Board of Directors

Boyce, a native of Augusta County, Virginia, grew up in the shadow of Mr. Jefferson, admiring the architectural details of Monticello. Boyce’s undergraduate honors history thesis explored Jefferson the revolutionary. While in law school at the University of Virginia and a member of the Jefferson Society, Boyce participated in The Society’s tradition of celebrating Jefferson’s birthday at dawn by his graveside — and denies rumors of activities leading to that tradition’s cancellation. Boyce has followed Poplar Forest’s preservation efforts since the inception of the Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest and is honored to be part of the preservation, protection and promotion of Jefferson’s retreat.

In late 2018, Michael C. Quinn retired as founding president and CEO of the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia. He had previously served as president and CEO of James Madison’s Montpelier and as deputy director of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Mike has overseen the creation of innovative educational programs, directed the restoration of Montpelier and managed the construction and creation of a new 120,000-square-foot museum in Philadelphia. He has raised more than $250 million in major fundraising campaigns. He is currently a partner with Bryan & Jordan Consulting and serves on the boards of the Museum of the American Revolution (as President Emeritus), the Satell Institute and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation Foundation.

Growing up in King George, Virginia, Amy Ray always loved history. She graduated from Virginia Tech with a BA in history and went on to work as a seasonal employee with the National Park Service at both the Fredericksburg and Appomattox parks. After moving to Lynchburg and taking accounting courses at Central Virginia Community College, she enjoyed a 29-year career as a CPA, serving 9 years as partner-in-charge of the Lynchburg office of Brown Edwards & Co, L.L.P. Additionally, for 21 years she and her husband owned McFeely’s Square Drive Screws. Amy has volunteered with numerous organizations including service as the chairman of the board for both Centra Health and the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Justin McCarthy was elected to the board of directors of the Corporation for Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in July 2021. His prior board experience was as a director and trustee of the American Gear Manufacturers Association. Justin retired in 2019 after a 40-year career in the custom steel forging industry working for companies headquartered in Texas, Michigan, North Carolina and the Republic of Singapore. He earned a BA from Boston College and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University. Justin and his wife, Middy, reside in Forest, Virginia, and have four adult sons.

As Virginia Episcopal School’s  Assistant Head of School for Advancement & Chief Development Office, Henry Clarke oversees VES’s fundraising, admissions, marketing and communication strategies, external events, the school archives, and alumni and parent engagement. Henry attended The University of Virginia and the University of South Carolina School of Law. Henry has served in various volunteer fundraising capacities for Camps Sea Gull and Seafarer and The University of Virginia. Henry has served on the boards of directors of the Jubilee Family Development Center and Preservation Chapel Hill. He has a lifelong interest in historic preservation and land conservation.

Born and raised just outside Baltimore, Maryland, John Constance holds a BA in government from the College of William and Mary and a master’s degree in public administration from George Washington University. He started his Washington career as an intern in the office of the Archivist of the United States and served at the National Archives for 35 years. For 19 years he was the director of congressional and public affairs, serving as the spokesperson for the agency with the national press and represented the Archives before Congress. He is currently active in St. Michael’s Episcopal Church and serves as a trustee of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina.

Mr. Dickinson is a Tony Award-winning theatrical producer working in New York, London, and his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. Among his better-known shows are Memphis, War Horse, and The Bridges of Madison County. Prior to becoming involved in show business, Mr. Dickinson spent more than twenty-five years on Capitol Hill, principally as a senior legislative staff member to the Honorable John W. Warner, U.S. Senator from Virginia. In that capacity, he developed a great love for the Commonwealth of Virginia and its remarkable history.

Teresa Harris is an alumna of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, graduating in 1980. She has worked at the College for 42 years in various capacities and now enjoys creating programs for incoming and current students to support academic and personal success. Teresa is a writer, a theatrical director, artist, and an advocate for social justice. She is a member of Poplar Forest’s African American Advisory Group.

Temp was born and raised in the shadow of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia and graduated from the McIntire School of Commerce. As a CPA, Temp has worked in many roles and is currently the Director of Finance for Wintergreen Resort in Nelson County. Temp resides in Crozet, Virginia with his wife and two daughters. One of his daughters attended a summer camp at Poplar Forest when she was 10 years old and it sparked an inspiration. She is currently working towards an archaeology degree at VCU. Temp’s other daughter attends James Madison University and is working towards a healthcare degree. Temp’s wife is a nurse at Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville. The Hutter family has a proud history with Poplar Forest. Temp’s grandfather grew up at Poplar Forest in the early 1900’s. Temp’s father spent his summers there visiting his grandparents. Temp is honored to be of service to this national treasure, Poplar Forest.

Raised in Albemarle County, Virginia, Ben Marchi is a healthcare business owner and government affairs consultant. His wife, Jenna, and their two children split their time between Saint Michaels, Maryland, and Slate Mills, Virginia where he relocated his ancestor’s 1831 log cabin from its original location in East Tennessee. He previously served as a trustee for the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation where he successfully improved the organization’s lobbying and fundraising efforts, and secured multiple seven-figure gifts to provide greater interpretation and public access for the Foundation’s many sites. He was recently awarded The Virginia, Maryland & Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives‘ “Good Samaritan Award” for the thousands of Christmas gifts he and his employees have gathered and distributed to needy seniors over the years.

Kelvin L. Moore returned to Lynchburg after attending the University of Virginia and eventually created Moore Architecture where he manages the Virginia projects, and his son Marques manages the North Carolina projects. Their work ranges from new commercial buildings to preserving Rosenwald Schools, one of America’s most endangered historic places. Kelvin has served the community through volunteering on numerous boards including Lynchburg City School Board, Virginia State School Board, Partners in Education, Legacy Museum of African American History, Lynchburg Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission. His current affiliations include the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA), Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and the Revelers Club.

Kim Nash grew up in Alexandria Virginia and currently lives in Warrenton. She spent a good deal of her childhood in Lynchburg, where her grandmother lived, and was blessed to enjoy much of that time at Poplar Forest, the home of her uncle and aunt. She graduated with a BA degree from Hollins College in 1972. Kim served as President of the Garden Club of Virginia and, as such, was honored to sign the original agreement between the GCV and Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest in 2010 to collaborate on the restoration work of the grounds of Poplar Forest. Kim was a member of the GCV’s Restoration Committee for over a decade, serving as Chair of that committee from 2014-2016. Her work with the Garden Club of Virginia provided her a special opportunity to follow the research and revival of Jefferson’s ornamental landscape at this unique property which has been dear to her heart throughout her life.

Permele’s lifelong passion for historic preservation is in part what led her to attend The University of Virginia. A communications leader, she co-founded the global influencer marketing agency Billion Dollar Boy where she served as US President for the past ten years. Raised in New York’s Hudson Valley she currently resides in New Orleans with her husband and two small children. There she serves on the board of the historic home The BK House and The Louisiana Museum Foundation. She and her husband are proprietors of Faulkner House Books and are restoring their second historic home in the Garden District.

Michael Schewel is a retired corporate lawyer, business executive and government official. He grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia. He currently serves on several non-profit boards and builds affordable housing. He has served on the board of trustees of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and on the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Foundation for the past 20 years, including a term as president of the board of trustees. He served as Virginia’s Secretary of Commerce and Trade from 2002–2006 under Governor Mark Warner. He practiced corporate and energy law at McGuireWoods for 35 years. He served as chief executive of Recast Energy, a renewable energy company, and as senior vice president and general counsel of Tredegar Corporation, a publicly traded industrial company.

Born and raised in Radford, Virginia, Bill attended the College of William & Mary and received a BA in business administration. After earning a master’s degree in counseling, he entered hospital administration at St. Albans Psychiatric Hospital. From 1978 until 1987 he worked as the administrator of Roanoke Valley Psychiatric Center. HCA then relocated him to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 1988 he moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, to serve as a vice president with Centra Health. Bill became involved in the Poplar Forest restoration, and after retiring in 2012 became a tour docent for Poplar Forest. He was appointed to the Poplar Forest Board of Directors and continues to enjoy giving tours of Poplar Forest, as well as volunteering at Lynchburg Daily Bread.

Rob Spiller is assistant secretary for advancement at the Smithsonian Institution, directing a team of 300 from the Smithsonian’s 21 museums, nine research centers and the National Zoo responsible for raising over $300 million annually.  Before coming to the Smithsonian, Rob was the associate vice president for development and alumni relations at Johns Hopkins University and senior director of major gifts at Yale University.  Rob serves as a docent at Christ Church in Alexandria, where George Washington worshipped, and is a volunteer for Carpenters Shelter in Alexandria.

With a focus on continuous improvement, Dr. Wendy Tackett conducts program evaluations in educational and healthcare organizations through the consulting firm iEval, which she and her husband, Paul, founded in 2002. Dr. Tackett believes evaluation should only be conducted if it will be used and result in meaningful findings. Wendy has given training on evaluation methodologies and findings throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Wendy has written four children’s books, The Wish Series, with the second in the series focused on Thomas Jefferson, as well as a book for evaluation practitioners. She is passionate about educating children about our country’s history.

A former award-winning television reporter and anchor, Gayle Jessup White is the first public relations and community engagement officer at the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello. She is the author of the book, Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant’s Search for Her Family’s Lasting Legacy. Gayle started her career at the New York Times and has written and spoken extensively about her work at Monticello, the legacies of slavery, and her family’s contributions to American history. Gayle serves on Virginia’s Citizens Advisory Council on Furnishing and Interpreting the Executive Mansion, where she is founding chair of the Descendant Committee. She is also a board member of the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society and Charlottesville Live Arts.

As the co-founder and executive director of the Jubilee Family Development Center, Dr. Sterling A. Wilder has devoted his life to helping children and families become self-sufficient and reach higher levels of personal achievement. He received a BS in accounting from Virginia State University, a Master of Education from Lynchburg College, and a Doctor of Education in leadership studies from the University of Lynchburg. In keeping with his family’s tradition of service and dedication to community improvement, Dr. Wilder is serving or has served on the boards of numerous local organizations: to name a few, Free Clinic of Central Virginia, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and Region 2000 Workforce Investment Board. In February 2010 he received the Mayor’s Award of Excellence from the City of Lynchburg. In 2012 he was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) for being recognized as an “Everyday Hero” by Dollar General. In 2016 he was elected to serve on the Lynchburg City Council, Ward II, and reelected in 2020.