Expert franchise leadership

Helena has served as Chief Financial Officer since 2024 after joining Lightbridge Franchise Company in 2022 as Vice President of Finance. In her current role, Helena leads the finance department, overseeing banking, insurance, tax, investor relations, financial operations, and accounting.

Prior to joining Lightbridge Franchise Company, Helena was the head of finance for a division of Certara. Her background includes experience in financial management, consulting, and investment banking, serving clients in multiple industries.

Helena enjoys reading, hiking, and taking road trips with her husband, Paul, their two children, and their dog.

Brenda has served as Chief Marketing Officer of Lightbridge Franchise Company since 2015. She joined the company as VP of Marketing in 2010 with a deep marketing and advertising agency background in client services and strategic planning for Fortune 500 luxury and beauty brands.

Her experience as a working mother, franchise owner, marketer, and Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) provides a unique 360 perspective helping to drive strategy for the Lightbridge Academy brand, inspire innovation, and has resulted in record growth for both the franchise system and unit-level revenue. In her role, Brenda leads the Franchise Sales, Advertising, and Marketing Departments in all phases of strategic planning and execution, creative and brand direction, and designing marketing systems and support for the Lightbridge Academy franchise.

Brenda and her husband Tony’s two children are alumni of Lightbridge Academy. She enjoys singing, traveling, and spending time lakeside.

Ben has served as Chief Information Officer since joining Lightbridge Franchise Company in 2020. Blake leads and oversees all technical vendors and innovation matching business needs with empowering technology solutions and services.
He possesses over 20 years of experience in franchising, education, and finance developing technology solutions. Previously, Ben worked as SVP of IT for Huntington Learning Centers leading multiple cross-functional teams in providing technology solutions spanning the enterprise, and at Bowne & Co. leading full life cycle development of complex enterprise-level applications.

Ben enjoys backpacking through the wilderness, running, and spending time with his wife Beth and two teenage sons.

Joanne has served as Chief Operating Officer for Lightbridge Franchise Company since 2020 and possesses over 20 years of experience in franchising and the education sector. She is responsible for the oversight of the Operations Department and for the consistency, efficacy, and quality of all Lightbridge Academy operational systems and centers.

Her career has been centered on providing senior leadership and management for multi-unit businesses. Prior to joining Lightbridge Academy, she worked for Wilton Industries, overseeing their educational program with a focus on the retail customer experience and quality. Her proven track record in franchising and success operating Lightbridge Academy company centers will create consistency, efficacy, and continuous improvement to drive innovation and greater quality.

Joanne is an accomplished yogi who enjoys playing golf and spending time with her puppy Zoey.

Craig has served as Chief Development Officer since joining Lightbridge Franchise Company in 2022. He drives growth and enables the Lightbridge Academy brand to scale in a responsible manner. As CDO, Craig’s extensive development expertise, business and leadership skills, and market knowledge is an invaluable resource for Lightbridge Academy franchise owners.

Craig brings 15 years of experience as a real estate developer in the dental industry, where he worked for three major dental organizations, built over 300 dental offices in 20 states, and managed a $180 million book of business. His most recent role was as a Divisional Vice President for Dental Care Alliance, where he helped the company scale its operations by establishing best practices across over 100 offices.

Craig and his wife, Suzanne, live in Lakewood Ranch, Florida with their daughter and son. In their downtime, Craig enjoys boating, golfing, and spending time with family and friends.

Jim has served as Senior Vice President of Franchise Sales since joining the Lightbridge Academy Franchise in 2022. With a deep passion for the early education industry and a drive to lead franchise sales for emerging and mature child care brands, Jim offers extensive franchise expertise, business and leadership skills, and market knowledge for both Lightbridge Academy franchise owners and prospects. He has been instrumental in helping to grow the company to over 70 operational child care centers, expanding into fourteen states, and is preparing to triple in size over the next five years growing throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and beyond

Previously, Jim served as Chief Development Officer for Celebree Enterprises LLC, where he worked with prospective and established franchise owners to help achieve their goals of business ownership and develop their child care portfolios. He also served as Vice President of Franchise Development for Goddard Systems, Inc.

Jim resides in Pennsylvania with his wife, three kids, and two dogs. In his spare time, he enjoys custom woodworking and riding his motorcycle through the winding back roads of Pennsylvania.