Meet Our Team
Sarah joined New Schools for Baton Rouge and launched its facilities organization, New Schools for Baton Rouge Facilities (NSBR-F) in June 2016. As the Executive Director of NSBR-F, Sarah was responsible for managing its facilities fund, securing debt financing and budgeting, and managing project development and construction of new charter schools for school operators. Prior to spinning out NSBR-F into New School Facility Partners, Sarah’s leadership and support of projects led to ~$150m in direct community investment across Baton Rouge.
Prior to joining NSBR, Sarah served as Governor Jindal’s Policy Director, heralding a heavy background in education, economic development, finance, and transportation policy. Sarah graduated cum laude with honors from Vanderbilt University and, before moving to Louisiana, taught first grade in Metro Nashville Public Schools with Teach For America. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Tulane University as a Burkenroad Leaders Scholar and a Morton A. Aldrich fellow.
Sarah and her husband have two children: Zoe and a pup named Caddy.
Sarah Turner
Justin comes to New School Facility Partners with a deep background in school operations, school facilities management, external affairs, and public education policy. Before joining NSFP, he served as the Executive Director for the Capitol Education Foundation. In this role, he led the transformation and turnaround of one of the state's most chronically underperforming performing schools. He also managed negotiations between the school, local school district, and state on facility maintenance, improvements, and management.
A Baton Rouge native, Justin previously worked at the Louisiana Recovery School District (RSD), where he oversaw external affairs for Baton Rouge, Shreveport, and other areas throughout the state. Before the RSD, Justin held roles in the Louisiana Department of Education’s Public & Governmental Affairs Offices, where he managed a federally mandated program governing all non public schools’ state and federal funding and worked as a communications specialist for the rollout of major departmental initiatives, including school letter grades and Race to the Top.
He also received a Certification in Construction Project Management from Columbia Engineering's Executive Education Program. Justin and his wife, Brytanni, have two daughters, Emory and Breeze.
Justin Blanchard
Phillip comes to New School Facility Partners with several years of experience in commercial construction, having managed many successful projects in both the general contractor and subcontractor disciplines. Phillip is client-oriented and in his work as a general contractor, he collaborated closely with clients, subcontractors, and design teams to help navigate through complexities and uncertainties of projects from pre-construction all the way through final close out. Phillip believes the best approach to a successful project is understanding the needs of the client and using his industry knowledge to provide optimal project outcomes and strategic guidance.
Prior to joining NSFP, Phillip worked as a project manager for the commercial division of a structural steel fabricator in Austin, overseeing steel production from material procurement through steel erection on site. He recently moved to the Baton Rouge area to be closer to family and Louisiana State University’s campus, where he received his B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Construction Management and is currently an MBA candidate.
Phillip and his fiancée, Mary, have two dogs - Julie and Pip.
Phillip Campbell
Board Members
For more than two decades, Chris has pursued opportunities from the schoolhouse to the White House to develop as a leader and drive transformational change. Committed to public service, Chris is passionate about using his skills, experiences, and networks to have a meaningful impact in Louisiana — improving outcomes and quality of life for our state. Recently appointed as the President and CEO of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, he helps unite human and financial resources to make big ideas a reality to enhance South Louisiana. In addition, Chris shares a passion for ensuring that every child in our community has access to an excellent school.
Chris was formerly the founder and CEO of New Schools for Baton Rouge, a nonprofit organization that has raised more than $80 million to attract and develop excellent new schools in the city, currently serving a quarter of all public school students. He is excited to connect and, together, grow significantly the tent of resources and talent committed to tackling Louisiana’s greatest challenges and opportunities.
Chris Meyer
Brenna joined NSBR in 2015 and serves as the chief architect of NSBR’s investment strategy to bring a great school to every child in Baton Rouge. Brenna designed and manages NSBR’s Excellence Funds to launch and support high-quality schools of choice for students and families in Baton Rouge. She drives national fundraising and school recruitment while also managing NSBR’s day-to-day strategy execution, operations, and finances.
Brenna began her career in education with Teach for America in New Orleans, and she has served in a variety of capacities and leadership roles across the education sector. As Chief Information Officer for KIPP New Orleans Schools, Brenna led the organization’s data and technology teams, financial planning process, and strategic initiatives. Brenna has also worked as an independent consultant, helping shape portfolio strategies for major urban school districts on the East Coast and providing support on organizational health and operational effectiveness to large state agencies. Brenna previously worked at McKinsey & Company, specializing in strategy and operations. Brenna received her undergraduate degree, Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude from Duke University, and her MBA from Tulane University.
Brenna and her husband Jared, a charter school principal, have three children.
Brenna Benson Lamb
Brandon Kelly currently serves as the Community Reinvestment Officer for Square Financial Services, the newly FDIC-chartered banking arm of the digital payments and credit card processing company, Square. In this role, Brandon leads the bank's regional and national strategies to enhance community outreach and development efforts, manages the bank’s community development investment portfolio and promotes lending and banking services to small businesses and underserved and underestimated communities. Previously, Brandon worked as the Vice President & Community Development Director for Home Bank.
In the community, Brandon currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Council on Economic Education, Louisiana Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Leadership Baton Rouge Alumni and New Schools for Baton Rouge. Previously, Brandon has also served on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of Louisiana State Support Organization, Louisiana Association of Affordable Housing Providers, Microbusiness Economic Corporation of Ascension and the Advisory Board for Volunteers in Public Schools.