Brett Jones
Chair
Christine Barth
Treasurer
Kelli Palmer
Secretary
Susan Blank
Trustee
Marie Bourgeois
Trustee
Eric Bundonis
Trustee
Greg Frank
Trustee
Maran Garland
Trustee
Emily Harpster
Trustee
Natasha Lawler
Trustee
Charles Lunsford
Trustee Emeritus
Kimberly Robinson
Trustee
Business Manager
Nettie Lovet received a B.S. in Business and Accounting from the University of Phoenix. She has worked for small businesses as well as larger corporations for nearly 20 years, and has both accounting and operational experience. Ms. Lovet moved to the mountains of Virginia with her daughters in 2018. In her spare time, Nettie enjoys gardening, country living, dancing, and visiting the lake with her family.
Teaching Assistant/After School Teacher
Ms. Li earned a Master of Teaching degree in Elementary Education from the University of Virginia and holds a K – 6 teaching license in Virginia. She completed her student teaching at Stone Robinson and Jackson Via Elementary Schools, and worked as an assistant teacher at the University of Virginia’s Child Development Center. Ms. Li also has a Master of Science in Material Science and Engineering from Beijing University of Chemical Technology. With her bilingual and science background, Ms. Li is passionate about creating a curiosity-driven supportive learning environment.
Eric Bundonis received a B.A. in history from Middlebury College and an M.B.A. in finance and management, with honors, from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is a managing director at UVIMCO, with responsibility for Absolute Return and Credit investments. He serves as a member of UVIMCO’s investment committee and is involved in all aspects of the investment process and portfolio risk management. Prior to joining UVIMCO, Mr. Bundonis served as Head of Research at Artivest in La Jolla, California, where he was a member of its investment committee and oversaw the identification, sourcing, due diligence and ongoing monitoring of alternative fund managers across multiple investment strategies totaling approximately $4 billion. Before joining Artivest in 2009, Mr. Bundonis served as an associate at OneCapital Management Partners in New York and began his career at Auda Hedge, LLC in New York. He previously served as the Treasurer of the Bird Rock Foundation. Eric and his wife are proud parents of four Peabody students.
Emily Harpster graduated from UVA with a B.A. in Political and Social Thought and Foreign Affairs. She spent more than a decade with United Way of the Bay Area in San Francisco, including the role of lead program designer. During her time at United Way, Emily fostered the development of a network of integrated service delivery centers that brought together more than 70 partners and have now served more than 30,000 people. She also spent time as an international United Way fellow and as a consultant to the Federal Reserve Bank and Corporation for Enterprise Development. In addition, she served as a board member at the Emergency Food & Shelter Program and as a trustee at the Legal Services Trust Fund of Northern California.
Emily returned to Charlottesville in 2017 with her husband (a fellow UVA alum) and their two boys (now at Peabody). After a few years as a full time parent and a brief chapter helping ReadyKids with its fundraising, Emily turned her attention to a longtime dream of building a small business, returning to school and eventually launching SugarBear Ice Cream (now available in stores throughout the area) in spring 2022.
In addition to the Peabody board, Emily has served as a member of the Meals on Wheels board since 2018. She enjoys all things food, spending time with friends and family, and projects around the farm.
Treasurer
Christine Barth received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the George Washington University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. She most recently served as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Harren Equity Partners, a middle market private equity firm, where she managed the finance and administration functions of the firm. Prior to Harren, Barth was the CFO of Snowbird Capital, a private investment firm focused on providing mezzanine debt and private direct investment capital to lower middle market companies. She held board positions and was a board observer on various portfolio companies within the Snowbird Capital portfolio. Ms. Barth’s earlier career included financial, operational, and investment experience with lower middle market companies in both the for profit and not-for-profit sectors. She was the CFO at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation where she managed the operating budget, retail operations, IT and HR. She was the CFO and a Regional Director of Small Enterprise Assistance Funds (SEAF), an international investment firm focused in emerging markets. She also held operating positions at MuseumCompany.com, American Airlines, and First American Bankshares. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the George Washington University and as a member of the Darden School Alumni Association Board.
Secretary
Kelli Palmer is a strategist and practitioner in the fields of learning and inclusion. She is currently the head of Organizational Development & Corporate Citizenship at CFA Institute and their former founding head of Global Inclusion & Diversity. Kelli has also had the privilege of leading the development of a robust, multi-year corporate social responsibility strategy, establishing the organization’s sustainability strategy, and ensuring that Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations are included in day-to-day operations. Her background working across business, nonprofit, and education landscapes has made her a multidimensional leader and strategist who brings together deep expertise with pragmatic, business-minded approaches to proliferating belonging through learning. Though a proud and longtime Charlottesville resident, Kelli was raised in Montgomery County, MD and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education at Elon University. A devoted alumna, Kelli is a member of Elon’s Black Life Advisory Committee and the President’s Council. She received her Master’s Degree in Counselor Education from Wake Forest University and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from UVA. A lifelong learner, Kelli studied at Oxford University and has earned graduate certificates from Boston College and Harvard University. She is an active contributor on numerous local and state nonprofit Boards, including the Heather Heyer Foundation, Community Climate Collaborative (C3), Piedmont Virginia Community College Foundation, and the UVA Physicians Group. In addition to her professional accomplishments, Kelli is a classically trained vocalist and former member of the Washington Opera Company. Kelli and her husband James have four children, including three Peabody students.
Chair
Brett Jones earned a PhD in Electrical Engineering with a focus on signal processing and pattern recognition. He held numerous quantitative roles at JP Morgan and was a portfolio manager at hedge funds Millennium and Ramius. In 2014 he started the proprietary trading firm Cannonball Trading, where he remains the managing partner. He is one of Peabody’s biggest fans and has two children (one Peabody alum and one current student). He joined the Peabody board as Treasurer in 2016.
Director of Educational Technology
& Technology Teacher, grades 5-8
Amy Brudin has been teaching and learning with technology since she graduated from UVA in 1994. She spent 10 years in the Washington, D.C. area, teaching at the National Cathedral School and consulting privately with families looking to set up networks and computers at home. She and her husband and fellow UVA graduate George moved to Batesville in 2003 and are proud parents of Lune, Peabody class of ’21.
Middle School Spanish
Emmie Wright holds a B.A. in Spanish with a minor in Anthropology from Washington and Lee University. She earned her M.A. in Spanish from the Middlebury Language School, finishing her last summer in Guadalajara, Mexico. She has spent a number of years teaching both middle and upper school Spanish in Charleston, SC, New York City, and Charlottesville. She took time off from teaching to stay home with her two children, both of whom attend Peabody. In her free time, she loves to travel with her family (especially to Menorca, a small island off the coast of Spain), garden, read, and run.
First Grade
Lauren Elliott holds a B.S. in Elementary Education with a minor in French from the University of Virginia. She recently completed her intern teaching in Grade One at St. Anne’s-Belfield and 5th grade at Stone-Robinson. She is passionate about responsive social-emotional teaching and learning and cultivating positive, interesting, and challenging learning experiences. In her free time, Ms. Elliott enjoys playing guitar and piano, playing volleyball, and spending quality time with friends supporting UVA Athletics!
Maran Garland earned her undergraduate degree in Communications with a concentration in Marketing and Public Relations from Marymount Manhattan College, followed by a Masters in Liberal Studies with a focus in Literature from Stony Brook University. After nearly 10 years of living and working in Manhattan, Ms. Garland relocated to Charlottesville where her husband Rob was, and continues to be, a local photographer. She was a member of The Paramount Theater’s marketing team for two years before being promoted to Director of Marketing and member of the Senior Leadership Team for the nonprofit theater. Since 2019, she has proudly served as a lecturer for the course, Arts Marketing: Theory and Practice in the Arts Administration division of the Department of Art at UVA. Most recently, she joined Ting Internet’s local team as the Marketing Manager for Charlottesville.
The Garlands are the proud parents of a Peabody student who began her Peabody tenure as a three-year-old in the Peabody PreK program. In her free time, Ms. Garland enjoys spending time with her family, enjoying the sights of Charlottesville and Central Virginia, and cheering for the ‘Hoos.
Teaching Assistant/After School Teacher
Mykel Paige earned a B.S. in Communications from Kaplan University in 2009 and A.S. degrees in Teacher Assisting, Gourmet Cooking & Catering, and Nutrition, Diet & Health Science. Mykel’s professional experience includes becoming Trauma-Informed Certified and working as a Residential Counselor in a group home for abused teens, as well as being trained in behavior management and crisis intervention. Mykel is currently working toward a degree in Early Childhood Education.
Vice-Chair
Bidhan (Bobby) Parmar holds an PhD, MBA, and a BA in Religious Studies from the University of Virginia. He is currently a faculty member at the Darden School of Business Administration. His award-winning teaching and research focus on business ethics, critical thinking, and collaboration. Parmar works with senior executives on issues related to decision-making, stakeholder management, design-thinking, and leadership. Parmar has a daughter at the Peabody School and loves spending time at the beach with his family and dog.
Marie Bourgeois holds an A.A. in Interior Architecture and Design from the Intercontinental University of London and a B.A. in the Arts from Tulane University. Originally from Charlottesville, Marie has worked in design in New Orleans, Charlottesville, London, Gibraltar, and Sotogrande, Spain. Following graduate school, she worked on multiple projects in the London offices of Joanna Woods and Tim Gosling, including Gosling’s redesign of the Goring Hotel. From London, she relocated to Gibraltar to work with Patricia Darch Interiors, with offices in Gibraltar and the south of Spain. Her work has been featured in LPA, La Revista, and Casa y Jardin. She returned to Charlottesville in 2014 and is the principal and owner of Marie Bourgeois Design. Marie has been in involved in several local charities, including the Women’s Initiative and the Music Resource Center, which she helped design for its initial opening in 2004. She has six children at Peabody.
PreK After School Teacher
Kasha Viets-Wood graduated from Guilford College in 1989 with a B.A. in Early Childhood Education and Art. She has worked with children in a variety of capacities for more than 35 years in public and private schools, daycares, preschools, and after care programs. Outside the classroom, Ms. Viets-Wood enjoys spending time with her her husband and three dogs, in addition to swimming, watching a good mystery series, socializing at the dog park, growing flowers, going for walks in the woods, and spending time with family and friends. She is thrilled to return to Peabody’s After School program.
Emeritus
Charles Lunsford holds an MBA from Harvard University, as well as a BA in History from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining Greg Frank as President in the founding of Pula Capital Management, Charles spent the past decade investing in and managing private equity transactions. Charles has worked as an operating partner, interim-CEO, and been a board member of several privately held and private equity backed companies. Prior to that, Charles was the Founder, Chairman and CEO of Smith Mountain Industries, a CPG company that was grown substantially and exited successfully. Charles began his career on the buy side working in Hong Kong and investing across Asia. Currently, Charles is Chairman of International Neighbors and as an Emeritus Member of the Board of Trustees of the Peabody School where he served as Chairman for eight years. He also previously served on the board of the Thomas Jefferson Area United Way. Charles is a proud parent of two Peabody graduates and two current Peabody students. He also has an avid interest in anything outdoors, particularly saltwater fly-fishing and bow-hunting.
Community Connections Coordinator
Eric Anderson earned his undergraduate degree from Rutgers University and a Master’s degree at Columbia University in cognitive biopsychology with certification in conservation biology. He has worked in urban education and environmental non-profits, and both taught in and led independent schools in New Jersey and Charlottesville. A Peabody parent, Mr. Anderson will work to build bridges both within the school and to the broader community in his role as Peabody’s new Community Connections Coordinator. A middling birdwatcher, soccer and ultimate frisbee player, and outdoor enthusiast, he is currently trying to learn guitar to help drown out his oft-unwelcome singing.
Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Grade Math
Hope Sikora received a B.A. in Mathematics and a MAT in Secondary Education from the University of Virginia. Ms. Sikora loves math because it encourages problem solving and helps us understand the world. In her free time, Ms. Sikora enjoys cooking, exercising, and cheering on the Hoos!
Fifth Grade Math
Heather Miller received a B.A. from Dartmouth College in history and an M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University Teachers College. She has taught several different age groups but has a particular passion for math and for students in the upper elementary grades. Ms. Miller has taught at private schools in Connecticut, Ontario, Manhattan, Charlotte and, most recently, Barcelona. She has served as both a homeroom teacher and as a learning support specialist. When not teaching, Ms. Miller spends time with her children, who are young adults, and she enjoys hiking, reading, yoga and relaxing with her two cats.
Third Grade
Jillian Wilde earned her B. A. from the University of Connecticut in Political Science and her M.A.T. from Goucher College in Elementary Education and Special Education. Mrs. Wilde holds teaching licenses in both Elementary Education and Special Education. She taught preschool for four years, followed by four years of teaching third grade in the Montgomery County, Maryland Public School system, before coming to Peabody. In her free time, she enjoys reading and traveling, as well as antiquing and thrifting. She also loves a variety of outdoor activities and is a certified scuba diver.
Third Grade
Nicole Dreyfus graduated from Bard College with a B.A. in Literature and Creative Writing, and earned her Master’s of Science in Education from Bank Street College of Education in New York City. She holds a teaching license for grades PreK-6 in the state of Virginia, and is also a certified and licensed teacher of Meditation, Hatha, Kundalini and Raja Yoga. Ms. Dreyfus loves learning new things, chess, crossword puzzles, reading about everything, yoga, jogging, skiing, camping, snorkeling, creative writing, history, poetry, chemistry, art history, painting, travel, zoology, psychology, anthropology, volunteering, philosophy, theology, Halloween, mycology and pugs.
Online Learning Coordinator
Sarah FitzHenry holds a Masters in Library Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as a B.A. in English and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education, both from Bowling Green State University. Ms. FitzHenry brings experience from both public and independent schools, having taught a diverse range of subjects from elementary literacy to computer science. Additionally, she is an experienced educator coach and presenter, and is passionate about helping teachers and families shape the next generation of leaders and citizens. Ms. FitzHenry lives in Charlottesville with her family, and is pretty much always reading a book or asking someone a question.
School Nurse
Tara Montgomery holds a BSN from the University of Virginia. Her experience includes nursing in the inpatient setting (Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital), outpatient clinic (UVA Cancer Center), and most recently, Telehealth nursing. Ms. Montgomery’s goal as Peabody’s school nurse is to provide a safe environment for students to learn and play as well as to promote health and wellness in exciting and proactive ways.
Natasha Lawler holds a BA in Political Science and Journalism from the University of Notre Dame. She got her start in journalism as a fact checker for San Francisco magazine and worked her way up to Managing Editor. Ms. Lawler was one of the first employees of Minted.com, a global community of independent designers and artists creating holiday cards, wedding invitations, and other artistic goods. She left Minted after eight years as the Senior Director of Public Relations, Partnerships and Events. She currently runs her own brand building, public relations and events consulting business NML PR and Events. While living in Hong Kong, she founded a knitting group for undocumented refugees as a way to foster community and enable self-support. She moved to Charlottesville six years ago and currently serves on the Advisory Board of the University of Virginia’s Children’s Hospital and is a former board member of the International Rescue Committee Charlottesville. She is involved in several other local charities including Lilypads Housing and the Women’s Initiative, as well as a Sunday School teacher. She has three young boys, including two Peabody students.
Kimberly Jenkins Robinson graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, with a B.A. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. She is the Elizabeth D. and Richard A. Merrill Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, and a Professor of Education at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. She is a national expert who speaks domestically and internationally about educational equity, equal educational opportunity, civil rights and the federal role in education. Her scholarship has been published widely in leading journals, including the Harvard Law Review and University of Chicago Law Review, and proposes innovative legal and policy solutions for ensuring that all children receive equal access to an excellent education. She recently published the edited volume A Federal Right to Education: Fundamental Questions for Our Democracy (NYU Press 2019). In 2015, Harvard Education Press published her book that was co-edited with Professor Charles Ogletree Jr. of Harvard Law School, titled The Enduring Legacy of Rodriguez: Creating New Pathways to Equal Educational Opportunity. She also served in the General Counsel’s Office of the U.S. Department of Education, where she helped draft federal policy on issues of race, sex and disability discrimination. In addition, Robinson represented school districts in school finance and constitutional law litigation as an associate with Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells).
Hunter McCardle earned his professional degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Georgia. He is Principal and Founder of Red Roots Communities, a real estate development firm dedicated to providing affordable and healthy housing solutions in areas of need with a high barrier to entry. Prior to starting Red Roots, Hunter owned and operated a landscape architecture and planning firm for 15 years in Charlottesville. He has served on several Charlottesville-based non-profit boards, and is the father of two Peabody students.
Greg Frank holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, as well as a BSc Electronic Engineering (summa cum laude) from the University of Cape Town, South Africa. He is Chairman and CEO of Pula Capital Management LP, a quantitative investment firm. Prior to this, Mr. Frank founded Presagium, an investment firm that traded foreign currencies electronically. Previously, he founded Ovation Capital, a venture capital fund in New York. Mr. Frank grew up in a rural mining town in South Africa and moved to the United States in 1996 after his conscripted military service and early engineering career there. He met his wife Lauren, also a South African immigrant, in New York. He is the proud dad of a current Peabody student and a Peabody alumnus. He spends his free time with family and enjoys jazz piano, running and tennis (despite now being usually defeated by his sons).
Susan Kuhn Blank holds a BA from the University of Virginia and an MD from Harvard Medical School. She completed a residency in internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in endocrinology at the University of Virginia. She was a founding partner of Blue Ridge Endocrinology and Diabetes, which was later sold to the University of Virginia. She then founded BEATDiabetes, a non-profit social enterprise which aims to leverage technology and insights from behavioral economics to catalyze behavioral change, improve health, and lower cost in populations with Type 2 diabetes. Dr. Blank has served on the Board of Directors of Madison House and CHIP (Comprehensive Health Investment Project) of Virginia and is currently serving on the Board of Managers of the University of Virginia Alumni Association. She is the proud parent of four Peabody students. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, and traveling.
Emerita
Dorothy Batten took a BA in Economics from Hollins University in 1985, an MBA (Masters in Business Administration) from the University of Virginia’s Colgate Darden School of Business Administration in 1990, a M.S. in Counseling Studies from Capella University in 2010, and a PsyD from the American University of Positive Psychology in 2012. She also attended the design school at the University of California Los Angeles for two years before returning to Virginia. Ms. Batten is currently the President of the D.N. Batten Foundation and DTMP, LLC, a real estate investment company. She is a former director of Landmark Media Enterprises LLC of Norfolk, Virginia. Ms. Batten serves on a number of nonprofit boards, including the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, The Women’s Initiative, and the Alumni Board of Trustees at the University of Virginia. She has served on the board of trustees of the Norfolk Academy, the Peabody School, the Amazon Conservation Association, and the Paramount Theater. She has also served the University of Virginia as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Managers, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation Board of Directors and National Advisory Board, the Fralin Museum of Art Advisory Board, the Virginia Film Festival Council of Friends, and as co-chair of the Virginia Arts Council. She has also launched a non-profit initiative, called iThrive, to create mental health prevention apps and games for adolescents.
Chair
Tobias Dengel holds a BSE in Finance (Wharton) and a BSE in Systems Engineering, both from the University of Pennsylvania. He has been active in digital media for over 20 years, starting with AOL in 1996. While there, he held a variety of leadership roles including General Manager of AOL Local and VP of AOL International, based in London. Mr. Dengel left AOL in 2003 to found Leads.com, a pioneering search agency which was acquired by Web.com in 2005. In 2009, he co-founded WillowTree, Inc., a leading mobile agency based in Charlottesville which has grown to over 400 employees. Mr. Dengel began his career as an analyst at the consulting firm AT Kearney. He lives in Charlottesville, VA with his wife Lynn, a breast oncology and melanoma surgeon, and his four children, who attend Peabody School.