The Gettysburg Montessori Charter School is governed by an elected board that serve two year terms. There are seven elected members, while at least one must be a community member. All board meetings are open to the public and held at the school, meetings are held the last Thursday of each month at 6:00pm. Agendas for upcoming meetings are available 24 hours before the meeting.
For Board inquiries, please send an email to board@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
For Board inquiries, please send an email to board@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
Board Members for 2020-2021
Tom Hockensmith, Chair
Tom resides in Hanover with his family, his daughter Fiona is in 1st grade at GMCS. He is the Acting Director of Central Administration IT Services for the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Outside of work he enjoys cooking with his daughter and attending her dance recitals. While new to the Board, he is looking forward to working towards strengthening and growing the GMCS for all students present and future.
thockensmith@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
Rose Thornberry, Vice Chair
Rose and her family reside in Gettysburg. Her nephew who she raises attends GMCS. She is a Registered Nurse, Substitute School Nurse, and Substitute Teacher. She loves spending time with her family and is excited for the opportunity to serve on the board.
rthornberry@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
Traci Elligson, Secretary
telligson@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
Becky Uppercue, Treasurer
Becky has resided in Gettysburg since 2005, and has 2 sons attending GMCS, Elijah and Phoenix. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker operating Gettysburg Counseling, LLC, an outpatient behavioral health practice located downtown, where she provides therapy to individuals, couples, and families dealing with a multitude of behavioral health, life, and relationship challenges. The Uppercue family enjoys spending their free time hiking, camping, visiting local and state parks, exploring homeopathic health practices, cooking/baking, listening to/playing music, visiting amusement parks, and traveling.
buppercue@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
Diana Williams, Member, At-Large
Diana and her fiancé have lived in Littlestown for 17 years. They are the grandparents to a 2nd grader at GMCS and own a business in Gettysburg called History and Haunts, specializing in historical walking tours and other events that keep them busy throughout the year. Diana is happy to volunteer her time to help the Board and GMCS. In their spare time, Diana's family enjoys spending time together watching sports, baking and spending time on the battlefield.
dwilliams@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
Derek Beckenbaugh, Member, At-Large
Derek and his wife, Natalie, live in East Berlin with their children Ty and Piper. Ty and Piper both attend GMCS. Derek is an Insurance Adjuster and travels all over the country helping people and businesses get back on their feet after a catastrophe. When not traveling for work or running kids to practices, Derek enjoys golfing, fishing, hunting and making food on his smoker. He looks forward to serving on the Board and helping GMCS continue to grow and succeed and also working to return the students and their school experience back to normal after a very tough 2020-2021 school year.
derek.beckenbaugh@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
Ashley Utermahlen, Member, Member, At-Large
Ashley resides in New Oxford with her family. Her daughter, Piper, has attended GMCS since kindergarten. Ashley works in the non-profit world, providing resources to families of first responders who have died in the line of duty. In her free time Ashley enjoys, coaching/watching her children play sports, hiking and trying new recipes.
autermahlen@gettysburgmontessoricharter.org
