David Corbin taught political philosophy and the humanities for over two decades at the University of New Hampshire, The King’s College, and Providence Christian College before moving to K-12 education as Head of School of Geneva School of Boerne. He holds a B.A. (1993) and M.A. (1995) from the University of New Hampshire, a Ph.D. from Boston University (2005), and is a graduate of the Koch Foundation’s non-profit Market-Based Management program (2006-2007). He has authored multiple books and essays on ancient and modern political philosophy, leadership, and American education, civilization, and culture. His appreciation for Exemplar’s mission stems from the belief that given that an education in virtue (moral, intellectual, and civic) grounded in example and good habit is an encouragement to human flourishing, we ought to strive to make this opportunity possible for all who desire it. He lives in Colorado Springs, CO with his wife Catie and their youngest children, Eliza and Jack.
Rich Haglund loves moving things out of the way so organizations can help more young people prepare for what’s next in their lives. As a lawyer and counselor, Rich gives leaders confidence to make bold strategic bets. As a leader and consultant, he establishes strategic clarity, refines operating systems, and improves management behaviors to bring out the strengths of each team member. Rich has worked with dozens of education organizations. He previously held legal and leadership roles for state agencies, a statewide school district, and an education advocacy organization. Rich taught education law at Tennessee State University and organizational leadership at Brigham Young University. Rich has a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from Boston University and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University. Rich was co-captain of the ultimate frisbee team in college. He and his wife Jen now co-captain a team of four children.
Kristen Stolpa has spent nearly two decades building a career in school development. In her work, she has led or participated in the start-up, expansion, replication, conversion, restructure, renewal, or revocation of more than 650 schools in 35 states. She lists these pathways intentionally to convey her passion for supporting school groups in finding a way to get from (and perhaps around or through) point A to point B in their development goals. She has served in leadership roles for statewide charter authorizers in four states, managed portfolios of 35-65 schools statewide, and led state and federal grant application and review processes for schools, districts, states, and the US Department of Education. Despite the appearance of being a bureaucratic process wonk, her bailiwick remains in quantitative research methods and advanced data analytics, where she has worked with states to design their ESSA accountability systems and regularly assists schools and districts in reliably assessing the effectiveness of their initiative, program, or school. Kristen holds a B.A. from Hillsdale College and a M.A. from Loyola University in Chicago. She lives in Michigan with her husband and their three children.
Patrick Whalen is an entrepreneur, small business owner, and experienced academic administrator at the secondary and post-secondary levels. He served for over a decade in the United States Marine Corps where he deployed multiple times and served in a variety of leadership roles. He has extensive educational experience as a teacher, head of school, and school founder, and served as an assistant to the President of Hillsdale College. His educational initiatives include founding and leading St. Martin’s Academy, a farm-based boarding school, as well as Iliad Athletics, providing curricula and training in fitness, outdoorsmanship, and character development. Patrick has a B.A. from the University of Michigan, and a M.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. His essays and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in a variety of journals including the Marine Corps Gazette, Michigan Quarterly Review, Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics, The New Criterion, and Touchstone.
