Our Board of Directors
Toni Shellady, Founder and Managing Director
Toni Shellady is from Roxboro, NC, and she is the Founder and Managing Director of Discovery Charter School. She brings a unique blend of business, technology, and educational leadership to her role, shaped by a career that bridges both the private and public sectors.
Toni began her professional career in the business world, working for a start-up engineering firm that experienced significant growth during her tenure. She earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later pursued graduate studies in Store Location Analysis and City Planning at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Driven by a lifelong passion for education, Toni began tutoring middle school students in mathematics while still in high school and continued volunteering as a middle school math tutor throughout her college years. In 2006, she made a pivotal career shift into education, becoming a Business Education teacher with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. There, she earned lateral entry teaching licensure and was recognized with the district’s Career and Technical Education Rising Star Award.
In 2008, Toni relocated to the Durham area and joined Voyager Academy, then a start-up charter school, as a Computer Technology teacher. Over the next eight years, she played a critical role in the school’s expansion into a K–12 program. In addition to teaching, she served as Technology Facilitator, where she led professional development, authored the school’s Technology Plan, participated in budget planning, and oversaw the implementation of a 1:1 device program. She also contributed to the design and planning of new school facilities.
Recognizing the need for another high-quality middle school option in the region, Toni left Voyager Academy to found Discovery Charter School. She authored the school’s charter application and Education Plan, assembled the Board of Directors, and guided the proposal through a rigorous approval process, earning unanimous approval from both the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board and the North Carolina State Board of Education.
Since opening in 2019, Discovery Charter School has grown from about 100 students to over 500 students and expanded into a full 6th through 12th grade program. Under Toni’s leadership, the school has secured multiple competitive grants, including funding from the Charter School Growth Fund and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Bus Grant, which provided Discovery with a fleet of electric buses.
Toni has been a Google Certified Educator, a member of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and a Zumba instructor. She is a lifelong member of the international high-IQ society, Mensa.
Outside of her professional work, Toni enjoys spending time on the farm she shares with her husband and two young children, where they raise chickens, rabbits, and goats. She is a proud baby goat aficionado.
Toni can be reached at tshellady(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.
Toni Shellady is from Roxboro, NC, and she is the Founder and Managing Director of Discovery Charter School. She brings a unique blend of business, technology, and educational leadership to her role, shaped by a career that bridges both the private and public sectors.
Toni began her professional career in the business world, working for a start-up engineering firm that experienced significant growth during her tenure. She earned a degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and later pursued graduate studies in Store Location Analysis and City Planning at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Driven by a lifelong passion for education, Toni began tutoring middle school students in mathematics while still in high school and continued volunteering as a middle school math tutor throughout her college years. In 2006, she made a pivotal career shift into education, becoming a Business Education teacher with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. There, she earned lateral entry teaching licensure and was recognized with the district’s Career and Technical Education Rising Star Award.
In 2008, Toni relocated to the Durham area and joined Voyager Academy, then a start-up charter school, as a Computer Technology teacher. Over the next eight years, she played a critical role in the school’s expansion into a K–12 program. In addition to teaching, she served as Technology Facilitator, where she led professional development, authored the school’s Technology Plan, participated in budget planning, and oversaw the implementation of a 1:1 device program. She also contributed to the design and planning of new school facilities.
Recognizing the need for another high-quality middle school option in the region, Toni left Voyager Academy to found Discovery Charter School. She authored the school’s charter application and Education Plan, assembled the Board of Directors, and guided the proposal through a rigorous approval process, earning unanimous approval from both the North Carolina Charter School Advisory Board and the North Carolina State Board of Education.
Since opening in 2019, Discovery Charter School has grown from about 100 students to over 500 students and expanded into a full 6th through 12th grade program. Under Toni’s leadership, the school has secured multiple competitive grants, including funding from the Charter School Growth Fund and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Bus Grant, which provided Discovery with a fleet of electric buses.
Toni has been a Google Certified Educator, a member of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), and a Zumba instructor. She is a lifelong member of the international high-IQ society, Mensa.
Outside of her professional work, Toni enjoys spending time on the farm she shares with her husband and two young children, where they raise chickens, rabbits, and goats. She is a proud baby goat aficionado.
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 jsmith1(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 jsmith1(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 Associate Director, Office of University Scholarships at East Carolina University. Before joining ECU, Kinsey managed fundraising, marketing and communications, and strategic initiatives that supported student success at Martin Community College. Under her leadership, the MCC Foundation achieved record-breaking fundraising growth and endowment performance. She is passionate about building strong relationships and creating opportunities through education.
Kinsey's 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. She is values-driven and brings strong governance experience through her previous service on the Martin County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and 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. She enjoys spending time with her family and four dogs, as well as coaching youth softball and volleyball.
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 Associate Director, Office of University Scholarships at East Carolina University. Before joining ECU, Kinsey managed fundraising, marketing and communications, and strategic initiatives that supported student success at Martin Community College. Under her leadership, the MCC Foundation achieved record-breaking fundraising growth and endowment performance. She is passionate about building strong relationships and creating opportunities through education.
Kinsey's 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. She is values-driven and brings strong governance experience through her previous service on the Martin County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and 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. She enjoys spending time with her family and four dogs, as well as coaching youth softball and volleyball.
Kinsey can be reached at kprice(at)discoverycharterdurham.org.