Our Senior Team
Our diverse team of accountants, analysts, finance experts and facility financing specialists are united in their belief that all children should have access to a quality education regardless of their zip code.
Los Angeles
Tait Anderson
Executive Vice President
Tait Anderson
Executive Vice President
Tait is an experienced manager in the education field and comes to ExED with a strong consulting and finance background. Prior to joining ExED, Mr. Anderson was an Executive Director with Laureate Education where he managed their teacher continuing education business unit and he managed their market research team. He has also worked in management consulting at Deloitte Consulting, non-profit lending at U.S. Bank, and in investment banking at Dain Rauscher. Mr. Anderson earned an M.B.A. from the Anderson School at UCLA and a bachelor’s degree in economics from Carleton College.
Neelura Bell
Director of Facility Financing
Neelura Bell
Director of Facility Financing
Neelura Bell has extensive experience in community and economic development as a funder, developer, and administrator. Ms. Bell’s background includes positions with a community-based non-profit organization, the Mayor’s Office, a national financial and technical assistance intermediary and most recently the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles. Through her prior experience, she has been involved in all aspects of facilitating the development of complex and catalytic commercial, housing, facility and infrastructure projects. She has provided financial and technical support to small and major developers from the acquisition and entitlement phases through construction and occupancy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.
Lisa Boulos
Vice President
Lisa Boulos
Vice President
Lisa Boulos joined ExED in 2011 as a Senior Accounting Associate and as VP currently oversees the business operations for several charter school clients. Lisa came to ExED with over 20 years of experience in finance, accounting and human resources at her two previous long-term Controller positions. She grew up south of Boston, Massachusetts and received her Bachelor’s Degree from Antioch University, in Los Angeles.
Irina Castillo
Senior Vice President
Irina Castillo
Senior Vice President
Irina Castillo joined ExED in 2010 after having served as a controller for several online and manufacturing companies. Prior to joining ExED, Irina directed the financial management of a multi-million dollar manufacturing company where she oversaw all general accounting functions. Irina’s interest in charter schools started when her children attended one and she became a board member of that school. Her two children attended charter schools from kindergarten through high school. Irina earned her bachelor’s degree in information systems and a master’s degree in Accounting, both from the University of Phoenix, and has four years of coursework in computer science and mechanical engineering from Belarusian National Technical University.
Tiffany Castro
Director of Data Management
Tiffany Castro
Director of Data Management
Tiffany Castro joined ExED in 2014 to support ExED schools with CALPADS reporting and provide guidance with student data compliance and management, specifically in student information systems (SIS). She now oversees a team that works with ExED schools on attendance reporting, meal claims, CALPADS, and a myriad of other data collected in order to receive funding. Prior to joining ExED, Tiffany served as Director of Operations and Compliance at Larchmont Schools and she has worked in educational institutions and libraries since 2002. Tiffany has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from UCLA and bachelor’s degrees in History and Latin American and Latino Studies from UC Santa Cruz.
Samira Estilai
Executive Vice President & COO
Samira Estilai
Executive Vice President & COO
Prior to joining ExED in 2010, Samira worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) as a Program and Policy Development Advisor in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. Previously, she was Chief of Staff to LAUSD Board Member Marlene Canter. Samira also served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Office of Mayor Richard Riordan. Samira holds a bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in public policy from USC.
Addison Grant
Vice President
Addison Grant
Vice President
Addison Grant joined ExED in 2012, starting as an Associate, and working his way up to Vice President. He oversees the business operations of several charter school clients. Prior to joining ExED, Addison worked as a General Accountant at a global manufacturing company and at H&R Block as a Tax Associate. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Morehouse College.
Ryan Griffin
Vice President
Ryan Griffin
Vice President
Ryan Griffin joined ExED in 2009 as an Accounting Associate and worked his way up the ranks to the Vice President position. He currently manages the back-office operations for seven schools. Ryan graduated from Cal State Northridge with a joint bachelor’s degree in finance and business honors.
Marcella Gunadi
Assistant Vice President
Marcella Gunadi
Assistant Vice President
Marcella Gunadi joined ExED as an Accounting Analyst in 2010 with a strong customer service and Accounts Payable background. She has worked her way through several promotions to the position of Assistant Vice President where she now oversees the business operations of several charter school clients. Marcella is fluent in Indonesian and holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration with emphasis in Accounting.
Gihan Gunasekera
Vice President
Evan Hodes
Vice President
Evan Hodes
Vice President
Evan is an experienced manager coming from the private sector who brings to ExED a strong finance and leadership background. Prior to joining ExED, he was a Director of Valuations in the asset based lending space. Evan earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Rutgers Business School.
Michael Johnston
Senior Vice President
Michael Johnston
Senior Vice President
Michael Johnston joined ExED in 2008. In addition to managing the business operations of several charter school clients, Mike also manages compliance and reporting for ExED’s New Market Tax Credit loan portfolio. Prior to joining ExED, Mike worked for a CPA firm preparing taxes and serving as a full-service bookkeeper to several small-business clients. Mike graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in business with a concentration in accounting.
La'Tosha Johnson
Director of Human Resources
La'Tosha Johnson
Director of Human Resources
Susan Kim
Vice President
Susan Kim
Vice President
Susan Kim joined ExED in 2019 as an Assistant Vice President of School Finance. She holds a bachelor's degree in Biology from UCLA, discovering her passion for accounting and operations over the last 10 years. Prior to joining ExED, she spent six years managing accounting and finance at El Camino Real Charter High School. Susan now shares her expertise partnering with ExED charter school clients to manage their business operations.
Anita Landecker
CEO
Anita Landecker
CEO
Anita Landecker brings decades of experience in community development to her role as President & CEO. Prior to joining ExED in 1999, Ms. Landecker was Regional Vice President for the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the nation’s largest community development organization. While at LISC, Ms. Landecker was also the Managing Director of the California Equity Fund (CEF), a LISC subsidiary, which syndicated the benefits of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit. In these roles, she raised over $750 million for investment in affordable housing in inner city neighborhoods, producing over 10,000 units of housing developed by community-based organizations.
Previously, Ms. Landecker served as the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Community Design Center. She has served as Chair of the Los Angeles Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and taught graduate courses at UCLA and USC. She was awarded a Stanton Fellowship from the Durfee Foundation and a Pahara Fellowship from the Aspen Institute.She holds a master’s degree in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Craig McIntosh
Director of Operations
Joe Mills
Vice President of School Finance
Lynn Oishi
Director of Administration
Lynn Oishi
Director of Administration
Lynn Oishi is the first employee of ExED, and part of the founding team with Bill Siart in 1998. Today, Lynn oversees the administrative work of ExED including invoices, accounts payable, payroll, and all office-related issues in the LA and San Diego office. Prior to joining ExED, Lynn worked as the Executive Assistant to Bill Siart when he was Chairman and CEO of First Interstate Bank. Lynn has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of California, Irvine.
Sonia Oliva
Vice President
Sonia Oliva
Vice President
Sonia Oliva has been serving client schools with ExED since the summer of 2009 when she joined as an Accounting Associate. Sonia has worked her way to Vice President, overseeing business operations for charter school clients, including a CMO. Prior to joining ExED, Sonia worked for a CPA firm auditing financials for a variety of companies. Sonia graduated with honors from Cal State Long Beach with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and an emphasis in Accounting.
Ayanthy Peiris
Vice President
Ayanthy Peiris
Vice President
Ayanthy Peiris, joined ExED in 2009, starting as an Accounting Associate and working her way up to a Controller and now Assistant Vice President. She oversees the business operations of several charter school clients. Prior to joining ExED, she served as an Accounting Coordinator at HQ Entertainment,Inc. Ayanthy holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Cal State Sacramento and is a licensed CPA.
Slav Sobkov
Vice President
Slav Sobkov
Vice President
Prior to joining ExED in 2020, Slav served as a Client Manager at EdTec providing charter schools in New York with financial and strategic guidance. Preceding this role, he held the position of Finance Manager at Green Dot Public Schools in Los Angeles overseeing financial analysis in California and Tennessee. Slav also founded and managed an academic consultancy in NY after starting his career in finance at JP Morgan. He was inspired to shift from the public sector after his fellowship with Education Pioneers in hopes of helping close existing opportunity gaps. Slav earned a B.A. in Computer Science from Columbia University and an M.B.A. from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA. He is driven by his belief that every child deserves quality education and is excited to carry out this mission within ExED.
John Thurman
Vice President
John Thurman
Vice President
John Thurman joined ExED in 2021 with over twelve years of non-profit finance and operations experience. He is passionate about creating, implementing, and scaling organizational policies that improve efficiency and the bottom line, allowing non-profits to better meet their goals. Prior to joining ExED, John served as Senior National Director of Finance and Operations at After-School School All-Stars. Preceding this role, he held financial management positions at the UCLA Hammer Museum and The Salvation Army. John earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Purdue University, Master of Public Administration from California State University, Northridge, and Certificate of Accounting from University of California, Los Angeles. John believes that education is the great equalizer and the key to under-resourced communities being able to break the cycle of poverty.
San Diego
Shahad Askandar
Director of Payroll Services
Shahad Askandar
Director of Payroll Services
Shahad Askandar joined ExED in 2005. She oversees payroll, federal and state tax returns, public retirement systems CalSTRS, CalPERS and PARS for all ExED clients. Prior to joining ExED, Shahad worked at Paychex for seven years as a Payroll Associate and Client Service Supervisor in Florida and California. Shahad holds a bachelor’s degree in management science from the University of California, San Diego and a masters degree in business administration from National University.
Brian Badillo
Senior Vice President
Brian Badillo
Senior Vice President
Brian joined ExED in 2014 and leads his team in overseeing several schools in San Diego and Orange County. Previously, Brian was a supervisor for Christy White Associates, a public accounting firm specializing in local education agency audits. There, he audited charter schools, school districts and non-profit organizations on areas such as state compliance, federal compliance, internal controls, and financial statements. Brian is an active CPA in the state of California and earned his bachelor’s degree from California State University San Marcos in accounting. Born and raised in San Diego, Brian remains a San Diego Chargers fan and spends his free time enjoying the company of his family.
DeAnna Jones
Vice President
DeAnna Jones
Vice President
DeAnna joined ExED in February 2020 and directs a team that manages several schools in San Diego County. Prior to joining ExED, she worked in the nonprofit field where she gained experience in governmental accounting. Her years of experience includes overseeing accounting teams in family, childcare, healthcare, and homeless services as well as the private school industry. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics with an emphasis in Finance from San Diego State University. She also holds an Accounting degree from Governors State University in Illinois.
Franci Sassin
Vice President of School Finance
Larry Tamayo
Executive Vice President
Larry Tamayo
Executive Vice President
Larry Tamayo leads the San Diego office, having joined ExED in 2002. In addition to his supervisory role, he also oversees the business operations for charter school clients, in San Diego and Orange County. Prior to leading ExED’s San Diego office, Mr. Tamayo was the School Development Coordinator and a Compliance Analyst in ExED’s Los Angeles office. He previously worked as a program coordinator at the Atlantic Community Economic Development Corporation in Long Beach. Larry holds a master’s degree in public policy from UCLA and a bachelor’s degree in criminology, law and society at the University of California, Irvine.