Meet The Team

Our team is a group of practitioners, thinkers, and creators that are passionate about supporting our Partners and their innovative work in education. We like to question, hustle, and have fun.

Career Opportunities

Greg Schermbeck

Founder & Principal

Greg Schermbeck is the founder and principal consultant of SchermCo, an education advising and implementation firm. Here’s more about Greg:

  • In October of 2015, he completed the Marshall Memorial Fellowship with the German Marshall Fund.
  • He previously served as Nashville Prep’s (part of RePublic Schools) Founding Dean of Students, Science Department Chair and Director of Innovation.
  • Greg began his career as a Teach For America Corps Member teaching High School Science at West Charlotte High School.
  • He earned his B.A. from the College of Wooster and M.Ed. from Peabody College at Vanderbilt University.
  • Greg’s dream is that one-day Boyz II Men & Bruce Springsteen tour together.

Lori Schermbeck

Director of Operations

Lori Schermbeck serves as the Director of Operations. Here’s more about Lori:

  • Yes, she’s Greg’s Momma.
  • She’s also the proud mother of twin boys, Kyle and David Schermbeck.
  • Lori has worked in various capacities for Target, Kohl’s, and other organizations.
  • When not directing operations at SchermCo, Lori can be found crocheting or attending football games.
  • Lori once made 20+ of her world famous apple pies for one of her son’s weddings.

Taylor James

Strategic Implementation Associate

Taylor serves as our full-time Strategic Implementation Associate. Learn more about Taylor:

  • Originally from Boston, MA.
  • Taylor began her career as a Teach For America Corps Member teaching 6th Grade Social Studies at The Sugar Creek Charter School.
  • Earned a B.A from Agnes Scott College.
  • Completed the Urban Leaders Fellowship in the summer of 2022.
  • The Color Purple is my favorite musical.
  • Jill Scott is my favorite music artist.
  • Taylor has traveled to five different cities in India.
  • Studied abroad for a semester in South Africa.

Jia Lin-Bothe

Director of Family Empowerment

Jia serves as our full-time Director of Family Empowerment. Learn more about Jia:

  • Born in a farming village in the Pearl River Delta, in China.
  • In college, she studied architecture and learned to think critically about how there are always multiple ways to solve problems.
  • In June 2019, she started working with the SchermCo team as a Special Projects Fellow.
  • She will create opportunities to ensure parents and families feel comfortable at school events and become an active advocate for their students.

Kimberly Perez

Family Empowerment Associate

Kim serves as our full-time Family Empowerment Associate. Learn more about Kim:

  • Former inclusive preschool teacher of eight years
  • Earned her Bachelor’s in Early childhood development and Master’s in Urban Education from University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
  • Kim enjoys learning about physics, reading, painting, and hiking.
  • When not in Charlotte, you can find her in Mexico or New York

Gerlea Patton

Communications Fellow

Gerlea provides social media, podcast, and website support for our organization. Learn more about Gerlea:

  • Born and raised Charlotte Native.
  • Gerlea earned her B.A. from Queens University of Charlotte with a double major in Communications and Music. She is continued to further her education and recently attained her Master’s in Communications.
  • She is a proud mother of 21 girls and a sixth-year collegiate softball player at Queens.
  • Gerlea is a proud parent to young Nyla–a lab-retriever mix she rescued in November 2016.

Katie Schermbeck

Design Associate

Katie serves as the Design Associate. Here’s more about Katie:

  • Born and raised in North Carolina, Katie loves her home state and is proud to have graduated from Appalachian State University (‘12) and then started her career in education as a 2013 Teach For America corps member in Charlotte, NC.
  • In pure Enneagram 9 fashion, she has many identities but holds a few closest to her heart: wife, daughter, sister, writer, artist, and friend.
  • Over the course of the last 8 years, Katie has worked for many educational equity-based non-profits that include: Breakthrough Collaborative, UrbanPromise Charlotte, Citizen Schools, and Teach For America.
  • And yes, she’s also a Schermbeck as of 2015 and adores her “in-loves.”

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