Concentric Educational Solutions Announces Expansion to Leadership Team
- Cat Burchmore
- Oct 24, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 20, 2024
BALTIMORE —
Seasoned education leaders to drive growth and broaden efforts in addressing chronic absenteeism, opportunity gaps, and teacher shortages in urban districts
Concentric Educational Solutions (CES), the leader in student support services that partners with urban school districts to address barriers to student success including chronic absenteeism, a sense of belonging, and unfinished learning, today announced several new members to the leadership team including seasoned industry executives Karlo Young as Chief Operating Officer, Alvin Crawford as Chief Revenue Officer, and Max Altmark as Chief Financial Officer.
According to a recent analysis, the data shows that post pandemic, problems that existed have only intensified including chronic absenteeism, student’s sense of agency, and belonging and learning loss. Concentric’s unique, evidence-driven approach is centered on student home visits, and mentoring and tutoring. Student progress is shared through Concentric’s mobile app with real-time data and information with parents, educators, and administrators to support the student.
Concentric recently received $5 million in new funding from New Markets Venture Partners. Mark Grovic, co-founder and General Partner at New Markets Venture Partner and Concentric Board member saw the success Concentric was having with its approach to chronic absenteeism and student success and chose to invest in the company’s long-term growth. Investors and the Board hand-selected the very best executives to help scale Concentric’s proven model.
Concentric is Baltimore-based and Black-owned with close to 100 employees. Upon arrival, each employee participates in a student home visit, which is paramount to Concentric’s approach. This helps all members of the organization understand the importance of meeting each student and their families where they are.
Karlo Young, Chief Operating Officer, brings a wealth of experience from his former role as Senior Vice President at 2U, where he was responsible for $250 million in revenue across North America and EMEA. Prior to 2U, Karlo was an Investment Banker at Signal Hill Capital, Director at KPMG, and Manager at Deloitte. Young also serves as President of the Board of Trustees of the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust (B.E.S.T.) and Vice President of the Board of Trustees at the Gilman School. He has received numerous accolades, including recognition as one of DiversityMBA Magazine’s “Top 100 Under 50 Emerging Leaders,” a “40 Under 40” business leader by both the Baltimore Business Journal and Drexel University, a “Rising Star” by both NABA and the Living Classrooms Foundation, and a “Young Social Impact Scholar” by the Kellogg School of Management.
Alvin Crawford, Chief Revenue Officer, previously founded Advance Education in April 2023, a company now merged with Concentric that is dedicated to cataloging instructional supports, summer school opportunities, and creating personalized growth plans for children. With over two decades in K-12 education, Crawford has led teams responsible for selling more than $750 million in urban district and state business. His previous roles include Chief Revenue Officer at Revolution Foods, and senior leadership roles at Public Consulting Group, Knowledge Delivery Systems, and SchoolNet in the K-12 edtech industry, as well as strategic positions at prominent internet agencies in New York and Boston.
Max Altmark, Chief Financial Officer, is a seasoned financial executive with over 15 years of experience in financial services and investment operations. He most recently served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Project Lead The Way (PLTW), overseeing financial operations, strategic development, investments, grants, and risk management for an organization with $110M in annual revenues and a reach of over 2 million students across 12,800 PreK-12 schools. Prior to PLTW, Max managed investment operations at Strategic Investment Group, focusing on enhancing internal controls, efficiency, and scalability. He also led investment operations at Georgetown University, handling endowment and pension portfolios, and began his career at KPMG in the audit practice.
“As Concentric Educational Solutions helps more and more students, families and schools, we are excited to invest in our people to ensure that we are continuously improving our services to eliminate barriers for all learners,” said Dr. David Heiber, CEO of Concentric Educational Solutions. “Karlo, Alvin and Max all bring expertise, proven track records of success, and a long-standing commitment to close opportunity gaps. I am excited about the vision they each bring to their work and Concentric.”
“New Markets looks at over 1,000 opportunities a year and selects only the most promising,” said Grovic. “David has built Concentric into a proven platform to remove critical barriers plaguing a high percentage of at-risk students. Concentric offers strong efficacy and a scalable model that can be replicated across the country.”
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