Our Executive Board

President - Lorri Werner

Lorri Werner is our inaugural President. She has a Bachelor in Accounting from Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Management Accountant. However, her career passion and depth of experience lies in project management and information technology implementations for which she has spent the majority of her career. Before staying home to care for her three children and elderly father, Lorri was the Controller for Wal-Mart in Bentonville, Arkansas and implemented numerous systems for them globally (ERP, Human Resources, Purchasing).Lorri has been a Fulton County Schools volunteer, chaperone, and community advocate for 14 years. She has volunteered for a wide array of her children's programs and local charities. You may have encountered her at the ticket booth for Milton Theatre, the dugouts for AYBA Baseball or the football sidelines with MJE Cheer dedicating countless hours in service to the Alpharetta and Milton communities and their children. Lorri is honored to serve Innovation Academy and be a part of such a tremendous, diverse and talented leadership team. Her goal is to create an experience at Innovation Academy that is beyond expectations, serve the students and faculty daily and leave a legacy that supports future students in the years to come. Lorri welcomes you to share your student's hopes and dreams for the IA experience with her.

Co-President - Carissa Donges

Carissa Donges  is our Co-President.  Her background is in IT helpdesk, software implementation and training.  She has served in a leadership capacity with PTAs for the past 10 years as a way to be involved and  make an impact with her children's educational experience.  Along with being part of the PTSO start-up process here at IA, she has also been instrumental in setting up and managing the Fencing Program here.  She and her 9th grade daughter also enjoy serving the community through the National Charity League when their time allows.  Her goal for IA PTSO is to set a strong foundation in place that can be built upon and modified as the school evolves and enrich the overall experience here at IA.

VP of Ways and Means - Lara Black

Lara Black  is our 2022 Membership Chair and Vice President of Ways and Means. Her son Hayden is a 10th grader at IA this year. She also has a daughter in the 8th grade at Autrey Mill Middle School. Lara earned her degree in Occupational Therapy from Worcester State College and worked as a pediatric therapist for ten years. Lara is originally from New York but met and married a Texan along the way. The Black family lived in San Antonio, TX, Portland, ME, and Baltimore, MD before moving to Georgia almost ten years ago. After a total of three moves in five years, they are happy to call Georgia their home. Lara has been actively involved in volunteering for a variety of organizations and served on the PTO executive board for four years at Wilson Creek Elementary School. She is excited to represent and serve the IA Community.

VP of Student Support - Lanisha Schwartzberg

Lanisha Schwartzberg is our VP of Student Support.

VP of School Support - Laury Rush

Laury Rush is our VP of School Support.

VP of Senior Support - Baileigh Allen

Baileigh Allen is our Vice President of Senior Support. Baileigh holds an undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master's Degree, from AppState, with an emphasis on Research Methodologies and Statistics. She has held a number of positions, including VP Philanthropy for Young Men’s Service League, Co-President of Alpharetta High School Sideline Cheer, Co-President of Called Alpharetta to Serve (CATS), Small Group Leader at NPCC and more. Professionally, Baileigh is a member of the Insights Association, American Association of Public Opinion Research and Women in Research; and also sits on the Advisory Board for Phebi, MindProber and Merlien. Baileigh is excited to support Innovation Academy as the VP of Senior Support.

Baileigh has more than 20 years of research experience; providing insights to some of the world’s biggest brands. Using design thinking across both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, Baileigh provides strategic direction to help companies accelerate profitability and revenue growth. Active in the research community; Baileigh is often seen chairing an industry event, hosting a panel or speaking on relevant research topics at events such as Mobile World Congress, MRMW, Quirk's and IIeX. Outisde of this, Baileigh enjoys international travel, reading, spending time with her family and volunteering in the community – especially at Technology Night at The Villages and serving the homeless at Gateway Center.

VP of Community Relations - Rosalind Mitchell

Rosalind Mitchell is an experienced panelist with a 16-year background in corporate sales, entrepreneurial startups, and motivational training. She has expertise in invigorating communication and relationship building. Her favorite organizational health topics are stress management, conflict resolution, health promotion, relationship issues, life developments and
the workplace, and the psychosocial work environment. 13-years as a psychotherapist and
executive coach her clients have included: Georgia Institute of Technology, National Energy
Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Treasury and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Rosalind combines her wise business sense with her compassionate spirit to provide a comprehensive and powerful therapy/coaching experience. In her psychotherapy and executive coaching practices, her clients include C-suite level executives, professional athletes and entertainers. She specializes in stress management, conflict resolution, relationship building, communication, change management, conflict resolution, individual and couples therapy. Rosalind provides training in change management, communication in the workplace, work/life balance, career focus and women empowerment. Rosalind has a BA in English and an MS in Community Counseling. She is a licensed professional counselor in Georgia. She is a graduate of North Carolina A&T State University. She has held positions as the Atlanta Alumni Chapter President, Vice President and is currently the Parliamentarian and the University’s Athletic Foundation Chair for the Atlanta Golf Tournament. Rosalind is a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc, Metro Atlanta Chapter where she serves on the Protocol Committee and Membership Committee. Rosalind enjoys traveling, cooking, entertaining and being the hostess of any fun event.

VP of Communications - Heather Sorensen

Heather Sorensen is our VP of Communications. She went to the University of Florida (Go Gators!). She worked for a decade in Information Technology with an emphasis in systems and network security. She volunteered for over a decade with Girl Scouts, various PTAs, and food pantries. She's excited to get to know you all and help IA grow future leaders! She wants to know what you'd like to hear about at the school!

 Recording Secretary - Ben Clopper

Ben Clopper is our Recording Secretary and has a 10th grader at IA. He is a graduate of Georgia Tech with a degree in Civil Engineering and is Professional Engineer, working as a consultant to Georgia DOT and local governments to design roads, bridges and trails. Prior to moving to Georgia he attended a STEM magnet high school in Virginia similar to IA, and he is excited to share his past experiences and engineering background with this new school community.  His past volunteer experience includes the boards of Johns Creek Community Association and Mableton Improvement Coalition, as well as six years of coaching youth soccer.

 Treasurer - VACANT

Parliamentarian - VACANT