Senior Director; Cuyahoga Falls, OH

A charter school and nonprofit finance leader who translates complex financial information into clear, decision-ready strategies for sustainable school growth and improved student outcomes.

As Senior Director, Charter Finance, Celeste leads strategic finance initiatives with our charter school client partners around the country. She partners with charter school leaders and boards on long-range financial sustainability, data-informed forecasting, and governance, bringing more than a decade of hands-on CFO and treasurer experience to every engagement.

Celeste’s consulting leadership roles include:

• Leading multi-entity FP&A across portfolios exceeding $80M annually, building seven-year, driver-based financial forecasts that incorporate enrollment sensitivity, staffing models, and liquidity analysis.
• Directing and developing teams across accounting, analytics, and operations, coaching managers and analysts on projection modeling, internal controls, and executive communication.
• Modernizing finance operations through automation and workflow redesign, shortening month-end close cycles, and strengthening internal controls to deliver clean audits.

Prior to joining Afton, Celeste served as President at Mangen & Associates, where she was fractional CFO and school treasurer for mission-driven charter schools and nonprofits. Before that, she held finance leadership roles at Athlos Academies, Summit Academy Schools, and Breakthrough Public Schools, each time owning end-to-end financial operations, from budgeting and forecasting to state and federal compliance reporting. Earlier in her career, Celeste built the first real-time performance dashboards at the National Inventors Hall of Fame, translating sales and operations data into decision-ready insights for national leaders.

Celeste holds a bachelor’s degree in financial management from Franklin University. She is a Licensed School Treasurer in Ohio, a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) candidate , and a Six Sigma Green Belt.

When she’s not crunching numbers, Celeste is out on the trails of Cuyahoga Valley National Park, chasing her two kids, or curled up with a good book.