Our Board of Directors
Toni Shellady, Managing Director
Toni was raised in Roxboro, NC. She attended Person High School and later the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she majored in Business Administration. Toni went on to assist in building protocol and administration practices for a growing engineering firm before leaving to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s graduate program in City Planning and Location Analysis.
Throughout high school and college, Toni worked as a volunteer teaching math to middle school students which she loved. It was this passion for working with middle school students that led Toni to test the waters teaching middle school. Toni was hired by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to teach business courses to middle school students in 2006 and went on to achieve her licensure in Business Education for grades 6-12. She earned the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School’s Career and Technical Education Rising Star Award after two years in the district.
In 2008, Toni moved with her husband to a farm in Rougemont, NC and was hired by Voyager Academy to build a technology program. Toni worked tirelessly to create a technology curriculum, build a one laptop per child program, lead the school wide implementation of Google Apps for Education, as well as develop and implement several other technology initiatives at Voyager. Toni also has led numerous staff trainings related to technology including for the Los Angeles Unified School District, presented at statewide technology conferences, and achieved the distinction of Google Certified Teacher.
Toni is the visionary behind Discovery Charter School and is incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with a wonderful team of people to serve the northern Durham community! When not dedicating herself to opening Discovery and growing technology education, Toni enjoys spending time with her friends and family, including her young son and daughter.
Toni can be reached at tshellady(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Toni was raised in Roxboro, NC. She attended Person High School and later the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she majored in Business Administration. Toni went on to assist in building protocol and administration practices for a growing engineering firm before leaving to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte’s graduate program in City Planning and Location Analysis.
Throughout high school and college, Toni worked as a volunteer teaching math to middle school students which she loved. It was this passion for working with middle school students that led Toni to test the waters teaching middle school. Toni was hired by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to teach business courses to middle school students in 2006 and went on to achieve her licensure in Business Education for grades 6-12. She earned the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School’s Career and Technical Education Rising Star Award after two years in the district.
In 2008, Toni moved with her husband to a farm in Rougemont, NC and was hired by Voyager Academy to build a technology program. Toni worked tirelessly to create a technology curriculum, build a one laptop per child program, lead the school wide implementation of Google Apps for Education, as well as develop and implement several other technology initiatives at Voyager. Toni also has led numerous staff trainings related to technology including for the Los Angeles Unified School District, presented at statewide technology conferences, and achieved the distinction of Google Certified Teacher.
Toni is the visionary behind Discovery Charter School and is incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with a wonderful team of people to serve the northern Durham community! When not dedicating herself to opening Discovery and growing technology education, Toni enjoys spending time with her friends and family, including her young son and daughter.
Toni can be reached at tshellady(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Mario Rodriguez, Chair
Mario is a Principal Group Program Manager at Microsoft in the Visual Studio Team Services team. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Miami in 2002; graduating with Magna Cum Laude honors on both degrees. After graduating, he joined Microsoft in Redmond, WA to work in the Xbox division (Microsoft Games Studios). During that time, he shipped several highly acclaimed games in franchises like Project Gotham Racing, Forza Motorsport, Fable, and others. For his outstanding work and innovation he earned several Gold Star awards and was asked to co-author a cover article in the Game Developer March 2004 magazine.
His passion for developer tools and strategy brought him to Developer Division in 2005 as a Program Manager (PM), where he joined the Team Foundation Server (TFS) team. He moved to Raleigh, NC and was part of their first product release as a PM in the Version Control team. The product shipped in 2006 and in a short amount of time captured a significant share of the enterprise market; pushing out long established products developed by IBM, Borland and Serena. The unique integration strategy of TFS together with a strong set of client ALM tools helped the Developer Division become a $1 billion business. Over the last couple of years Mario has been overseeing the Services Framework team. His team has been responsible for the first cloud release of the product, now called Visual Studio Team Services as well as the recent launch of the Visual Studio Marketplace. His current area of expertise is Cloud Services at a large scale.
Mario was born in Cuba, and with his mother an educator and performing pedagogy research, he has always had a strong bond with education. He has recently co-founded a company that develops software for educators by educators in the field of real-time medical feedback for medical residents and fellows.
When he is not involved in technology or education he enjoys physical activity (running, recreational sports) and cooking. He currently resides in Raleigh with his wife Tracie and their daughters Theia and Lexa.
Mario can be reached at mrodriguez(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Mario is a Principal Group Program Manager at Microsoft in the Visual Studio Team Services team. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Computer Engineering from the University of Miami in 2002; graduating with Magna Cum Laude honors on both degrees. After graduating, he joined Microsoft in Redmond, WA to work in the Xbox division (Microsoft Games Studios). During that time, he shipped several highly acclaimed games in franchises like Project Gotham Racing, Forza Motorsport, Fable, and others. For his outstanding work and innovation he earned several Gold Star awards and was asked to co-author a cover article in the Game Developer March 2004 magazine.
His passion for developer tools and strategy brought him to Developer Division in 2005 as a Program Manager (PM), where he joined the Team Foundation Server (TFS) team. He moved to Raleigh, NC and was part of their first product release as a PM in the Version Control team. The product shipped in 2006 and in a short amount of time captured a significant share of the enterprise market; pushing out long established products developed by IBM, Borland and Serena. The unique integration strategy of TFS together with a strong set of client ALM tools helped the Developer Division become a $1 billion business. Over the last couple of years Mario has been overseeing the Services Framework team. His team has been responsible for the first cloud release of the product, now called Visual Studio Team Services as well as the recent launch of the Visual Studio Marketplace. His current area of expertise is Cloud Services at a large scale.
Mario was born in Cuba, and with his mother an educator and performing pedagogy research, he has always had a strong bond with education. He has recently co-founded a company that develops software for educators by educators in the field of real-time medical feedback for medical residents and fellows.
When he is not involved in technology or education he enjoys physical activity (running, recreational sports) and cooking. He currently resides in Raleigh with his wife Tracie and their daughters Theia and Lexa.
Mario can be reached at mrodriguez(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Justin T. Smith
Justin is a dedicated school administrator with over 20 years of experience in education. Justin is a Lee County native and graduate of Lee County Senior High School. Justin attended North Carolina State University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History Education in 2004. After graduating he began his teaching career at Jesse O. Sanderson High School in Raleigh, NC. At Sanderson he taught a variety of Social Studies courses including Civics and Economics, World History, and African American History. At Sanderson High School, Justin held several leadership positions. In 2008, Justin applied and received National Board Certification in Social Studies (9-12 Adolescents and Young Adults). In August of 2010 he accepted the prestigious North Carolina Principal Fellows Scholarship to attend North Carolina Central University to earn a Master of School Administration degree. After graduating from North Carolina Central Magna Cum Laude in May of 2012 he accepted an Assistant Principal position at Voyager Academy High School. At Voyager he has worked closely with the Principal, Cory Draughon, to establish a rigorous Project Based Learning academic program. In 2015, Justin moved to Voyager Academy Middle School after the prior administration abruptly parted ways with Voyager. He worked quickly to reenergize the learning community and solidify the school culture. In 2017, Justin helped establish Ascend Leadership Academy, a charter school set to open in Sanford, NC in August of 2018. Justin led ALA’s Board of Directors through the application and Ready to Open Process with the NC Office of Charter Schools. He currently serves as ALA’s Managing Director. Justin has been married to Victoria Smith for 17 years and together they have two sons Micah and Kenton.
Justin can be reached at jsmith(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Justin is a dedicated school administrator with over 20 years of experience in education. Justin is a Lee County native and graduate of Lee County Senior High School. Justin attended North Carolina State University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History Education in 2004. After graduating he began his teaching career at Jesse O. Sanderson High School in Raleigh, NC. At Sanderson he taught a variety of Social Studies courses including Civics and Economics, World History, and African American History. At Sanderson High School, Justin held several leadership positions. In 2008, Justin applied and received National Board Certification in Social Studies (9-12 Adolescents and Young Adults). In August of 2010 he accepted the prestigious North Carolina Principal Fellows Scholarship to attend North Carolina Central University to earn a Master of School Administration degree. After graduating from North Carolina Central Magna Cum Laude in May of 2012 he accepted an Assistant Principal position at Voyager Academy High School. At Voyager he has worked closely with the Principal, Cory Draughon, to establish a rigorous Project Based Learning academic program. In 2015, Justin moved to Voyager Academy Middle School after the prior administration abruptly parted ways with Voyager. He worked quickly to reenergize the learning community and solidify the school culture. In 2017, Justin helped establish Ascend Leadership Academy, a charter school set to open in Sanford, NC in August of 2018. Justin led ALA’s Board of Directors through the application and Ready to Open Process with the NC Office of Charter Schools. He currently serves as ALA’s Managing Director. Justin has been married to Victoria Smith for 17 years and together they have two sons Micah and Kenton.
Justin can be reached at jsmith(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Samantha Bagbey, Treasurer
Samantha Bagbey is currently the Economic Development Project Manager for The City of Danville, Virginia. As Project Manager, Bagbey identifies prospective opportunities designed to attract better paying jobs and increase the investment tax base. She also monitors the development of industrial and historical properties in the River District, the 2023 winner of The Great American City Award, and other historic districts. Bagbey graduated from Piedmont University, formerly known as Piedmont College, in Demorest, Georgia in 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Marketing. In 2021, Bagbey received her Master’s Degree in Project Management with a cognitive in Marketing from Liberty University. Bagbey is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Economic Development Basics (IED), the East Carolina University Economic Developments Honors Seminar, and the North Carolina Rural Center’s Homegrown Leaders academy. She is currently a candidate for receiving her Certified Economic Developer credentials and currently a member of the Leadership Southside Academy, class of 2025.
Prior to joining The City of Danville, Bagbey was the Executive Director of The Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce. Bagbey led efforts to fund, support, and advocate for small businesses and entrepreneurs, assisted with the Duke Energy Carbon Plan efforts to maintain Duke Energy Power Plants in Person County, and other support and advocacy initiatives. Her background also includes project management for residential and commercial recreational products and commercial grocery within the Triangle region of North Carolina.
Samantha currently resides in Roxboro, North Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. When not on the job, she enjoys hanging out on the lake, disc golfing with friends, CrossFit, thrifting, and exploring local coffee shops.
Samantha can be reached at sbagbey(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Samantha Bagbey is currently the Economic Development Project Manager for The City of Danville, Virginia. As Project Manager, Bagbey identifies prospective opportunities designed to attract better paying jobs and increase the investment tax base. She also monitors the development of industrial and historical properties in the River District, the 2023 winner of The Great American City Award, and other historic districts. Bagbey graduated from Piedmont University, formerly known as Piedmont College, in Demorest, Georgia in 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Marketing. In 2021, Bagbey received her Master’s Degree in Project Management with a cognitive in Marketing from Liberty University. Bagbey is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Economic Development Basics (IED), the East Carolina University Economic Developments Honors Seminar, and the North Carolina Rural Center’s Homegrown Leaders academy. She is currently a candidate for receiving her Certified Economic Developer credentials and currently a member of the Leadership Southside Academy, class of 2025.
Prior to joining The City of Danville, Bagbey was the Executive Director of The Roxboro Area Chamber of Commerce. Bagbey led efforts to fund, support, and advocate for small businesses and entrepreneurs, assisted with the Duke Energy Carbon Plan efforts to maintain Duke Energy Power Plants in Person County, and other support and advocacy initiatives. Her background also includes project management for residential and commercial recreational products and commercial grocery within the Triangle region of North Carolina.
Samantha currently resides in Roxboro, North Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. When not on the job, she enjoys hanging out on the lake, disc golfing with friends, CrossFit, thrifting, and exploring local coffee shops.
Samantha can be reached at sbagbey(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Kayley Talbert, Secretary
Kayley grew up in Durham and Hillsborough, NC. She attended Orange High School and then the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a NC Teaching Fellow. Kayley graduated in 2007 with
a major in English and minor in Philosophy, and went on to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching.
After completing her degree, she worked as a high school English teacher for two years at
Person High School followed by four years at Voyager Academy High School.
Kayley left teaching to start a family but remains passionate about education. She resides in
Durham with her husband and two children. She volunteers in her children’s school and serves
on the board for the school’s Parent Teacher Organization. In her spare time, she enjoys
traveling with her family, hiking, reading, and singing in her church choir.
Kayley can be reached at ktalbert(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Kinsey Price
Kinsey Price is a mission-driven leader with more than two decades of leadership experience spanning nonprofit, higher education, and private sectors. She currently serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Martin Community College, where she leads fundraising, marketing and communications, and strategic initiatives that support student success. Kinsey also serves on the President’s Council, helping
shape the college’s direction and impact. Known for driving growth through innovation, operational excellence, and stakeholder engagement, Kinsey has successfully led fundraising efforts, overseen effective marketing strategies, and managed diversified financial portfolios. Under her leadership, the MCC Foundation achieved record-breaking fundraising growth and endowment performance.
Kinsey is passionate about building strong relationships and creating opportunities through education. Her earlier career included leadership roles in healthcare, media, and professional sports - always with a focus on operational excellence, improved profitability, cultivating high-performing teams, and community engagement. Kinsey is values-driven and brings strong governance experience through her service on the Martin County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and active participation in other local initiatives through the Rotary Club of Williamston.
Kinsey holds an MBA from Gardner-Webb University and dual bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Exercise and Sport Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kinsey enjoys spending time with her family and four dogs. She also enjoys coaching youth baseball and softball.
Kinsey can be reached at kprice(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Kinsey Price is a mission-driven leader with more than two decades of leadership experience spanning nonprofit, higher education, and private sectors. She currently serves as Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Martin Community College, where she leads fundraising, marketing and communications, and strategic initiatives that support student success. Kinsey also serves on the President’s Council, helping
shape the college’s direction and impact. Known for driving growth through innovation, operational excellence, and stakeholder engagement, Kinsey has successfully led fundraising efforts, overseen effective marketing strategies, and managed diversified financial portfolios. Under her leadership, the MCC Foundation achieved record-breaking fundraising growth and endowment performance.
Kinsey is passionate about building strong relationships and creating opportunities through education. Her earlier career included leadership roles in healthcare, media, and professional sports - always with a focus on operational excellence, improved profitability, cultivating high-performing teams, and community engagement. Kinsey is values-driven and brings strong governance experience through her service on the Martin County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and active participation in other local initiatives through the Rotary Club of Williamston.
Kinsey holds an MBA from Gardner-Webb University and dual bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Exercise and Sport Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Kinsey enjoys spending time with her family and four dogs. She also enjoys coaching youth baseball and softball.
Kinsey can be reached at kprice(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.