At RappCE, 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. With unwavering dedication, our board plays a pivotal role in shaping the future of RappCE, ensuring that we continue to make a meaningful impact on our community.

Bio coming soon.

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. He and Barbara lived on Capitol Hill for 35 years, where they raised their two children. He’s an avid photographer and an aspiring tennis player, runs with the Sperryville Rescue Squad, and helps with Foothills Forum initiatives. Beyond bush hogging, pickleball, and fly fishing, his most profound joy is grand-parenting.

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. In Rappahannock County, she led Wakefield Country Day School for eight years as Head of School, served as Interim Superintendent of the Public Schools for six months, chaired the Headwaters Public Education Foundation for four years, and has worked with the Rappahannock Center for Education since its inception. She is committed to the value of education for all community residents.

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 community both publicly and behind the scenes as a philanthropist.

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.

John’s current nonprofit board memberships are Kid Pan Alley, an organization inspiring and empowering children to become music creators; the George Mason University Foundation; and the Castleton Festival. Previously he served on the board of overseers of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and as a board member of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.

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, The Washington Free Clinic, and CURE Epilepsy. She and her husband, Nick, have three children and spend as much time as they can enjoying Rappahannock County and their home at the Farm at Sunnyside.

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.

Tim is a former adjunct professor of economics at the University of Maryland (Global Campus), Portland State University, and Strayer University. His hobbies include gardening, hiking, and community service.

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 Rapp At Home. He has an engineering degree from Yale and is self-employed, marketing innovative electronics technology.

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 studies teacher, International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program (IB-MYP) coordinator, Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) coordinator, and dean of students, all in Alexandria City Public Schools; a middle school social studies teacher and a grade-level chairperson in Henrico County Public Schools.

Mr. Seward began his career in education as a high school history teacher and later departmental chairperson in Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

Mr. Seward has a BA in History and MA in Educational Leadership.

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 in 1972, spending her career both teaching and as Administrator and Head of School at several independent schools in both California and Virginia. She is passionately involved with horses and small farm life and loves being part of the Rappahannock community.

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. He was then a financial consultant and a board member of various securities firms and banks. Richard's interests include history, economics, finance, and clearing trails. Richard has been a property owner in Rappahannock since 2012.