Leadership

The founder and president of the Irvington Community School is Timothy P. Ehrgott. His vision became reality when he created a high-quality school in Irvington that gives families a reason to move into and stay in the area, by educating students to a level at which they have choices in their college educations and in their lives and careers.

For 11 years, Mr. Ehrgott was the executive director of the Educational CHOICE Charitable Trust, the nation's first privately funded school-choice program. He worked with thousands of families and nearly 100 area schools, along with a 21-member board and a budget that topped $2 million. Mr. Ehrgott serves on the board of directors for the Indiana Public Charter Schools Association. Previously, he was a member of the Athenaeum Foundation's board of directors, and the board of governors for the Ransburg YMCA. He has also run for political office.

Mr. Ehrgott has experience as a writer and editor, with articles published in Reader's Digest and numerous public-policy journals.

Mr. Ehrgott and his wife, Jenny, have been involved in their neighborhood and the Irvington community since they moved in 20 years ago, with Mrs. Ehrgott serving a stint as president of the Irvington Community Council and as president of the PTO of their previous school. Most important, the Ehrgotts have two children who attend the Irvington's high school.

David Nidiffer has 18 years of combined financial and accounting experience with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Eli Lilly and Company, and for the last 3 years with ICS. Having extensive experience in the financial management field, Mr. Nidiffer brings important financial knowledge and oversight to Irvington Community School. Notably, he has a long history of community involvement in Irvington, including service on the Irvington Community Council as Treasurer and chairing the Irvington Halloween Festival Board. Mr. Nidiffer served five years as the founding treasurer of the Irvington Community School Board and has served as the board treasurer for VSA of Indiana and the Indiana Association for Child Care Resources & Referrals Inc. The Nidiffers have a fourth-grader enrolled in ICS.

Deanna Pryor currently serves as Irvington's K-8 Lead Teacher. Her focus is on the administrative oversight of academic matters, such as curriculum development and implementation, monitoring academic progress of at-risk students, and supporting classroom teachers.

Mrs. Pryor holds her Indiana teaching license in kindergarten though sixth-grade as well as in middle-school History. She also holds a master's degree from Walden University in Elementary Reading and Literacy. Mrs. Pryor began her career in the education field as an intermediate teacher in Clarksville, Tenn. There, she served not only as a classroom teacher but held a variety of leadership roles within the school. She has been a member of the Irvington's faculty since 2005, beginning as a fifth-grade teacher, later working as a Writing and Literacy Coach, and in April of 2007 assuming the role of Lead Teacher.

Daryl Werner has been with Irvington Preparatory Academy since its beginning, first as a Social Studies teacher, and now as Lead Teacher. Mr. Werner earned his bachelor's degree in General Studies and a master’s degree in Education from Indiana University; additionally, he carries an administrative license and is in the process of earning his Ed.D. (doctorate in education).

Tim Mulherin has 20 years of management and executive leadership experience in a variety of fields, including emergency management, insurance, healthcare, and the hospitality industry.

Prior to coming onboard the Irvington, Mr. Mulherin was an organizational development consultant with a special focus on customer service excellence, effective communication, professionalism, leadership development, and intergenerational workplace relationships. Previously, he served as executive director of the Indiana Hemophilia & Thrombosis Center, the largest comprehensive hemophilia treatment center in the United States. He was also the director of communications for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and the external affairs director for the Indiana State Emergency Management Agency.

Mr. Mulherin has nearly 10 years of college teaching experience at IUPUI and the University of Indianapolis, having taught remedial writing, composition, argumentative research writing, professional writing, and business communication courses. He holds a bachelor's degree in English (major in nonfiction writing) from Indiana University, a master's degree in journalism from Indiana University, and a master of science in management degree in leadership and organizational development from Indiana Wesleyan University. He and his wife, Janet, are the parents of three grown children.

Leslie Hiner is an attorney and Director of Programs and State Relations for the Friedman Foundation for Education Choice, a national foundation headquartered in Indianapolis. Prior to joining the Friedman Foundation, Mrs. Hiner served as Chief of Staff to the former Speaker of the House at the Indiana House of Representatives. She was formerly in the private practice of law and is a former business owner. She is listed in Who's Who in America. Her involvement in the education community has included serving on the Kokomo Montessori Children's House board of directors, as a counselor to delinquent teenage girls in Wooster, Ohio, and as a founding member of the parent-faculty organization at the Lawrence Township Forest Glen Elementary International School. Mrs. Hiner attended the Rostad teachers' college in Sweden and student-taught third grade in a suburban school and second grade in an urban school in that country. She is also a former adjunct faculty member of the University of Indianapolis School of Business. She and her husband are parents of two children who have attended both public and private schools.

Jeff Lozer serves as General Counsel of the Indiana Department of Child Services. Mr. Lozer is an attorney who has advised dozens of tax-exempt organizations, including private foundations, on a variety of legal and business issues. Mr. Lozer previously was with the Indianapolis law firm of Ice Miller and directed the operations of the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation. He and his wife, Stacy, have three children.

Todd Durnil is a management consultant that specializes in Lean Management, continual improvement, and public administration. He has held numerous leadership positions within state and local government over the past 20 years, with specific experience in public purchasing and bidding laws, project management, contract management, government budgeting and finance, and human resources. He holds a BS in Public Affairs from Indiana University and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. Mr. Durnil is a former member of the M.S.D. Warren Township Board of Education and founding board member of Irvington Community School, where he also served as a founding Boy Scout leader. He and his wife Kim have two boys who attended ICS.

Barato Britt is the President/CEO of the Indiana Chapter of the Black Alliance for Educational Options (BAEO). BAEO is a national organization whose mission is to promote parental choice to empower families and increase educational options for black children. The Indiana chapter is the organization's only chapter with a statewide focus. As President/CEO, Mr. Britt manages daily operations for BAEO of Indiana, and is responsible for the implementation of programs designed to tap into statewide demand for increased educational options in Indiana.

Mr. Britt's sense of community drives his passion to empower the community with information and quality educational options. He holds numerous civic and community positions, including facilitator of the Journalism and Writing Seminars (JAWS) Program, correspondent of The Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, the state's largest African-American news publication, and basketball coach and mentor in the Indianapolis Public Schools.

Michael Welch is an involved resident of Irvington. He was active with the Historic Irvington Halloween Festival Committee and was co-chair for two years. Mr. Welch is also a participating member of the church which calls ICS home on Sundays and has his own small musical ministry. He is founder and co-owner of an automation engineering firm that has relocated to Irvington. He is a charter member of the Central Indiana Christian Songwriters Association and runs the organization's website. He is also committee chair for a 100-year-old Boy Scout Troop in Irvington. Mr. Welch and his wife are the parents of two ICS students.

Geoffrey Slaughter has extensive experience in many aspects of complex business litigation, including administrative, antitrust, appellate and constitutional litigation. Mr. Slaughter has litigated cases at all levels of the state and federal courts, including the Supreme Court of Indiana and the Supreme Court of the United States. In addition to his work for firm clients, he is also retained by other law firms to consult on litigation strategy and help them prepare for appellate oral arguments.

Mr. Slaughter has held numerous leadership positions in legal and judicial organizations. He has served on the Local Rules Advisory Committee for the Northern District of Indiana since 1999. Mr. Slaughter was president of the Alumni Board for the Indiana University Maurer School of Law in Bloomington from 2005-2006 and has been a member of its Board of Visitors since 2007. He has served as the president of the Indianapolis Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy since 2007 and was the chairman of the Indiana Public Employee Relations Board from 2001-2005. He has been named an Indiana Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Magazine since 2006, appears in Best Lawyers in America and is AV Peer Review Rated by Martindale-Hubbell, its highest level of peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability.

Before joining Taft, Mr. Slaughter served as special counsel to the Attorney General of Indiana, where he litigated cases on behalf of the State of Indiana, including the State’s tobacco litigation. He was also associated with the Chicago law firm of Kirkland & Ellis and was a law clerk to Chief U.S. District Judge Allen Sharp in South Bend. He and his wife Julie are 10-year residents of Irvington.