Geert De Lombaerde - Nashville Post -

The two-year-old Tennessee Charter School Incubator has recruited senior executives to oversee the schools it works with and to lure top talent to them.
 
The Nashville-based incubator, which aims to launch 20 charter schools here and in Memphis by 2015, has named Justin Testerman to be its chief operating officer and Rebecca Lieberman as director of talent recruitment.
 
Testerman comes to the Incubator from Volunteers of America of Minnesota, where he was director of education programs. There, he started the nation’s first nonprofit charter-school-authorizing program, which authorizes 17 schools. Testerman also ran three contract alternative high schools for the Minneapolis school district as well as an adult basic education program.
 
At the incubator, he is overseeing the development of the infrastructure to support charter’s school operations, including facilities financing, the development of governance structures and building a college-preparatory culture.
 
Lieberman has been brought on as the Incubator’s director of talent recruitment and will be responsible for identifying and recruiting school leaders, teachers and board members. Until recently, she was middle school academic enrichment director at The Harpeth Hall School.
 
Lieberman also was a founding team member of St. HOPE Leadership Academy, a college-preparatory charter school in New York City. She also was involved in the establishment of Metropolitan Schechter High School in Teaneck, N.J., where she was dean of student services and then assistant principal.
 
“Justin and Rebecca bring a wealth of talent and experience in the education realm to their respective roles,” said Greg Thompson, the Incubator’s CEO. “They have deep networks around the country and are highly regarded by their peers, which will help us as we work to attract charter school leaders to Tennessee and to support the already strong pool of leaders in Nashville and Memphis.”