Lori Sommer

2016 NACSA Leader

Assistant Director, Charter School Compliance

Lori Sommer currently serves as the Assistant Director of Charter School Compliance at Washington University in St. Louis. She is responsible for ongoing oversight and evaluation of the charter schools sponsored by the University.

Lori has extensive experience with charter school administration. Prior to her position at Washington University, she worked for the Associated General Contractors of Missouri as Director of Operations for the Construction Careers Center Charter High School.

Lori received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Missouri – Columbia and her Associate of Science from Ranken Technical College in St. Louis.

Most Recent Posts

NACSA statement on recent decision in Oklahoma about religious charter schools

NACSA is disappointed in the recent decision by a federal judge in Oklahoma, allowing The Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School Foundation to continue with plans to open a religious charter...

Public charter schools are not religious schools

In 2025, a divided U.S. Supreme Court preserved an Oklahoma Supreme Court ruling that blocked the application for what could have become the country’s first religious charter school, St. Isidore of Seville...

Communities want unique and innovative schools. Are authorizers ready?

By Jay Whalen From their inception, public charter schools promised to provide innovative ways to meet the students’ learning needs. At NACSA, we’re invested in helping authorizers be responsive to those needs, to ensure that...