GCSA is pleased to welcome Cherie Ong and Aarti Sharma to its Board of Directors. Both attended their first board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 17.
Cherie Ong is the founder and Principal of Good Places, a mission-driven real estate company dedicated to putting local communities at the heart of its developments. Cherie brings over 23 years of experience in strategy and management consulting across a broad range of public, nonprofit and private sectors. Having previously managed a more than $40 million private real estate foreign investment fund, Ong now focuses solely on driving social impact catalytic efforts in historically underserved neighborhoods. In 2023, Atlanta Magazine named her one of the “500 Most Powerful Leaders: Real Estate.”
Aarti Sharma is the VP of Policy and Advocacy at RedefinED Atlanta. In her role, Aarti oversees the community and policy grant portfolios. She brings deep expertise in education policy and law, leveraging that knowledge to advance charter school development and public education innovation across Georgia. Before joining RedefinED Atlanta, she served as the Vice President of New School Development at the Georgia Charter Schools Association, and she previously directed the District Flexibility and Charter Schools Division at the Georgia Department of Education.
Ong and Sharma succeed two longtime board members—DeLano Ford, Partner with the Charter School Growth Fund, and Lee Jarboe, Vice President at JE Dunn Construction. GCSA extends its deep appreciation to both for their dedication and service to students and Georgia’s charter school community.