Antonio A. Saunders, Founder & CEO

For founder Antonio Saunders, the tenuous balance between a life of success and one of another-Black-youth-that-fell-through-the-cracks is painfully familiar. Even with his strong desire to learn as a young child, his school in a low-income Southern community was not equipped to provide him with the basic foundational skills he needed to learn and succeed. Antonio began life in a single parent home in Kingston Projects in Birmingham, Alabama. He understands the frustration and fear that a great number of low-income children feel every day. He knows that a condescending voice can make a child feel the sting of shame, and knows the dismal projections for kids without successful role models. Antonio beat these odds through a combination of his extraordinary will to succeed academically, and the personal and ethical teachings of his grandmother.

Wanting to make a difference and share his path to success, Antonio decided to become an educator at Booker T. Washington H.S. in Atlanta for two years. In 2009 he organized a team to design Seventh & Sourou, a first of its kind charter school that provides an unconventional model combining middle and high school with a single gender platform for males – based on the simple principles that changed his life. To expand his capacity to lead a charter school Antonio joined Teach For America – Atlanta’s Program Team in May of 2008, and manages over 30 metro-area teachers. He works closely with the both the regional and national team to shape and execute key strategies for improving teacher effectiveness in order to achieve significant academic growth for students in Atlanta & Fulton County Schools.

Monica Groves, Curriculum & Student Achievement

Monica Groves is a graduate of Harvard University with a Master’s Degree in Education. Dateline NBC chronicled the highs and lows of her classroom over the course of a year and fittingly titled the documentary The Education of Ms. Groves. She thoroughly enjoys teaching 8th grade Language Arts at Jean Childs Young Middle School in Atlanta.

Gary Richey, School Facilities & Operating Budget

Gary is a consultant with 9 years of experience delivering business process improvement solutions and quality systems implementations for U.S. and international client operations. He is responsible for logistical and financial operations for the school.

In this role, Gary is responsible for building and maintaining client relationships, providing leadership and supervision to the consulting team, and managing budgets.

Brian Green, Public Relations

Brian has over 5 years experience in the advertising and marketing industry in both agency- and client-side account management. Collaboration on several national branding campaigns shaped his successful approach to concept development, design, and production of corporate identity, packages and other projects.

Jide Awe, Technology

Jide has 5 years experience with structured technology systems. His work includes information technology and development for many companies and organizations. Jide leverages existing technologies and customizes IT processes for Seventh & Sourou, and is excited to create an interactive learning environment for our students.

Jerel Harvey, Board Development

Jerel earned an M.B.A. from UNC Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. He has over five years experience in the areas of strategy, business development, and finance. He has worked for companies that range from Fortune 500 corporations to start-up ventures. Jerel also started and managed two entrepreneurial endeavors, Harvest Real Estate Holdings and Forever Entertainment.