Josh Chapman: Academic Director
Josh Chapman has been with Community High School since its inception. He attended Yale University, where he earned his B.A. in Anthropology in 1996; he also holds graduate degrees in Social Science and Creative Writing, both from Hollins University. Josh oversees faculty, curriculum, discipline, accreditation and the college admissions process, and has taught courses across the Humanities. Josh also has occasionally taught graduate courses in Literature and Film at Hollins University, and has served as Curator for Community Engagement at the Taubman Museum. His fiction has appeared in a number of magazines in the United States and Canada and has been anthologized in New Stories from the South. Away from campus, he is an active member of the community, from providing programming for the Harrison Museum of African American Culture to serving on the Boards of numerous organizations, including the Virginia Association of Independent Schools. Email Josh
Meg Giuliano Snow: Administrative Director and Admissions
Meg Snow is responsible for the administration of staff, finances, and the physical plant at Community High School, and she also teaches environmental science and oversees the admissions process. Meg graduated from Williams College in 2005 with a B.A. in Biology, and holds a master’s degree in environmental management from Duke University. Previously, Meg has taught at environmental education non-profits in New England, and worked as an energy efficiency and sustainability consultant with the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys playing and singing music, spending time outdoors, and growing and cooking delicious food. Email Meg
Erin Coogan: Registrar
Erin Coogan graduated from Community High School in 2009, and earned a B.A. in History from Goucher College in 2013. In the years since, in addition to working with children from pre-K to grade 12, Erin served as the coordinator for the Roanoke Valley Preservation Foundation. In 2016, she became registrar at Community High School, where her duties include record maintenance, scheduling and communicating with colleges and universities. Email Erin
Stephanie Martin graduated from Randolph-Macon in 2000 with a B.A. in English Literature and Education, and also holds graduate degrees in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis from VCU and FIT, respectively. Stephanie taught in Richmond, VA in alternative education settings for a number of years before undertaking counseling positions in the Roanoke City and Roanoke County Public Schools. Stephanie is currently our head of student services, which includes Special Education, Senior Transitional Programming, Community Services, and Outreach, Internships, Alumni relationships, Exchange Programs, and Special Projects, and teaches one Humanities class per semester. See 
Linda Thornton is a founding member and the first director of Community High School. She graduated from Hollins in 1972 with a B.A. in English and then attended Brown University, graduating with an MAT in 1973. When she returned to Roanoke she began working at Community School under her earlier mentor from St Catherine’s School, Susanna Turner. For the next twenty five years she worked with and educated her children at Community School serving at various time as teacher, administrator, Director and Chairwoman. Having helped the school create its Middle School Program, it fell naturally to her when parents and community members insisted on the creation of a philosophically similar high school. After nine years as Director, she now chairs the Board of Trustees of Community High School. When not on the CHS campus, she is actively involved in her family farm, and is Chief Financial Officer of H.L. Lawson & Son Inc. She has served on various community boards including the Taubman Museum and The Historical Society of Southwestern Virginia.
John McBroom has taught Music Performance, Algebra and Geometry since the early days of Community High. He now serves on the board, where his responsibilities primarily focus on development and fundraising in order to ensure a sustainable future for Community High School. John has also been a touring and recording musician for more than a decade, playing in jam bands, bluegrass and jazz ensembles. He has been involved in more than a dozen CD projects as a musician, producer and executive producer. John also serves as the CFO of FloydFest, the region’s largest contemporary music festival.Becca Allred
Becca Allred graduated from Community High School in 2006. She earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the College of William and Mary in 2010 where she competed at the varsity level in Track and Field. Becca continued teaching, tutoring, and researching by studying physical chemistry at Yale University, graduating with a master’s degree in 2012. The following years took her to San Antonio before leading her back home to Botetourt, where she lives inside the trail circuit formed by Virginia’s Triple Crown and enjoys taking in the quiet trails by hiking on weekdays rather than weekends.
Leanne Cline
Leanne Cline started her teaching adventures after graduating from James Madison University with degrees in Spanish and English. She went on to get her master’s degree in Spanish Language and Cultures from La Universidad de Salamanca in Spain. Over the years, she has taught Spanish Acquisition, Spanish Language Arts, English Language Arts, and English Acquisition in a multitude of settings, from middle school to college.
After 20 years in the teaching field, Leanne’s passion is providing opportunities for people to open their cultural perspectives and appreciate the world in which we live. Having lived and studied in Spain, Argentina, and Ecuador, she brings a unique perspective to her classes, one of cultural awareness and linguistic diversity.
Leanne enjoys storytelling, travel, bicycles, great food, being creative, and doodling. Most doodles include some magical van/home conversion. When not teaching Spanish, Leanne is adventuring with her kids and dog or dreaming up the next adventure.
Peter Coogan escaped the snows of New York to earn his BA in history from Duke University and his MA and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He taught classes on modern American history and the history of international relations for forty years at Hollins University and UNC-CH before retiring last year. He has published on a variety of topics on American national security policy and is currently working on a book tentatively titled “Geopolitics and the Intellectual Origins of Containment,” which analyzes the ways in which American decisionmakers from 1900-1950 viewed the nation’s place in the world. He has been on the board of Community High School since its inception, and has taught numerous classes at CHS including American history, American government, and Leadership. When not reading, writing, or teaching, he suffers the slings and arrows of being a lifelong Mets and Duke basketball fan.Brian Counihan
Brian Counihan is a founding faculty member of Community High, where he teaches courses in the humanities, art history, curatorial studies and studio art. Brian grew up in the Republic of Ireland and received a degree in painting and printmaking from Crawford School of Art, in Cork City. He also has a B.A. in Art History summa cum laude from Northwestern University and was awarded The Elizabeth Dipple Award for his M.A.L.S. thesis that explored the work of James Joyce and contemporary culture. Prior to joining Community High School, Brian taught studio art at Randolph Macon Women’s College and Lynchburg College. Additionally, Brian is very involved in the regional art community, having served on the Art Museum of Western Virginia/Taubman Museum’s education committee for six years and served as the Taubman Museum’s Curator for Community Engagement. He is the co-director of Liminal Station, an alternative artspace in downtown Roanoke, and an active member of a variety of cultural organizations in the region. See Brian’s collection of posts to learn more.
Seph Custer
Seph Custer has been performing live music for 20 years! In that time, he’s played with bands in the styles of rock, bluegrass, funk, punk, R&B, traditional blues, hip-hop, and everything in between. Seph has released two solo albums and is working on his third. He has also produced or played multiple instruments on many other’s albums. Since beginning teaching music at age fifteen, Seph has expanded his offerings to include electric and acoustic guitar, electric bass and upright bass, violin and fiddle, banjo, mandolin, ukulele, slide guitar, piano, and virtually almost every contemporary stringed instrument. Seph also serves as the coordinator of the Appalachian Ensemble at Hollins University, in addition to teaching guitar, and banjo on that campus. He has also been offering private lessons at Fret Mill in Downtown Roanoke since 2016.
Kasper Diller
Kasper Diller has a Bachelor of Arts in Government and History from The University of Texas at Austin. They also hold a Master of Education in School Counseling from the University of Southern California, which has a significant emphasis on diversity and equity in education. Kasper has had an interest in education and politics since they were in high school and is passionate about helping students thrive on their individual paths. They have worked as a substitute teacher, a tutor, a peer mentor, an outdoor educator, and a horseback riding instructor in addition to their experience as a K-12 school counselor. When not at work, Kasper spends their time reading, writing, riding their horse, and fawning over said horse, as well as their cats and turtle.
Les Epstein
Les Epstein teaches courses in Theatre and the Humanities. He received undergraduate degrees in Theater Performance and English from Otterbein College, an MA in English from Miami (Ohio) University and continued with studies in Literature at New York University and in Theatre Education at The Ohio State University. He completed his teacher training at Mary Baldwin College. Les spent 20 years in theater and opera management, including ten seasons as education director and production coordinator for Opera Columbus (Ohio) and seven as the executive director for the Children’s Theatre of Winston-Salem (N.C.). He is also a seasoned stage director, librettist and playwright, and in those capacities has worked for companies across the United States. See Les’s collection of posts to learn more.
Jonathan Falls
Jonathan Falls, Instructor of Humanities and Associate Administrator (admissions), joined Community High School in 2023. He holds undergraduate degrees in International Relations and German from Virginia Tech, and is currently working towards an MA in German at the Middlebury College Language Schools in Vermont. He has worked as a teacher and camp counselor at the Virginia Governor’s World Language Academies, and has traveled extensively in Germany and Austria. Outside of the classroom, Jonathan plays trumpet and flügelhorn in the Roanoke-based band Cinémathèque. He also enjoys hiking, biking, and paddleboarding in the mountains of Southwest Virginia.
Warren C. Fry
Warren C. Fry moved to Roanoke in 2010 after working with Community High School faculty and area cultural workers during the 2009 and 2010 Marginal Arts Festivals. He is a graduate of the Columbus College of Art and Design, and earned an M.F.A. in Event and Performance from Rutgers University in 2007. Prior to joining Community High, Warren taught art history at Bergen Community College and William Fleming High School. His creative practice encompasses writing, performance, game design and comedy. He participates in a number of experimental, creative networks. At Community High School Warren currently serves as Afternoon Coordinator and co-organizer of Liminal Station, and teaches classes in the Arts and Humanities.
Jess Joy
Jess Joy received a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from The University of Southern California and a Master’s Degree in Education with a focus on secondary mathematics from The University of California Los Angeles. She taught in The Los Angeles Unified School District before moving to Roanoke and finding Community High School. Jess brings with her an interest in project based learning and exploring social, political, and economic issues through mathematics.
Tiffany Lee
Tiffany received her BA in Classical Languages from the University of Missouri and her MA in Classics from the University of Kansas. She also holds a J.D. from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Tiffany has taught all ages from 3rd grade through graduate school in a variety of fields. In addition to teaching Latin at CHS, Tiffany teaches middle school Latin at Community School and healthcare law, disability law, and bioethics at WLU Law. In her spare time, Tiffany likes to garden, spend time with her pets (dogs, cats, chickens, and horses), and play the harp and drums.Olchar E. Lindsann
Olchar E. Lindsann teaches Humanities and Creative Writing courses, oversees the Writing Lab, and oversees the Library. He took his B.F.A. in Visual Art from Columbus College of Art and Design, and his MA in Performance Writing at Dartington College of the Arts, an experimental, multidisciplinary programme in the UK where he concentrated on critical theory, experimental performance, arts organizing and literary history. He has published many books of experimental poetry, fiction, literary and social theory, and the history of intellectual subcultures, and has lectured and performed extensively in the United States and England. He administers a small press specializing in avant-garde writing, theory and translation, and has organized and co-organized numerous cultural events and symposia, including many years on the steering committee of the Roanoke Marginal Arts Festival. See Olchar’s collection of posts to learn more.
Mireidis Marcano
Mireidis Marcano is a part-time Spanish teacher at Community High School. Originally from Venezuela, she holds a Master’s Degree in Democracy and Human Rights from the University of Alcalá de Henares, Spain; a Master’s in Screenwriting for Film and Television from the University of Madrid; and a Bachelor’s in Political Science from the Central University of Venezuela.
She has taught GED Spanish at Roanoke City Public Schools, served as a teacher at the Human Rights School of the Ombudsman’s Office in Venezuela, and led seminars on women’s rights with the Latin American Council of Social Sciences (CLACSO). In Roanoke, she also teaches adult learners through Casa Latina.
In addition to teaching, Mireidis works as a Victim Advocate Hispanic Outreach Specialist, supporting victims and strengthening trust with the Hispanic community. She has completed specialized training in gender, human rights, trauma, and domestic violence through institutions including the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, the National Organization for Victim Advocacy, and the United Nations Population Fund.
Devonn McKenna is from upstate New York and received her undergraduate degrees in Theatre and Dance from SUNY Brockport. She received a Master of Fine Arts in Dance at Hollins University. Her research is centered around dance pedagogy and accessibility of dance in higher education and her research interests as a graduate student consisted of social media, politics, and grading in institutions. Devonn’s teaching philosophy centers on students’ lived experiences and fosters individuality in the classroom. She strives to continue learning and adapting as a facilitator to benefit and offer students the education they deserve. Devonn is invested in changing the future of education through inclusive critical pedagogy and culturally relevant teaching.
Born into a family of musicians in Little Rock, AR, Brian Mesko mastered rhythm section instruments and has been gigging since age 14. Prog rock influences led him to discover fusion and then jazz, for which he developed the strongest passion for and settled on guitar as his primary instrument. At age 16 he studied Jazz Theory & Ensemble at UALR under Michael Carenbauer (who studied under Pat Metheny at Berklee), and then moved to Nashville area to cut his chops with world-class greats and get a Recording Industry degree at MTSU.Martha O’Brien
Martha earned her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Florida. She went on to teach middle and high school mathematics in Orlando, Jacksonville, and Denver Public Schools. Her focus has been working with gifted and neurodiverse students and creating a classroom environment that fosters challenge seeking and creative thinking. Martha is passionate about working with students outside of the context of the classroom through clubs, leadership, and travel opportunities, as well as creating a fun and inclusive school culture for every student.
Jen Sosnowski
Jen Sosnowski received Bachelor’s degrees in both Biology and Music from Salem College, and teaches courses in Science at Community High. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a Master’s in Biology and attended Virginia Tech for her education coursework, which leaves her feeling rather conflicted during football season. Jen’s background in Molecular Biology research and interest in interdisciplinary curriculum design gives her a wide range of experiences to draw upon when creating her classes.
