The Tatonka “Herd”

Leadership

  • 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.

  • Lea earned her Bachelor of Accountancy and Master of Accountancy from the University of Mississippi. After graduating, she earned the designation of Certified Public Accountant in Virginia.  Lea worked in public accounting as an auditor for 8 years, where she participated in and managed audits from a variety of industries including charter schools and nonprofits.   She then transitioned into nonprofit management in multiple positions including serving as the Director of Accounting for a California nonprofit.  At Tatanka Education Services, she serves as the Senior Accounting Manager, where she will use her auditing background to oversee the charter school audits and offer support and oversight for all school clients.

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!

  • Lori Bachtel has called Colorado home for the past 23 years after relocating from Kansas. She earned both her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and her Master of Business Administration from Fort Hays State University.

    Throughout her career, Lori has dedicated herself to the education sector, serving in financial and operational leadership roles within public school districts and charter schools. Most notably, she spent eight years leading the business and operations functions for a charter school, where she oversaw finance, budgeting, human resources, facilities, compliance, and organizational operations.

    Lori is passionate about supporting educational institutions through strong financial stewardship, effective operational leadership, and a commitment to student success.

  • 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!

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.

Want to join the Herd?

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