Jim Goenner, Ph.D. – Bio

Dr. Jim Goenner serves as President and CEO of the National Charter Schools Institute. Jim joined the charter schools movement in 1995, and has played a prominent role in developing and strengthening performance of the charter schools sector in Michigan and across the nation ever since.

In 2010, Jim was inducted into the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame. Prior to joining the Institute, Jim served as Executive Director of The Center for Charter Schools at Central Michigan University (CMU), where he led the first and largest university authorizer of charter public schools in the nation. Under Jim’s leadership, CMU became known as the “gold standard” for charter school authorizing. Jim currently serves on the board of the Charter Schools Development Corporation. He helped found the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) and chaired its board from 2007 to 2010; helped found the Michigan Council of Charter School Authorizers and chaired its board from 2002 to 2010; and served as the first President of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (1996-1998). Jim earned his Doctorate in Educational Administration from Michigan State University, Master of Arts from Central Michigan University and Bachelor of Business Administration from Grand Valley State University.