Miranda Hope, Chair: Miranda has a BA in English from Stanford University and an MFA in Theater/Acting from Columbia University. She serves as Vice President of the Bob and Dolores Hope Foundation where she spearheaded and manages partnerships with Foodcorps, Superfood Drive, Easter Seals, The Monarch School for Homeless Children, The USO, and the Armed Services Arts Partnerships, among other nonprofits, dedicated to easing the desperation of the poor. She is honored to serve on the board of CCLC where her son, Kai thrives under the excellent care of the gifted teachers in the after-school program. Miranda also teaches yoga and meditation, specializing in trauma-sensitive yoga for wounded veterans and the incarcerated. She has had the great honor to live in Rappahannock County on and off since 1996. She worked at Mountainside Market, Rae’s Place, and The Blue Moon and taught drama and chorus at Rappahannock County High School. Miranda then founded and directed the Next Step College Access Program at RCHS to help kids figure out what they wanted to do with their lives and how to pay for it. Miranda is a singer and songwriter and guitar player who performs with the Shinola Creek collective of local Rappahannock County musicians.

Greg Merritt, Vice Chair: Greg is the managing partner of the Hampton Inn in Warrenton, VA.  He has worked in the hospitality industry for more than 35 years.  Prior to that, he served in the United States Marine Corps as a Sergeant. Greg additionally worked with his father on the family farm raising beef cattle. He and his wife Amo have been married for more than 40+ years.  They are members of Trinity Episcopal Church where Greg has served on the vestry and as the treasurer.  His daughter is an alumnus of CCLC, and their grandson is now a very active member of the student body.

Nina McKee, Treasurer: Nina grew up in Maine, earned both a B.S. in Animal Science and an M.S. in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, passed the National Uniform CPA Exam at the first sitting, and has been a licensed Virginia CPA since 1995.  She founded her own firm in 1997.  A bit of a control freak around the office, she prefers to work solo - with the exception of her trusty standard poodle companions, Francie and Etta, and bulldog, Obie.  When she is not crunching numbers, she enjoys foxhunting, playing polo, skiing, and the joy of good friends and family. Nina’s incredible daughter, Lily, is a CCLC alumna.

Clare Turner, Secretary: Clare is thankful that her winding career path in business and child advocacy led her to CCLC. In 1994 Clare and some friends founded Loudoun Families for Children, a volunteer non-profit organization that provides temporary emergency homes and respite care and mentoring to children in crisis. In 2004, Clare was a certified Montessori teacher working towards her degree in Anthropology when she began studying the intersection of food and culture. This experience led her, with her husband and one of her sons, to found a specialty food business, Virginia Chutney, Co. which has a cannery in Flint Hill. Clare has been a mentor for many years and is a strong advocate of mentoring. She has served as the Program Manager for Headwaters’ Starfish Program. She loves CCLC and is delighted that one of her granddaughters attends CCLC.

Members at large:

Leah Kokinakis Childress: Leah has been working as an evaluator and applied researcher in education, public health, and early childhood development since completing her Ph.D. at the University of Michigan in 2011. After living in many different parts of the country, Leah feels incredibly lucky that her husband’s work brought them to Rappahannock county and that they are finally in their “forever place.” Evan and Leah’s son, Ellis, has been attending the CCLC since they arrived in the county in 2019 and, in a community full of inspiring, dedicated, and kind-hearted people, the exceptional teachers, and staff at the CCLC have been one of the biggest gifts.

Erika Gonzalez-Akre: Erika was born and raised in Venezuela where she earned a B.S. in Earth Sciences (Institute Pedagogico de Caracas), an M.S. in Geology (Universidad Central de Venezuela), and an M.S. in Tropical Botany (Universidad de Los Andes). She worked as a geography high school teacher for a year and soon after dedicated her career to research in paleontology, botany, and conservation in Venezuela, Mexico, and the US. Erika and her husband moved to Rappahannock County in 2012 thanks to their work at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va. She also serves on the board of the EARTH University Foundation and the Virginia Native Plant Society. After having a child, her scientific curiosity has broadened to include the self-study of early childhood development and its importance as a foundation for prosperous societies. She is honored to serve on the CCLC board and admires the teachers, leadership, and community within. Her daughter attends CCLC.

Tracie Jacquemin: Tracie is a founding member and first chair of the Advisory Council of the Buffalo Neuroimaging Analysis Center (BNAC), part of the Department of Neurology of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo.  She also volunteers with the Kenya Education Fund and the Suzuki Association of the Greater Washington Area.  Tracie is an alumna of Duke University and earned an MBA from Vanderbilt University. In 1989, after working in banking and commercial real estate, Tracie was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She then became a certified Montessori teacher and worked as an educator for many years. She lives in Castleton and in McLean, Virginia, with her husband John.  They have three daughters.  Tracie has opened her beautiful property in Rappahannock for our summer campers where they enjoy swimming, fishing, and more.

Rev. Earl E. Johnson:

 A graduate of Yale Divinity School and Central Methodist University, Rev. Earl E. Johnson is an ordained Christian Church (Disciples) minister and Board-Certified Chaplain through the Association of Professional Chaplains. He served Disciples and UCC parishes in Missouri and New York before his chaplaincy training at Memorial Sloan Kettering/New York Presbyterian (Cornell), and New York Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn. Rev. Johnson was the Protestant Chaplain at Cabrini Medical Center in New York City from 1996-2001, when he moved from lower Manhattan to Arlington, Va., on Sept. 9, 2001, to work as a chaplain educator at Washington Hospital Center.  After 9/11, he recruited, screened, trained, and deployed highly credentialed healthcare chaplains to mass fatality events for the Red Cross, and helped develop the Psychological First Aid curriculum and its adaptation for military families.   Johnson was also an adjunct instructor at the Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY) from 1992-2001.    He is the author of the book, Finding Comfort During Hard Times.  From church schools, children’s sermons, youth ministry and pediatric chaplaincy, Johnson is grateful for the opportunity to serve the children of Rappahannock County, their families, and the staff of the CCLC.  He and his partner live on a wildlife refuge in Woodville.  His ancestors first settled in the county 300 years ago.

Debbie Massie: Debbie has a B.A. in Speech & Language Pathology from Longwood College (now University) and an M.S. from James Madison University in Communication Disorders. She retired in 2016 after 36 years in Culpeper and Fauquier County Schools. Debbie and her husband Jim live on a large, beef cattle farm. They have two children, David and Caroline who both attended RCPS. Caroline is also a CCLC alumna. Debbie has served on the Headwaters Board, and Next Step Board, and is currently on the Board of Family Futures. She is also very involved with the Alpha Delta Kappa International Education Society. She enjoys traveling, gardening, cooking, reading, and spending time in beautiful Rappahannock County with family and friends.

Erin Platt: CCLC has been part of Erin’s life for longer than she can remember, starting when she was two years old.  CCLC was named Sursum Corda at that time and it was located in a farmhouse in Tiger Valley.  She “helped" break ground at the current school location.  Erin worked at CCLC as a teacher and cook for five years when her son, J, was little and he is also a CCLC graduate as well as a Rapp Co. High School graduate.  J is now attending Shenandoah University in Winchester, VA.  After working at CCLC, Erin opened Headmaster’s Pub in Sperryville and ran it for five years.  She is now a Real Estate Agent with Country Places Realty and is enjoying working in the public school as a Substitute Teacher.  In the past, Erin has served on CCLC’s Board of Directors and is currently serving on Rappahannock Nature Camp BoD.  She is thrilled to be able to be involved with CCLC again.

Dr. Kate Woodward: Kate came to Rappahannock County with her partner as a part-timer nearly 20 years ago and both became full-time residents three years ago. Although Kate was born and raised in Baltimore, after graduating from Towson State University in Towson, Maryland she moved to New York State where she spent most of her professional career and completed her graduate studies. Kate has an MS from The State University College at Cortland and a Ph.D. from Cornell University. She began teaching in the Ithaca City School District in the Finger Lakes area of New York. After teaching elementary school for a few years “downstate” where she was the assistant superintendent of the Carmel Central School District. Her next move took her back to the Finger Lakes where she was Superintendent of the Southern Cayuga Central School District. During her time as Superintendent, Kate was active in the community serving as President of the Community Medical Center, a member of the Board of the Cayuga County Medical Examiner’s Office, and a member of the vestry of the Episcopal Church in Aurora, New York. Kate’s final career move took her to St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York where she was University Secretary and Executive Assistant to the President. During this time, she also served on the Board of Directors of the Frederick Remington Museum in Ogdensburg, New York.