Board of Trustees

Amanda Surgner

President

Bio Coming Soon

H. Pettus LeCompte

Vice President

Pettus LeCompte is a longtime trustee of The New Community School, having first served in 1995. Pettus is the Vice President of Straus, Itzkowitz & LeCompte Insurance Company, headquartered in Richmond. He and wife Ellen are the parents of Hunter T’99 & Benjamin T’01 and live in the Byrd Park area of Richmond.

Amanda Aghdami

Secretary

As a transformational leader, executive coach and strategic consultant, Amanda has over 25 years of business experience leading Fortune 500 companies, including strategic planning, large P&L ownership ($1.5B), marketing, accounting/finance and operational leadership at the executive level. Amanda spent 17 years as an executive at Capital One, where she led and transformed multiple lines of business using Lean and Agile methodologies.  She also played a key executive role in major acquisitions and integrations.  Amanda began her career as a CPA with Ernst & Young and then moved to the Pittston Company (now the Brink’s Company) where she ultimately assumed the role of Controller and Chief Accounting Officer (the youngest female Controller of a Fortune 500 company at the time). In 2017, she founded Edgehill Consulting Group, LLC to extend her reach in helping medium and large businesses and leaders succeed.  Amanda’s passion is helping clients transform and find their true purpose and vision. Amanda holds an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business, a Leadership Coaching certificate from Georgetown University, and a BA in History from Rhodes College.  She has her ACC, CPA and a Masters in Banking. Amanda has three children, one of whom thrived at The New Community School.

Corynne Arnett

President Elect, Treasurer

Michael Bland

Michael Bland is the President and CEO of B&B Printing. Michael’s path to printing started in the insurance arena, managing risk and independent agents. He recognized early that bridging the gap between marketing and sales would lead to greater success. Mr. Blands’s entrepreneurial instincts led him to purchase a small graphics arts business that he grew from $1 million in sales to over $20 million in just under 8 years. He formed other complementary businesses in marketing asset and data management, direct mail and print on demand. Through comprehensive assessment and strategy, he’s built a company with proven solutions, and expertise in multiple integrated services.

A graduate of the University of Virginia (Wahoowa!), husband, and father of two young adults, Mr. Bland enjoys boating and fishing at his family’s cottage on the Chesapeake Bay in his spare time. He is also a member of the board of The Collegiate School. Some of his other interests include sports – especially football and baseball, and playing guitar and singing.

Tracey Boseman

Tracey Boseman is the owner of Home Helpers of Chesterfield and Richmond, a provider of in-home care and support services. Tracey’s background consists of over 30 years of sales and business experience with over 20 years being in the healthcare industry. Prior to owning Home Helpers of Richmond & Chesterfield, Tracey worked for over 7 years with one of the largest non-profit hospice organizations in the US, serving the DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia area.

Tracey was a dedicated volunteer while a parent at TNCS, helping with the READ Art Show & Sale and other Parents Association activities. Her daughter, Morgan, graduated in 2019, and Tracey currently resides in Chesterfield with her fiancé.

Maureen Denlea

Maureen Denlea serves as the Director of Charitable Giving for Massey Energy LC and is a Director of the Joan and Morgan Massey Foundation. Maureen has had a distinguished career helping create positive change in the Richmond region, having served as Community Relations Manager for the Markel Corporation and President and CEO of Hospital Hospitality House, among other roles.

Toby Desch

Toby Desch started UP RVA in August of 2015 with the dream of making Independent Schools more accessible to students from the East End of Richmond. While working at The Collegiate School he saw how difficult the transition from inner-city education to private education could be. Toby is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, where he studied education. He initially thought that he wanted to be a Kindergarten teacher, but that changed after he started working with high school students at Collegiate. When not working, Toby enjoys playing golf and spending time with his wife and son, and their two dogs.​

Mark Gottwald

Mark Gottwald has been the chef/owner of Ship’s Inn in Nantucket for over 25 seasons. After spending many years in Los Angeles, where he raised his two daughters and worked in the film and production business, he now divides his time between Richmond and Nantucket. While in Los Angeles he served on several boards including People Assisting The Homeless (PATH), which provides affordable housing and support services and Westside Food Bank which distributes 4.5 million pounds of food per year to non-profit agencies. On Nantucket he served for three terms on board of The Nantucket Boys & Girls Club and two terms on the diaconate of the First Congregational Church.

Frank Hargrove

Frank Hargrove is a commercial real estate advisor with Colliers International. He represents clients in lease negotiations, acquisitions, and dispositions of commercial properties. Prior to moving back to Richmond, he worked at JLL managing AstraZeneca’s real estate portfolio and before that at CBRE managing the United States Postal Services portfolio. Frank is a proud graduate of Virginia Military Institute, currently serving as President of the VMI Club of Richmond. He attended TNCS for middle school and credits his success to the skills he learned there.  Frank is a passionate outdoorsman. In his free time he enjoys exercising with his wife Lindsey, hunting, and fishing.

Virginia McAndrew

Virginia is a Richmond native. She currently works at Capital One and has been doing process management work in the Technology line of business. Prior to Capital One, she worked in development offices at several different independent schools, including TNCS. In her free time she enjoys spending time at the river and beach with her husband, Sean, almost three year old, Thomas, and chocolate lab, Bubba. ​

George McVey

George McVey served on the Virginia Association of Independent Schools committee that first accredited The New Community School in 1987. Since that time, he has served on the board almost continually. Mr. McVey was employed by St. Christopher’s School from 1961 until his retirement in 1997, serving as Head for 25 years. A graduate of Hampden-Sydney and VCU, he recently retired as president of the Virginia Council for Private Education. Mr. McVey and wife Nan are longtime Richmond residents.

Trey Pruitt, '02

Trey Pruitt is the General Superintendent at F.G. Pruitt, Inc. where he has worked since 2004. During his career with the Pruitt organization, he has experienced nearly every level of the company operations as a mechanic, machine operator, foreman, project manager, and superintendent. This comprehensive involvement throughout the organization has provided him with an essential understanding of all aspects of the company. In his role as supervisor of all field activities, Trey has expertise in scheduling, managing crews, coordinating man-power/equipment and day-to-day operations. In addition to his work, Trey has served on the Henrico Local Emergency Planning Commission Board. TNCS has been an important part of Trey’s life as he is a former student, 2002 graduate, and now parent of a Saber in the class of 2027.

Pete Shrock

Pete is an emotional first responder, resilience expert, and trained social worker focused on improving the lives of his clients. With over 15 years of experience, Pete has created an approach called Core Success that he leverages for his clients. There are many theories about life coaching and resilience. Pete’s approach focuses on identifying strengths and recognizing challenges, not identifying people by their challenges. The critical practices within the Core Success model for change are transformational learning, emotional intelligence, cognitive behavior theory, experiential learning theory, and the art and science of life coaching. Pete is a Richmond, Virginia, native and lives at home with his wife, two daughters and a pup named Bruce.​

Brude Stoever

Brude Stoever previously served on the TNCS Board of Trustees from 2004-2009. He began his industry career in 1991 at WheatFirst Securities, a Wells Fargo Advisors predecessor firm, where he initially served as an assistant to James C. Wheat, Jr., subsequently emerging as Managing Director – Investments. He serves the same role today for Stoever & Palmore LLC. He was ranked by Barron’s as one of America’s Top 1,200 Financial Advisors for 6 years running. Brude attended the Gow School and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the College of Charleston in Charleston, S.C. He has served on the board of trustees at The Collegiate School and is an active member of St. James’s Episcopal Church. Brude and his wife, Ann, live Richmond with their three children, Helen, Brude, and Hill.