Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors is the guiding force behind our vision and mission. Comprised of dedicated individuals with diverse backgrounds and expertise, our board provides strategic leadership and oversight, ensuring we stay true to our commitment to education and community empowerment.
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Christie Atkins
Board Member
Bio coming soon.
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Matthew Black
Vice Chair & Board Member
Matthew Black lives full-time near Sperryville with his wife, Barbara, after many years as a weekender. He specialized in research, policy analysis, and management consulting as an economist. Matthew was Senior Vice-President at SRA International before retiring.
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Kathy Grove
Board Chair & Academic Director
Kathleen Grove has over 40 years of experience in education. In Arlington Public Schools, she taught English for 20 years and served as a Gifted/Talented Supervisor, Special Projects Director, and Assistant Superintendent.
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John Jacquemin
Board Member
John Jacquemin is president and chief executive officer of Mooring Financial Corporation, a private investment firm that he created in 1982. Among his honors, John was the Ernst & Young Greater Washington Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006.
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John W. Kiser
Board Member
John Kiser bought a home in Rappahannock County over 30 years ago. During his business career, John was an international technology broker and holds an M.A. from Columbia University and an MBA from University of Chicago. John has been active in the…
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Gardiner Lapham
Secretary & Board Member
Gardiner has a background in nursing and public health. She manages Partners Against Mortality in Epilepsy (PAME). She supports other efforts to advance epilepsy research and education in the US and Africa. Gardiner has served on the boards of Whitman-Walker Health, …
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Tim Nolan
Board Member
Tim has lived in Sperryville since 2014 and has been a RappCE instructor since 2016. His career includes 15 years with the CIA and 17 years in the Middle East, mainly with the Saudi government and the UN. Tim speaks conversational Arabic.
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Barney O’Meara
Treasurer & Board Member
Barney and his wife Mary moved to Slate Mills in 1974, raising their two sons and loving rural life in Rappahannock. Barney has served on the boards of The Child Care and Learning Center and Headwaters and volunteered for other community groups, including the Benevolent Fund and …
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Carlos Seward
Board Member
Carlos Seward serves as the principal of Rappahannock County High School (RCHS). His tenure began on July 1, 2021. Before coming to RCHS, Mr. Seward was an assistant principal at Eastern View High School in Culpeper County Public Schools. A middle and high school social …
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Anne Simon
Board Member
Anne and her husband, Lee, moved to Virginia from California in 1996. When retirement made it possible, they settled in Flint Hill in 2014. Anne has been an educator since receiving her MA from Columbia University Teachers College …
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Richard Spillenkothen
Board Member
Richard was born in the Midwest. He has a BA from Harvard and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Richard spent 30 years as a financial analyst and bank regulator at the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC.
Staff
Jami Davis
Executive Director
Jami is creative and artistic. She enjoys painting, photography, acting, and vocal performance. She has a B.A. degree from Converse College in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis on Montessori Philosophy. She completed the AMS/MACTE program for ages 6 to 9 at Lander University in 2008, and the 9 to 12 program at the Montessori Teacher Training institute in 2012. Jami has experience teaching kindergarten through middle school, with a strong focus on Science, and also has experience teaching Early Childhood Education at the college level.
Jami’s simple philosophy of education is to trust the method, engage the students, and most importantly to trust the children in their pursuit of learning. She can’t imagine herself in any other profession than educator. She spends her free time reading, painting, learning new things, and performing in community theater.