Global Studies Department Faculty

The main phone number is 804-354-6800.

Mr. Dan Brown has been teaching at the Governor’s School since 2000. His coursework includes teaching AP US History, Global Studies, Military History, and a seminar on the Civil Rights Movement.  He has also served as the sponsor of the debate team since 2000 and is currently co-sponsor of the History Honor Society.  Mr. Brown has both a B.A. and M.A. in History from Virginia Commonwealth University and has an endorsement in Gifted Education. In 2005, he was part of a group of teachers at the Governor’s School who were recognized for having the highest scores in the nation for AP US History and was nominated for Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He periodically serves as a grader for the AP US History exam.  Prior to entering teaching, Mr. Brown was employed for nearly six years in the museum field working at several institutions in the Richmond area.

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Ms. Stephanie Burr is an alum of the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School (Class of 2002) and is excited to return home to teach Global Studies 9 and 10 and a section of U.S. History.  She received her B.A. in History from the University of Richmond and spent the summer of 2005 studying Chinese language and culture at Beijing University.  She taught world history for four years at James River High School in Chesterfield County, where she was voted “Teacher of the Year” by her colleagues for the 2010-2011 school year.  She has served as a reader for the AP World History exam, and she is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Virginia Council for the Social Studies.  Her hobbies include reading, crafting things, and traveling to new places, and she enjoys cooking almost as much as she enjoys eating.

Dr. Brenda Ericson has been teaching in the Social Studies Department at the Governor’s School since 2000. A native of Rhode Island, Dr. Ericson received a B.S. in Business Administration from Bryant University and a M.A. in History from Providence College. Following completion of those degrees, Dr. Ericson spent three years living and teaching in China and Taiwan. In 1993, Dr. Ericson began her pursuit of a Ph.D. in history at the University of New Mexico. After more than ten years of study, work, research and a leave of absence from the Governor’s School, Dr. Ericson completed her degree in 2004. The topic of her dissertation was The Making of an Ally: Chiang Kai-shek and American Foreign Policy, 1936-1941.

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Ms. Libby Germer comes from Washington State and brings her love of history, reading, coffee, rock music, and the great outdoors with her to Richmond. She has a BA in International Studies from Whitworth College in Spokane, WA and an MA in Teaching from The College of New Jersey. She has taught high school since 2005 and loves teaching Global Studies, especially when she needs a little break from running after her two young sons at home.

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Mr. Jafnar Gueye graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University where he obtained his M.A in Economics. He has lived in four different countries and fluently speaks 5 languages, and his international background is a pivotal aspect of who he is. He obtained his B.A in Economics at the University of Orleans in France, and has worked as an English conversation teacher there as well. He also participated in several debates and made several contributions on the topics of African development, mainly at the University of Orleans.

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Mrs. Mary Jane McKay offers the Governor's School over 18 years of teaching experience that includes college, middle school, and high school. She is a graduate of programs at Seton Hill College, the University of Kansas, the University of Michigan, and the College of William and Mary. She has attended the College of William and Mary Institute on China, Japan and Korea, and has worked with the MITAS group in Michigan. Besides being Hopewell High's Teacher of the Year for 1991, she was also selected to receive the Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Educator Award at Virginia Commonwealth University. She also sponsors "Odyssey of the Mind".

Mrs. McKay began the Social Studies program at The Maggie L. Walker Governor's School in August, 1991 by developing the Interdisciplinary Global Studies curriculum. She currently teaches AP courses in Comparative Government, European History, and Human Geography.

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Mr. Matt McGuire comes to the Governor's School after teaching Social Studies for five years in Fairfax County.  He received his B. A. in government from the College of William and Mary and his M. A. in history from George Mason University.  Mr. McGuire's electic interests range from constitutional law to cinema studies, but his academic focus is the history of American political culture.  Before becoming a teacher, he worked for numerous political campaigns and conducted research for organizations as diverse as the White House Historical Association and Empower America.  When not obsessing about the latest poll numbers or election results, Mr. McGuire enjoys rooting for the Washington Redskins with his family and playing golf with friends.  He teaches AP Comparative Government, We the People and AP American Government and Politics.

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Ms. Tinsley Pollard, a Richmond native, is a graduate of Douglas Freeman High School, received her Associate of Arts degree from Peace College in Raleigh, North Carolina, and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Richmond with a major in History. She is also a certified tennis teaching professional under the United States Professional Tennis Registry (USPTR) and a graduate of the Dennis Van Der Meer Tennis University. She teaches the course of Global Studies and coaches the Tennis Team.

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Ms. Hana Reed joins the Global Studies department part time this year, teaching  Global Studies 9 and 10.  Though a Blacksburg, VA native, she has lived in Richmond for most of her life.  She is a graduate of the Chesterfield County Mathematics and Science High School.  Ms. Reed attended the University of Virginia where she earned her BA in History, with distinction, and her MT in Secondary Social Studies Education.  She has studied language and history a semester each in Grantham, England and Valencia, Spain.  Ms. Reed has been a substitute at Maggie Walker since 2008.   Out of the classroom, she loves traveling, reading, cooking, and music (playing, singing, or listening). 

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Mr. Max Smith is in his fourth year teaching Global Studies and sponsoring Model UN at Maggie Walker.  This is also his second year teaching AP European History.  Previously he taught modern world history and philosophy for Henrico County’s International Baccalaureate program. There he received distinctions as a Meritorious New Teacher from the state and New Teacher of the Year from his school. Mr. Smith received his BA from the University of Richmond with majors in History and Drama, with a concentration on Western Europe and Russia/the Soviet Union.  He received his endorsement in Gifted Education in 2007 and finished his Master’s Degree from the University of Virginia in 2010. He is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Kappa Delta Phi and Phi Alpha Theta honor societies. One of his favorite pastimes is traveling. He has been on a teaching fellowship to Germany (2005) and another in Korea (2008). In the past six years, he’s traveled to Croatia, Turkey, Italy, Greece, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, England, France and Spain. He also enjoys home improvement, going to the gym, camping, community service and visiting family and friends.

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Mr. Phil Sorrentino received a B. A. in history from Long Island University (1973), a M. A. in Secondary Education/Social Studies from Adelphi University (1976) and a MA in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh (1996). Mr. Sorrentino is an experienced teacher who taught Social Studies in Hanover County Secondary School for 15 years and in New York State for 3 years. He teaches AP American Government and Politics, Modern Political Theory and Foundations of Independent Research and Communication.

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Mr. Sam Ulmschneider A 2002 graduate of Maggie Walker, Sam holds a B.A. with dual major in Philosophy and History at the University of Mary Washington and an M.A. in History from Virginia Commonwealth University. As part of his graduate work at VCU he spent a summer in intensive classes at Fudan University in Shanghai and Beijing Foreign Language University in Beijing. He is now working on his M.Ed and gifted endorsement through the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Richmond.

Sam has worked as a teaching assistant at VCU, and has taught as adjunct faculty at John Tyler Community College and in public and private schools in Dalian, China. His volunteer experiences include working with Maggie Walker’s We The People team and teaching ESL skills. He has been a Virginia ranked foil fencer, loves cooking, hiking and running, and can rarely be found without a couple of new books or articles within arm’s reach.

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Mr. Jonathan Waybright

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Mr. John Wilkes joined the Governor’s School faculty in 1992 following 11 years of experience in the marketing field.  He holds a B. A. in History and Government from the University of Virginia, where he graduated with distinction, and a M.T. in Education and a M.A. in History, both from the University of Richmond.  Mr. Wilkes received one of the Richmond area’s R.E.B. Awards for teaching excellence in 1998 and he was nominated for the Disney American Teacher Awards in 1999.  He is a reading consultant for The College Board’s AP U.S. History examination, a clinical faculty member in VCU’s School of Education, and has served as a history education consultant for numerous local and regional organizations. 

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