Staff Members
James Betley
Executive Director and General Counsel
James Betley serves as ICSB's Executive Director and General Counsel. Prior to joining ICSB, James served as Deputy Director of Education Policy for Governor Mike Pence, Technical Advisor to the State Board of Education, the Early Learning Advisory Committee, and the Education Roundtable, as the General Counsel and Director of Policy for the Indiana State Board of Education, and as the Director of Policy for the Center for Education and Career Innovation. Prior to joining state government, James spent seven (7) years as an attorney at Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich in Palo Alto, California and at Ice Miller, LLP in Indianapolis where he focused on tax-exempt and governmental clients including school corporations, colleges and universities, nonprofit hospitals, churches, and other prominant local and national tax-exempt charities and private foundations. He also spent six (6) years as a freelance editorial and commerical photographer in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, and Indianapolis. He received his B.A. in English from Northwestern University, and his J.D. from the University of Michigan.
Bridgett Abston
Director of Authorizing, Evaluation, and Assessment
Bridgett Abston has dedicated her career to operational and data driven support in the education sector. She believes the impact of education should happen in the classroom and strives to lessen the administrative burden on teachers and administrators.
Bridgett serves as ICSB's Director of Authorizing, Evaluation, and Assessment. She is primarily responsible for working with school boards and school leaders to ensure alignment to the ICSB Accountability Framework for Academics, Finance, and Organizational compliance and to manage, evaluate, and interpret academic and related data. Bridgett is also responsible for oversight of ICSB's Application, Start-Up and Closure Processes. Prior to joining ICSB, Bridgett served as the Assessment Program Manager with the Indiana Department of Education and spent seventeen (17) years at MSD Lawrence Township in Indianapolis, including as the Data and Assessment Coordinator and School Corporation test coordinator, where she assisted administration, teachers, and committees with data analysis, assessment implementation and SIS integration. Mrs. Abston has also spent time at Butler University in the Center for Academic Technology and at MSD Washington Township as the Student Management System Specialist.
Mrs. Abston has presented at conferences both statewide and nationally as well as serving on various committees. She received her B.S. from Butler University and her M.B.A. from Xavier University.
Sherie Scott
Director of Schools
Sherie Scott serves as ICSB's Director of Schools. Sherie has over twelve (12) years of experience in K-12 education. Prior to joining ICSB, Sherie served as the Founding Assistant Principal at Global Preparatory Academy @Riverside 44, an innovation Spanish Immersion charter school for Indianapolis Public Schools. Sherie also taught 5th grade in the Metropolitan School District of Pike Township and was awarded Teacher of the Year at Snacks Crossing Elementary School. Prior to moving to Indianapolis, Sherie taught for several years in the Dougherty County School system in Albany, Georgia, where her students achieved high academic growth and proficiency in reading and mathematics. She received her B.S. and M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Albany State University in Albany Georgia, and M.Ed. in Educational Administration through the Experiential Program for Preparing School Principals (EPPSP) Program at Butler University. Sherie was in the 2nd Cohort for Indianapolis school leaders in the Relay Graduate School of Education School Leadership: National Principal Academy Fellowship (NPAF), and is currently pursuing certification from Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and Harvard Business School (HBS) in School Management and Leadership (CSML).
Beatriz García (Pacheco)
Director of Operations and Portfolio Management
Beatriz (Bea) Pacheco serves as ICSB's Director of Operations and Portfolio Management. Bea oversees the management of the agency's portfolio, monitors compliance, provides technical assistance, and supports the charter application and renewal process.
Bea has dedicated her career to ensuring students have access to the highest quality education. Prior to joining ICSB, Bea worked for the Indiana Department of Education from 2017 – 2021 its Office of State and Federal Grants and Programs, specifically managing the dissemination and oversight of federal charter school grant funding. Bea graduated from Purdue University where she studied Political Science and Organizational Leadership and Supervision. She continued her studies at Cardinal Stritch University in Urban Education and Bilingual Education. Bea brings direct instructional experience with the most underserved student populations having taught ESL and bilingual education in Lafayette, Chicago, and Milwaukee.
Ryan Preston
Chief Financial Officer
Ryan Preston serves as the Chief Financial Officer for both ICSB and the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. He graduated from Hanover College in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting. Prior to joining ICSB, Ryan worked for the Indiana State Board of Accounts from 2001 to 2018, where he spent ten (10) years as a field examiner auditing local governmental entities in southern Indiana and seven (7) years as the Director of Audit Services for schools in the Indianapolis office.