Board of Trustees

Even most alumni cannot claim as long a connection with R-MA as Mrs. Lucy (Williams) Hooper’s – her parents were Colonel Arvin S. Williams, USAF, Retired (he served in various teaching and coaching positions from 1948-1968, and as President of the Academy from 1969-1978) and Mrs. Emma Williams (R-MA’s registrar when they married in 1950, as well as secretary to then-R-MA President, Col. John C. Boggs). It is not an exaggeration to say that Hooper grew up on campus!

An economics major and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College (now Randolph College), she went on to the world of finance, beginning her career at First & Merchants National Bank (now Bank of America) in Richmond in 1973 and moving to Davenport & Company in 1981 as an institutional bond salesman (the firm’s first female broker). She remains at Davenport & Company today as Executive Vice President and Director of Fixed Income, a role she has held since 2000. She is also a former board member and chair of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). Hooper served on the Randolph College Board of Trustees from 2000-2012, including five years as Chair, as well as the Randolph College Alumni Association in multiple leadership roles. She has also served as a director of the Virginia United Methodist Foundation and as a trustee for the Children’s Museum of Richmond. She has served on the R-MA Board of Trustees since 2013.

John brings forty-one years of experience of soldiering, coaching, mentoring soldiers and students, and directing large and complex programs. His professional experience includes being the Director of Athletics at The Lawrenceville School and Charlotte Country Day School. 

Education:

• M.S., Counseling-Long Island University
• B.S., Engineering-S. Military Academy at West Point
• Class of 1968-Randolph-Macon Academy

Alonzo is a multi-faceted professional with over 13 years of global strategy, operations, and business experience. He brings cross-functional expertise in building and leading flexible teams in dynamic and demanding environments. 

Education:

• M.P.A., Economic Policy-Columbia University
• M.A., International Relations-Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy
• B.S., Ocean Engineering-US Naval Academy
• Class of 2001-Randolph-Macon Academy

As someone who has focused her career on developing business leaders,  I am thrilled to be a part of building the next generation of leaders who will improve humanity at Randolph-Macon Academy. My experience includes twelve years at GE in seven different locations around the US, and fifteen years in my own executive coaching practice, as well as my current role as Chief Learning Officer at Miller Electric Company in Jacksonville, Florida. I joined the board of trustees because of how impressed I was by the character and leadership qualities of the R-MA alumni I’ve been fortunate to meet, as well as witnessing those qualities being developed in our remarkable students. As a mother of three young adults, I believe that we have no greater calling than to assist and guide as our next generation grows mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. More than any other school I know, the wonderful faculty and staff at R-MA do just that.

Bill Bersing is an accomplished Senior Executive with more than 25 years of success across the energy, engineering, construction, security, IT, and government sectors. Leveraging extensive experience developing Construction Management Information Systems and leading program management on billion dollar U.S. government programs and projects around the world, he is a valuable asset for companies working on pursuing government contracts, construction program management, scheduling issues, strategy around risk of moving into a new market, or on reorganization of processes and procedures. His broad areas of expertise include business development, government contracting, organizational leadership, global operations, construction management services, quality control, crisis management, personnel management, qualitative research studies, big data, engineering design, and strategic planning. Throughout his career, Dr. Bersing has held leadership positions at companies including the Institute for Program Solutions PC (IPS), Louis Berger, O’Brien Krietzberg (URS) and Jacobs Engineering. As President of IPS since 2011 (and previously from 2003 to 2006), he oversees Construction Management and Engineering Services throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East (EAME) to the U.S. DoD, Department of State and a number of large corporations. Projects have included writing and assisting negotiations for a $750M UAE real estate build lease contract between the U.S. government and Dubai Port World. He also spent more than two years as Senior Program Manager with global professional services and civil engineering firm Louis Berger from 2014 to 2017. These roles follow nearly six years as Senior Program Manager with Jacobs Engineering, where he provided construction management services at air bases and facilities with program value of more than $1B. He previously spent three years as Regional Manager with URS Corporation and five years as a Project Engineer with the Naples Improvement Initiative. He honed his project management expertise during eight years as a Project Engineer with NAVFAC. He has been responsible for providing senior level design and construction management services on more than $3B in construction programs, is a Scheduling Subject Matter Expert (SME) and dispute resolution/claims expert for the State Department’s Overseas Building Operation (OBO) and Quatar Railways Major Stations, and has a track record for establishing partnerships and joint ventures between multinational companies on large business pursuits. Bill holds a BS in Civil Engineering from the Virginia Military Institute, an MiS in Management Information Systems from Bowie State University, and a DM in Organizational Leadership from the University of Phoenix. He has been a Board Member with the American Society of Civil Engineers Region 10 and is an Advisory Board Member with the International Resilience Center.

Education:

• D.M., Organizational Leadership-University of Phoenix
• Mi.S., Management Information Systems-Bowie State University
• B.S., Civil Engineering-Virginia Military Institute

Bryan V. Moore is a 1984 graduate of Randolph-Macon Academy. During his two years on The Hill he was on the student council, the swim team, managed the football team, and was deputy Corps Commander his senior year. After graduation, Bryan attended Radford University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications.

Bryan started his professional career in broadcasting, working at radio and television stations in Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. After anchoring and reporting in television news for more than 15 years, and in public affairs for ElectriCities of North Carolina, an electric utility trade association, he joined Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) in 2006 as special events and marking manager. During that time he led all ship christening ceremonies and coordinated presidential visits of President Bush, President Obama. President Trump and President Biden. He also served on the shipyard’s crisis and emergency response team, and most recently supported COVID-19 communications and the set-up and opening of the shipyard’s vaccination center.

Today Bryan is the corporate director, Enterprise Communications, at Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the parent company of NNS. In this position, Bryan is responsible for aligning communications efforts to help achieve the company’s strategic goals and tactical objectives and initiatives. He oversees the integration and execution of enterprise-wide communications, including corporate executive communications support, the HII News Bureau, all corporate internet, intranet and social media activities as well as communications involving the planning and execution of mergers and acquisitions.

He serves as president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors at Randolph-Macon Academy and is a former Board member of the Hampton Roads chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. He lives in Norfolk Virginia, close to the Virginia Beach home of his mother and father, Betty and Dave Moore, a 1953 graduate of RMA and former Board of Trustee.

Education:

• B.A., Communications-Radford University

Mr. Chris Gabelle is the parent of both a current R-MA student (Francis ‘27) and an R-MA graduate (JJ Banek-Gabelle ‘21, now at the US Coast Guard Academy). He currently serves as a Senior Social Protection Specialist for the World Bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where he is based in Kinshasa. His extensive experience in international development and fragile/conflict-affected countries includes senior management and technical roles with the United Kingdom Department for International Development in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Liberia; as well as additional roles at the World Bank, United Nations, and European Union in West Africa, including Deputy Head of Office for the United Kingdom’s response to the West African Ebola Outbreak (Sierra Leone, 2014-2016). He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics and Management, as well as a Master of Science in Tropical Agricultural Development, both from the University of Reading in Reading, United Kingdom.

Mr Morris is the third member of his family to serve on the R-MA Board of Trustees, following his father, A. Newth Morris, III ’69 and his great-grandfather Arthur Newth Morris.  His grandfather Arthur Newth Morris, Jr.  graduated class of ’45.  Mr. Morris graduated the Brooks Institute of Photography and worked for many years in the field of commercial photography and advertising.  In 2010 he published Mayors Across America: A 3,600 mile bicycle journey documenting the American Mayor.  Mr. Morris left the field to pursue further education at SBS Swiss Business School in Zurich.  He currently works part time as a consultant to small businesses.  He is married to Jessica Werner Morris ’01 and is a full-time dad to Mackenzie (5), George (4), and John Michael (17mos.)

Education:

• M.B.A., Virginia Tech
• B.S., Accounting-Shepherd University

Mr. John Demers serves as the corporate secretary for The Boeing Company, as well as vice president and assistant general counsel for Finance & Strategy and Environmental & Enterprise Operations, where he oversees legal matters relating to corporate governance and securities filings, mergers and acquisitions, sustainability and environment, health and safety, and cybersecurity. In 2021, he returned to Boeing after serving as assistant attorney general for National Security at the US Department of Justice under both Presidents Trump and Biden. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the College of the Holy Cross and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, and has served as an adjunct professor of national security law at the Georgetown University Law Center.

Ms. Kailyn Manseau is a current R-MA parent (Connor ‘29) and the incoming Parents’ Association President for the 2024-25 academic year. A Program Specialist for the Office of International Visitors at the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the State Department, her work supports the International Visitor Leadership Program. Previously, she worked as an International Program Specialist for the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, working with the US Army’s Foreign Area Officer Program at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany, where she was charged with the coordination of training programs in Europe and Eurasia. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Security Management and a Graduate Certificate in Intelligence Analysis from Johns Hopkins. She lives in Front Royal with her husband Brandon (US Army, Retired) and their two children.

Major General Brown is the retired Deputy Commander of Air Education and Training Command, Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas, where he was responsible for all basic military training and 83% of the Air Force initial skills and advanced technical training, as well as the funding mechanism within the USAF. Following his retirement, he served as Chief Operating Officer for the US Department of Education Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), and was responsible for the $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio. He now serves as the Executive Director of the Student Freedom Initiative.

Major General Brown holds a Masters in National Security Strategy from the National Defense University, a Masters in Strategic Studies from Air Command & Staff College, a Masters of Public Administration from Troy State University, and a Bachelors in Accounting from Tuskegee University.

Dr. Margaret Konkel is an Associate Professor, MFA Design Thinking and Program Coordinator for the Interior Design Program at Radford University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Modern Language and Literature from the College of William and Mary, an MFA in Interior Design from the Academy of Art University, and an Individual Interdisciplinary PhD from Montana State University. Her scholarly research focuses on the pedagogy of design thinking in higher education, especially as related to interdisciplinary wicked problem-solving. She is LEED AP and NCIDQ certified with over twelve years of commercial interior design practice. Dr. Konkel is the daughter of former R-MA trustee, Mr. William G. Thomas ‘57, who passed away in 2020, and his wife Mrs. Suzanne Thomas, a longtime friend of the Academy.

Tess Hegedus began her career in Physical Therapy 30 years ago after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Health Related Professions. Overtime, she discovered a passion for teaching and learning. Combined with her love of science these interests led to a rewarding pathway forward in the field of education. In pursuit of these interests, Tess obtained a Master’s Degree in Gifted Education from Elon University and a PhD in Teacher Education/Higher Education from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. Her over 20-year career in education has been filled with a variety of experiences to include teaching, research, and administration in  K-12 learning environments and higher education. Tess served as Dean of Instructional Leadership and Innovation at Randolph-Macon Academy from 2018-2020 collaborating to build technology initiatives, J-Term, Pre-Professional Pathways, and simulation labs to enhance the educational experience for students at the school. She is honored to be able to return to R-MA to serve as a Trustee and support future initiatives that benefit students and the Academy as a whole

Per the Winchester District of the United Methodist Church:

Rev. Dr. Victor Gómez was born in Mexico and raised in a Christian home with strong Wesleyan roots. In 1991 Victor and his future wife, Heather, were both youth members of the Voices of Youth of the Virginia Conference when the group travelled to the World Methodist Conference in Singapore.

In 1993, Rev. Dr. Gómez came to Shenandoah University to study music. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Music Composition and fell in love with the Shenandoah Valley. Right after he graduated, he married Heather who became his soul mate and partner in ministry. Together they are raising one beautiful daughter.

They moved to Atlanta where he attended Candler School of Theology at Emory University and received a Master of Divinity. He continued his studies and attended Columbia Theological Seminary where he received a Master of Theology.

He served the Virginia Council of Churches as the Executive Director of Rural Family Development, a ministry with over 180 employees, serving farm workers and their families through five migrant and seasonal head start centers, including one in Winchester. He also worked with the Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Association as the interim executive director in Washington, D.C. He is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and currently serves the Harrisonburg and Winchester Districts as District Superintendent.

Since 2011, he served and became an active part of the Winchester area as pastor, chaplain, and advocate. He volunteered as chaplain for the Fire and Police Departments of Frederick County and the City of Winchester. He was elected as the first President of the Latino Clergy Caucus in the Virginia Conference. He is a faculty member of the Methodist Seminary in Cuba where he has already taught to more than 200 pastors. He serves boards and agencies at Conference and District levels. He holds a Doctor of Ministry in Public Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. He comes with strong Wesleyan theological roots and believes that Missions is vital for ministry and looks for opportunities to serve God and expand as far as possible.

The Honorable W. Revell Lewis recently retired after serving 12 years as a Circuit Court Judge in Virginia’s Second Circuit. A 1969 graduate of R-MA, he holds a Bachelor of Science from Washington & Lee University and a Juris Doctor from the T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond. Prior to his appointment to the bench in 2011, he served as a partner at Custis, Lewis & Dix LLP in Accomac. He has served in leadership roles on several boards of directors, including Shore Health Services Inc., the Eastern Shore Community Foundation, Farmers and Merchants Bank, Broadwater Academy, and Virginia United Methodist Homes, Inc. Judge Lewis is also a lifelong member of Grace United Methodist Church, where he is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. He and his wife Lisa have two children and six grandchildren.