Our Team
The Albemarle Foundation for Education is led by a devoted Board of Directors.
Paul Matherne, President
Randy Tripp, Jr., VP Marketing & Events
Scott Guggenheimer, VP Programs
Amy Laufer, VP Development
Rebecca Berlin, VP Finance & Governance
Jennifer Winslow, Secretary
Tessa Ashoff
Executive Director
Tessa Ashoff is a proud product of a public school system and firmly believes that a quality education is the foundation for a full life. Spending her entire career in the nonprofit sector, she has raised funds for teacher advocacy organizations, a large state food bank, and out of school time programming. She joined the Albemarle Foundation for Education in 2023. When not advocating for public education you can find her spending quality time with her husband, son, and goofy golden retriever.
Kate Acuff
Program Committee
Kate Acuff is in her third term as a member of the Albemarle County School Board. Her professional background is in law, public health and policy. She has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors with a particular focus on mental health. She believes the foundation is essential to provide support to unmet school division needs.
Nanette Alcaro
Development Committee
Nanette Alcaro moved to the Charlottesville area in 2010 and has lived here since with her husband, Jonno, and their daughter, Marion. They have two rambunctious but utterly sweet dogs. Born in Manila, Nanette had a 20-year luxury hotel career there, New York and Los Angeles where she worked as Director of Sales and Marketing. After marrying her husband of 22 years, they lived in San Francisco, San Diego and Las Vegas. The process of moving residences over the years has led Nanette to pursue her interest in real estate with her personal experiences in renting, buying, renovating, staging and selling properties. Nanette is currently a REALTOR ® and Seniors Real Estate Specialist ® at Long and Foster in Charlottesville. She is passionate about cooking, gardening and photography and occasionally offers cooking classes, specializing in various Asian cuisines. Nanette’s husband, Jonno Alcaro, is currently and has been on the Albemarle County School Board since 2016.
Temi Anderson
Development Committee
Temi recently retired from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General's Corps. After graduating from the United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., she served as a military intelligence officer, deploying twice in support of the Iraq War. Those experiences reignited her passion for advocacy. Soon after redeploying, Temi began law school at the College of William and Mary. Upon graduation, she continued public service as an attorney in the U.S. Army. Temi was blessed with opportunities to serve in the U.S. and provide legal education across Asia and Australia to strengthen the rule of law. She continued her penchant for education in her final assignment as the Associate Dean for Students and Professor at The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School in Charlottesville, VA.
She currently serves as Co-Vice President of the Lakeside Middle School PTO, Parent Council Liaison for Hollymead Elementary, and as a Presidential Precinct Mentor. She has two amazing children in Albemarle County Public Schools and Temi believes this board can play a critical role in providing greater learning outcomes and equal opportunity to all Albemarle students.
Rebecca Berlin
VP, Finance & Governance Committee
Rebecca Berlin is the Chief Learning Officer at Start Early, a national not-for-profit focused on closing the opportunity gap for the 5 million children under age 5 living in under-resourced communities in the United States. Previously, she was the chief strategy officer at Teachstone, setting the company’s strategic vision on assessment and professional development for birth through third grade. Rebecca has also worked in public and private schools as an early interventionist, an early childhood teacher, an early childhood special education teacher, an autism specialist and a school administrator. She holds a doctorate in research, policy, and administration from the University of Virginia, where she has also worked as a teacher preparation faculty member and researcher. Rebecca lives in Earlysville with her husband Brian and their two children, Samantha and Thomas who have attended Broadus Woods, Journey, and AHS.
Julie Christopher
Development Committee
Julie Christopher was the Commissioner of the Virginia Department for the Aging under Gov. Tim Kaine where she led the rollout of the state’s Senior Navigator website, the deployment of Virginia Grand Driver for senior driving safety and secured a significant increase in funding for Meals on Wheels. She also served as Chair of the Virginia Department of Social Services under Gov. Mark Warner and chairs the non-profit Prevent Child Abuse Virginia. Julie volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and chaired the Piedmont CASA board. She is married to her partner Marge and has two adult children and two amazing grandchildren.
Scott Guggenheimer
VP, Program Committee
Scott Guggenheimer has been working in the field of education for the past twenty years. He has taught middle and high school English and history across public, private, and charter schools. Past roles include serving as the director of leadership development in DC Public Schools and as the executive director of African American Teaching Fellows. His current work with The Partnership for Leaders in Education supports public school districts engaged in ambitious change efforts. He has two children in Albemarle County Public Schools.
Amy Laufer
VP, Development
Amy Laufer moved to the Albemarle County area over 20 years ago. She has served on the Charlottesville City School board as both Chair and Vice Chair and has run for State Senate. She serves on the Albemarle Social Services Advisory Board, The Arc of the Piedmont Board and the Disability Commission for the State Senate. She has a MA in Science Education and taught middle school math and science. She is married to Aaron and has three children and a very spunky dog.
Paul Matherne
President
Paul Matherne has been a resident of Albemarle County for 34 years and is a soon-to-be retired faculty at the University of Virginia. As a parent of four graduates of Albemarle High School, he believes it is critical to provide equal opportunity to all Albemarle school students.
Jerrod Smith
Finance & Governance Committee
Born and raised in Albemarle County, Jerrod Smith graduated from Bucknell University before returning to Charlottesville and earning a Master’s in Public Policy from the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. He is currently a finance business manager for CFA Institute. He serves on the Budget Advisory and Long-range Planning Advisory committees for Albemarle County Public Schools and was a former member of the Places 29 committee for Albemarle County. Jerrod also ran for Board of Supervisors in 2019 and has been involved in local politics advocating for a board that is representative of the citizens of the county and that is aware of the needs in rural areas. In his free time, Jerrod enjoys walking his dog at the lake, going for jogs in Barboursville, and trying new local restaurants with his family.
Randy Tripp, Jr.
VP, Marketing & Events Committee
Randy Tripp, Jr. is the Director of Scholarship and Alumni Services with the Ron Brown Scholar Program. Randy has worked in college admission at both the undergrad level and MBA level at his alma Mater, William & Mary and college pipeline programs at the University of Maryland. With a background in higher education and college admission, he believes the foundation is critical to ensuring that all students have equal access to adequate resources and support throughout their educational journey. Randy lives in Charlottesville with his wife, Rasheda and their two boys, Micah and Mason.
Jennifer Winslow
Secretary
Jennifer Winslow has served nearly 20 years in the local Charlottesville nonprofit sector. She recently launched Piedmont Family Care Closet with her daughter and the support of Piedmont CASA to provide local foster care families with clothes and necessities as they transition into their new homes. She recently served as the Henley Middle School PaTSO Co-President and has been working with H3 baseball on the Burley Middle School Baseball Field restoration. She previously sat on the board of Junior League of Charlottesville, served and chaired the Piedmont CASA board, and served as President of Murray Elementary PTO. Jenn was raised in southern Virginia, graduated from Princeton University in 1996 and the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 2001. She and her husband, Frank, returned to Charlottesville in 2004, raising their daughter and two boys, who attend Albemarle County Public Schools.
If you are interested in board service reach out to Tessa Ashoff at tashoff@k12albemarle.org.