Brad Ryden
Head of School
BA, Psychology, The University of Texas at Dallas
MA, Biblical Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
MA, Counseling, Denver Seminary
My wife, Becky, and I have been married for thirty-seven years, and we have four children: Alex, Ethan, Audrey, and Eliot.
Early on, I felt called to serve in some form of full-time ministry, so I pursued an MA in Biblical Studies as a foundation for ministerial work. I then pursued study and training as a counselor and earned an MA in Counseling. Upon completion of my formal education, I knew I wanted to work with children and families. I took a job as a fifth grade teacher believing it would be temporary and allow me to establish a counseling practice. One year of teaching led to two, and then I was asked to take on administrative duties; I became the headmaster of grammar school at The Covenant School in Dallas. After a few years, I was asked to be the head of school. I took the same role when we moved from Dallas to Boerne, Texas, in 2006. Next came my call to The Geneva School here in Central Florida where I started in 2020.
Looking back, I can clearly see how God was preparing me for my work in education; I can also see how he guided me to this school, in this city, at this time. While it is a challenging season, it is also a time to be grateful and full of wonder at what God is doing at our school and through our students, faculty and staff. I’m excited to witness all that God will accomplish. A Christian classical education sets Geneva students apart and provides them with an educational experience that not only informs but also shapes them for the rest of their lives.
I consider myself blessed to be able to lead as well as serve the teachers and coaches. It is my job to set them up for success: to ensure they have the necessary resources, to guard and honor their time so that they can commit themselves to their students, and to foster a culture that values learning and hard work while recognizing that students need to be enticed and encouraged rather than driven into becoming exemplary scholars, artists, and athletes. This is why I love the TGS tagline: “Inspiring students to love beauty, think deeply, and pursue Christ’s calling.”
Russ Kapusinski
Assistant Head of School
BA, Communications, North Park University (Chicago, IL)
MDiv, Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando, FL)
DMin, Covenant Theological Seminary (St. Louis, MO)
My wife, Diane, and I have been married since 1993, and we have three children: Joshua, Caleb, and Kate.
I have served in several leadership posts since my conversion to Christ nearly four decades ago. Soon after my conversion to Christ, the Lord gave me a heart for spiritually lost teenagers struggling to understand their purpose in life. As a result of this burden, my experience in vocational ministry began in the parachurch ministry of YoungLife. I spent the first seventeen years of my vocational ministry in some form of youth and family work. This ministry journey led me into the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), wherein I was ordained at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church, Orlando, in 1998. During my tenure at St. Paul’s, I joined the staff of The Geneva School three years into its inception. I taught Bible and theology in the dialectic and rhetoric school from 1996–2003 prior to being called to plant a church on the US/Mexico border in Chula Vista, California, with the Harbor network of churches.
In San Diego, I planted churches, coached church planters, and served as Harbor’s citywide movement facilitator for our church planting center. During that season of ministry, I helped with the founding of The Cambridge School, a Christian classical school, in San Diego. I eventually stepped down from Harbor Church to join the faculty/staff of The Cambridge School as the assistant head of school and upper school principal. I was privileged to teach logic, systematic theology, and apologetics during my tenure at Cambridge. I also served as a church/ministry consultant during my years at Cambridge. I enjoyed mentoring and coaching pastors citywide until God called me to replant a church in the University City region of San Diego in 2017. During my last six years at Cambridge, I served bi-vocationally as assistant head of school and senior pastor of Harbor Church San Diego.
In 2023, I was reconnected to The Geneva School and invited to rejoin the team as assistant head of school. I am delighted to be back in Central Florida and at The Geneva School! I’m thrilled to be part of a team seeking to inspire students to love beauty, think deeply, and pursue Christ’s calling as I enter this next chapter of my life and ministry.
Peter Vande Brake
Rhetoric Dean of Students
BA, Calvin College
MDiv, Union Theological Seminary (Richmond, VA)
PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary
I am honored to work with the excellent faculty that has been assembled here at The Geneva School. The aim of Christian classical education is not merely to give a student knowledge, but to teach young people to act in accordance with the good that they know. The Geneva School is in the business of nurturing souls and cultivating virtue within the broader context of the Christian faith. This is an extraordinary calling, and one that I am happy to embrace.
I have served in several positions of leadership over the last twenty-five years, both in Christian classical schools and within national organizations that have been formed to promote the movement. I have worked with thought leaders on the board of the Society for Classical Learning as well as the CiRCE Institute. I have also consulted with several heads of school in the United States and Canada to encourage them and to offer them ideas, systems, and practices to make their schools better and stronger.
Ryan Sharp
Director of Dialectic School
BS, Religious Studies, Liberty University
Adv. MDiv, Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
DMin (candidate), Reformed Theological Seminary
I became aware of The Geneva School and the Christian classical model of education in 2003 when a good friend of mine left the seminary we were both attending to become a teacher at the school. For the next thirteen years, I supported TGS from a distance, while I prayed that the Lord might open up an opportunity for me to be part of this dynamic community. In 2016, the Lord answered those prayers, as my family became part of the larger Geneva family. In 2018, I began substitute teaching at the school in the dialectic and rhetoric school. This substitute position turned into a part-time teaching position in 2022, a full-time teaching and dialectic dean of students position in 2023, and in 2024 in addition to teaching, I began serving as director of the dialectic school. I am passionate about helping students marvel at their true identity as sons and daughters of the Father through their union with Christ, as they pursue the good, the true, and the beautiful.
Prior to joining the TGS community, my family and I have lived in six different states and eight different cities as I spent a combined eleven years in management at both FedEx Express and Amazon. I also briefly served on staff at a large evangelical church in the Seattle, WA, area. These various careers and living in a variety of locations have provided me with a wealth of diverse professional and personal experiences that I bring with me as I seek to serve the broader Geneva community.
I have been married to my wife, Shelly (fourth grade teacher at Geneva), since 1999. We have five children, all of whom attend TGS. I am under care of the Central Florida Presbytery as I pursue ordination in the Presbyterian Church in America, and I also serve on the educational advisory board for Florida’s 7th congressional district.
Rob Shelton
Rhetoric School Director of Student Life
BA, English, University of Texas at San Antonio
MA, English, University of Texas at San Antonio
MDiv, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
After the birth of our twin daughters, my wife, Kathleen, and I began investigating future educational options for the girls, and we were drawn to Christian classical education. I knew that I had to be a part of this movement, so I transitioned from the church house to the schoolhouse. What I mean is that I shifted from in-church student ministry to school administration. After serving twenty-two years as a youth pastor and the subsequent fourteen years as the rhetoric school headmaster of Geneva School of Boerne (Texas), I am excited to work once again alongside Brad Ryden at The Geneva School.
This position allows me to combine my calling to work with students with my desire to cultivate thoughtful disciples of Christ. Through my own daughters, I have been privileged to witness the fruit of Christian classical education (how would you like your father to be your principal?) and have watched them continue to use the tools they acquired to succeed in college. Indeed, when my daughters were contemplating life beyond high school and where to attend college, I told them that what I wanted them to get from college they got in high school. I could say such a thing because Christian classical education is what college used to be before it morphed into very expensive job training.
I am a firm believer in Christian classical education, and it is a joy to partner with families as we raise up students who are “biblically faithful, doctrinally shaped, morally tough, intellectually vibrant, and culturally engaged” (David Wells).
Liz Smith
Director of Lower School 3rd–6th Grade
BA English, SUNY Geneseo
BS Elementary Education, SUNY Geneseo
MA Liberal Studies, Stony Brook University
The students, faculty, and staff at The Geneva School are what make this school a unique and special place. I cherish my role here as director of the lower school for grades 3–6, where I can wholly support our wonderful teachers in their God-given calling and craft. The teachers’ creativity, passion for excellence, and classical approach to teaching help develop in each student a firm academic foundation and a love for learning that will bear fruit for a lifetime. I am honored to be in a position to come alongside teachers—encouraging them, guiding them, and teaching them as they endeavor to love and teach their students and pursue excellence in all they do.
Because Geneva is a community of faith and learning, nurturing virtue in the heart of each student is equally as important as encouraging the pursuit of academic excellence. To that end, the teachers and administrative staff are committed to coming alongside parents to love, disciple, and educate each student. I am so excited to be a part of a community that strives together to inspire students to love beauty, think deeply, and pursue Christ’s calling.
Jenna Bagnoli
Director of Lower School K4–2nd Grade
BA, Psychology, University of Southern California
MS, Early Childhood Development and Education, University of Central Florida
My own journey to Geneva is filled with God’s providence and is one of the reasons I have such a heart for the mission and vision of the school. After graduating from USC in 2009, I moved to Florida to be near extended family with the intention of only being here for a year. As I looked for a job, I was invited to volunteer at The Geneva School’s early childhood campus and found a place that felt like home. Soon after, I was hired as an aide in K4. The direct impact these experiences had on my life led me to earning a master’s degree in education and becoming a teacher at Geneva, first in kindergarten and then second grade.
Seeing the impact that classical education and Geneva have had on my own life, it is a joy and honor to come alongside teachers and parents to provide that same impact in the students’ lives. We strive to create learning environments that support and encourage children to grow in all areas of their lives—academically, spiritually, relationally, and emotionally. Our teachers are lifelong learners, and they inspire me daily to strive to grow in my own development and craft.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” Our integrated curriculum makes learning a joy as the students dive deeply into what they are learning. As we let wonder abound in the classrooms, our littlest learners are exposed to the amazing things God has created. This leads to incredible growth, and it is truly a blessing to behold!
Dan Harger
Athletic Director
BA, Physical Education, University of Central Florida
MA, Exercise Physiology, University of Central Florida
I began working at The Geneva School in July 1999. Little did I know, all these years later, I would still be here doing what I’ve always done. I started my tenure teaching PE to every student in the school while attempting to build an athletic program from scratch—no easy feat in a school as small as Geneva was in those days. But, little by little, we were able to field more and more teams, and even occasionally find a win or two. Thankfully, my days of walking the halls begging students to play sports so we could field a team is now just a memory!
Geneva has always been blessed with exceptionally gifted and passionate coaches. More and more, those coaches are on staff and in the building during the school day. This, as you might expect, has made a huge difference to our programs and has allowed coaches to be more readily available to our students and their families. As athletic director, I have always considered my job description to be a simple one: serve the Lord by serving our Geneva families and coaches. I believe that approach is the reason for my longevity. I hope I have been a blessing to Geneva, but I am certain Geneva has been a blessing to me. To have been surrounded by such an amazing community of people all these years has helped shape the person that I am today, and for that I am eternally grateful. My two daughters are both proud graduates of The Geneva School. Carolina (’21) and Emmy (’22) are students at Palm Beach Atlantic University, but they love coming home to Geneva to catch up with their former teachers and classmates.
It has been a joy to have witnessed firsthand the steady growth and flourishing taking place here. I drive in every morning amazed by the beauty of this place both inside and out. And it’s especially astounding when I think back to our school’s humble beginnings. Our faithful Geneva community recognizes and acknowledges the Lord has clearly found favor on us, and for this we are thankful.
Michael S. Beates
Chaplain
BA, Clemson University
MDiv; STM., Biblical Theological Seminary
DMin, Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando
I remember when The Geneva School was an idea in the minds of the founding board of governors. It was a big idea, a God-sized vision far greater than the capabilities of that fledgling group. My family got involved that first year, and our eldest son Jeb entered third grade as a charter student. In fact, we had children at Geneva straight through the first fifteen years until our daughter Abbie graduated in 2008. Over the years, my wife, Mary, and I have served as custodians, curricular consultants, soccer coach, field trip drivers, substitute teachers, lunchtime aid, and more. Suffice it to say, the “Big Idea” of Christian classical education has left an indelible impact on my family. So it was with deep gratitude to God’s kind providence that I began to teach at Geneva in 2008; then from 2011–19, I served as dean of students (while still teaching 2–3 classes each year). I have happily returned to the classroom full-time (teaching Old and New Testament Survey, and Biblical Ethics), and I also, as chaplain, oversee the upper school chapel program.
Our family’s journey over the last forty years has included serving with Young Life in Buffalo, NY, adult Christian education at Ligonier Ministries, college and seminary teaching (at Belhaven University in Orlando, Florida Southern College, Reformed Theological Seminary, and most recently Reformation Bible College in Sanford), and of course parenting numerous children (natural, adopted, and foster). I believe all these experiences have equipped me well to serve Christ and Geneva’s student community. I have watched with deep appreciation Geneva’s journey toward maturity and consider it a privilege to serve here. In the classroom, it is my great joy to teach the truths of the Christian faith to seventh, eighth, and tenth grade students. I strive in all that I do at Geneva to mentor students toward resting in the hope I have in Christ and toward the passion for truth that I have received from so many others over the years (2 Tim. 2:2).
David Petrak
Director of Technology
BS, Mathematics, Iowa State University
MA, Biblical Studies, Reformed Theological Seminary
In the good providence of God, I was invited to join the staff of The Geneva School in 2004. Ever since, I have counted it a privilege to serve the school in whatever capacity is needed, particularly in addressing the technology needs of the students, families, faculty, and staff.
Geneva has been much more than employment for me. My children have been blessed by the care-filled instruction of the faculty, with my oldest daughter completing K4 – 12, and my youngest daughter nearly finished as well. Additionally, my wife Erin has been a valued member of the K4 team for over 10 years.
I am particularly grateful for the deep faith in our great God that our community confesses. God’s glory, majesty, and worth are visible throughout the whole earth, particularly among his people as they seek to love and serve him. What a joy and delight it is to join with our community in the work of pointing students and families to worship their creator.
Katie Deatherage
Director of Advancement
BA, Furman University
My husband and I have known about The Geneva School from the beginning, supported from a distance while watching the school establish deep roots, and joined the community as parents in 2010. The evidences of God’s hand of provision upholding the school are numerous; it is an honor to be used as an instrument to help accomplish the work that he has called the school to do.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea…” – Antoine de Saint Exupery
The role of the advancement office is, as its name suggests, to press an idea forward. So we want to teach everyone we meet to yearn for and understand the benefits that a Christian liberal arts education can provide to children. I love the opportunities I have to introduce new people to the school, grow our own community’s understanding and love for the mission, and increase the support that allows The Geneva School’s mission to thrive. God has called each of us to steward the resources that he has given to us—time, talent, and treasure. The Geneva School has also been called to steward the resources entrusted to it—financial and human. The joy produced from giving of my own resources and watching others do the same so that students might benefit from this education that inspires students to love beauty, think deeply, and pursue Christ’s calling cannot be underestimated.
As the school matures and grows, the need for garnering support has also grown. Seven years as a development officer at Rollins College provided excellent experiences to learn the tools of philanthropy, marketing, and communications.
Tam Costar
Director of Admission
BSM, Tulane University
MBA, Rollins College
My husband and I have been a part of the Geneva community since 2007 when the eldest of our four children started kindergarten. Since then, Emily (’20) has graduated from Baylor University, and Kate (’22) attends Clemson University. Caroline (’26) and Baker (’27) are still actively engaged in all aspects of the Geneva community. As a parent, former member of the board of governors (2014–2019), and director of admission since 2018, I have seen firsthand the passion and energy each faculty and staff member has in assuring that the students learn to love beauty, think deeply, and pursue Christ’s calling.
With almost twenty five years of prior experience working in sales in the pharmaceutical industry with Merck, Boston Scientific, and Amgen, one of my true joys is meeting new people and developing relationships. As the Director of Admission at Geneva, I love getting to know each family and helping them on their journey to select a school that will instill in their children a love of learning and a knowledge of Christ. Aristotle states, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” Geneva’s focus on the heart and the mind is what drew me to Geneva in 2007, and it is what keeps me here.
Heidi Bruno
Chief Financial Officer
BS, Finance and Management, University of Florida
MAcc, Florida Atlantic University
I joined Geneva’s administration team in May 2019 and am delighted to serve this organization by applying my 20+ years of finance and accounting experience. My career first began in the banking industry where I analyzed various financial reports of publicly traded corporations, private for-profit businesses, not-for-profit agencies, as well as individuals to develop lending, cash management, and investment solutions. I later joined a church extension fund to manage the daily financial operations of the organization as well as prepare financial information for internal and external users. The greatest joy was helping this nonprofit financial ministry achieve greater efficiencies by leveraging technology to streamline financial processes and provide investors with online banking options.
As Geneva’s chief business officer, I’m able to apply my experience in financial management, internal controls, and lean business operations to an organization that is committed to being good stewards of its resources. It’s an honor to partner with an organization coram Deo whereby all that is given in the presence of God is wisely managed for the glory of God. Sound fiscal policies and procedures coupled with humbled gratefulness for God’s resources will provide The Geneva School sustainability for generations to come. The sustainability of The Geneva School is important to me not just from a professional standpoint but as a mom who desires to pass down her love of learning to her two boys.
The Geneva School is a tremendous blessing both professionally and personally. It’s an honor to serve beside such talented and accomplished faculty and staff and to offer my experience in business to help the school make decisions that will have a positive effect for years to come. It fills my heart with joy to see faculty and staff pour into the life of the students. I believe that providing children with a love of learning rooted in Truth is the best inheritance they could ever receive, for it gives them the tools to understand, discern, and choose wisely.
John Kennedy
Director of Facilities
The Designation of Systems Maintenance Administrator, BOMI International
The Designation of Systems Maintenance Technician, BOMI International
QMPC/FEQM (Quality Manager Professional Certification/ Facilities & Environmental Quality Manager), Quality Management Institute
Only God could lay out the path and timing of me joining the Geneva family in April of 2022. He led me to Geneva in 2020 as a consultant, preparing me for the great honor of serving alongside this amazing team of professionals. This journey was only due to God’s grace and guidance, along with the support of my wife of thirty-nine years, Karen. Karen and I are both native Floridians, and we have two sons, Joshua and John, and three grandchildren, Addison, Connor, and Logan.
My facilities management journey started in industrial mechanical repairs and then moved into large commercial facility operations. Looking for further professional development, God opened the door with an opportunity that would lead me into the private educational field. Prior to Geneva, I served for twenty-six years as facilities and property manager for Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, responsible for the development of all facilities operations and project management. LHPS is now one of the nation’s largest private preparatory schools.
I believe God has provided me the opportunity to share my years of experience to develop the facilities foundational structures needed to support Geneva’s physical plant and community with quality facilities and sustainable systems across all realms of this beautiful campus.
