Board of Directors
The CEB was established under the guidance of the Longwood Foundation as the recipient of the Bank of America donation. Its Board of Directors represents the confluence of the philanthropic, corporate and community interests that will work together to ensure that this new organization successfully achieves its mission and vision.
Eleuthère I. du Pont (Thère)
Chairman
Thère is President of the Longwood Foundation. He formerly served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Wawa, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Operations, of drugstore.com. He currently is on the Boards of Burris Logistics, the DuPont Company and WSFS. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.
Chairman
Thère is President of the Longwood Foundation. He formerly served as President and Chief Financial Officer of Wawa, Inc. and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, Operations, of drugstore.com. He currently is on the Boards of Burris Logistics, the DuPont Company and WSFS. He received a BS in Mechanical Engineering and an MBA from Stanford University.
William E. Manning
Secretary
Bill Manning is a partner with Saul Ewing LLC, and as Co-Managing Partner of its Wilmington office, Mr. Manning brings extensive experience in business management. He also serves as Co-Chair of Saul Ewing’s Higher Education Practice Group, and with his partner, Jim Taylor, he provides legal advice to many of Delaware’s charter schools.
He is the former president of the Red Clay Consolidated School District (RCCSD) Board of Education, and has long been a champion for diversity issues relating to quality education, student recruitment, and charter schools. Under his leadership, RCCSD became the first – and remains the only – local school district in Delaware to authorize charter schools.
Secretary
Bill Manning is a partner with Saul Ewing LLC, and as Co-Managing Partner of its Wilmington office, Mr. Manning brings extensive experience in business management. He also serves as Co-Chair of Saul Ewing’s Higher Education Practice Group, and with his partner, Jim Taylor, he provides legal advice to many of Delaware’s charter schools.
He is the former president of the Red Clay Consolidated School District (RCCSD) Board of Education, and has long been a champion for diversity issues relating to quality education, student recruitment, and charter schools. Under his leadership, RCCSD became the first – and remains the only – local school district in Delaware to authorize charter schools.
Robert E. Ewers, Jr.
Director
Bob currently resides in Wilmington, Delaware, and focuses on various community philanthropic and nonprofit support and capacity building initiatives. He is currently a member of the Boards of Directors of the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement and the Community Education Building. He has held various executive positions at RHJ International, SA (Brussels, Belgium) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. He was formerly an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Wilmington, Delaware, and New York City and holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Virginia.
Director
Bob currently resides in Wilmington, Delaware, and focuses on various community philanthropic and nonprofit support and capacity building initiatives. He is currently a member of the Boards of Directors of the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement and the Community Education Building. He has held various executive positions at RHJ International, SA (Brussels, Belgium) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. He was formerly an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Wilmington, Delaware, and New York City and holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Virginia.
Margie Lopez-Waite
Director
As one of the founding members, Margie was instrumental in opening the first dual language charter school in Delaware. She has been involved with ASPIRA of Delaware as a volunteer and/or board member since 2004. Margie transitioned into the Head of School role shortly after the school charter was approved in April 2009. In this role, Margie was involved with every aspect of the planning and preparation for the opening of the school.
Previously, she was a Spanish teacher in the Appoquinimink School District. Prior to becoming a teacher, Margie worked at MBNA/Bank of America for sixteen years. She held various management positions in customer service, collections, personnel, research & development, and marketing. Her last position was as a Senior Vice President in the Hispanic Market Sector. After the merger with Bank of America, Margie decided to pursue her life-long goals and passion in the education field. She earned her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education and School Leadership certification from Wilmington University in May 2008. Margie earned her undergraduate degree in Marketing from Delaware State University in May 1990.
Margie has been happily married to Wally Waite, Jr. for 30 years and has two wonderful sons, Quincy and Isaiah. Her husband is an Assistant Principal at Mount Pleasant High School in the Brandywine School District. Her oldest son, Quincy, is attending West Chester University for Physical Therapy and her youngest son, Isaiah, is a freshman at University of Delaware. Both are graduates of Appoquinimink High School.
Director
As one of the founding members, Margie was instrumental in opening the first dual language charter school in Delaware. She has been involved with ASPIRA of Delaware as a volunteer and/or board member since 2004. Margie transitioned into the Head of School role shortly after the school charter was approved in April 2009. In this role, Margie was involved with every aspect of the planning and preparation for the opening of the school.
Previously, she was a Spanish teacher in the Appoquinimink School District. Prior to becoming a teacher, Margie worked at MBNA/Bank of America for sixteen years. She held various management positions in customer service, collections, personnel, research & development, and marketing. Her last position was as a Senior Vice President in the Hispanic Market Sector. After the merger with Bank of America, Margie decided to pursue her life-long goals and passion in the education field. She earned her Master’s Degree in Secondary Education and School Leadership certification from Wilmington University in May 2008. Margie earned her undergraduate degree in Marketing from Delaware State University in May 1990.
Margie has been happily married to Wally Waite, Jr. for 30 years and has two wonderful sons, Quincy and Isaiah. Her husband is an Assistant Principal at Mount Pleasant High School in the Brandywine School District. Her oldest son, Quincy, is attending West Chester University for Physical Therapy and her youngest son, Isaiah, is a freshman at University of Delaware. Both are graduates of Appoquinimink High School.
Eli R. Sharp
Director
Eli serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Eleuthèrian Trust Company, a multi-generational family wealth services firm. Previously, he served as a Sr. Relationship Manager in Wilmington Trust Company’s Managed Wealth Advisory Group. In that role, Mr. Sharp was responsible for managing substantial private client relationships. He is currently also a board member for the Longwood Foundation, Delaware Wild Lands, Inc. and is a Trustee of Christiana Care Health Systems.
Director
Eli serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Eleuthèrian Trust Company, a multi-generational family wealth services firm. Previously, he served as a Sr. Relationship Manager in Wilmington Trust Company’s Managed Wealth Advisory Group. In that role, Mr. Sharp was responsible for managing substantial private client relationships. He is currently also a board member for the Longwood Foundation, Delaware Wild Lands, Inc. and is a Trustee of Christiana Care Health Systems.
