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

Founder & Managing Partner

Tim Thompson

Principal & Partner

Thomas Reilly

Managing Director

Vanessa Vaughn

Associate Principal

Amy Mortimer

Director of Business Development

David Graves

Partner Emeritus & Principal

Ingmar Berg

Subject Matter Expert, Finance

Josh Barker

Consultant

Kevin Sample

Consultant

Rachel Yuh

Associate Consultant

Kenneth Crittendon

Associate Consultant

Mark Shirk

Associate Consultant

Suleiman Tahir

Business Analyst

Trudee Wiltshire

Business Analyst

Reese Alpher

Business Analyst

Kole Kramer

Business Analyst

Jay Henley

BUSINESS ANALYST

Jessie Lewis

Business Analyst

Abigail Shepherd

Business Analyst

Ben Gallagher

Business Analyst

Evelyn Dickey

Incoming Business Analyst

David Long

FOUNDER & MANAGING PARTNER

David is a veteran strategy and operations advisor to the education industry. Since founding the firm in 2007, he has led hundreds of engagements spanning growth strategy, pricing, market entry, and M&A. He is the creator of several proprietary methodologies, including Quality Price Tiers®, Price Corridors®, Learn, Use, Teach® and Customer Switching Behavior, all of which help education companies generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue growth, pricing optimizations, and operational gains.

David’s background includes senior leadership roles at Laureate Education and Educate, Inc., as well as strategic, product, and entrepreneurial positions in early-stage education and technology ventures. He began his career in neuroscience research at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and he now teaches graduate-level courses in demand discovery and consulting at Johns Hopkins University’s Whiting School of Engineering.

David holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Mathematics from St. John’s College and a Master of Management from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Outside of work, David enjoys grilling, kayaking, and discovering new destinations.

Tim Thompson

PRINCIPAL & PARTNER

Tim has spent more than two decades building businesses, primarily 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 ownership, Tim led the company through multiple strategic and operational transformations including repositioning and rebranding, the identification and cultivation of a high-growth and diversifying channel strategy focused on B2B and Not-for-Profit customers and partners, sourcing and completion of three add-on acquisitions, and the 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.

Prior to AKJ, Tim participated in and then led the successful launch of two start-up education businesses as part of Sylvan Learning, each of which scaled quickly to more than $20MM in annual revenue. Tim started 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. Outside of the office, Tim is an avid skier, competitive triathlete, and enjoys traveling. He resides in Owings Mills, Maryland with his wife and two children.

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

ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL

As Associate Principal, Vanessa serves as the primary engagement manager on cases in addition to providing case guidance, streamlining case methodologies, and training Tuscany’s full team. Vanessa has worked with clients across the entire educational lifecycle from infant care to workforce development.

Vanessa has extensive experience with projects focused on price strategy, quality management, new market expansion, competitor landscape analysis, target and market identification, site selection, brand optimization, school turnaround, and organizational design.

Vanessa began her career in the classroom teaching 8 th grade math at a Title 1 charter school in Baton Rouge, LA through Teach for America. Vanessa has also held positions in program operations and marketing for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge and Vehicles for Change.

Vanessa holds a B.A. in Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.

Outside of work, Vanessa enjoys day trips with her two young daughters, long distance running, and watching true crime documentaries.

Amy Mortimer

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

Amy is an enrollment and communications professional with over 20 years of experience in education and nonprofit development. In her role at Tuscany Strategy Consulting, she supports efforts to expand the firm’s client base and increase awareness of Tuscany’s services across the education sector. Amy brings expertise in enrollment management, outreach strategy, and partnership development.

Most recently, Amy served as Director of Enrollment Management at Friends School of Baltimore. In that role, she led recruitment strategies, managed a multi-person team, and collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to meet both enrollment and financial goals. She also oversaw marketing initiatives and built partnerships to support long-term engagement.

Prior to her tenure at Friends, Amy held development and membership roles at several nonprofit and educational organizations. She worked in fundraising and donor relations at the Maryland Center for History and Culture, Baltimore City College, and Business Executives for National Security, and recently served on the board of the Samuel Ready Scholars program.

Amy holds a B.A. in History from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and is an alumna of Friends School of Baltimore.

David Graves

PARTNER EMERITUS & 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.

Prior to joining Tuscany, David 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.

Ingmar Berg

SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT, FINANCE

Ingmar Berg is a seasoned global finance executive with more than 25 years of experience leading Finance, Accounting, and Operations functions across healthcare services, education, SaaS, and professional services. He most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Vertex Education, overseeing financial operations for 23 nonprofit entities and for-profit subsidiaries totaling more than $380M in revenue. At Vertex, he modernized financial systems, shortened the close cycle to under one week, improved budgeting and forecasting, and partnered with the private equity sponsor on three acquisitions in 12 months. He also secured more than $170M in public financing and helped elevate the organization’s credit rating to BBB-. In addition, Ingmar has served as a fractional CFO for high-growth digital health and SaaS companies—such as DayToDay Health, Discourse Analytics, and CAE—supporting financial controls, fundraising, and KPI-driven forecasting models that contributed to more than $60M in capital raised.

Earlier in his career, Ingmar held senior roles at international organizations including Educatius International, ManpowerGroup, and Laureate Education, where he led global finance and operations, executed cross-border acquisitions, and managed multi-entity financial infrastructures across Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Recognized for transforming financial organizations, he has overseen ERP implementations, shared service center development, major restructurings, and multimillion-dollar cost-reduction initiatives. Ingmar holds an MSc in International Finance and Accounting from the London School of Economics and a BA in Finance and Accounting from the Gothenburg School of Economics.

Josh Barker

CONSULTANT

Josh has designed and conducted consumer insights research since 2014 for top academic institutions as well as market research and consulting firms. He has provided strategic recommendations and guided initiatives for clients in Education, Behavioral Health, Tech, and other industries.

Prior to joining Tuscany, Josh was a Research Director at MMR Strategy Group and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at USC’s Keck School of Medicine where he taught quantitative research methods. He began his career in public health research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill specializing in designing health campaign evaluations.

Josh holds a Bachelor’s and Master of Communications from the University of Kansas and was a Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellow at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kevin Sample

CONSULTANT

Kevin is an experienced project manager, leading teams of business analysts conducting extensive primary and secondary research. Kevin consistently leads efforts on complex survey design, financial modeling, competitive landscape evaluations, and more.

Since joining Tuscany, he has managed projects that include change management, buy-side diligence and post-acquisition value creation, launching new business units/product lines, and product rebranding. Kevin began his career in construction management, working on multiple LEED Gold and Net Zero construction projects with The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company.

Kevin earned a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Bucknell University and an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.

In his free time, Kevin likes to play basketball, snowboard, and try out new restaurants.

Rachel Yuh

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Rachel has worked on cases across early childhood, K–12, and higher education, advising on growth strategy, pricing, product development, and demand discovery. Her clients have included private schools, private equity firms, non-profit organizations, and Ed Tech companies.

Rachel brings particular expertise in early childhood education and is highly proficient in Tuscany’s proprietary methodologies, including Price/Quality Tiers® and Price Corridors®. Her recent casework includes tuition pricing for preschool networks, parent behavior and decision-making analysis for K–12 operators, and product strategy for higher ed technology platforms.

Before joining Tuscany, Rachel worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Johns Hopkins University, where she organized large-scale admissions events for prospective students.

Rachel holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Johns Hopkins University.

Outside of work, she enjoys discovering new restaurants, attending concerts, and traveling.

Kenneth Crittendon

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Ken has worked with clients across the full spectrum of education services, from Early Childhood Education to Workforce Development. His casework experience spans organizational design, pricing strategy, market expansion analysis, buy-side due diligence, and strategic planning.

In addition to his client-facing work, Ken plays a central role in shaping and advancing the firm’s internal operations. His contributions include leading efforts in process optimization, AI research, training development, and recruitment strategy.

Ken earned a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and an M.S. in Engineering Management from Johns Hopkins University.

Outside of work, Ken enjoys spending time with family, playing basketball, chess, and traveling to new destinations.

Mark Shirk

ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Mark has led research teams on cases in workforce development, early childhood education, K12, and special education. He has worked with clients including non-profits, private equity firms, and premium education providers.

Before joining Tuscany, Mark was a consultant with a major federal health agency using data to develop strategic communication materials and create metrics to assess the impact of a large re-organization. Prior to that he worked in higher education for over a decade.

Mark holds a BA in History from Dickinson College, an MA in International Affairs from The New School, and a PhD in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. He previously held full-time teaching positions at Stonehill College, the University of Cambridge, and Bucknell University.

Suleiman Tahir

BUSINESS ANALYST

Suleiman is a seasoned Business Analyst at Tuscany Strategy, where he supports clients across the education sector with deep expertise in due diligence, market mapping, and competitive analysis. He has played a key role in crafting industry-wide reports on early childhood education (ECE) and K–12 mental health, translating complex market trends into clear, actionable insights for investors and operators.

Prior to joining Tuscany, Suleiman graduated from the College of William & Mary with a B.A. in Economics and Finance, where he served as a research assistant and held multiple student leadership roles.

From Lahore, Pakistan, Suleiman is a passionate traveler always in search of the best local ice cream.

Trudee Wiltshire

BUSINESS ANALYST

Trudee is an experienced business analyst at Tuscany where she has supported research and analysis across a range of engagements. Her work includes market expansion, due diligence, and price strategy, especially in the Early Childhood Education sector. Notable casework includes delivering tailored pricing and investment recommendations in a pilot serving a network of 500+ ECE centers. Trudee was also a contributing writer for Tuscany’s UPK and ECE Landscape reports.

Trudee graduated from The Darla Moore School of Business at The University of South Carolina with a bachelor’s in management and marketing and minors in Spanish and Portuguese and came to Tuscany with five years of professional experience in Operations Management. She is also passionate about diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging in the workplace.

Outside of work, Trudee loves travel, running, and reading. Her favorite time of year is football season, where you can find her cheering on the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Buffalo Bills.

Reese Alpher

BUSINESS ANALYST

Reese has helped support clients with organizational design, pricing strategy, evaluating market expansion opportunities, and strategic planning.

Before joining Tuscany, Reese worked as a research assistant on a project using AI to improve K–12 instructional evaluation tools. She also gained experience working in the nonprofit space, advancing maternal health initiatives at one organization and supporting mission-driven startups at another.

Reese holds a B.A. in Economics and Youth & Social Innovation from the University of Virginia.

Outside of work, Reese enjoys pottery, gardening, spending time outdoors, and volunteering with the Baltimore County Fire Department.

Kole Kramer

BUSINESS ANALYST

As a Business Analyst, Kole has led and supported work across a variety of educational sectors, including creating models used for market expansion planning and crafting pricing strategy in the Higher Education and Early Childhood Education fields.

His previous experiences include consulting for non-profits on fundraising and operational strategy, marketing and recruitment for a large public charter school network, and volunteering in local after-school programming for elementary students.

Kole holds a BS in Business and Global Affairs from Georgetown University.

When he’s not working, you can find Kole cheering on the Philadelphia Eagles, trying new ice cream spots across the city, or spending quality time with his dog, Kocoa.

Jay Henley

BUSINESS ANALYST

Since joining Tuscany, Jay has supported a range of cases across higher education, educational technology, behavioral health services, and early childhood education. Through these engagements, he has developed experience in opportunity identification, demand discovery, market expansion analysis, and customer experience refinement in addition to the quantitative analysis skills he brings from his educational and previous work experiences.

Jay brings an extensive technical skillset and has led the development of complex tuition and revenue generation models and execution of advanced data analysis workstreams. He has also been a key contributor to advancing Tuscany’s AI capabilities, building custom AI solutions, developing machine learning models, and designing new analytical methodologies that leverage the firm’s emerging AI infrastructure.

Jessie Lewis

BUSINESS ANALYST

Since joining the firm, Jessie has contributed to projects focused on youth workforce development and the role of artificial intelligence in emerging tech jobs.

Jessie is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, where she earned a B.A. in Public Policy with a minor in History. Her academic work centered on education and social policy, with research spanning paid family leave, special education, and gender-based violence in Colombia. While at UVA, Jessie was actively involved in student leadership, serving on Batten’s Undergraduate Council and the executive board of Class Council.

Outside of work, Jessie enjoys cooking, reading fantasy novels, and exploring museums.

Abigail Shepherd

BUSINESS ANALYST

Abigail’s experience spans education sectors, particularly in early childhood education and the non-profit sector. Since joining Tuscany, she has supported clients with market sizing, opportunity identification, and pricing strategy.

Before joining Tuscany, Abigail worked as a research assistant at the Darden School of Business, contributing to over twenty projects spanning business and education topics. Her work included survey development, qualitative coding, dataset creation, and academic literature review.

Abigail graduated from the University of Virginia with a B.S. in History and a minor in General Business from the McIntire School of Commerce.

Outside of work, Abigail enjoys group fitness classes, getting lost in a good book, and exploring new podcasts.

Ben Gallagher

BUSINESS ANALYST

In his time at Tuscany, Ben has worked with clients across the Early Childhood Education and K12 sectors. His casework has spanned pricing and branding strategy, investment impact analysis, and strategic planning.

Before joining the firm, Ben taught high school English and History in Boston through a Teach For America fellowship, which was his introduction to the education space. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies from Georgetown University and a Masters Degree in Education from Boston University.

Outside of work, he enjoys playing racket sports, trying new restaurants, and cheering on the Baltimore Orioles and Ravens as a Baltimore native.

Evelyn Dickey

SUMMER ANALYST

Evelyn performs research and analysis on the various cases and clients that she supports.

Evelyn will be entering her fourth year at the University of Virginia in the fall, where she will be graduating with a major in Youth & Social Innovation and a minor in Leadership & Public Policy. Evelyn has worked in education related fields since high school, and stays up to date on current education policy. While attending UVA, Evelyn is the finance advisor for the Charlottesville Debate League, where she volunteers her time teaching middle schoolers who don’t have access to speech and debate programs.

Outside of work and school, Evelyn enjoys spending her time exploring new cafes and restaurants, and surrounding herself with her friends and family.