Our Team Is Dedicated To The Success Of Our School

Our Lead Founder

Kayleigh Colombero, Lead Founder and Superintendent

Kayleigh Colombero is the Superintendent of Étoile Academy Charter School. She was part of the 2016 Building Excellent Schools Fellowship, a rigorous, yearlong, comprehensive training program in urban charter school creation and leadership.

Growing up in a financially unstable home, Kayleigh experienced many personal challenges on her path to college. Luckily, Kayleigh had a few mentors that pushed her to succeed in the face of much adversity. She set her sights on Smith College, an elite private college, which she eventually attended on a scholarship.

Kayleigh has eight years of experience in education as a middle school and high school teacher, an instructional coach, a department chair, a team leader, and as the executive director of a youth-development nonprofit.

Our Board of Directors

Dr. Michelle Bair, Chair

Senior Director of Development, Memorial Hermann Health System

Dr. Michelle Bair has a wealth of experience in development including annual giving, donor information management, data analysis, gift processing, and cultivating individual donors.

Ja’Milla Lomas, Vice Chair

Marketing at Gulf Coast Services Association

Ja’Milla Lomas brings a wealth of marketing, special events, and communications experience to her board service. She has a Masters of International Business with a concentration in Marketing.

Alexandra Caritis, Secretary

Litigation Associate at Kirkland & Ellis

Alexandra Caritis is a trial attorney at Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Prior to joining Kirkland & Ellis, Alexandra was a 7th grade science teacher in Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools.

Michelle He, Treasurer

Co-founder & College Admissions Director, To The Top International LLC

Michelle He (何瓯) is the co-founder and College Admissions Director of To The Top International LLC, an admissions consulting firm headquartered in Houston, TX, specializing in helping students from China to study at American high schools and colleges.

Dr. Richard Anthony Baker

AVP Equal Opportunity Services Rice University

Dr. Richard Anthony Baker is the first African-American Texas Tech University graduate to obtain a doctorate of jurisprudence, and graduate degrees in Public Administration (M.P.A.), and Higher Education (Ph.D.).

Emmanuel Enriquez

Community Liaison, Houston Health Department

Emmanuel Enriquez is the site administrator for a community center in the Gulfton area. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Rice University in Cognitive Science. Emmanuel is the first college graduate in his family and is the proud father of an Étoile student.

Adeeba Yusuf

Category Manager at BHP

Adeeba Yusuf brings international experience in supply chain management and continuous improvement. She holds a Bachelors from University of Houston in Accounting and Supply Chain Management.

Alim Adatia

Director of Outreach Strategists, LLC

Alim Adatia is the Director of Outreach Strategists, LLC, a global communications and public relations firm in Houston. He is also a partner at Outreach Cultural Intelligence training law enforcement to engage in communities and work towards better outcomes.

Tabinda Ghani

Director of Financial Stability at Family Houston

Tabinda Ghani serves as the Director of Financial Stability at Family Houston. She holds a Master of Business Administration alongside a Master in Social Work from the University of Houston.

Philip Wright

Chief Schools Officer, YES Prep Public Schools

Philip Wright is the Chief Schools Officer at YES Prep Public Schools, an open enrollment charter school with 21 campuses serving 15,000 student across the city of Houston.

Rebekah Stone Guill

Director, Community Engagement, Smith Restaurant Group

Rebekah has over a decade of experience working in education in a variety of contexts, including teaching, curriculum design, instructional coaching, and professional development. She previously worked for KIPP Houston and led the expansion of Niroga Institute’s stress resilience programs into schools in Texas.