About YES

Leadership Team Bios

Jason Bernal, President
As President, Jason serves as the leader of YES Prep Public Schools. Along with the senior leadership team and the Board of Trustees, he oversees the daily operations of the organization and works closely with YES Prep's external community of supporters. Jason’s career at YES Prep began in December 1997, several months before YES Prep received its charter and began operation. As a founding YES Prep team member, he has had the opportunity to serve in multiple leadership roles at several campuses and the Home Office. He started his career at YES Prep Southeast, where he taught Reading, Spanish, History and Geography and eventually served as the Dean of Students.

In 2003, he became a co-founder and co-school director at the North Central campus. This school opening marked the first time that YES Prep replicated its model in a new neighborhood; many of the systems and approaches that he and his team used that year have remained part of the blueprint for YES Prep’s expansion strategy. In 2006, he was named the school director at the Southwest campus and, two years later, he became a co-school director at the Southeast campus. He held that post until transitioning into the role of Chief Operating Officer in August 2009. As COO, he worked with a team of school directors and also managed many of the operational functions for YES Prep, including facilities, construction, technology, human resources, state compliance and student data management. He was named by the Board as the new President of YES Prep in May 2011, succeeding the founder. Jason holds a degree in Spanish from Montana State University-Billings and a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University.


Jennifer Hines, Senior Vice President, People and Program
As Senior Vice President for People and Program, Jennifer oversees attracting, developing, and evaluating YES Prep’s human capital and is responsible for the quality of YES Prep’s educational program. She has worked at YES Prep since it first opened as a 6th-12th grade school in 1998. Prior to her current position, she served as a teacher, counselor, and school director at the original YES Prep campus. An alumna of Teach For America, Jennifer has been involved in numerous projects both locally and nationally related to teacher quality, curriculum development, and career pathways for educators. Jennifer is also a founding board member of Ed Pioneers in Houston. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and holds a Master’s degree in Urban Education from Harvard University.


Robert McBurnett, Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Robert manages all financial matters for YES Prep including financing structures, accounting, treasury and all financial reporting duties. He joined YES Prep in December 2008 at the launch of the Phase II initiative to grow to 13 schools and has implemented the financial structure to support this growth. He came to YES Prep with 21 years in professional sports administration, most recently with the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League. He previously served as Vice President; Finance for Major League Baseball’s Houston Astros during the planning and construction of Enron Field (now Minute Maid Park) and was instrumental in the administrative transition from the Astros’ Astrodome era to the new ballpark. Robert is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University and began his accounting and finance career with the international accounting firm that is now Deloitte LLP. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas and is a member of numerous professional organizations. In May 2011, he was named by the Houston Business Journal as one of Houston's "Best CFO's". 
 

Mark DiBella, Vice President of Operations
 Mark is the Vice President of Operations for YES Prep Public Schools.  Mark’s career in education began when he joined Teach For America in 1999 and spent 2 years teaching at Macario Garcia Elementary School in North Houston.  In 2001 Mark joined YES Prep and served as an Algebra teacher for two years.  After joining YES Prep as an algebra teacher in 2001, Mark became a founding staff member of YES Prep North Central in 2003.  Two years later, Mark became the School Director of the North Central campus.  Under Mark's leadership, YES Prep North Central has earned the state's highest ranking of Exemplary every year, and has also received the national EPIC award, been named a National Blue Ribbon school, and become an authorized International Baccalaureate school. In 2009, the campus was prominently featured in Edutopia—a national publication dedicated to school reform. In 2010 Mark became a Senior School Director at YES Prep North Central and joined the YES Prep Head of Schools team to jointly manage all YES Prep campuses.  In 2011 Mark left YES Prep North Central to become the School Director of YES Prep East End.  Mark is originally from Virginia and is a graduate of the College of William and Mary.  In May 2010 Mark received his MBA from Rice University.  

 

Lisa Hall,Vice President, Talent Support
As Vice President for Talent Support, Lisa is responsible for the recruiting and selection team and the talent support (HR) team.  Lisa also provides legal counsel to YES Prep Public Schools as needed.  Prior to joining YES Prep, Lisa worked with Rice University on a variety of recruiting and talent development initiatives.  Lisa taught property and employment law as a visiting professor at Thurgood Marshall School of Law.  Prior to that, Lisa served as the Director of Professional Development for McKinsey & Co.’s Texas Offices for five years.  Lisa began her career with Bracewell & Patterson (now Bracewell & Giuliani) as an attorney in the employment law section and became a partner in the employment law section in January of 1993.  Lisa is Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor and received her JD from the University of California – Los Angeles. 

Bill Durbin, Head of Schools
In his capacity as Head of Schools, Bill oversees the team of school directors and also manages the Leading Excellence Program, a training program for prospective YES Prep leaders. Prior to this post, he was the founding school director of YES Prep Gulfton. Previously, he co-founded and co-directed both YES Prep North Central and YES Prep East End. Before starting these schools, he served as a founding teacher at YES Prep Southeast, where he held a variety of leadership, academic and extra-curricular roles.  During his tenure at YES Prep Southeast, Bill created and ran the athletic program, taught 6th and 7th grade English, served as grade-level and English department chair, and sat on the school’s campus-based leadership team. In addition to his roles at YES Prep, he has also served as a leadership coach for the Texas High School Project, CFT. Bill holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois, a Masters in Education (Supervision and Administration) from the University of Houston, and an MBA from Rice University.