JULY 2022 NEWSLETTER
Please join us in welcoming our new Advisory Board members! This group of talented leaders in the fields of education, history, and veterans' issues is joining us in our mission to give veterans the opportunity to continue to serve their nation by inspiring young people to lead in their communities. The primary aims of the Advisory Board are to help us grow our network of partner schools and provide wisdom and experience as we continue to imagine the possibilities of what the 9:57 Project can be. We have included their brief biographies below, and we can't wait to see how the next chapter unfolds!
Tom McMillan
Tom is the author of FLIGHT 93: The Story, The Aftermath, and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11 and previously served on the board of directors of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial. In addition to writing two books about the Battle of Gettysburg, he also is a member of the board of trustees at Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center and is a new volunteer ambassador at Antietam National Battlefield. Tom recently retired after a 43-year career in sports communications, including stints in team PR, as a newspaper sports writer, and as a radio talk show host. He has a journalism degree from Point Park University in Pittsburgh. Tom and his wife, Colleen, also an avid student of history, live in the Pittsburgh suburb of Kennedy Township.
Matthew Wheelock
Matthew is an Associate Professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development, where he serves as the Innovation Program Area Director and directs the Education Doctorate Program and the dual degree M.Ed./M.B.A. program that is offered in conjunction with UVA’s Darden School of Business, where he also teaches. He is also the founder of Live It Learn It, an award-winning nonprofit organization that provides experiential learning programs to students in Title I public schools in Washington, DC and has reached more than 20,000 students since its founding in 2005. Matthew's work focuses on improving opportunities and outcomes for K-12 students, particularly those in Title I public schools.
Ashley Harper
Ashley is an experienced independent school leader with a demonstrated history of education management success and college admissions and advancement experience. She began her career as a fifth-grade history and mathematics teacher and has held several leadership positions in lower and middle school, as well as advancement prior to becoming a head of school. She is the current Head of School at Wakefield School, an independent school located in The Plains, Virginia. Ashley has a B.A. in Economics from Florida State University and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Nova Southeastern University. She was a National Association of Independent Schools Aspiring School Heads Fellow from 2011 to 2012.
Diana Smith
Diana graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Classics from Princeton and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. She has been a K-12 teacher of Latin and English, and a school administrator for the past 37 years. From 2008 to 2021, she was the principal at Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. Her work as classroom instructor and Principal was fundamental to its growing from a small, constantly moving new school to its current status as a stable, top-ranked institution. She currently oversees the expansion of Washington Latin as it grows into its second campus in, serving as Principal Emerita.
Andrew Carroll
Andrew is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Columbia University, where he earned his B.A. in English Literature. He is the founding director of the Center for American War Letters and is the editor of several New York Times bestsellers, including LETTERS OF A NATION, BEHIND THE LINES, and WAR LETTERS, the audio version of which was nominated for a Grammy in the “Spoken Word” category. Andrew edited, pro bono, OPERATION HOMECOMING: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, which inspired the Emmy-winning documentary “Operation Homecoming." He is also one of the co-founders of Americans for Ukraine.
Martha Cutts
Martha retired in July 2016 after 47 years in K-12 education. She began her career as a teacher of German and Latin and then an administrator in independent schools in Delaware and Connecticut. In 1991, she moved to Washington, DC for a position at National Cathedral School as Assistant Head and Director of the Upper School. After two years as Head of School in Pennsylvania, she returned to DC and served for eight and a half years as Head of School at Washington Latin Public Charter School, helping to lead it to its status as a top-ranked institution. Martha has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A.T. from Yale University.
Tom McMillan
Tom is the author of FLIGHT 93: The Story, The Aftermath, and the Legacy of American Courage on 9/11 and previously served on the board of directors of the Friends of Flight 93 National Memorial. In addition to writing two books about the Battle of Gettysburg, he also is a member of the board of trustees at Pittsburgh’s Heinz History Center and is a new volunteer ambassador at Antietam National Battlefield. Tom recently retired after a 43-year career in sports communications, including stints in team PR, as a newspaper sports writer, and as a radio talk show host. He has a journalism degree from Point Park University in Pittsburgh. Tom and his wife, Colleen, also an avid student of history, live in the Pittsburgh suburb of Kennedy Township.
Matthew Wheelock
Matthew is an Associate Professor at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development, where he serves as the Innovation Program Area Director and directs the Education Doctorate Program and the dual degree M.Ed./M.B.A. program that is offered in conjunction with UVA’s Darden School of Business, where he also teaches. He is also the founder of Live It Learn It, an award-winning nonprofit organization that provides experiential learning programs to students in Title I public schools in Washington, DC and has reached more than 20,000 students since its founding in 2005. Matthew's work focuses on improving opportunities and outcomes for K-12 students, particularly those in Title I public schools.
Ashley Harper
Ashley is an experienced independent school leader with a demonstrated history of education management success and college admissions and advancement experience. She began her career as a fifth-grade history and mathematics teacher and has held several leadership positions in lower and middle school, as well as advancement prior to becoming a head of school. She is the current Head of School at Wakefield School, an independent school located in The Plains, Virginia. Ashley has a B.A. in Economics from Florida State University and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from Nova Southeastern University. She was a National Association of Independent Schools Aspiring School Heads Fellow from 2011 to 2012.
Diana Smith
Diana graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in Classics from Princeton and received her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. She has been a K-12 teacher of Latin and English, and a school administrator for the past 37 years. From 2008 to 2021, she was the principal at Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. Her work as classroom instructor and Principal was fundamental to its growing from a small, constantly moving new school to its current status as a stable, top-ranked institution. She currently oversees the expansion of Washington Latin as it grows into its second campus in, serving as Principal Emerita.
Andrew Carroll
Andrew is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Columbia University, where he earned his B.A. in English Literature. He is the founding director of the Center for American War Letters and is the editor of several New York Times bestsellers, including LETTERS OF A NATION, BEHIND THE LINES, and WAR LETTERS, the audio version of which was nominated for a Grammy in the “Spoken Word” category. Andrew edited, pro bono, OPERATION HOMECOMING: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front, in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families, which inspired the Emmy-winning documentary “Operation Homecoming." He is also one of the co-founders of Americans for Ukraine.
Martha Cutts
Martha retired in July 2016 after 47 years in K-12 education. She began her career as a teacher of German and Latin and then an administrator in independent schools in Delaware and Connecticut. In 1991, she moved to Washington, DC for a position at National Cathedral School as Assistant Head and Director of the Upper School. After two years as Head of School in Pennsylvania, she returned to DC and served for eight and a half years as Head of School at Washington Latin Public Charter School, helping to lead it to its status as a top-ranked institution. Martha has a B.A. from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A.T. from Yale University.