Meet the Team

Board of Directors

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Anthony J. de Nicola

Chairman of the Board,
Invest in Education Foundation

Robert Flanigan

Treasurer and Secretary,
Invest in Education Foundation

Susan B. George

Chief Advancement and Stewardship Officer,
The Archdiocese of New York

Anthony J. de Nicola

Chairman of the Board, Invest in Education Foundation
Chairman, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe

Anthony J. de Nicola is Chairman of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, a New York private investment firm, which manages over $33 billion in its various funds. Mr. de Nicola joined WCAS in 1994, he has served on the firm’s Management Committee since 2000, he was appointed President in 2007 and Chairman in 2021. Mr. de Nicola has led the firm’s investment activities in the technology industry and has been involved with some of the firm’s most successful and profitable investments. He serves on the board of directors for several of the firm’s private and public companies. Prior to joining WCAS, Mr. de Nicola worked in the private equity group at William Blair & Company and the merger department at Goldman Sachs & Co.

Mr. de Nicola earned his BA degree from DePauw University, where he graduated summa cum laude with an economics major and a minor in computational mathematics. Mr. de Nicola also earned an MBA with distinction from the Harvard Business School.

Mr. de Nicola and his wife Christie have been married for over 35 years and are active members of the community and focus their philanthropic efforts on education, poverty relief, healthcare and supporting the Catholic Church. Mr. de Nicola serves on several non-profit boards including The Hospital for Special Surgery, Invest in Education Coalition, The Inner-City Scholarship Fund and The Catholic Foundation for the Archdiocese of New York. He is also a member of the Finance Committee and the Pension Investment Committee for the Archdiocese. He is a founding board member of Brilla College Prep, a public charter school in the Bronx. Previously, he served on the Board of Trustees and the Investment Committee of DePauw University.

As parents of two Notre Dame alums, Tony and Christie have long supported the university. In 2019, the de Nicola family established the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at Notre Dame, promoting the university’s wider efforts to share the richness of the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition.

Catholic schools, scholarships and improved educational opportunities have been a high priority for the de Nicola family, as a result, school choice has been a central philanthropic focus for Tony and Christie for decades. In addition to his day job, and spending time with his wife, children and grandchildren, Tony also serves as Chairman of Invest in Education Coalition, a 501c4 organization dedicated to advancing school choice at the federal level.

Tony co-founded Invest in Education in 2012 to promote improvement in K–12 education and expand access to school choice. On July 4, 2025, Tony and the Invest in Education team transformed the school choice landscape by securing passage of the landmark federal tax credit scholarship law, establishing permanent federal tax credit for private donations to fund K–12 scholarships. This incentive is designed to dramatically expand private charitable support for children nationwide. This historic law is the most significant school choice victory in U.S. history and is poised to benefit millions of children for generations to come.

Mr. and Mrs. de Nicola reside in Florida.

Robert Flanigan

Treasurer and Secretary, Invest in Education Foundation Partner, Educate, LLC

Bob founded Educate with Frank Hardart because they shared a vision and saw a problem. The vision: every child in every school deserves a chance to succeed. The problem: teachers were equipped with technology, but lacked the support to use it and transform education. Digital tools are more affordable than ever–but schools need guidance to realize their potential. As one of two partners at Educate, Bob collaborates with school leaders to achieve these goals and define the process of tech coaching, while supporting coaches and overseeing the company’s internal organization.

Coming from the corporate finance worlds of Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan, Bob knows that teamwork is essential to accomplishing anything meaningful. As a father of four freewheeling children, he knows that every single student is someone’s beloved child. Raised in Westchester County, Bob lives there today with his wife and kids, where he enjoys hiking, fishing, camping and exploring the outdoors.

Susan B. George

Invest in Education Foundation Chief Advancement and Stewardship Officer at the Archdiocese of New York

Susan George is a nationally recognized nonprofit leader who is passionate about providing aid and opportunities for individuals in need. She currently serves as Chief Advancement and Stewardship Officer at the Archdiocese of New York, overseeing development initiatives that raise over $50 million annually to support the Church of New York, the Alfred E. Smith Foundation, Catholic education and underserved communities.

In her previous role, Susan served as the Executive Director of the Office of Catholic Education Advancement and Inner-City Scholarship Fund, where she successfully raised over $500 million and launched a capital campaign for a scholarship program that supports approximately 8,000 inner-city children annually.

In addition to her role in education, she has worked closely with the Archbishop of New York and his senior management to plan two Papal visits to the city of New York.

Susan has transformed the boards of three organizations through her ability to connect alumni and business leaders with the mission of their colleges and educational institutions. Today, she manages a board of over 30 individuals, including many leaders from Fortune 500 companies.

Prior to joining the archdiocese, Susan was at Teachers College, Columbia University, where she was Director of Major Gis and initially an Associate Director of Major Gis and Stewardship. There, she managed relationships with trustees and other key volunteers. She was instrumental in recruiting new trustees to the College.

Susan’s first role in philanthropy began at Drew University when she assumed the role of Events Coordinator and then advanced to Associate Director, Leadership Gis.

She holds a B.A. from the University of Connecticut and a Master of Letters from Drew University, where her thesis was “Corporate Philanthropy.”

Susan currently serves or has served on the boards of The Hawthorne Foundation, Inner-City Scholarship Fund, Invest in Education Foundation and Regis High School.

Darla M. Romfo

Invest in Education Foundation
President of Children’s Scholarship Fund

Darla Romfo serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Scholarship Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to providing partial scholarships for low-income children in grades K-8 to go to private school. CSF’s motto is to give parents a choice and children a chance. In bringing that motto to life, CSF has provided scholarships worth approximately $1 billion to more than 209,700 children since its inception in 1998, and currently serves over 33,900 children nationwide. Mr. Romfo has served in this capacity since the organization first offered scholarships in 1999.

Ms. Romfo is a frequent speaker on education and parental choice, appearing on Fox News and other media outlets, advocating for all parents to have the right to choose the best educational pathways for their children. She is on the boards of the Drexel Fund, Brilla College Prep Charter Schools, the Invest in Education Coalition, The Cloisters on the Platte and Silvercrest Asset Management Group.

Ms. Romfo grew up on a farm in North Dakota and graduated from the University of North Dakota with degrees in political science and accounting. She is a CPA and received a law degree from George Washington University.