Jef served as the Head of School of Veritas Academy in Austin, Texas for 18 years until retiring in the summer of 2023 (though continuing on the Veritas school and trustee boards) and launching Quiddity Consulting LLC. His strengths are vision (seeing what doesn’t exist but could/should), discernment, persistent resolve and equanimity, adaptability, and relational leadership, qualities that are especially prominent in times of uncertainty and crisis when he thrives due to his high tolerance for ambiguity and risk.

Prior to co-founding Veritas Academy in 2004, Jef was an experienced business owner, operator, and consultant, having started and/or served as a senior executive officer (CFO/COO/CEO) at several high growth companies in Houston and Austin. He earned an MBA in Finance from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and is a former CPA, possessing years of M&A, corporate finance, and strategic/financial consulting experience with Big Four accounting and consulting firms. Jef has even more years of entrepreneurial business and church administration/board experience, and has previously served the National Association for University-Model Schools (NAUMS) as an advisory board member and new school trainer.

Starrla Fowler has served at Veritas Academy since its inception in 2004. She and her husband, Jef, along with three other couples, founded the school. Formerly the Grammar School Head, Starrla most recently served as the Head of the School of Logic and continues as a member of the Veritas School Board.
Starrla graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. For most of the 1990s she taught in Houston’s Spring Branch ISD where she was named Teacher-of-the-Year at her school and runner-up in the district. In addition to teaching 1st and 3rd Grades at Frostwood Elementary in the Memorial area, Starrla served on several task forces within her school and throughout the district, including a multi-year study for special-education inclusion, a 3-year math curriculum development team, and the campus development team at Frostwood. Through the Harris County Department of Education, Starrla traveled to numerous school districts throughout the Houston area to instruct on individualized reading and writing.
Starrla holds a Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from Gordon College in Boston. She enjoys reading, gardening, traveling, and rowing. Starrla and Jef have three children, all graduates of Veritas Academy between 2014 and 2020.

Deborah Allen has been in classical Christian education as a parent and professional for over twenty years. She holds a BA in Communications from the University of Florida, an MA in Humanities from California State, a Professional Certification in Human Resource Development from the University of Georgia, and she has completed post-graduate work at the University of Dallas. Presently she is enrolled in NACCAP College Counseling Certification Cohort, and in December 2022 will be a Highlands Ability Battery Certified consultant.

Deborah is a life-long learner who has a broad range of experience in a variety of environments. She has taught Western Civilization Humanities classes at Thomas Nelson Community College Community College in Virginia, and served as an academic and career counselor at the University of Florida. She was the Director of College Counseling at both Covenant Classical School in Fort Worth and Great Hearts Classical Charter School in Irving, Texas where she created and designed successful college counseling departments. Deborah believes that college and career counseling is a sacred journey, an unfolding adventure, not merely a perfunctory checklist to push through in order to win a coveted seat from a college “named on a list.” The pillars of classical Christian education - Truth, Goodness, and Beauty - should be manifest in the
vocational discernment process where the goal is to help students discover their calling
(vocare) and walk in the fullness and flourishing (Eudaimonia) that comes from following Christ’s call. Recently, Deborah founded Athena College and Vocational Coaching.

Matt Skinner is the President of Heritage Preparatory School, a position he assumed in
June 2016. He has been in Christian education for the past 27 years leading PK-12
traditional and classical Christian schools with enrollments ranging from 150 to 850
students. Prior to leading Heritage Preparatory School, Matt served as Headmaster of
Heritage School in Fredericksburg, Texas, Hilton Head Christian Academy in Hilton Head,
South Carolina, Landmark Christian School in Fairburn, Georgia and Bracken Christian
School in Bulverde, Texas. Prior to his calling into Christian education, Matt spent ten
years as a Certified Public Accountant working with a variety of corporate and private
clients throughout the southwest. He is also an ordained minister and served as the first
Executive Pastor of Braelinn Church in Peachtree City, Georgia (now Dogwood Church).
He currently serves as a leadership coach for Herzog Foundation and also provides
consulting services for Christian schools.

Matt holds a BBA from the University of Texas-Arlington (1986) and a Master of
Education in Educational Leadership from Covenant College (2002).

Matt has been married for thirty-seven years to Tracy and they have three children.

For over 23 years, Carrie Eben has championed classical education in both the private school classroom and homeschool arenas. She currently serves as a founding board member of Sager Classical Academy in Siloam Springs, AR and is an adjunct professor of humanities at John Brown University.

Carrie passionately leads teachers and parents in the classical model of education. She develops and delivers customized workshops for administrators, teachers, and parents in both classical school and homeschool settings. As the owner of Classical Eben Consulting, she currently offers a Tools for Transcripts seminar online to classical homeschool parents wanting to authentically and holistically assess their students as well as teacher in-service training for both classical and Christian schools. Please see: www.classicaleben.com.

Carrie holds a BSE in Intermediate Education from John Brown University and a MSEd in Curriculum and Instruction from Oklahoma State University. She is currently a PhD student in the Humanities program at Faulkner University and a CiRCE Institute Master Teacher. She is an engaging and experienced speaker with a demonstrated history of working in classical education curriculum development and training, classical homeschool, leadership, strategic planning, and teaching.

Robert Littlejohn, Ph.D. has served as the head of The Covenant School in Dallas since 2018. Previously he served as the head of Trinity Academy of Raleigh, NC. He is co-author of Wisdom and Eloquence: A Christian Paradigm for Classical Learning. Littlejohn's career spans decades in K-12 and higher education, during which he has served in a variety of teaching and administrative capacities, including academic vice president at Covenant College. He was founding headmaster for New Covenant Schools in Virginia, founding executive director for the Society for Classical Learning and a founding board member for the American School of Lyon, France. He is a certified facilitator for Appreciative Inquiry and a consultant to colleges and schools across the nation. As a Ph.D. Biologist, he has authored two college biology laboratory texts and has published 26 reports of original research in the fields of Ecology, Plant Physiology, Biochemistry, and Science Educational Theory.

Sam has served as an educator for over three and a half decades at eight different K-12 independent schools - as a history teacher, humanities department chair, cross country and track coach, Dean of Students, Upper School Head, and since 2001 as Head of School at three different Christian classical schools: Faith Christian School in Roanoke, VA; Caldwell Academy in Greensboro, NC; and at Haw River Christian Academy as the Interim Head of School in Pittsboro, NC for 2022-2023. He has consulted with nearly a dozen other classical Christian schools as well and was a founding board member for The Society for Classical Learning, serving on the Board of Directors from 2002-2012 and again from 2016-2022. He served most of that time as treasurer. He has taught at the middle school, upper school, and university levels, and has served on fourteen non-profit and school boards for a total of 65 years. Sam also was an active duty Army officer and is retired from the US Army Reserves.

Sam holds a BS degree from Wake Forest University, a BA from Oregon State University, an MS from the University of South Carolina, and an MA from the College of William & Mary. He has completed additional graduate work at Trinity University, the University of North Florida, Jacksonville University, the University of New Hampshire, Regent College Seminary (Canada), Hebrew University (Israel), Yad Vashem (Israel), the US Army Medical Center and School, and the US Army Command and General Staff College. Sam resides in Greensboro, NC with his wonderful wife Erin Bobel Cox. They have three children--Anna, Avery, and Charlie.

Dr. Mott’s experience includes being the head of school at three different independent schools and a member of the board of trustees of several independent schools as well as other nonprofit organizations. In addition, he has served as a consultant for over a decade and assisted numerous schools with a range of governance, fundraising, planning, and search issues.

In addition to the above experience, Dr. Mott is on the faculty of Vanderbilt University as an Adjunct Instructor. He teaches governance for the masters’ program in Independent School Leadership. He is also on the faculty for the Peabody Leadership Institute for Independent Schools – a week-long comprehensive institute that features practitioners working with independent school leaders from around the world.

Dr. Mott is the author of three books on the subject of independent and faith-based school governance and leadership. His latest book, Healthy Boards, Successful Schools: The Impact of Governance and Leadership on Independent and Faith-Based Schools is a valued resource utilized by hundreds of schools all across the country.

Dr. Mott received his Ph.D. in educational leadership from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. He also holds a B.A. from the University of Mississippi. He and his wife Courtney have been married for over thirty-eight years and they have two grown children.