THESUMMITVA.ORG - Key Persons
Amy Reese will be teaching The Summit's Dual Enrollment Biology courses this year. She has juggled a variety of roles as a professional scientist, analyst, riding instructor, home school educator and active member at St. Anthony Catholic Church in King George. In previous positions Amy has employed her skills in handling radioactive isotopes, working with rare tumors and other tissues types, and working with live laboratory animals. This work has seen her employed as a research assistance at Johns Hopkins Hospital Pediatric Pathology Department, teaching molecular biology courses to undergraduates at Virginia Tech and finally, serving as an analyst at the Joint Warfare Analysis Center in Dahlgren. She will be teaching 11th grade Biology 101 and 102, 10th grade Honors Chemistry, and three middle school Science courses.
Amy graduated from the University of Mary Washington with a Premed Biology degree and received her Master of Science from Virginia Tech.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
After teaching part time for The Summit during the hybrid-Middle School phase, Colin joins the school as a full-time faculty member in the 2022-23 school year. A classicist with a range of academic interests from literature to chemistry to theology, Colin is a voracious learner who loves to see young people develop their own interests and become actively engaged in their learning.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Derick is a devoted husband, father, and grandfather who has a passion for serving today's youth as a coach, mentor, and follower of Jesus Christ. Although his professional career was in HVAC management, sales, and service, Derick has always had a contagious love for soccer, "The Beautiful Game." Known as a hard-nose, passionate, but fair player and manager, Derick has played and coached in the surrounding Fredericksburg and Richmond area at the Varsity, JV, Middle School, and Travel levels for 25+ years. He is a licensed USSF coach who is always learning something new and innovating on the pitch.
This passion for coaching and teaching has led him to take on his new and exciting roll as Athletic Director for The Summit Academy. His wife Melissa Buhle is Operations Manager for The Summit and his son Andrew Buhle is Class of 2026. His pastimes include driving his two classic cars, cooking and smoking his favorite foods, gardening, and making music with his granddaughter Charlotte.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Director of Curriculum and Faculty
Evan Williams developed an interest in classical learning shortly after he finished high school. Prior to his first year at Hillsdale College, he picked up David McCullough's biography on John Adams and was deeply impressed by Adams' classical education. Evan would go on to finish his time at Hillsdale with a double major in Classical Studies and Philosophy. In graduate school at Marquette University, Evan was fortunate enough to study under renowned Latinist Fr. Reginald Foster (who served in the Vatican as translator under four popes, even preparing Pope Benedict XVI's tweets for the Latin Twitter account @ Pontifex_ln). Suffice to say, Mr. Williams learned the importance of making Latin accessible! Evan is a lay Dominican and is currently finishing the dissertation for his PhD at the University of St. Thomas, Houston. Evan, and his wife Lauren, have four daughters.
Job Titles:
- Instructor, Director of Outdoor Programs
Genevieve Riley attended Ave Maria University, where she studied Accounting and played soccer. Through backpacking trips in Utah and serving at Camp Wojtyla in Colorado, she discovered a passion for outdoor education and ministry. In August 2023, Genevieve became a certified Wilderness First Responder. Prior to joining the Summit Academy, she worked as a college advisor and athletic director for a K-12 classical academy in Florida. She received her MS in Business Analytics from William & Mary and later worked as a data engineer at Booz Allen Hamilton. Now, Genevieve teaches both middle and high school mathematics, as well as brings forward her experience in soccer and outdoor leadership to coach the HS Girls Soccer team and lead the Outdoor Program.
James studied English Literature at the University of Wisconsin, and Theology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies, where he completed his M.T.S., and all but the dissertation for his Ph.D. Joining the Summit in its second year, he owes his interest in classical education to a providential series of books and mentors, beginning with a middle-school encounter with the Bible and culminating in his doctoral research on the thought of Christopher Dawson under David L. Schindler. Midwesterners, hailing from Wisconsin and St. Louis, respectively, he and his wife, Jane, married shortly after college and have five children.
John Piescik is himself a product of classical secondary education, having graduated high school from Trinity School at Meadow View in Falls Church, VA. He graduated from the Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in both theology and philosophy. He returned to his native Virginia with a passion for both theology and for his future spouse Kathryn, with whom he is now happily married and has six children. During their engagement, he continued his Theology studies, taking graduate courses at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C and working as a substitute teacher for the Arlington Diocese. Since then he has completed his Masters of Education degree in Administration & Supervision from Marymount University. Mr. Piescik teaches Latin courses for all grade levels, as well as New Testament course. In addition to his classroom experience, Mr. Piescik is also a talented actor, singer, and public speaker. He assists in the development of the Summit's commitment to promoting the fine Arts by organizing events for the school community to perform drama and music.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Directors
Joyce Soderlund is a devoted Christian, wife, and mother of seven children. She is also an accomplished educator with twenty-seven years of experience teaching adults and children in multiple classroom settings including private and public schools, non-profit organizations, cooperating homeschool groups, and church programs. Joyce graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature and Secondary English Education from West Chester University of Pennsylvania. After student-teaching outside Philadelphia in the public school system, she taught children with special needs in New York City and then moved to Virginia to continue with special education. Growing in her faith, she chose to teach in the private Christian school setting for two years before getting married and raising a family. Joyce has a passion for classical education, the liberal arts, and especially the fine arts. She loves drawing, painting, sculpting, working with textiles, singing in choir, and writing short stories.
Job Titles:
- Headmaster
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Ex Officio
Julian moved to Fredericksburg, VA to attend college at the University of Mary Washington where he received his B.A. in History in 1997.
Prior to founding the Summit Academy he enjoyed a career managing military and intelligence business for several technology companies. Mr. Malcolm has also helped start and grow multiple successful private businesses throughout Central Virginia. He has also served as President, BOD for Mary's Shelter in Fredericksburg, VA.
In 2015 he received a M.T.S. in Biotechnology and Ethics from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, CUA. He and his wife have been married for over twenty-five years and have 8 children.
Julian Sicam is a graduate of Benedictine College, from which he received a Bachelor's degree in philosophy. He continued his studies at the Center for Thomistic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in Houston where he received a Master's degree and is currently pursuing a doctorate. More recently, his admiration for classical education and his passion for the intellectual tradition of the Church led him to work in Catholic classical schools as an administrator and teacher. He looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm and experience with the Summit community and to helping students deepen their Catholic faith.
Zach joins the faculty at The Summit after a ten-year career with Lockheed Martin as a spacecraft engineer, most of which he spent supporting NASA's Orion program. During this time, Zach also began graduate studies at the Augustine Institute in Denver, CO while also working serving in parish ministries as the High School Youth Group Leader at St. Jude's Catholic Church in Lakewood, CO. Prior to joining The Summit, Zach and his family, spent a year in Waco, TX working on a farm with World Hunger Relief, where he gained hands-on experience in sustainable agriculture while continuing his work with young people and managing various on-site immersion programs with Christian youth groups.
An engineer who is also a lover of Catholic theology, literature, and the liberal arts, as a well a burgeoning farmer who can demonstrate the skills of rabbit processing, Zach may be the quintessential Renaissance Man. He relates that what attracted him to his new position is that it is apparent that "The Summit Academy is a school committed to a pedagogy that makes evident the harmony between faith and reason and that goes beyond just imparting knowledge to its students but also seeks to instill wisdom, wonder, and virtue in them." Zach will be teaching Algebra I, Pre-Calculus, Calculus and New Testament as well as assisting with the development of The Summit's house system.
Zach graduated with a BS in Aerospace Engineering and Mathematics minor from Virginia Tech in 2008.
Job Titles:
- Business Operations Manager
- Summit Academy 's Business Operations Manager
Melissa Buhle is The Summit Academy's Business Operations Manager. She has more than twenty years of human resources and office management experience, has taught online accounting seminars, and has several field certifications. In addition to her work at The Summit, she volunteers to assist Zoan Baptist with administrative work, including payroll and tax preparation. In her free time, Melissa enjoys reading, cycling, and spending time with family.
Job Titles:
- Director of Development
- Director of Advancement at the Summit Academy
Nick Marr is Director of Advancement at The Summit Academy. Responsible for the school's sustainable growth, Nick is establishing the school's Annual Fund and preparing to launch a building campaign for our very own campus. Prior to joining The Summit, Nick served two national non-profits, securing five- and six-figure gifts, leading new initiatives and stewardship efforts, and developing messaging strategies.
Nick earned his B.A. in political science from the University of Notre Dame, where he worked as a constitutional-law research assistant and served as executive editor of the Irish Rover. His research and writings have been published by Public Discourse, Catholic University's Busch School of Business, and the American Enterprise Institute. Nick and his wife reside in Fredericksburg.
A native of Fredericksburg, and the son of two teachers, Patrick Clark returned to his hometown to join the Summit faculty in 2020. Mr. Clark holds a double B.A. in History and Theatre Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. While living in Richmond, he worked as a National Park Ranger, as well as a writer, actor, and theatrical director.
After three years of teaching in public secondary schools, Mr. Clark answered the Lord's call to the foreign missions. From 2018 to 2020, he served as a lay missionary in Comayagua, Honduras, and now serves as Director of Mission for the Missioners of Christ. Mr. Clark teaches Middle and Upper School History, leads the Summit Drama Department, and oversees the school Library.
Sarah studied Theology at Ave Maria University. During her time at AMU, she was involved with the women's soccer program as a player and coach. She has experience working with middle and high school students in the parish, school, and camp settings, and she is excited to continue working with youth at the Summit Academy.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
Job Titles:
- Instructor, House System Director