Established in 2004, our Pennsylvania office has a proud history of delivering back-office, administrative, and accounting services to schools. After rebranding as Vertex Education in 2025, we remain committed to providing the same trusted expertise and support that schools have relied on for two decades.
Meet the Vertex-PA Team
Michael Whisman, CPA
Founder and Executive Officer
Michael has been serving charter schools since their inception in PA in 1997. He founded a charter school service firm in 2004 and has been a leader in supporting the charter community for more than 20 years. Michael has dedicated his career to charter schools, is viewed as an expert in charter school finance, and is often called to testify or engage in shaping activities with key stakeholders in the PA legislature and statewide coalition.
A Certified Public Accountant focused on providing financial management to those who agree that educational choice is a must, Michael is a financial executive, with extensive experience in institutional operations, data/fiscal analysis, and project management.
Ryan Schumm
Founder and Executive Officer
Ryan has worked at and on behalf of charter schools since 2003. He holds a degree in Education and enjoyed three years of teaching middle school math and science at a charter school. Ryan was chosen to serve on the charter’s leadership team, which ultimately led him to explore assisting schools with administrative and financial challenges across Pennsylvania. In his career after the classroom, Ryan has worked with charter school boards and administrators as a trusted financial manager and advisor for more than 16 years. Ryan is committed to using his experience to assist school leaders in creating great schools of choice.
Jesse Bean, Ed.M
Principal, School Services
Jesse leads our strategy consulting practice, offering a range of professional services to clients that includes long-range planning, school start-up, executive coaching and board training. He was the Head of School at the Russell Byers Charter School, a K-8 Expeditionary Learning school in Philadelphia, and was previously the Principal of Impact Academy of Arts and Technology, one of Envision Education’s network of San Francisco Bay Area high schools that were featured in a 2014 Stanford University case study on student-centered learning and school design. Jesse has led workshops on project-based learning, performance assessment, school redesign, school leadership and governance for educators, leaders and board members in school systems around the world. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College (B.A.) and Harvard University (Ed.M.), and is a National Faculty Member with the Buck Institute for Education.
Kevin Corcoran, MBA
Principal, School Services
Kevin brings more than 20 years of financial, accounting and management experience to serving clients, including 10 years in leadership positions at one of the largest charter schools in the state including 6 years as its Chief Financial Officer. He also has served in client service and consulting organizations with an emphasis on operations management, procurement and contracts. Kevin is a trusted advisor to Boards and school leaders, providing guidance during pivotal events such as audits, charter application and renewal, and leadership transitions. He has helped educate legislators and officials in Harrisburg on key charter school issues and has provided testimony to the Senate Education Committee. Kevin has also served for more than 20 years in the United States Navy, where he holds the rank of Captain and Commanding Officer of a reserve unit providing logistics support to the Pacific Fleet. Kevin is a native of Philadelphia and earned dual MBA/Master of Public Policy degrees from Duke University and B.S. from Villanova University.