LOUDOUN CLASSICAL SCHOOL - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board
- Associate Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College
Dr. Cory Grewell is an Associate Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College. He holds a Ph.D. in English from Northeastern University, an M.A. in English from California State University-Bakersfield, and a B.A. in English from The Master's College. Dr. Grewell is an active member of the Conference on Christianity and Literature and has published work on Shakespeare, Medievalism in Literature, Noir Detective Fiction, and the works of the Inklings. He has taught college English since 1998 and has held full time posts at Thiel College in Greenville, PA and at the American University in Dubai prior to coming to PHC. He lives in Round Hill, VA with his wife and children.
Dr. McGrath holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University in Computational Geophysical Fluid Dynamics, Dr. McGrath has an impressive educational background including teaching at both CalTech and Harvard University, as well as at the high school level. Dr. McGrath has also created mathematical and economic models for the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Brianna Kelly graduated from Patrick Henry College in 2020, having studied Classical Liberal Arts and Pedagogy. She loves to learn and to discover the fascinating and beautiful ways that the disciplines work together, reflecting the glory of the Creator. For the past couple years, she has taught various subjects in various contexts, including geometry, Latin, and piano in the U.S. and English in China. Her favorite part about teaching is sharing the things she loves with her students.
Grace Johnson is a senior Literature Major at Patrick Henry College. She grew up in Southern California and spent a year working as a teacher's aide at a local Christian school before moving to Virginia. Her homeschooling background cultivated her passion for stories, whether they be fictional or historical, and their ability to shape hearts and minds. She currently attends Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg where she volunteers in the children's ministry. When not working on school, Grace enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her friends.
Grace Weitz graduated from Patrick Henry College in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Liberal Arts. She interned with Providence Prep during college, teaching high school English Studies and Literature. She has also tutored a number of high school students in the community, while also helping to edit Cottage Press Language Arts Curriculum. She is an active member at Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church, where she teaches children's Sunday School. A Western Loudoun County native, Grace lives in Round Hill. Grace has completed the Formation Certificate offered by the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation's School of Biblical Counseling.
Natalie Garvis has lived in the Loudoun area since her birth and after being homeschooled, studied Liberal Arts with an English specialization at Northern Virginia Community College. She finds the greatest satisfaction in her work when it uplifts and assists others and has already spent several years working in various support roles, both administrative and otherwise. One of these positions includes two years as office assistant in the Blue Ridge Bible Church office, which has been her home church since childhood.
Job Titles:
- President of the Board
- Chief Operations Officer ( COO ) of Chameleon Consulting Group
Byron Williams currently serves as the Chief Operations Officer (COO) of Chameleon Consulting Group, a company he co-founded that focuses on providing customers with cutting-edge and innovative solutions within the Information Operations domain. He grew up in northern Virginia and has resided in Loudoun County since retiring from the United State Marine Corps in 2015. Shortly after retirement, Byron founded and served as Director of the Digital Warrior Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on providing full-spectrum resiliency support to military members and their families. Byron and his wife, Brittany, live in Leesburg, VA. Two of their children attend Loudoun Classical School and they are homeschooling several of their younger children. He and his family are a faith based Christian family who are members and regular attendees of Hamilton Baptist Church. Byron spends his free time pursuing his passion: his family (and a little college football).
Christian Castro is a senior Classical Liberal Arts Major at Patrick Henry College. He has been teaching for nearly ten years in a variety of settings, and he has a heart for discipling youth in the knowledge and wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Since fall of 2022, he has been attending Church of Our Savior.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Writer
Daniel Heffington is a storyteller, writer, and speaker for HSLDA Action (a national advocacy organization promoting homeschooling and educational freedom) and Generation Joshua (a national civics organization for teens) where he has led messaging, content, and communications strategies since 2013. Daniel also has a background in grassroots activism, parental rights advocacy, and has worked with numerous federal and local campaigns. In addition to his advocacy work, Daniel is a songwriter and recording artist. He regularly performs at music clubs, conferences, churches, and events around the US. Daniel lives in Berryville, Virginia, with his wife, Abigail, and their kids: Ellie, Piper, and Tuck.
Ethan is a homeschooled Florida native who graduated from Patrick Henry College in 2023, earning a B.A. in History, a B.A. in Government: American Politics and Policy, and a minor in Classics. During his time at PHC, he enjoyed serving as a Resident Assistant, as the Student Body President, and as an Assistant Director for Teen Leadership Camps. He now lives in Purcellville and is privileged to be a member at Trinity Church of Loudoun. He is delighted to have been teaching at Loudoun Classical School since 2021.
James Hodson is a senior History Major at Patrick Henry College. He grew up in Maine and
received his high school education at home. When not reading a book, he spent his time outside
hiking and playing sports. During the summers, he served as a counselor at a Christian camp. He
now serves as a Resident Assistant at Patrick Henry College. He currently attends the Church of
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Executive Director of HSLDA Action
Joel Grewe is the Executive Director of HSLDA Action. HSLDA Action is a national advocacy organization promoting homeschooling and educational freedom. It is headquartered here in Purcellville. In that role, he also oversees Generation Joshua, HSLDA's youth civic education program, and the HSLDA Online Academy, which provides Christian online courses to middle and high school students everywhere. He regularly speaks and teaches across America. He grew up in rural Washington and moved to Virginia in 2004 where he and his wife have chosen to raise their three boys. He and his family attend McLean Bible Church, and he teaches in their children's ministry.
Luke Burgess is a Senior Environmental Science and Stewardship Major at Patrick Henry College. He has taught classes in introductory robotics and nature studies at homeschool co-ops and at Christian private schools. He takes great joy in showing people the creativity of the Lord in the natural world. He is honored to be interning for Environmental Science class at Loudoun Classical School.
Reed graduated from Rappahannock Community College in 2019, and from PHC in 2023, majoring
in journalism, with a minor in Philosophy. His work history includes landscaping as well as interning with Teen Challenge, where he interviewed past graduates of the program. He enjoys camping and hiking. He has four younger siblings, and the youngest is 8. He enjoys watching the Arthur series. He is considering pursuing archeology, but in general plans to keep learning about astronomy, Christian thought, aesthetics, logic, literary criticism, caves, etc.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Vice President and Partner at Cornerstone Asset Management
Rick Weitz is Vice President and Partner at Cornerstone Asset Management in Winchester, VA. Rick holds a BA in Economics from the College of William and Mary, and earned acceptance in Omicron Delta Epsilon, the International Economics Honor Society. Rick has served as an elder at Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church for over ten years. He and his wife Kathy educated their six children at home. A competitive swimmer in high school and college, Rick remains a passionate local youth sports supporter. He served for many years as an assistant coach for the Franklin Park Stingrays, and on the Loudoun County Patriots (basketball) Board of Directors, and he currently coaches women's basketball at Patrick Henry College. Rick and his family live in Round Hill, VA.
Growing up in four-year stints in New York, Michigan, Oregon, and Washington, with a year in Colorado afterwards, Sam Rule has been private schooled and homeschooled, studying his junior year of high school at Bellevue College and his senior year at Worldview at the Abbey, a bridge year program through Trinity International University. In May 2022, he graduated magna cum laude from Patrick Henry College earning a B.A. in Economics and Business Analytics and a minor in Biblical Studies. Since commencement, he has spent time back home with his family in Seattle, particularly enjoying his family's new cat Douglas, and now lives in Round Hill as an active member of Hamilton Baptist Church. When he's not sharing his love of knowledge with students-commonly referred to as "teaching"-you will oft find him reading books written by dead people or fellowshipping with living people or both.
Born and raised in Loudoun County, Trey Hammond graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from George Mason University and worked briefly in law enforcement before pursuing a career in education. His love of teaching began at a young age when he was asked to instruct the introductory class at his Karate school. Since that time, he sought every opportunity to teach, finding joy in the process of guiding students from novice to expert. Trey attends Bethel OPC in Leesburg, where he is a member.
Donna has always loved teaching, starting at the age of fourteen teaching swim lessons at the local lake. She graduated from William Paterson University with dual majors in Education and English, and began her formal educational career teaching English studies to sixth-grade students while her husband, Chip, attended seminary in Philadelphia. After Chip accepted a call to pastor Bethel Presbyterian Church in Leesburg, she continued to teach in Loudoun County public schools until their first child was born. She homeschooled their three older children through high school, all the time teaching various groups and classes in co-ops and homeschool support programs. She is an active member of Bethel Church, leading and participating in music, children's, and outreach ministries, and in her spare time she loves to read, garden, take long walks, and sing in a local jazz band. She and Chip live in Round Hill.
Kathy Weitz holds an M.A. in Christian and Classical Studies from Knox Theological Seminary, and is currently pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Classical Education at University of Dallas. Kathy is the author of Cottage Press, a comprehensive grammar and composition language arts curriculum based on the classical progymnasmata. For more than a quarter-century, she educated her six children at home. During this time, she taught a number of other students, both online and in the classroom and helped to found Providence Prep, a classical home education community in Purcellville, Virginia. Kathy lives in Round Hill with her husband, Rick.
Kathryn Pugh has taught secondary English and writing for over 25 years in a variety of educational settings and has helped struggling learners in a private practice setting for 15 years. Kathryn homeschooled her four children and began searching for answers when two of her children struggled to read. A lifelong learner, Kathryn has completed training with NILD (The National Institute for Learning Development), Equipping Minds Cognitive Therapy, Rx for Math, and is a certified dyslexia specialist. She credits educational therapy with transforming students into confident independent learners with strategies and skills. Kathryn Pugh finds joy in helping students find a future and a hope.
Mary grew up in the farmland of Minnesota. She earned a bachelor's degree in Wildlife Biology from the University of Montana. Mary and her husband Jeff raised their four children on a cattle ranch in Northern New Mexico. She homeschooled her children through high school, also teaching biology and coaching a speech and debate team through a homeschool co-op. Mary and her family live in Round Hill and they attend Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg. Mary loves long walks, reading, travelling, and meeting new people.
Mary Trombadore has been educating young people for over 40 years as a classroom teacher, a homeschooling mom, a church youth director, and now an educational therapist. She finds her work incredibly challenging and wonderfully rewarding. Mary has been fascinated by research-based programs that target weak cognitive, rather than academic, skills. The potential to help students at such a foundational level has brought a new energy and enthusiasm to Mary's work. Mary lives in Purcellville with her husband Bob, and they have three adult children.
Monica Gill holds a master's degree in American history from George Mason University. She has been teaching American history, government, and comparative politics for 27 years and currently teaches for Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia. Monica has dedicated much of her life to raising up young adults through her work as an educator, youth leadership camp director and church youth leader. She resides on a little farm in Hillsboro, Virginia with Doug, the husband she adores and their sweet daughter, Grace who is their greatest blessing and joy.
Patricia Robl was born and raised in Maryland. She earned a B.A. in Economics from American
University and studied copyediting at George Washington University. She spent 10 years in the world of
Paula Simpson was born and raised in Conklin, NY, and spent five years living abroad in England during her adolescent years. She graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a BS in accounting and spent many years in various managerial positions in corporate tax departments. To quote her husband, she is now "a recovering CPA." She moved to Virginia in 1990 and eventually landed in Lovettsville with her husband and their three boys in 2004. She's the Parish Administrator St. Peter's Episcopal Church, where she has attended since 2012.
Job Titles:
- Board Member, School Theologian
The Rev. Charles R. Biggs, Th.M., is the Regional Home Missionary for the Orthodox Presbyterian Church's Presbytery of the Mid-Atlantic. Ordained in the OPC since 2001, he was the pastor of Ketoctin Covenant Presbyterian Church in Purcellville for 18 years. Graduated from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. and Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. Rev. Biggs was a founding member of Loudoun Classical School, and was privileged to serve as our first President of the Board of Directors. He served as administrator, ACSI (Association of Christian Schools) certified teacher, and chaplain at Chapelgate Christian School (PCA) in Marriottsville, MD from 2001-2003 before planting KCPC and being called as pastor. He has also served as an ACSI accreditation instructor. Rev. Biggs has written theological curriculum and has taught numerous seminars and home school theology classes in our church and home school community since 2003. He has been married to Margaret Ann for 30 years and they have two wonderful daughters, whom they have home educated. The Biggs family lives in Round Hill.