Rho Sigma Omega
National STEAM Honor Society
Advisory Board
Dan Quesnel
Dan Quesnel is the Head of School at The Oakwood School, the birthplace of Rho Sigma Alpha
and the home of its Alpha Chapter. Dan believes it is crucial that schools develop in their
students the ability to analyze, problem solve, think critically, collaborate, and persevere. For
this reason, he is committed to offering students hands-on, student-driven STEAM experiences
so that they can develop a mastery of these and other skills that will prepare them for success
in whatever paths their future may hold.
Ronnie Chalmers
Ronnie has 18th years of admissions experience at North Carolina Central University and North Carolina State University where he currently serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives. He is passionate about supporting all students as they navigate high school and post-secondary education.
Founder
Head of School
The Oakwood School
Director of Strategic Initiatives
NC State University
Souzanne Shahla
Vice President of Product & Academics
Creative Learning Systems
Souzanne Shahla drives the content strategy and strategic product planning at CLS. She is also responsible for creating a product framework that improves student learning outcomes and expands the CLS product portfolio for future growth. In her role, Souzanne oversees all aspects of product development, professional development, and curriculum development. Souzanne brings a career of experience in education, publishing, and curriculum development. In previous roles, she was vice president of K12 Content Strategy & Products at Follett School Solutions, instructional design lead at WorldStrides, vice president of program development strategy at Scholastic, and vice president of the Core Knowledge Foundation (an education think-tank in literacy research and development). Souzanne, a former teacher, is a passionate leader, writer, and curriculum developer committed to making a difference in education. She has created hundreds of publications for various publishers and designed numerous experiential learning and literacy programs. She has immersed herself in many philosophies and strategies related to education research throughout her career and extracted the pieces she thinks best serve students, helping them build the skills and knowledge to succeed. She holds a B.A. from Emory University and an MBA from the UVA Darden School of Business.
Bill McClung
Engineering Professor
East Carolina University
William (Bill) J. McClung, PE is a Teaching Instructor at East Carolina University in the College of Engineering and Technology. Teaching and research interests include robotics, industrial automation, IIOT, Lean Manufacturing/systems, industrial maintenance, and logistics. Bill spent 25 years in industry before turning to academia. Roles included maintenance, production, and design engineering in industries from phosphate to forklifts and fire trucks. Bill volunteers for Math Counts, Engineers Week, Science Olympiad and FIRST Robotics. A founder of Pitt County Robotics, Bill actively participates in FIRST Robotics to introduce students to STEM. Bill has a BS in Mechanical Engineering, a MS Technology Systems and is pursuing a PhD in Industrial Engineering. Bill is a Licensed Professional Engineer in North Carolina.
Jim Whitehurst
President & CEO
Coastal AgroBusiness, Inc
Jim is a second generation family business owner and executive of Coastal
AgroBusiness, Inc. The company is nearly 70 years old and is engaged in
the sales and distribution of agricultural products in the five state region
of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Jim was a former board member of The Oakwood School in Greenville
North Carolina. He is currently working on a book to be published this
year which covers personal finance education as well as a need for
financial literacy improvement in America.