School Board
Columbus Preparatory Academy is a non-profit community school governed by a local Board of Directors. During the 2025-2026 school year, our school board will meet seven regularly scheduled times and one annual meeting. The dates, times, and locations for those meetings are below.
BOARD MEMBERS
Marty Ditello, President
Marty Ditello joined the Columbus Preparatory Academy (CPA) Board of Directors in March 2013.
Before joining the CPA board, Marty served the school community for two years as a PTO member and then as the PTO Board Secretary for a year.
Marty is married to Amanda, and they have five children, ages 11 to 18. Over the years, all of their children have attended CPA, including Marty’s oldest son, who started kindergarten at CPA in the fall of 2011.
Professionally, Marty has been in leadership roles for 22+ years, including spending the last seven years as a senior leader with McGraw Hill. Marty has extensive experience being a people leader, Roberts Rules of Order, Ohio Sunshine Laws, contract review and negotiation, school finance, school operations, school governance, school compliance, and community engagement.
Marty has been serving on his local HOA community’s Board of Trustees since October 2020. He was elected as the Board of Trustee President in March 2021, overseeing the association’s day-to-day affairs. His fellow Board of Trustees unanimously re-elected him to the role of President in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Marty is also the founder and Executive Director of a local 501c3 organization that provides children between ages 3 and 12 an opportunity to learn and play various sports in the local community.
Marty currently serves as a Board of Directors Officer, holding the position of President, which he has held since July 2013. Marty has served as the Chair of the Governance task force for the last five years, which helps to oversee school contracts, board member compliance, and general day-to-day affairs of the school.
John Newsome, Vice President
John Newsome joined the Columbus Preparatory Academy (CPA) board of directors in March of 2022.
John is a licensed Civil Engineer with a primary focus in the utility industry. Over the last 12 years, John has served in a leadership role within the industry providing oversight in the areas of process improvement, change management, fiscal budgeting and strategic planning.
John has two children who are both students at CPA where both have been with the school since starting their academic journey in kindergarten.
John enjoys playing music, outdoor activities and working in the development of many CPA students in the Mid Ohio Flag Football league where he has served as a Head Coach since 2018.
John looks forward to providing his skill sets to further enhance the growth and potential of CPA.
Michael Dorne, Treasurer
Michael Dorne joined the Columbus Preparatory Academy (CPA) Board of Directors in July of 2024.
Before joining the CPA board, Michael served on his local Property Association for the past 6 years in roles as a member of the board of trustees and Vice President of the Board.
Michael has been married to his wife Jill, for over 30 years and has two adult daughters that have gone through both local and out of state public school’s districts (Olentangy, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, Hilliard) as well as Trevecca Nazarene (Nashville) and Ashland University here in Ohio.
Michael graduated from Columbus Public Schools and attended the Ohio State University from 1988 through 1992 while studying Elementary Education and business.
Michael is the Transportation Operations Manager at The Ohio State University and Wexner Medical Center, where he has worked since 2013. Prior to joining OSU, Michael worked with other transportation companies, as well as with the Columbus Regional Airport Authority and Ground Transportation Dept, working within a concession agreement with transportation services.
Suprena Lohrer, Secretary
Suprena Lohrer joined the CPA Board of directors in 2025.
Before joining the board, Suprena served on her local HOA board, holding various roles, including treasurer, vice president, and, most recently, secretary. She has served on this board since 2016
Suprena graduated from The Ohio State University with a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. She worked in the food manufacturing industry. She has 3 children who have all been homeschooled and then attended public high school, where they have succeeded.
Suprena enjoys giving back to the community, and education is essential to her as she believes she would not be where she is today without a stable and encouraging education.
Suprena has been married to her husband David for over 20 years. They have 3 children. Their oldest will attend Texas A&M and was valedictorian of his high school class. Their middle daughter attends London High School, and their youngest is still in middle school, where she is homeschooled full-time by Suprena.
Aatish Patel
Aatish Patel joined the Columbus Preparatory Academy (CPA) board of directors in September of 2018.
Aatish is married to his wife, Hinal, and they have two children together, Aarna and Aahir, who are six-year-old twins. Both children also attend CPA and are in the 1st Grade.
Professionally, Aatish is a Business Product Officer with Bank of America. He has worked for Bank of America for 9 years and has held multiple positions which have provided him with knowledge in different areas of the banking industry.
Aatish is also a volunteer coach with Mid Ohio Flag Football in which his son, Aahir, plays.
2025-2026 Board Of Directors Meetings