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.
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Sarah Curry
Board Member
Sarah Beth Curry works in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Department at Rappahannock County High School. Her course offerings include Digital Applications Economics & Personal Finance.
Staff
Jami Davis
Executive Director
Jami Davis brings a wealth of experience and passion for education to her role as Executive Director of Rappahannock Center for Education. With a BA in Early Childhood Education and a Master’s in Education with an emphasis on Montessori Philosophy, Jami has dedicated over 15 years of teaching across grades kindergarten through twelfth. In addition, she has spent five years teaching at the college level, where she fostered a commitment to lifelong learning.
Jami 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. She has experience teaching kindergarten through middle school, focusing strongly on science.
Jami’s leadership extends beyond the classroom, having spent five years in a supervisory capacity in nonprofit management. As a strong advocate for continuing education, she now leads RappCE, focusing on expanding access to quality education and workforce development in the Sperryville community and beyond. Her diverse background and dedication to education make her an invaluable leader in shaping the future of RappCE.
Jami’s simple philosophy of education is to trust the method, engage the students, and, most importantly, trust the children in their pursuit of learning. She can’t imagine herself in any other profession than an educator. In her free time, she enjoys painting, photography, acting, and vocal performance. These creative pursuits not only enrich her life but also inform her teaching methods. She also reads, paints, learns new things, and performs in community theater, showing her commitment to lifelong learning even in her personal life.