Board of Directors

Melvin Adams

President/Founder

Bedford, VA

Melvin Adams has almost 40 years of experience in educational leadership. Born in Africa to parents serving as Christian missionaries, he was homeschooled in his early years, then attended a British school during his high school years before going to the U.S. to begin his college studies. He took his first teaching job in 1982.

Since then, he has served on the teaching faculty and in the administration of several schools and colleges in the U.S. and started and led a college in Ukraine from 1993-2000. From 2008-2016, he helped to found and lead Renewanation, a faith-based non-profit organization with a focus on education. In 2016, he served on the Presidential Transition Team as a Senior Advisor on Education.

His international experience and his work in the private non-profit sector have helped to shape his perspectives on education. He lives in Virginia with his wife Sandy. They have six children and seventeen grandchildren.

Dr. Karen Hiltz

Secretary/Treasurer

Sebastian, FL

Dr. Don Richardson

Member

Crozet, VA

Dr. Richardson was born and raised on a farm in the hills of West Virginia until he moved to another cattle farm in the Shenandoah Valley. Cows and farms are in his blood!

He graduated from the University of Virginia and the University of Virginia School of Medicine.
After serving three years as a flight surgeon in the Air Force, he did a three-year residency in Dermatology at UVA, followed by 39 years of Private Practice in Dermatology in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since retirement, he has been an active beef cattle farmer in Crozet, VA.

Dr. Richardson and his sister established the Jesse Stewart Richardson Memorial Lecture at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, a series focused on medical errors, "to start another level of teaching." More recently, Richardson and his wife offered financial support to the Center for Interprofessional Collaborations at the School of Nursing to expand simulations for nursing; and medical students focused on complex emergency scenarios. Richardson serves as chairman of the board of a prominent Christian school in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Other boards, he serves on include Advancing Native Missions and Chairman of Board of Regents Classical Christian School in Charlottesville.

He is married to his wife, Sheila. They have four children and seven grandchildren.

Lowell Martin

Member

Chambersburg, PA

Lowell Martin grew up with an entrepreneurial spirit. He was part of a family retail business for 30 years until retiring in 2012 to pursue other interests. Lowell and his wife, Karen, have owned Martin Enterprises, a successful Amway business, for nearly 35 years. They also founded Mission212, an organization dedicated to helping others start and succeed in their businesses. This work has led to his passionate pursuit of knowledge about people, principles of success, leadership, and team building.

Lowell and his wife have conducted numerous speaking engagements in the U.S. and around the world, including the Czech Republic, South Africa, Canada, Greece, and the U.K. In 2016, Lowell became a certified leadership trainer with the John C. Maxwell organization.

Josiah Gaiter

Member

Arlington, VA

Josiah Gaiter is currently the Director of Operations at Harris Media LLC. Josiah has worked on grassroots campaigns nationwide, organizing efforts to maximize the community's voice in everything from municipal to statewide elections. He understands the influence that community members have and how to maximize their impact. He also has extensive training and public speaking background, including rallies in Loudoun County, Virginia, grassroots training for parents, and voter contact training across the country. Before working in grassroots, Josiah taught middle and high school students in Rockwall, Texas. Josiah earned his bachelor's degree from Colorado State University, where he started teaching privately to pay for school. He earned his master's degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he was awarded a teaching assistantship. Growing up in a homeschooled family and then teaching in the public school system at all levels has given him an understanding of varying student needs and how to meet them. In his free time, Josiah enjoys music and skiing. Josiah volunteered with the Loveland ski patrol for several years and has been a volunteer musician in his church for the past 16 years. Josiah currently lives in Arlington, Virginia.