Meet our Leadership Team

OHVA's administrative leadership team represents some of Ohio's leading experts on school management and are committed to ensuring the finest education possible for your children. From providing expert tools and strategies to parent support, the OHVA team is dedicated to making sure that you have what you need to deliver a well-rounded, enriching education to your children. Here are some of the people who maintain OHVA's high standards of education:

Jeff Shaw, M. Ed, Head of School
Jeff began his early service with OHVA as a middle school principal and was responsible for the initial development of the Ohio Virtual Academy High School, serving as its first principal. Prior to OHVA, Jeff was a career-technical instructor in marketing education, administrator for the skilled trades-manufacturing-related programs and Tech Prep, and a comprehensive high school principal. He's been involved in a number of national school improvement initiatives, including the Effective Schools Process and Making Schools Work! Jeff is a Community Schools Value Added Specialist and has served in a number of national and state leadership capacities in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Education and various professional organizations. He has a bachelor's and a master's degree in education from Bowling Green State University and has completed extensive additional coursework and certification through the University of Toledo's Educational Leadership Program. Jeff is an Ohio Vocational Education Leadership Fellow (OVELI) and has served as a team leader for Technical Assistance Visits for High Schools That Work, the Southern Regional Education Board, and the Ohio Department of Education.

Mark Thogmartin, Ph.D., Principal – Elementary School
Before his employment with the Ohio Virtual Academy/K12, Mark served as a classroom teacher, reading and math tutor, technology coordinator, headmaster, and building principal in both private and public schools. He earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Kentucky, a master’s degree in reading from Ohio State University, and a doctoral degree in leadership from Andrews University. Mark’s book, Teach a Child to Read With Children’s Books, has gained wide acceptance among reading tutors and those teaching their children at home. He also has written articles for several magazines and journals on the topics of homeschooling and reading instruction. Mark has been with OHVA since the founding of the school in the fall of 2002.

Kristin Stewart, Assistant Principal – Elementary School
Kristin has worked in the field of education since 1983. She received her bachelor of arts degree from California University and her master of science degree in educational administration from National University in Sacramento. She worked in the public school system as a K-6 teacher and, after 12 years in the classroom, accepted a position as principal of a private Christian school educating K-8 students. Before joining OHVA, she worked with homeschooling families through a charter school in California. Kristin holds teaching credentials for grades K-12 in California and for grades K-8 in Ohio, in addition to a California administrative credential. She has been with OHVA since its launch in 2002.

Julie Kurfis, Assistant Principal – Middle School
Julie received her bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from Anderson University in Indiana. In her first year of teaching, she created and implemented a curriculum to support her district's character education program for students in grades 1-5. After five years of brick-and-mortar teaching experience in the fifth and sixth grades, she joined OHVA as a middle school teacher. Julie assumed the lead teacher role in 2005, overseeing a staff of 14 and monitoring attendance, progress, accountability, and success for 800 seventh- and eighth-grade students and teaching adults. This year, as the middle school assistant principal, Julie is looking forward to using her leadership experience to ensure that the unique needs of our middle school students are being met in these critical years before entering high school.

Maryalice Leister, Principal – High School
Maryalice has been an educator for 34 years, serving elementary, secondary, and college-level students. Her undergraduate coursework at Gettysburg College in English and education has provided the foundation for both a writing career and publication in curriculum design and teaching processes, especially in the area of creative writing. A former NCTE National Writing Competition judge, Michigan National Honor Society Adviser of the Year, and Hugh O'Brien Youth Foundation State Chairman, Ms. Leister has continued her postgraduate education at Central Michigan University, Saginaw State University, and University of Phoenix with coursework in visual arts and graphic design, distance learning, advanced writing, and educational administration. She has been with OHVA since its inception in 2002.

Amy Miller, Assistant Head of School – Operations
Amy has more than 25 years experience in the defense, private, and government sectors specializing in project management, process improvement, and human resources. She has a bachelor's degree in industrial management from the University of Akron. Most recently, Amy led the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software implementation for 47 county agencies in northwest Ohio. Amy is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and a Professional in Human Resources (PHR).

Kelly Gnepper, Business Manager and School Treasurer
Kelly has more than 20 years of accounting experience in the corporate, non-profit, and public accounting areas. She spent seven years at Owens Corning as an international accountant and financial leader. Before Owens Corning, she was the director of operations and comptroller at the Area Office on Aging of NWO, Inc., a private non-profit corporation that provides services for older adults in the 10 counties of northwest Ohio. Kelly is a certified public accountant (CPA) and received her bachelor's degree in business administration from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

Bridget Castle, Special Education Manager
Bridget has worked in education for more than 14 years. Six of those years were spent in a middle school classroom and the next eight years were spent as an intervention specialist at the middle-school and high-school levels. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo and her master’s degree from Bowling Green State University. In addition to supporting OHVA students, she is continuing her education by working toward a doctoral degree from BGSU.

Kiera Kippins, Manager of Federal Entitlement Programs
Kiera has served as a compliancy consultant for charter schools in the areas of program management and state reporting for the last 5 years. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Toledo in communication with an emphasis in business and public relations. Kiera has continued her postgraduate education in special education with a concentration in mild to moderate interventions.

Susie Ebie, Parent/Community Relations Coordinator
After experience as a classroom teacher, veteran homeschooling mom, OHVA teacher and parent, Susie presently serves OHVA parents and students as the Parent/Community Relations Coordinator. Susie is in involved in coordinating school events for students and parents, parent support, and parent training opportunities and promoting school community through school events and online tools such as the online school calendar and community board.