The Tatonka “Herd”

Leadership

  • Samantha “Sammy” Arndt graduated from the University of Oregon in 2014 with a B.A. in Anthropology and Psychology. After graduation, Sammy spent three years in outside sales and marketing for a large national recruiting firm, where she learned how to build relationships, develop customized solutions, and effectively communicate company benefits to potential clients.

    In 2017, Sammy decided to move into the Education industry to fulfill her dream of making the world a better place. Over the course of five years, Sammy worked her way up from the Corporate Office Manager to the TES Director of Operations. She specializes in school marketing/enrollment, development of positive employee experience, practical problem solving, and creative budget management.

    In her role as Business Development Director, Sammy is responsible for developing additional TES services, growing the TES community, managing customer relations, and deepening our nationwide involvement in the Charter School Movement. Sammy is the product of a charter school in Colorado and, therefore, knows firsthand the positive impact a charter school can have on its community and students.

  • Allie has a fierce passion for ensuring all students have access to an educational experience that meets their unique learning needs. She believes our role as educators is to empower students to become confident advocates who are self-aware and active participants in their learning.

    Allie taught kindergarten in 2 charter schools and 2nd grade in a neighborhood elementary school. As the Lead Teacher, she mentored new staff, provided school-wide professional development, and developed/implemented a behavior management/discipline system that decreased office referrals by 54%. Allie holds a Masters degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from The University of Denver. She provides customized professional development, data analysis, and systems support to Tatonka Education Services' charter schools. Her experience in both urban and suburban settings has led to an aptitude in school systems management, classroom organization, instructional strategies and community outreach across many different types of communities and cultures.

  • Maggie is a Certified Public Accountant, Nebraska native, Colorado resident, mom of 4 and stepmom of 2. She earned her bachelor's degree in Accounting at Doane University in 2005 and her Colorado CPA license in 2007. Maggie brings 20 years of corporate accounting and finance experience, including three years of prior experience with Tatonka Capital Corporation, and a passion for education. The majority of her corporate experience is in a consulting capacity, where she has been able to join her heart for serving others and helping them become successful with her financial acumen. She has a strong talent for communicating financial information to non-accountants and is excited to apply this talent within the education sector.

Finance

  • Kamlie Beshara was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio. She graduated with both her BSBA in Accounting and MBA from Youngstown State University. She also obtained her Ohio School Fiscal Officer license in 2022. Kamlie has worked in a variety of fields within the accounting industry, from corporate accounting to public accounting. Kamlie loves helping organizations see the "bigger picture," and help them accomplish their goals to grow. While the education industry is newer to Kamlie, she is eager to start her journey with Tatonka Education Services. Kamlie currently resides in Austintown, Ohio with her two dogs. She loves to travel, hike, and spend time with her family.

  • Elena graduated from the Russian Institute of Finance and Economics in Moscow in 2000 with her Bachelor's degree in Finances and Credit. She later received her Bookkeeper Certificate at Emily Griffith Technical College. Elena has held the positions of accountant, bookkeeper, and economist over the past 22 years. Her previous experience and passion for education has brought her to Tatonka Education Services, where she is an accountant. In this position, Elena works with account payables. Elena loves being a part of this team!

  • Jess has partnered with Tatonka Education Services as a treasury and accounting consultant, specializing in the areas of fund accounting and fiscal officer duties. Bringing over sixteen years of operations and accounting experience, Jess is excited to join the Tatonka team in the education management industry. A fellow Ohio State graduate and MBA, she started her career in Denver in 2006 soon after graduation and cultivated an enthusiasm and advanced skill set for financial operations. Using her background in consumer lending, Jess built her career on streamlining not only the internal operations process but managing cash flow efficiency and working capital. Jess calls Colorado home, but her hometown is Columbus, Ohio. She enjoys watching her Buckeyes play football in the fall with her family and finding adventure in the mountains, sunshine or snow.

  • Tina brings a wealth of knowledge to the Tatonka team with her six years of experience in charter school accounting.

    Tina received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Southern Maine and her Master's in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webber University.

    She is an expert in the intricacies of accounting for charter schools in Colorado, Ohio, and Arizona. Tina is passionate about supporting charter school leaders by providing training to set them up for success.

Human Resources

  • Born and raised in Florida, with North Carolina roots, and now Colorado living, Natalie joins TES as our new Sr. Human Resources Generalist. Her passion for HR started in 2016 during an internship and has steadily grown. Driven by interacting with clients and employees, Natalie takes pride in being an active employee advocate and strategic business partner; being successful together is the motto she embodies every day. She received her Bachelors in Business Management from East Carolina University and recently received her MBA in Human Resources from Liberty University. She brings in-depth knowledge on employee relations, recruitment and onboarding, performance management, and training and development. Her favorite part of working in HR is the relationships she gets to build with her clients and employees. Outside of work, you can find her at the dog park with her two dogs, reading poetry, or painting in her backyard.

    From creating on-boarding programs to coaching leadership personnel, she is excited to partner with the TES community to drive operational growth and empower employees as they are our most valuable assets!

  • Lucas was born and raised in Colorado. He graduated as a first-generation college student from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Finance. After graduation, he pursued a career in business-to-business selling at an enterprise-level recruiting firm. There, he solidified his passion for relationship-building and assisting others throughout the recruiting process. His journey to join Tatonka is inspired by being a product of a K-12 charter school. He loved the tailored experience it provided him and is passionate to begin assisting the same programs that molded him into the individual he is today. After specializing in recruitment, onboarding, and payroll coordination, he wanted to continue to hone his skills while assisting others in Human Resources.

  • Allison Griffith was born and raised in Huron, Ohio. She graduated from Ohio Dominican University with a Bachelors Degree in Human Resource Management. She also obtained her Certification in FMLA Management Administration in 2023.

    Allison is a seasoned human resources generalist with a proven track record in employee relations, training and development, onboarding, and benefits management. She enjoys relationship building and prides herself on servant leadership.

    Before Tatonka Education, Allison worked in the manufacturing and healthcare industry, supporting various HR functions and employee populations ranging from 50 - 5,000 employees. She is also passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, spending time with friends and family, and traveling to new places.

Operations

  • Public finance expert, Tatonka Capital Corporation and Tatonka Education Services CEO, Carol Hansen, is a thoughtful, unflappable and tenacious CEO.

    Hansen founded TES, in 2015, when presented with a workout challenge involving a failed charter school management company and the possibility of closing its charter schools. Hansen and the senior management team’s actions successfully worked to keep from closing affected schools which would have otherwise left staff and students out in the cold. In the first two-years TES took those schools from insolvency and low academic scores to financial stability and growing academic success

    Hansen is an active participant in Young Presidents Network (YPO) at the local and international levels of the organization. She has been awarded two of YPO’s top international honors for her leadership. Carol served as an Advisor to Sheryl Sandberg and the LeanIn Launch Team, which today supports 35,000 LeanIn Circles. She is also active in other philanthropic and trade organizations.

    Hansen’s three children, who are now adults, attended a charter school in the 1990s. Hansen credits their experience and those passionate educators as making a material difference in her children’s own success.

  • Heidi was born in Costa Rica, raised in Iowa, and her love for the mountains brought her to Colorado in 2012. She joined TES as the New Office Manager & Project Coordinator, bringing with her over 10 years of experience in office management and coordination. Heidi has a heart for serving and making a difference in other’s lives, and while the education world might be a new career path for Heidi, the mission and values of what Tatonka represents is what drew her in.

    Heidi is excited to join the Tatonka team, who makes a world of difference in the lives of each student and their bright future! A few of Heidi’s passions include planning weddings and events, snowboarding, traveling, camping, and hiking. Basically, all things Colorado! As well as getting involved serving her community.

Board of Directors

  • Eric has his Bachelors degree in Economics and Masters Degree in Business from The Ohio State University. Eric spent the first ten years of his career with Bank One (now JP Morgan - Chase). The career led to a position of Senior Vice President and Manager of Commercial Lending for a Bank One Affiliate Bank. In that position, Eric took over the management of under-performing commercial loan portfolios totaling over $600 million. With his team, Eric was able to materially improve the credit quality of those loan portfolios while adding significantly to new loan growth.

    Eric joined Tatonka Capital Corporation in 1997. His areas of responsibility have included the leadership roles in Credit, Risk Management, Documentation, Portfolio Management and Corporate Finance. Eric also was the primary relationship manager on several large vendor accounts. During this time, Tatonka successfully funded and managed over $1.5 billion in new municipal, federal, retail and public school financing.

    Eric is an expert in credit underwriting, loan structuring, construction lending, distressed asset turnaround, and complicated loan documentation.

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