The main phone number is 804-354-6800.

Mr. Don Skeen brings 38 years of teaching and administrative experience to Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School.  After finishing high school in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, he completed his undergraduate work at Milligan College, Tennessee, and began his teaching career in Pulaski County as a Health & Physical Education teacher and coach.  He earned his Master’s degree from Radford University and he taught in Pulaski County for 25 years, before moving to Chesterfield County in 1995. He began his administrative career at Manchester High School as an assistant principal before moving to Midlothian High School for two years.  He served as principal for Bailey Bridge Middle School until his retirement two years ago.  Since retirement, he has served as the Interim Director at Appomattox Governor’s School and as an instructional coach at Meadowbrook High School in Chesterfield County.  He has a passion for education and is pleased to have the opportunity to serve as Interim Director at MLWGS.  In his retirement, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, or enjoying most any outdoor activity, which includes golfing and fishing.

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Dr. Wendy Taylor Ellis comes to MLWGS in her twentieth year in the field of education, having recently earned a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership with an Emphasis in Gifted Education Administration from the College of William and Mary. In addition, Dr. Ellis holds an M.A.Ed. in Gifted Education from the College of William and Mary, as well as a B.S. and a B.A. in English and English Education, respectively, from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Prior to her current post at MLWGS, Dr. Ellis served as a principal, an assistant principal, and a district coordinator of gifted education.  Her teaching experience includes thirteen years in Henrico County Public Schools, where she taught Higher Level English and Theory of Knowledge in the International Baccalaureate Program; she was chosen Henrico County’s 1999 Outstanding Teacher of the Gifted. As she enjoys reading insights from gifted high school students around the world, Dr. Ellis serves as an examiner for International Baccalaureate Higher Level English examination papers and world literature assignments.

In addition to her dissertation entitled Academic Resilience among High-Ability African American Adolescents Living in Rural Poverty, Dr. Ellis contributed to Content-Based Curriculum for High-Ability Learners (2003) and penned book reviews for Gifted and Talented International (2000) and Current Issues in Gifted Education (2000). She has presented on the topic of gifted education at numerous conferences and has taught graduate courses in gifted education as an adjunct instructor for UVA’s School of Continuing Studies.
Dr. Ellis enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons, and three Chihuahuas. As the sole vegan in her family, she tries to develop tempting plant-based dishes that even her omnivores will love!

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Mr. Phil Tharp has been with the Governor's School since the school's beginning in 1991. He was the science curriculum specialist up until his appointment as Coordinator of Administration in 1997. Mr. Tharp has been a past Director of the Summer Residential Governor's School for NASA Langley and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.  Mr. Tharp offers over 20 years of science teaching experience of which 18 months was spent teaching in Australia. He enjoys hiking, gardening, bird watching, photography and being a grandfather. Mr. Tharp's undergraduate degree is in biology and general science from Glenville State College, Glenville, West Virginia. He holds a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from West Virginia University. He has taken postgraduate courses in research design, administration, and coursework in gifted education from Virginia Commonwealth University.   Mr. Tharp has been appointed by the Virginia Board of Education to a three-year term on the Virginia Advisory Committee for the Education of the Gifted.  This term is from September 2008 until June 2011. 

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Mrs. Patti Chappell has been in the educational field for over 30 years.  With 13 years of classroom experience and over 18 years in educational technology and training experience, she is helping teachers and students implement technology into teaching and assignments.  She has presented a variety of topics at state, regional and local conferences in both Virginia and North Carolina.  She has gone to other school systems in Virginia to train teachers to use technology within their subject areas.  She has a Bachelor of Science Degree from James Madison University in Early Childhood Education. Post graduate work includes an endorsement in Mathematics and Gifted Education. She also earned her Master's of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a Technology Emphasis from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has competed with the Virginia Master's Swim Team in past years, gaining a state record in breaststroke at one time.  She enjoys summers reading on the porch, gardening, and spending time with her husband and two sons.

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Ms. Darleen Bowman is a native to Richmond. She is an outgoing and optimistic person, and she loves to eat! Her twin daughters Asia and Ashae keep her on her toes, as well as MLWGSGIS students.

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Ms. Crystal Charity is a graduate of Charles City High School. She served in the medical field for over 30 years in many positions. She joined the MLWGS staff in 2008.

Ms. Charity enjoys being with her husband, Lacy, eating seafood, going to the beach, swimming, fishing, watching the Redskins football games and NHRA drag racing. She has two children, B.J. and Bianca, and three grandchildren, Teryn, Tayvion and Iyana. She actively supports all their activities. She is also a T-Ball coach.

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Mr. Troy Mitchell is the assistant facilities manager.

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Ms. Karen Hoover served in the federal government for 21 years. For the last 8 years she served as Executive Secretary to the Chief of Radiology Service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She attended Richmond Public Schools and graduated from George Wythe High School.  She is continuing her studies in Computer Information Systems. She enjoys sewing, swimming, fishing and relaxing with a good book. Ms. Hoover, along with her son Matthew and daughter Staci are active in community, school and church affairs.

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Mrs. Barbara Marshall was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky where she attended classes at the University of Louisville prior to marriage, and has lived the past twenty years in the Richmond area.  Her career has spanned over twenty-five years in business management/administration in the private sector.  Mrs. Marshall and her husband Jeff have three teenage children, David, Christina and Jason, who attend Midlothian High School.  She is active in the PTSA, and has co-chaired a committee for Post Prom for the past three years, thereby earning the "citation of merit" award for Outstanding Volunteer Service to Chesterfield County Public Schools.  She enjoys family time, University of Kentucky basketball, travel, entertaining friends, and a good "read" every day.

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Ms. Megan Marcinkevich is the Curriculum Assistant.

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Mr. Gene Roland is the facilities manager.

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Ms. Deborah Snagg is a technology assistant who graduated from the University of Richmond with a B.A. degree in Early Childhood Education. She ran Cross Country, Indoor and Outdoor track for UR and was the first female athlete to be inducted into the Athletic Hall of Fame at UR. A native of Trinidad, she moved here when she was 13 years old. MLWGS Coach Holdren, head track coach, was Ms. Snagg's coach in high school at Thomas Jefferson High School. Her career in track has lead her to winning the Richmond Marathon in 1987 and can still do a 5K in less than 21 minutes.

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Mrs. Valenta Williams is the school's receptionist.

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Mr. Irvin Charles is the head of security.

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Mr. John Mitchell is one of the security officers.

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Mr. Warren Smith is one of the security officers.

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Ms. Sharon Parker joined MWGS in 2006, and is the Senior Seminar/Mentorship Program Coordinator.  She holds a B.A. in History; a Masters of Teaching in Secondary Education from Virginia Commonwealth University (1999); and received her Gifted Endorsement in 2008.  From 2000-2006, Ms. Parker worked at an international school in Kuwait, serving as the International Baccalaureate Coordinator, Department Chair for Social Studies, and teaching Ancient & Modern World History and IB History.  Prior to entering education, Ms. Parker worked for almost 15 years in the legal profession.  She loves to read a wide range of authors and has an enthusiasm for travelling.  Her adventures have taken her to China, Japan, Vietnam, India, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Corfu, Canada, Jamaica, Switzerland, Belgium, Hong Kong and Egypt.  She has also traveled to 38 of the 50 states. One of her favorite quotations:  “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”    

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Ms. Wendy DeGroat - is the librarian for MLWGS. Her diverse professional background includes librarianship in Henrico County Public Schools, teaching in Chesterfield County Public Schools, and corporate training and management at Capital One Financial Corporation. She earned her B.A. in English Literature from George Mason University, her Masters in Teaching from VCU, and her Masters in Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. She is passionate about empowering students with the competence and confidence to ask good questions and select quality resources, and integrates current technological tools into instruction to improve students' ability to plan, conduct, and organize their research. Ms. DeGroat loves being a librarian, a profession that nurtures her wide-reaching interests in education, literature, technology, science, sociology, and geography. Her lifelong enthusiasm for poetry is evident in her poetry blog, Molasses Poetry, and when she isn't teaching, reading, or researching, she enjoys hiking, kayaking, and traveling.

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Mr. Hal Waller received his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University and holds a masters degree in literature from the University of Virginia. Mr. Waller began teaching at the Governor’s School in 1994, but he took a five-year absence, during which he taught in International Schools located in Athens, Greece; Berlin, Germany; and just outside of London, England. This year Mr. Waller works in Community Relations, and directs the Governor’s School Foundation and Alumni Office. Mr. Waller met his wife Allyson, a Minnesota native, when they were both teaching in Europe. During their free time, they enjoy reading and sightseeing.

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