooms, lifting the cap on the number of innovative public charter schools in North Carolina, and a transparent, easy-to-understand A-F scale to rate and evaluate our public schools.

To learn more about Senator Berger, visit him on his NC Geneal Assembly page or on his campaign website.

NC General Assembly: https://www.ncleg.gov/Members/Biography/S/64

Official website: https://www.philberger.org

Also, stay tuned for news on the next episode of the Charter School Marketplace podcast, as well as the upcoming Supplier Summit. You can find our more about our new initiative at csmusa.org.

David Fuance has been in the charter space almost from the beginning, holding several roles in the charter school universe. He left the industry for a short period of time, but as with many of us could not stay away from the calling of school choice.

His firm is the largest provider of back-office and financial management services in the state. So take a moment to hear his insights into school operations as well as our history, present and future.

Pristege School Solutions: http://prestigeschoolsolutions.com/

Charter School Marketplace: https://charterschoolmarketplace.org

Mike Causey is more than just the incurance commissioner for North Carolina, he is also a successful businessman with more than 25 years in the insurance industry – as an agent, manager, supervisor and agency owner.

A Guilford County native, Causey's goal as commissioner is to fight for more competition in the industry and to combat insurance fraud to drive rates lower for the North Carolina consumer. He is also passionate about making the office more consumer-friendly to help residents attain their insurance needs.

He is also this week's Public Policy Player of the Week, and in this episode, Paul J. Norcross speaks with him on why charter schools are an important part of our community.

Mike Causey's webpage: https://www.ncdoi.gov/about-doi/leadership/mike-causey

Charter School Marketplace: https://csmusa.org

The Charter School Marketplace podcast will introduce new bonus episodes on Wednesdays called Public Policy Player of the Week, where we talk with people that either make policy for or administer the policies set forth by the policy makers that support the industry.

Our first interview will be with Lt. Gubernatorial candidate Hal Weatherman, who was also Dan Forest's chief of staff during his eight years in office assisting in the implementation of numerous policies that are highly beneficial to charters.

Steve Hubrich is the founder of Hubruch Constructing, Inc., A Durham, NC-based construction company specializing in K-12 charter school facilities. In this episode, he talks with host Paul J. Norcross about how partnership is an important part in, not just his company, but in the charter school business as a whole.