A message from our Head of School, Chris Harmon, Ed.D.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
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CHRIS HARMON, Ed.D.Head of School |
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MARIE WOODSUpper School Principal |
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JENNIFER ALIFFAssistant to the Head of School |
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KELLY BURNSChief Financial Officer |
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KENDRA SUE FINCHMiddle School Principal |
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BECKY KNIGHT, Ed.D.Lower School Principal |
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CHARLIE FINCHInterim Athletics Director |
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SHANNON HEOTAKYSenior Director of Academics |
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MEGAN KOCHDirector of Admissions |
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MARCIA BETTISSenior Director of HR and Strategy |
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ELLEN PERRYDirector of Development |
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MERRIE BETH SALAZARSenior Director of Strategic Communications |
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
| AMRA BOUCHER |
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Amra Boucher serves as a Senior Vice President at Acuity Brands (NYSE: AYI), a market-leading industrial technology company. Amra leads the teams responsible for product and engineering functions for the lighting business under the Acuity Brands Lighting and Lighting Controls segment of AYI. |
| LISA DWORKIN |
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Lisa Dworkin serves as the Production Manager for Mercury Systems, formerly Atlanta Micro, which manufactures high performance RF and Microwave products primarily for the defense industry. She leads a team that is responsible for testing, verification and order fulfillment for the $14 million business unit in Peachtree Corners. Previously, Lisa was a design engineer for Scientific Atlanta and Motorola. |
| JOE GAYNOR |
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Joe Gaynor is Chief Legal, Sustainability and Risk Officer for Birla Carbon, a global manufacturer of carbon black, with its world headquarters in Marietta, Georgia. Joe leads a team of professionals responsible for the legal, safety, and environmental matters associated with the company’s sales offices and production facilities in 12 countries and four continents. Prior to his current position, Joe was the General Counsel for various private and publicly-held pharmaceutical, manufacturing, technology and sales and distribution companies. Joe is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio and holds a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Miami University and a Juris Doctorate from Emory University School of Law. Joe and his wife Courtney have four children who attended Mount Pisgah Christian School: Ellen graduated in 2005; Daniel graduated in 2007; Alistair graduated in 2011; and Paris graduated in 2014. The Gaynors feel blessed to have been a part of Mount Pisgah for more than twenty years. |
| FLINT GEIER |
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Flint Geier currently holds the position of Executive Vice President at the Scheduling Institute. He earned his degree from the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. |
| JIM GILVIN |
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Jim has been an active member of the Alpharetta community for two decades. For much of that time Jim was a licensed residential real estate agent who was active in homeowners associations representing his neighbors on issues that impacted this community before running for public office. |
| DAVID HAILEY |
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David Hailey is an attorney in private practice and has served the Atlanta area since 1982. He has been a Partner in the law firm of Mozley, Finlayson & Loggins, LLP since 1990. David received his undergraduate degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his law degree from the University of Georgia. He currently serves as counsel for Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church and its related entities, including Mount Pisgah Christian School. David and his wife Jan have been members of Mount Pisgah United Methodist Church for many years, where he has served in numerous leadership positions and on a variety of committees. Two of their children, Carolyn, class of 2007, and Laura, class of 2012, attended Mount Pisgah Christian School. |
| CHRIS HORNSBY |
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Chris Hornsby is a partner at CarterBaldwin, a Top 40 national retained executive search firm headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, and leads the firm’s faith-based K-12 education practice. |
| NNEKA MEDEBEM |
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Nneka Medebem is the Performance, Data Analytics and Process Lead for Hewlett Packard Inc. - Industrial Print Services. Evaluating current business practices to increase revenue by improving operational efficiency, she leads the data team responsible for performance and analytics. She is responsible for projects that support goal congruence of providing an outstanding service experience for the graphics solution business and conducting full lifecycle analysis for project portfolio requirements, integration, and delivery. Nneka serves on the Mount Pisgah Christian School’s Board of Trustees, Spiritual Life Committee and the Buildings and Grounds Committee. Nneka was born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, a linguistically diverse nation. She earned her MSc. from the University of Salford, UK, an Executive MBA from the J. Mack Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University and is SAFe®️ Certified. Nneka and her husband George have three children who attend or have attended Mount Pisgah Christian School: Michael (Class of 2022), Alexander (Class of 2025) and Gabriel (Class of 2027). The Medebems' attend St. Brigid Catholic Church in Johns Creek. |
| MIKE POLINE |
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Mike Poline is currently the Relationship Manager for Stewart Brothers Inc., a family owned ninety-year-old asphalt paving and road construction company in Atlanta. Mike is responsible for the creating and maintaining of collaborative relationships within the company and with independent trucking contractors. Prior to his current position Mike ran his own trucking business that primarily served Stewart Brothers. After selling that business Mike was hired by Stewart Brothers as a consultant to improve the relationships, efficiencies, and profitability of their Hauling Department. During that period Mike also worked in the Advancement Office at Mount Pisgah Christian School to help promote financial support for God's mission and vision for the school, and to help in the fund-raising efforts for the construction of Geier Hall. |
| Magdalene Raj |
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Magdalene Raj serves as the Senior Manager of Cloud Services Project Management at OpenText, where she leads a team of professionals in overseeing the implementation of cloud-based services. Her work focuses on helping customers organize, integrate, and protect data and content as it moves through various business processes, both within and beyond organizational boundaries. |
| BRIAN RANCK |
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Brian Ranck is an Executive Director in the Atlanta office of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. In this role, he co-leads a local team that is responsible for delivering the firm’s investing, wealth transfer, credit and philanthropic services to high-net-worth clients in the Southeast. Click here to learn more about how Ranck serves with purpose at MPCS. |
| GRANT THOMAS |
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Grant Thomas serves as the Deputy Commissioner at the Georgia Department of Community Health. In this role, he helps lead the state agency that oversees Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids, the State Health Benefit Plan, the Healthcare Facility Regulation Division, the Office of Health Planning, the State Office of Rural Health, among other divisions and offices. Grant has previously served in a number of government and external affairs roles. He previously served as Director of the Governor’s Office of Health Strategy and Coordination, Director of State Relations at the University of Georgia, Legislative Liaison and Policy Advisor to Governor Brian Kemp, where he advised the Governor on issues related to education, higher education, workforce development, retirement, regulated industries, telecommunications, and energy and utilities. He also previously served as Government Affairs Manager at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta and as Special Assistant to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp. Grant currently serves on Mount Pisgah Christian School's Board of Trustees, Advancement Committee, and serves as the Chairman of the Spiritual Life Committee. He also currently serves as a member of the UGA Terry College of Business Young Alumni Board and a Board Trustee for the Georgia Council on Economic Education. For the State of Georgia, Grant currently serves as a member of the Georgia Opioid Settlement Advisory Commission and the Safe Harbor for Secually Exploited Children Fund Commission. He was also appointed by Governor Kemp in 2019 to serve on the State of Georgia's Citizens Review Committee which led efforts to conduct a review of the state's K-12 Mathematics Standards. He is also a past Chairman of the Alumni Board of Directors for the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs. Grant earned both his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science with Honors and Master's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia. |
PISGAH FORWARD '29
Pisgah Forward '29 is a strategic plan that defines the school's direction for the five years spanning 2024 to 2029. It is a commitment to boldly redesign and rebalance the Mount Pisgah experience in a way that honors the traditions that have made the school strong, while embracing the changes needed for continued growth.













