TUSCANY INSIGHTS

Our Team

Our team comes from a wide variety of backgrounds, from economics and philosophy to engineering and math. We are united by a common love for problem solving and building actionable solutions for our clients.
David Long Headshot

David Long

Founding Principal & Managing Partner

Tim Thompson headshot

Tim Thompson

Principal & Partner

David Graves Headshot

David Graves

Principal

Tom Reilly Headshot

Thomas Reilly

Managing Director

Vanessa Vaughn headshot

Vanessa Vaughn

Consultant

Rachel Yuh Headshot

Rachel Yuh

Associate

Kevin Sample Headshot

Kevin Sample

Associate

Ken Crittendon Headshot

Kenneth Crittendon

Associate

Kate Perry

Kate Perry

Senior Researcher

Suleiman Tahir Headshot

Suleiman Tahir

Business Analyst

Trudee Wiltshire Headshot

Trudee Wiltshire

Business Analyst

Kole Kramer, Business Analyst Headshot

Kole Kramer

Business Analyst

Reese Alpher Headshot

Reese Alpher

Business Analyst

Jacob Marks

Jacob Marks

Business Analyst

Abigail Shepherd

Abigail Shepherd

Business Analyst

Matt Myers Headshot

Matt Myers

Subject Matter Expert, D2C & Digital Marketing

Laura France

Laura France

Director of Marketing

David Long

FOUNDING PRINCIPAL & MANAGING PARTNER

David founded Tuscany Strategy Consulting in 2007 with the goal of building an operational-minded strategy firm that provides actionable insights at an exceptional value. For over twenty-five years, David has been involved in growth-oriented operating roles involving new market expansion, product launches, turnarounds, acquisitions, and startups. Throughout his career, David has developed analytic tools designed to improve decision making and align products with underlying customer needs. These tools focus on demand discovery, pricing, consumer switching behavior, product positioning, market efficiency, and value proposition design.

Since its founding, Tuscany has managed hundreds of client engagements in Education, Healthcare, Consumer Goods & Services, Business Services, and Information & Media. Originally located in the Tuscany-Canterbury neighborhood of Baltimore, the firm has developed a national client base serving leaders in corporations, universities, startups, and non-profit organizations.

Prior to founding Tuscany, David served as Vice President of Business Development for Laureate Education where he vetted business opportunities and later served as the Vice President of Admissions and Marketing for Kendall College in Chicago. While at Kendall, he launched the college’s undergraduate business program, developed international transfer programs, introduced in-person-online hybrid programs, and oversaw an enrollment increase from 550 to 1,500 students.

Before joining Laureate, David served as Director of New Business Development for Educate, Inc., where he launched what became the nation’s largest supplemental education service offered under No Child Left Behind. Within three years from launch, this award-winning program reached over 25,000 students across 29 states. David has also served as Vice President of Product Management for Mindsurf Networks, Director of eLearning at Caliber Learning Network, and a Program Officer at the Abell Foundation. David began his career working in neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

David holds a Master of Management from The Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and mathematics from St. John’s College, Annapolis.

David is part-time faculty member at the Johns Hopkins University Whiting School of Engineering where he co-created and teaches two graduate level classes: Demand Discovery and the Practice of Consulting.

Tim Thompson headshot

Tim Thompson

PRINCIPAL & PARTNER

Tim has spent more than two decades building businesses in education and has a proven history of driving growth in the organizations he leads. He has excelled in both venture-backed and corporately funded start-ups, and as the majority owner, CEO, and President of AKJ Education, a provider of supplemental curriculum solutions for the K-12 market, which he led the acquisition of in 2006 and exited in 2020. During his thirteen years of ownership, Tim led the company through multiple strategic and operational transformations including:

  • Re-positioning and re-branding to better reflect service offerings, customer focus, and company values
  • Identification and cultivation of a high-growth and diversifying channel strategy focused on B2B and Not-for-Profit customers and partners
  • Creation of a trend-focused merchandising approach which included expansion into STEM resources and digital content
  • Sourcing and completion of three add-on acquisitions
  • Design and implementation of scalable e-commerce, warehouse management, and inventory management capabilities
  • Under Tim’s leadership, annual revenue grew nearly 700% and the company generated a 27.3x MOIC for shareholders.

Immediately prior to acquiring AKJ, Tim was the Executive Director and GM of Catapult Online (a Sylvan company), which provided online at-home 1:1 tutoring to disadvantaged student populations. Under Tim’s leadership, Catapult Online grew from a 300-student pilot into a national business with more than 18,000 enrolled students and revenue in excess of $20MM in less than two years. Before Sylvan, Tim held Sales and Product Development roles with PlanetFeedback, a Venture-backed start-up provider of web-based marketing intelligence and Consumer Generated Media (CGM) measurement solutions. Tim was an integral part of developing the company’s initial commercial product suite and was responsible for originating and closing the firm’s initial contracts with numerous CPG companies and other consumer brands. Tim began his career with Accenture.

Tim holds a B.A. from the University of Richmond where he graduated with Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude honors. He resides in Owings Mills, MD with his wife and two teenage children. Outside of the office, Tim is a competitive triathlete, most notably competing in the IronMan 70.3 World Championships.

David Graves Headshot

David Graves

PRINCIPAL

David has extensive marketing and general management experience in the sectors of consumer packaged goods, higher education and K-12 education. He began his career at the Quaker Oats Company working on the Gatorade Sports Drink brand team. He worked for eight years in the U.S. and U.K. for the Colgate-Palmolive Company, holding positions of increasing responsibility in brand marketing for the Hill’s Pet Foods division, including marketing manager for US marketing, director of marketing for Europe, and managing director/general manager of northern Europe for the Science Diet and Prescription Diet product lines.

David worked for over 15 years at Laureate Education where he served as President and CEO for 13 of Laureate Education’s international universities in 9 countries. These schools offered hospitality management, business, engineering, art, architecture and design. He was the founding President of eSylvan, and Vice President of marketing for Sylvan Learning Centers worldwide.

Just prior to joining Tuscany Associates, he served as Regional Managing Director of North America at Nord Anglia Education, Inc. David has an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, both at Northwestern University.

Tom Reilly Headshot

Thomas Reilly

MANAGING DIRECTOR

As Managing Director, Thomas guides and oversees Tuscany’s consulting team and casework execution, methodology development, and supports project scoping and business development activities. Thomas has extensive experience across multiple education sub-sectors and practice areas. He has led successful engagements serving early childhood education providers, K12 schools and systems, colleges and universities, education technology platforms, assessment and curriculum developers, tutoring networks, special education and healthcare services providers, workforce education and training providers, non-profit foundations, and private equity firms. Thomas’s expertise includes:

  • Pricing strategy and implementation
  • Firm and market due diligence
  • Demand discovery
  • Product and program design
  • Customer segmentation and acquisition
  • New market evaluation and entry

Working closely with founder David Long and case team members, Thomas has developed novel methodologies including in-depth qualitative and quantitative primary research into student, family, educator, and employer perspectives, market demand and growth opportunities for educational products and services, pricing and financial modeling, and brand positioning.

Thomas holds a Master of Science in Engineering Management from Johns Hopkins University with a concentration in environmental systems analysis, as well as a Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental) and a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Melbourne in Australia. Prior to completing his master’s, Thomas worked as an environmental advisor for BHP Billiton focusing on mining and infrastructure operations and has experience as a corporate social responsibility analyst for Under Armour and as a policy officer for the Australian Department of Finance and Deregulation. He serves on the board of Wide Angle Youth Media.

Vanessa Vaughn headshot

Vanessa Vaughn

CONSULTANT

Vanessa Vaughn has worked with clients spanning Early Childhood to Higher Education including EdTech, Summer Programs, and Alternative Education. Vanessa has extensive experience leading cases focused on price strategy, acquisition target identification, brand optimization, due diligence, market landscape analysis, product development, and school turnaround. Vanessa has deep expertise in the design and execution of comprehensive market scans, competitive pricing analyses, and brand optimization studies to provide strategic, actionable, research-backed recommendations for clients.

Vanessa Vaughn holds an MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School with specializations in marketing and entrepreneurship as well as a BBA from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin with a focus in supply chain management and marketing. Before completing her masters, Vanessa worked as a classroom teacher in a Title I charter school in Baton Rouge, LA teaching secondary math through Teach for America (TFA).

Rachel Yuh Headshot

Rachel Yuh

ASSOCIATE

Rachel joined Tuscany in June 2019. While at Tuscany, she has worked on cases spanning from early childhood education to higher education, as well as tutoring services and due diligence for private equity firms. Her previous projects include product roadmap development, new market entry, pricing strategy, brand positioning, and market landscaping.

Rachel graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a BS in Applied Mathematics and Statistics with a concentration in Financial Mathematics and minors in Entrepreneurship & Management and Accounting & Financial Management.

Kevin Sample Headshot

Kevin Sample

ASSOCIATE

Kevin Sample is an MBA recipient from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School and previously earned a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Bucknell University. Before attending Johns Hopkins, Kevin worked for Whiting-Turner as a Field Engineer where he worked on a Net-Zero office headquarters expansion as well as a university lab science building.

While at Hopkins, Kevin worked as a tutor for math and finance classes for other Masters students and helped to expand the university’s Office of Economic Development which works on investing in local businesses in Baltimore.

Ken Crittendon Headshot

Kenneth Crittendon

ASSOCIATE

Ken joined Tuscany in February 2023 after earning an MS in Engineering Management from Johns Hopkins University where he also earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering.

As a student, he worked on strategy consulting projects in the healthcare, food & beverage, and waste management industries. His first professional role was with Catalent Pharma Solutions where he developed an interest in process improvement and optimization.

Having spent most of his early career in Baltimore City, Ken has gotten involved in the community by volunteering with the Henderson-Hopkins and Commodore John Rodgers schools as a food drive deliverer and robotics coach. When not working or doing community service, he enjoys spending time with family and playing pickup basketball or a good game of chess.

Suleiman Tahir Headshot

Suleiman Tahir

BUSINESS ANALYST

Suleiman Tahir graduated from the College of William & Mary with a BA in Economics & Finance in May 2022. During his time at William & Mary, Suleiman had the opportunity to intern with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, a non-profit, and serve as a Research Assistant. Suleiman was also an active member of the campus community serving in various leadership roles across multiple organizations.

Suleiman is also from Lahore, Pakistan, and loves to travel and explore cities – especially trying out the best ice-creams they have to offer.

Trudee Wiltshire Headshot

Trudee Wiltshire

BUSINESS ANALYST

Trudee Wiltshire graduated from The Darla Moore School of Business at The University of South Carolina and holds a BS in Management and Marketing with minors in Spanish and Portuguese. She joined Tuscany after 4.5 years in the auto insurance industry where she managed teams in sales, service, and claims, and also led numerous country-wide training initiatives and special projects. Trudee has supported research and analysis on a variety of cases so far, including market assessment, due diligence, and price strategy. Trudee is passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging in the workplace.

 

Outside of work, Trudee loves travel and exploring new countries and testing out her foreign language skills. She loves reading, podcasts, and being outside on a run or a walk. Her favorite time of year is football season where you can find her cheering on the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Buffalo Bills.

Kate Perry

SENIOR RESEARCHER

Kate Perry has over twenty years of experience in international K-12 education, having lived and taught in Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Germany, Albania, and South Korea. Her expertise lies in teaching science to grade 6 to 12 students who are not native speakers of English. She has experience leading academic departments, teaching English as an Additional Language in the subject area, applying inquiry-based pedagogy for science teaching, and implementing international curricula such as the International Baccalaureate Program.

She recently completed a Doctorate in Education at Johns Hopkins University focusing on the role of intercultural understanding to improve pedagogy and student outcomes. She has an undergraduate degree from Bates College and a master’s from Oregon State.

Kole Kramer, Business Analyst Headshot

Kole Kramer

BUSINESS ANALYST

Kole Kramer, a recent Georgetown University alumnus, joined the Tuscany team in 2024 equipped with a BS in Business and Global Affairs and a minor in Justice and Peace Studies. His academic journey was marked by leadership in project management for non-profit organizations, facilitated by Georgetown’s premier student-run consulting group. Kole’s commitment to community service is evident through his extensive volunteer work at various schools throughout Washington, DC.

When he’s not immersed in professional pursuits, Kole is an avid supporter of Philadelphia sports teams. He’s also on a quest to discover Baltimore’s finest ice cream spots. Traveling and spending quality time with his dog, Kocoa, are among his favorite leisure activities.

Reese Alpher Headshot

Reese Alpher

BUSINESS ANALYST

Reese Alpher’s journey with Tuscany began in 2024, following her graduation from the University of Virginia. With a double major in Economics and Youth & Social Innovation, Reese brings a unique combination of analytical prowess and a passion for societal progress to our team.

During her academic tenure, Reese was instrumental as a research assistant within the School of Education, contributing to valuable insights in educational methodologies. Her dedication to community enrichment shone through her involvement in a local tutoring program, where she empowered students to achieve academic success.

Outside of work, Reese is an outdoor enthusiast, with a particular fondness for hiking and biking. Her love for nature and adventure complements her dynamic approach to professional challenges.

Jacob Marks

BUSINESS ANALYST

Jake Marks, an alumnus of the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in Finance and Economics, complemented by a minor in Statistics. During his academic tenure, Jake was actively involved in the business community, providing strategic consultancy to non-profit organizations and local enterprises. His passion for education led him to teach SAT mathematics, offer personalized tutoring, and assist in the instruction of a pivotal undergraduate finance course.

Abigail Shepherd

BUSINESS ANALYST

Abigail is a rising fourth year at the University of Virginia, majoring in history and minoring in business. During the school year, she competes in case study competitions through Future Business Leaders in America. She also volunteers as a mentor and tutor for a group of middle school students. In her free time, Abigail is an avid reader, enjoys being outdoors, and likes seeing live music.

Matt Myers Headshot

Matt Myers

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT, D2C & DIGITAL MARKETING

Matt Myers has over 25 years experience in online and traditional marketing with emphases on consumer acquisition. Matt is the former VP Marketing for National Public Radio and has led key interactive and demand generation initiatives for many industry leaders, including Sylvan Learning, Laureate Education, K12 Inc, Delta Career Education and Connections Learning. Matt began his career at United Airlines, launching the first UAL website in the mid 90’s before focusing on the K12 and post secondary education sectors. Matt has an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Georgetown University.

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The Mill Centre
3000 Chestnut Ave, Suite 301
Baltimore, MD 21211

admin@tuscanystrategy.com

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