Brett Fuhrman, Principal Consultant

Brett has spent the majority of his over 20-year career leading educational institutions through strategic change as they pursue excellence and seek to achieve critical long-term goals. Rooted by relevant experience in consulting, Brett’s approach is founded on the principle that people are your school's greatest resource and that the pace of change should be balanced with what makes your school great today.

Brett began his career at the former "Big Five" firm of Arthur Andersen in its audit services department. Upon becoming a Certified Public Accountant, he transitioned to the Corporate Finance department advising businesses on the brink of bankruptcy and helping them identify a path to recovery. Thereafter, he realized his true passion was working in schools and began his career leading educational institutions.

Brett spent six years in leadership roles working in the Denver Public Schools, rising to Chief Financial Officer during a time of intense educational reform in the effort to reduce the city's student achievement gap. During his tenure he managed $750 million of variable interest rate debt at the peak of the Great Recession, increased the general fund reserves from $15 million to over $100+ million, and served as a board member of the forward thinking teacher merit pay system, ProComp. Brett is especially proud to have participated in the development, review, and implementation of the District's program to establish five new innovative charter schools a year.

In 2010, Brett took his talents to the independent school world as Associate Head of Finance and Operations of a 9-12 co-educational college preparatory boarding school in New England. During his tenure Brett successfully led the School to a much stronger financial position. This was done in large part as a result of cost savings initiatives leading to a reduction of recurring costs by 5% with no impact to core programming. In addition to establishing a roadmap to financial strength, Brett helped lead the efforts to develop a long-term campus master plan developed through the lens of the School’s mission. As of 2019, the School continues to implement the components that were established in this master plan. In addition, he also co-led environmental sustainability efforts, an enhanced wellness program, and a sustainable dining program. A highlight for Brett was leading the transition to a new medical insurance plan generating annual savings to the school of $290k and a 10% reduction in costs to employees while maintaining existing benefits and a better administrative experience for employees.

Brett moved on in 2013 to assume the role of Chief Financial and Operating Officer of a highly selective, independent PreK-12 urban day school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He especially enjoyed his time focusing on numerous facilities and campus planning activities. He successfully managed the complex $11 million renovation of a school campus located in a residential neighborhood on an extremely short timeline, coming in under budget. Brett led the efforts to strategically acquire two properties critical to the Schools' long-term health and ensuring the potential for future expansion. He also participated in the investigation and research of expanding the School's Global Education programming. One of Brett's most rewarding experiences was leading the creation and development of a campus-wide strategic environmental sustainability framework for reducing carbon emissions.

By 2017, Brett found himself drawn back to the root of his career in turnaround consulting and accepted an offer to join a mid-market PreK-12 day school seeking a turnaround. Brett served as their Chief Financial Officer through July 2020 at which time he transitioned to serving the school as a Fractional CFO consultant. In 2018, Brett established Parke Consulting Group to serve educational institutions through strategic partnering, planning services, and operational reviews. In August 2020, Brett was drawn back to his work with boarding schools joining The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) as their Vice President of Finance and Operations helping lead TABS through the pandemic and stabilizing its financial structure. In June 2023, Brett was asked to serve as Head of School at Carolina Day, where over two years he stabilized and revitalized the institution, restoring trust and morale after a period of turmoil.

Brett is now focused on expanding Parke Consulting Group’s client base to include a broader portfolio of small businesses, while continuing to serve independent schools and nonprofits. Although the firm initially specialized in supporting independent schools through strategic partnering services, over the past five years he has discovered that the same proven practices, principles, and methodologies are equally effective and beneficial for small businesses.