Our Team

Matthew Kirby

President & CEO

In addition to leading Liberty Classical Schools Foundation, Mr. Kirby is the Founder of Atlanta Classical School (ACA) and Northwest Classical School (NCA). Mr. Kirby served as the founding Chairman of the ACA Board of Directors. In addition, Mr. Kirby is the owner of Trickum Ops LLC, an operator of franchised Bojangles’ restaurants in the Metro Atlanta area. Mr. Kirby is a graduate of The Westminster Schools, the United States Naval Academy, and Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.

Mariah Carraway

Managing Assistant

Mariah Carraway has over 10 years of administrative and customer service experience, as well as 5+ years of HR experience. Mariah attended the College of Charleston where she received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Leadership, Change, and Social Responsibility. She is also a Society of Human Resources Management Certified Professional (SHRM-CP). Prior to working for Liberty, she worked in Human Resources at a medical university. As Managing Assistant, Mariah works directly to support the CEO. As a mother, she understand the importance of education and fostering a safe and inclusive environment for students. She believes it is important that the school administration and employees are well supported, so that they can focus on the students and fulfilling the school’s mission.

Dudley Franklin

Chief Advancement Officer

Mrs. Franklin is passionate about securing the resources needed to pursue Liberty’s mission in the life of each student for years to come. Mrs. Franklin has helped non-profits grow their capacity and expand their impact for the past 17 years as a fundraising and volunteer management professional. Prior to her work in the non-profit sector, Mrs. Franklin worked in product marketing for companies like new Balance and Coca-Cola. Mrs. Franklin has been a part of Atlanta Classical since 2012. She was a key member of the launch team for Atlanta Classical and served on the school’s founding board from 2014-2017.

Robert Kelly

Chief of Staff

Robert H. Kelly, JD, MPA, MA is a Certified Public Manager with 8+ years of extensive experience in management, policy development, and compliance working with executive level stakeholders in the public and private sectors. Robert currently serves as Liberty’s Chief of Staff and is the principal advisor to the CEO and manager of all legal, regulatory/compliance, and governance matters associated with Liberty and its partner schools.

Prior to Liberty, Robert Kelly worked for key elected officials in the metro Atlanta for several years. In his role as Chief of Staff for Fulton County, Kelly provided overall leadership of the team that supported the management, operations, communications, legislative affairs and outreach for the Commission 6, District Office. He also provided the senior policy research and analysis used in the planning and implementation of public policy and legislation.  Robert holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence Degree and a Master of Public Administration Degree from the University of Georgia and earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of West Georgia. He is married to his law-school sweetheart and is the father of two toddlers: a son and daughter.

Avery McCoy

Data & Accountability Director

Prior to joining Liberty Classical Schools, Mr. McCoy served as the Director of Information

Technology and Business Analyst for a network of 13 schools at Regina Caeli Academy. In his time at Regina Caeli Academy, Mr. McCoy evaluated, implemented, and managed information systems, assisted with financial analysis and facilities management, and played a key role in launching new schools. Mr. McCoy currently holds a bachelor’s degree in music performance from Kennesaw State University.

Cari Mueller

Human Resources Director

Mrs. Mueller is responsible for providing strategic guidance and leadership for all aspects of the human resources function and establishing a vision and direction for the full complement of core human resources programs, policies and services. Prior to this position, Mrs. Mueller was the HR Manager for a small business in Population Health where she has proven success executing Human Resource activities, including establishing and implementing business processes and operations standards, HR start-ups, planning and integration resulting from M&A’s, and business reorganization. Mrs. Mueller attended Kennesaw State University’s Human Resources Management program and achieved the SHRM-CP Certification in 2015.

Mark Nolan

Chief Financial Officer

Kevin Richter

Chief Operation Officer

Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Mr. Richter now lives in Chastain Park with his wife and two children, who attend Atlanta Classical. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. Prior to joining Atlanta Classical Academy and, subsequently, Liberty Classical Schools, Mr. Richter was president of a business intelligence consulting practice to small business CIOs and owners. An expert in database programming, internet security and financial analysis, Mr. Richter was also a key team member of several successful dot-com start-ups.

Matt Stone

Director of New Schools

Matthew Stone has served as a teacher and administrator in K-8 and 9-12 charter school settings before joining the team at Liberty Classical. He has a bachelors degree from Hillsdale College, a masters from Cambridge College, and a PhD in Educational Leadership from Liberty University. Matthew and his wife, along with their three young children, enjoy a love of books, sports, and travel best spent together as a family.

Maria Green

Payroll Specialist

Angela Hsu

Finance Director of Purchasing and School Support

Angela Hsu’s work at Liberty involves supporting the CFO and others through the accounting process, with primary focus on grant compliance and accounts payable. Before Liberty, Angela worked in a large public accounting firm serving clients in the health care, insurance and manufacturing sectors. Her areas of work included audit, mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructurings. She is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley with a BA in Economics. Angela has three children at Atlanta Classical Academy, and sees firsthand the benefits of a classical education. She feels strongly that every child should have the same opportunity to develop into a virtuous, contributing citizen.

Jen Lai

Senior Accountant and Controller

​​Ms. Lai serves as the Senior Accountant and Controller at Liberty Classical Schools. She is an accounting professional with over 10+ years of accounting experience. Jennifer previously worked as the Controller for a private equity and wealth management firm in Atlanta. She is currently the Co-Founder/Managing Partner for TrueView Accounting and the CFO of a multi-location franchisee in the fast-food industry.

She attended Georgia State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting. She furthered her studies at Kennesaw State University and obtained her graduate degree in the Master of Accountancy program.

James Keller

Director of Public Programs, Grants, and Revenue

Dr. James Keller received his Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Policy Studies from Georgia State University. He started his career as a Teach for America teacher and taught in three Atlanta Public Schools for over 8 years. Dr. Keller served as the Special Education Lead Teacher (SELT) at Atlanta Classical from 2018 until 2021, at which time, he became the founding SELT at Northwest Classical Academy. His goal is to bring the same passionate commitment I had for my students to my work in educational policy and advocacy, to impact and inspire the educational repairs that are so desperately needed.

Avery Padgett

Marketing Manager

Avery Padgett received her BA in Multimedia Journalism from Berry College and has over 5 years of experience in communications and marketing for non-profit and education organizations. She joined the communications team at Atlanta Classical in 2019 and assisted in the launch of Northwest Classical in 2021. As a member of the Advancement office, Avery works to tell the story of Liberty and its partner schools by providing a range of marketing, social media, branding, website, and design support.

Sunny Shaw

Human Resources Manager

Janet Tomko

Enrollment Outreach Director

Janet Tomko provides ongoing enrollment guidance and support for current Liberty schools and outreach for new schools. Janet has a BS in Psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park and a JD from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law in Washington, DC, where she worked at the US House of Representatives and the US Supreme Court before entering private practice with an emphasis on civil rights and litigation. Her two daughters were members of the first and second graduating classes of Atlanta Classical Academy, Liberty’s flagship school. Janet joined the team at Atlanta Classical as Enrollment Manager in 2018, has managed enrollment at Northwest Classical team since before the school opened in 2021, and looks forward to opening more schools so that every child has access to this excellent education.