Our People - Dedication to the future of all children

Bonnie Louque, Founder and President

Character Learning Systems® was founded by Bonnie Louque as a heartfelt response to an overwhelming need that she witnessed first hand as a classroom teacher. She understood that positive values and standards had to proliferate in order to combat the increasing number of negative forces that challenge children today.

This need was first evident when she was a third grade teacher in a school whose population came from a community plagued by poverty, crime and fear. Her classes often had students who, at a very young age, exhibited those traits that all teachers fear the most: most: disrespect, violence, and irresponsibility; these were children who were clearly headed for social destruction. Determined to reach her students, Mrs. Louque truly believed if she demonstrated the very qualities that these children lacked: respect, responsibility, and fairness in a consistent and educational way, the outcome would be beneficial not only to her classroom through improved positive behavior and academic achievement, but to the community at large. Her belief and efforts paid off and became the genesis for Character Learning Systems.

Mrs. Louque has worked in the educational area for over 20 years and holds many distinctions in her field, including the honor of being twice-named State of Louisiana Elementary Teacher of the Year. As a former teacher, district administrator, school board member, and a marketing director in a Fortune 500 company, Mrs. Louque has attained a distinctive vantage point from which she has formulated a unique solution for character building that unites a school district, local leadership, families, and an area’s business community.

In her role as marketing director for General Electric’s K-12 Information, Technology Solution Division, she had the opportunity to work with superintendents throughout the nation. During this time, she learned that superintendents had common goals regardless of their geographic location. She heard many times over that their primary goal in leading a school district was to maintain safe schools. What she also discovered was that on paper, accountability and test scores reined as top priority, but in the heart of every superintendent was the overarching desire to produce good, productive citizens. She has applied this knowledge in building Character Learning Systems® into the successful company it is today.

Bob Louque, Vice President of Operations

Subsequent to his retirement from IMC Agrico and Freeport McMoran as an environmental superintendent, Bob Louque has brought his passion for making a difference in the lives of others to his role as vice president of operations for Character Learning Systems®.

He oversees the company's financial, human resources, and information systems, ensuring the smooth day-to-day operations of the business. Under Bob’s direction, company resources are organized in the most efficient way possible to meet client budgets, time lines, and project requirements. He has a demonstrated ability to increase productivity through automation, workflow design, and flexibility.

Mr. Louque has been instrumental in formulating the company’s unique printing process and identifying a web to print interface for product customization. He manages every aspect of the company’s publishing arm to ensure maximum customer satisfaction and high quality publications.

Jerry Schmidt, Vice President of Community Relations

Jerry Schmidt joined Character Learning Systems® in 2006 as the Vice President of Business Development. In addition to his role with Character Learning Systems®, he works closely with state Community Relations Directors. Mr. Schmidt continues his position as a managing partner of Cordova Ventures, a premier venture company with seven related funds, which he co-founded. The vision and mission of Cordova is to manage a range of venture funds that provide both capital and value-added resources for growing companies.

A major portion of Mr. Schmidt's career was spent with Jostens, Inc., a formerly publicly-traded New York Stock Exchange company on the Standard & Poor's 500, where he was involved in the manufacturing and sale of motivation and recognition products to educational institutions and companies. Mr. Schmidt joined Manderson & Associates in 1988, where he and Lewis M. Manderson formed Cordova Capital in 1989.

Throughout his career at Cordova, Mr. Schmidt has served on numerous privately held boards within Cordova’s portfolio of investments, as well as publicly traded companies in the financial services, healthcare and telecommunications industries.

Mr. Schmidt's civic activities have included the East Cobb Rotary Club, of which he was past president, and the National Chairman for the Council of Growing Companies, a national, non-profit business organization for CEOs of growing companies. Currently, Mr. Schmidt is a member of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce where he serves on the education committee.

Mr. Schmidt attended the University of Minnesota and received his Bachelor of Science degree from North Dakota State University.

Mary Anne Petrillo, Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services

Ms. Petrillo has been a dedicated marketing consultant for Character Learning Systems over the past 5 years. She recently assumed the position of VP of marketing and creative services to continue her work developing a contemporary visual presence and expanding a product offering that will have greater appeal to the youth market. For over 15 years Ms. Petrillo has worked on strategic branding and sales campaign for educational publishers that evoke a high level of understanding that the future resides in the children we are educating today.

Her work with educational software companies such as The Learning Company, Achieva.com, Kaplan K-12 Learning Services and Scientific Learning have brought wide brand awareness of the unique offerings of these quality brands.

Prior to her work with educational software, she created brand identity campaigns and initiatives within the banking, building, and healthcare industry. Her company, Petrillo Communications Group, leverages the impact of good design and connects it to the analytical requirements of marketing to assist a variety of constituents in youth marketing tactics.

Ms. Petrillo has been dedicated to Character Learning Systems because of her belief that we are all responsible for the development of good character in our society.

Mary Edwards, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Mary Edwards joined the CLS team in 2007 as director of curriculum and instruction. Mary is dedicated to student success by leading the development of educational materials, assessments, and instructional tools for the K-12 classroom. Careful alignment to rigorous academic standards is a key ingredient in her role in the academic content development process. As a veteran educator for over 30 years, her expertise lies in her strong knowledge of academic standards, assessment, and pedagogy which give way to the assurance that all CLS academic products address today's accountability mandates. Her leadership is instrumental in creating age-appropriate lessons across the core subject areas. Grounded with expertise in the theory and practice of educational accountability and skilled in the art of creative problem solving, Ms. Edwards applies knowledge, innovation and effective communication to create concepts and identify strategies to maximize product effectiveness. Before joining CLS, Ms. Edwards held the position of Assistant Superintendent in an exemplary school system in South Louisiana. She holds an M.A. in Administration and Supervision and a specialist degree in curriculum from Nicholls State University.

Troy Broussard, Director of Product Development

Mr. Troy Broussard joined the CLS team in 2003 as Vice President of New Product Development. Troy brings a broad range of publishing experience to the CLS team. He is responsible for conducting market research and product conceptualization through all stages of editorial development and marketing. In this role, he oversees a variety of editorial projects and assesses the needs of communities and companies to create materials to meet those specific needs. He is also responsible for generating meaningful program content that engages a child’s interest while imparting life lessons on character.

Prior to joining CLS, Mr. Broussard enjoyed success as an author, newspaper publisher, journalist, professor, and attorney. He is widely published and is nationally noted for his unique style of children’s writing. Following the completion of his BA degree in English from the University of Mississippi, Mr. Broussard completed his Juris Doctorate at Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans.

In addition to his role with CLS, Mr. Broussard serves as an adjunct faculty member of the University of Phoenix where he teaches courses including ethics and college writing. He is certified to conduct Moral Reconation Therapy Groups. Since 1990, Mr. Broussard has been the owner and publisher of The Kenner Star, a monthly newspaper with a circulation of over 23,000 copies, and is also president of Mr. Broussard Productions, through which he produced the Kenner In Motion television show, which aired on Cox Cable in 1993.

Advisory Board

The Board refines and advances CLS’s mission to help educators develop character through academic means. Acceptance of an appointment to the Advisory Board does not require or imply endorsement of Character Learning System’s products. Rather, it is an opportunity for CLS to draw upon the experience and expertise of board members to ensure the integrity of the company’s corporate mission.

Bob Fortenberry (Sandy Spring, MS) - is a nationally recognized education consultant who has been instrumental in the growth of major educational software companies in the nation. He is the past Superintendent of Jackson Public School System in Jackson, Mississippi, where is served in that capacity for over 17 years. His experience ranges from being the Vice President of the National Parent Teacher Association to holding the distinction of top educational advisor to major companies.

Carolyn Warner (Phoenix, Arizona) - is currently the president of Corporate Education, Inc. and active on state and national levels as a respected, knowledgeable, and persuasive educational and public policy leader. She is also a dynamic, inspirational speaker who delivers keynote speeches to education, business and government audiences. Her political expertise (12 years as Arizona's elected Superintendent of Public Instruction) is strengthened by her unique perspective of over 30 years in the corporate sector.

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