OUR BOARD

We are trying to provide the educational institution with high-quality personnel who will be able to explain all incomprehensible topics to students, help with dissertation editing, and other types of work.

John Markson

John is the President of MarksonHRC an Atlanta-based management consulting firm that specializes in helping companies improve their business through the design and implementation of executive pay and benefit programs that help attract, retain and motivate employees. To understand the key points of John's work, read Nurturing Neurobehavioral Students: The Orion School's Dedication to Empowering Education, and ask us questions for clarification if you have them.

John has over 25 years of experience consulting on executive and broad-based compensation and benefit issues and has worked with companies from across industries and ranging in size from startups to some of the world’s largest companies.

Prior to starting MarksonHRC, he held various executive roles at Mobil Oil and served as a managing partner at Towers Perrin - a global Human Resource consulting firm.
John graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in economics and from George Washington University with an MBA in finance. He is a credentialed actuary and a frequent speaker on human resource and actuarial-related topics.

John lives in Atlanta with his wife, Laura, two children and assorted pets. When not working or spending time with his family, he enjoys participating in sports of all kinds (except golf), reading history books and volunteering.

John and Laura co-founded The Orion School in 2006.

Frank A. Argenbright, Jr.

Frank Argenbright, Jr. is the Chairman of Air Serv Corporation.

Frank was raised in Madison, Florida.  He earned a B.S. in criminal justice from Florida State University. He was previously in the Army Reserves, earning the rank of Captain.  He graduated in 1991 from the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard Business School.

In 1979, Frank invested $500 to start Argenbright Security, Inc. which eventually became AHL Services, Inc., a multinational company, providing outsourced business services for Fortune 500 clients.  AHL grew to become a $1 billion revenue company with
52,000 employees operating out of 204 offices worldwide.  In 2000, AHL sold its security division, Argenbright Security, to Securicor (a London-based company); and in
2003, AHL was privatized.  The personal and professional aftermath of 9-11 on both Frank and Argenbright Security are covered extensively in the book “Unsafe at Any Altitude” by Susan and Joseph Trento.

In 2002, Frank founded Air Serv Corporation to provide outsourced business services to aviation clients.  Today, Air Serv has over 8,000 employees providing services at
27 airports in the United States and Europe.  In 2005, Frank founded a sister company, SecurAmerica, to provide commercial security services.  Today, SecurAmerica has
2200 employees providing services in 20 cities in the United States. 

Frank, along with his various companies, have won numerous awards and recognitions during his career:  Ernst & Young, Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 1989 and
1990; and Winner in 1997; Atlanta Journal Constitution, Georgia 100-Best of Business in 1998, 1999 and 2000; Argenbright Security, Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in  Atlanta in 1992, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999; AHL Services, Top 50 Fastest Growing Companies in Atlanta in 1998 and 1999; Air Serv, #1 Fastest Growing Private Company in Atlanta in 2005; #17 in 2006 and #37 in 2007; SecurAmerica, #1 Fastest Growing Private Company in Atlanta in both 2007 and 2008, and #2 Best Places to Work in 2007. 

Frank is a board member of the Children’s Hormone Foundation and a member of Young President’s Organization WPO and CEO.  He has been married for 29 years; and he and his wife, Kathy, have a son, Hunter, age 25 and a daughter, Blythe, age 22.

Joseph Ciucci

Joe is a partner with the law firm of Duane Morris LLP. He practices in the areas of traditional labor law, employment litigation and employee relations matters. He has successfully defended discrimination, harassment and wrongful discharge actions in federal and state courts and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and state agencies and obtained injunctions enforcing non-competition agreements on behalf of management clients.

Another aspect of Mr. Ciucci's practice is the representation of clients before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in Board investigations, unfair labor practice charges and trials, and compliance issues. He assists employers through union organizing attempts, representation hearings, strikes and picketing. He also represents clients in labor arbitrations and collective bargaining negotiations.

Joe is a member of the state bars of Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania. He also is a member of the American Bar Association and its Labor and Employment Law Section.

Joe is a 1993 graduate of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, where he was the Labor Law Symposium Editor for the Law Review, and a graduate, with departmental honors, of Alma College.

John Crawford IV

John H. Crawford, IV, CFA is the Director of Investments and Client Service for Crawford Investment Counsel, Inc.  Crawford Investment Counsel is an Atlanta based investment advisory firm managing over $2 billion of assets for institutions, endowments, and private investors.  John has worked for Crawford Investment Counsel for nearly 20 years managing portfolios, performing research and analysis, and serving on the firm’s Senior Leadership Team.  Previously he was with Merrill Lynch Capital Markets working in fixed income trading and operations. 

John graduated from the University of Georgia in 1988 with a BBA in Finance and received his MS in Finance from Georgia State University in 1991.  In 1993 he became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and is a member of the Atlanta Society of Financial Analysts. 

John is married with two children, attends Peachtree Presbyterian Church and is involved with Trinity School and coaching his children’s sports teams.  He has served on various committees for the Atlanta Society of Financial Analysts, Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, and Gamma Advisors Capital Campaign.  Currently he serves on the board of trustees for the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and The Orion School. 

Richard Dobb

Richard Dobb currently serves as Chief Administrative Officer of Internap Network Services Corporation, a publicly traded Internet services provider, where he leads Internap's real estate, human resources and legal functions and guides the development of policies and procedures to ensure the integrity of Internap's business practices.

Prior to joining Internap, Richard was general counsel of several public technology companies and was in private practice in Atlanta.  He has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions (M&A), intellectual property law, public securities and commercial law.  Richard holds a Juris Doctor degree from Emory University and a BA in history and economics from Rutgers College.

Laura James

Laura is the Resource Specialist at The Children’s School.  The Children’s School is a progressive, independent elementary school in midtown Atlanta, and its population includes a full range of academic achievement levels.

Laura has twenty-one years of experience in classroom teaching and educational leadership. As Resource Specialist, Laura identifies children with learning needs and provides them with guidance for remediation and accommodation.   She works directly with classroom teachers on differentiating instruction and supporting families in pursuing outside support when necessary.  

Laura received a BA from Brenau University in Gainesville, GA and a Masters in Elementary Education from Northern Arizona University.  She has a specialist certification in reading recovery and is trained and certified in the following instructional programs:  Math Their Way, Math a Way of Thinking, Everyday Mathematics, Technology Today, Mel Levine’s Schools Attuned. 

Laura lives with her partner in Decatur with their two teenage children.

Danielle Laursen

Danielle Haas-Laursen is in-house counsel for a San Francisco-based telecommunications company.  She grew up in Atlanta, and is actually a 6th generation native Atlantan.

Danielle has a B.S. from Cornell University, a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech, and a J.D. from Stanford University.  After graduation, she worked at a law firm in California before moving back to Atlanta.  She serves on the boards of the Orion School and The Temple. 

Danielle lives in Vinings with her husband and three children.