EARL MARTIN PHALEN
FOUNDER & CEO
As a result of his proven track record, TIME Magazine wrote, “Phalen
has become one of the country’s leading education reformers.”
Named for his adoptive parents, George and Veronica Phalen,
Phalen Leadership Academies has been transformative in
schools and communities across the country – turning multiple
F-rated schools into A-rated schools. PLA currently serves
nearly 10,000 scholars nationwide.
Approaching nearly 30 years of service, Earl continues to dedicate
himself to changing the lives of children by providing access to
quality education. Phalen began his career in education while a law
student at Harvard, where he founded BELL, which operates afterschool
and summer education programs. Under his leadership, the
organization grew from a local community service project serving 20 children to a national non-profit
educating 15,000 children annually.
His impact was honored in 1997 by President Bill Clinton and was heralded as a model to guide national
legislation by Secretary Hillary Clinton during her tenure as a New York Senator and by President Barack
Obama during his tenure as an Illinois Senator.
Earl was awarded the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award and was honored by the entertainment industry at
the BET Awards. His work in education has also been lauded by the New York Times, Parents Magazine,
Education Week, and ABC World News.
Phalen holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Yale University and his J.D. from Harvard Law.
EVA SPILKER CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Eva’s career in finance began in the Corporate Financial Consulting
Division of Ernst & Young in Baltimore, Maryland. She then
transitioned to the Economics Group of CSX Intermodal where
she developed long term planning models as well as all
capital expenditure justifications and analyses. She now
leads all accounting and finance functions across the PLA
network.
Eva is responsible for all aspects of our consolidated financial
management including monthly financials, state and federal
grants, cash management, budget creation and management,
cash flow forecasting, board reporting and payroll. She is also
responsible for audit management, vendor and bank relationships
and all state, federal and philanthropic grant financial reporting. Eva holds an economics degree
from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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