Board of Trustees

JOANNE THORNTON, PRESIDENT

Joanne grew up in Bronxville, New York and graduated from Bucknell University with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a concentration in Economics. She enjoyed a career on Wall Street working as an Institutional Corporate Bond Trader for various firms before marrying Robert in 1994. She was one of the three founding families of Geneva School of Boerne where her son Nick (Class of 2013) attended K-12 before matriculating to Baylor University where he studied finance and played on the men’s golf team.

Joanne has served at Geneva as faculty, staff, board member and member of both finance and admissions committees. In addition to serving at Geneva, she served as the Teaching Leader for Bible Study Fellowship in the Boerne Evening Women’s class for 26 years before retiring from this role in May 2022. She and Robert attend First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio.

One of Joanne’s favorite Geneva moments was instituting the Eighth Grade Oratory Contest in 2007 as a precursor to the Senior Thesis.

 

JANET BLACKBURN, CHAPLAIN

Janet Blackburn was born in Wisconsin and grew up in the Midwest and Texas. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of Colorado, Boulder and her Masters in Social Work from the University of Nebraska. Janet has spent the majority of her professional life helping people with addictions. She is the Clinical Director at La Hacienda Treatment Center, where she has worked for 30 years.

Janet is married to David, and they have four adult children: Megan (University of Texas 2010), Sarah (Baylor 2011), Brad (Geneva 2013/Belmont 2017), and Matt (Geneva 2015/Baylor 2019). Brad and Matt both attended Geneva K-12, and Sarah is a former Geneva fourth-grade teacher. Janet and David have five grandchildren and cherish their roles as “Jammie and Pops.”

Having been involved with Geneva from the start, Janet has served in a variety of parent volunteer roles and shared in the joy of watching the school grow while maintaining the foundational values. Most recently, she served on the Admissions Committee and Senior Thesis Panel.

Janet and David are longtime members of St. John Lutheran Church and attend Bible Study Fellowship in Boerne.

 

BRIAN DONOVAN, HSEC CHAIR

Brian Donovan was born and raised in Scotch Plains, N.J. and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 2001 with a degree in Naval Architecture. After serving as a pilot in the Navy for nine years, he worked as an engineer for Chesapeake Energy before getting his MBA from Harvard Business School. Brian and his family moved to Texas in 2016 for a job at Valero Energy, where he is now the VP of Wholesale Marketing.

Brian and his wife, Lori, met in 2003 in Lori’s hometown of New Orleans. They have three children, Molly (Class of 2028), Brendan (Class of 2030) and Nora (Class of 2034).

Geneva has been a blessing for the entire Donovan family since Molly started 1st grade, soon after they moved to Fair Oaks Ranch. Geneva’s strong sense of community has fostered wonderful relationships with the children’s teachers and other families, and has helped to make their experience in Texas incredibly fulfilling. Brian and his family attend St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Boerne.

 

TAMMY FREILING, TREASURER

Tammy grew up in a military family so trying to explain where she is from is nothing short of complicated. As the saying goes, “She wasn’t born in Texas, but she got there as fast as she could.” Tammy graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master in Professional Accounting and is a CPA. After graduating, she worked for E&Y, USAA, Ridgemont Properties, and The Lynd Company before having the opportunity to help start the management business at Kairoi Residential. Currently, Tammy is a Partner and the Chief Financial Officer of Property Management at Kairoi Residential where she oversees Accounting, Human Resources, Legal and Information Technology.

Tammy and her husband Russ have been married since 1996 and have three children: Garrett (TMI Class of 2018/UTSA Class of 2023), Gracyn (Geneva Class of 2020/UT Austin Class of 2024), and Griffin (Geneva Class of 2024). The Freiling family came to Geneva in 2015 after many friends spoke highly of the school and community and have been blessed by it ever since.

Tammy has volunteered in a variety of ways at Geneva; most recently serving on the Finance Committee. Tammy also serves on the board of the Brighton Center which provides early intervention services to children with disabilities or delays.

 

Jessica Malkowski, SECRETARY

Jessica was raised in South Louisiana and graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology. She then went on to graduate school at Texas Woman’s University, where she earned a Master of Science in Physical Therapy. While working in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Jessica met her husband, Rich. They married in the Summer of 2003, and following a three and a half year Naval tour in Yokosuka, Japan, they moved to San Antonio.

Jessica and Rich have three children: Austin (Class of 2023), Emma (Class of 2025), and Quinn (Class of 2029), and have been a part of the Geneva community since the Fall of 2013. After commuting from San Antonio for five years, Jessica and her family now call Boerne home, and attend St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church.

Jessica values the importance of community at Geneva and the many relationships her time spent volunteering has fostered. Serving in various roles across campus, she has experienced first-hand the blessings of being engaged in a community that strives to not only equip students to be lifelong learners and leaders, but more importantly encourages them to love and serve the Lord, as well as one another. 

 

Zack Burkhart, MEMBER

Zack Burkhart grew up in San Antonio and attended Churchill High School where he met his future wife, Jenny. He graduated with a degree in Spanish and Pre-professional studies from The University of Notre Dame in 2003 before attending UT Southwestern medical school in Dallas, graduating in 2008. From there, Zack completed a medical residency (UT Houston) and fellowship, then worked full-time as an ophthalmologist in San Antonio until 2018. Since then, he has divided his time between ophthalmology clinic at I Care San Antonio and a family investment business in Boerne.

Zack and Jenny have three children: Rebekah, Benjamin, and Joseph, all Geneva students. The Burkhart family attends Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, where Zack has served as an elder since 2020. Over the years, Zack has volunteered at Geneva as a lunchroom monitor for the Grammar School, a summertime campus cleanup worker, and a parent chaperone for the fifth grade NASA trip.

 

KELLEY FITZGERALD, MEMBER

Kelley is a native Texan having lived in Houston, Dallas and Fair Oaks Ranch. She and her family currently reside in San Antonio. Kelley graduated from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Marketing and Management from Mays Business School. After working in retail buying for seven years, Kelley worked as a retail software consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers managing people and processes.

Kelley met her husband Kevin at Texas A&M. They married in the summer of 1995 and have four children: Kyle (Texas A&M Class of 2022), MacKenzie (Geneva Class of 2020), Ryanne (Brandeis Class of 2021) and K.P. (Geneva Class of 2024).They have enjoyed Geneva since K.P. entered kindergarten and are blessed by the community of teachers, faculty and families that have guided them. Kelley has served in a variety of ways at Geneva through classroom volunteer opportunities, athletic sporting events, committees, field trips and many more. Kelley and her family are members of Oak Hills Church where she serves on the women’s ministry team.

 

Allison Aderholt Peet, Member

Allison Peet was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. Allison graduated from Texas A&M University, class of 1999 (WHOOP) with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Allison moved to Boerne in 2000 and taught kindergarten for seven years (some of that time as a teacher at Geneva School of Boerne.)

Allison has two children with her late husband, Clay Aderholt and six BONUS children from her husband Jason Peet (2019). Jason and Allison currently have four children at Geneva – Reid Aderholt (Class of 2027), Joshua Peet and Gracie Aderholt (BOTH Class of 2030) and Rachael Peet (Class of 2032.) They also have Abigail Peet (graduate of Abilene Christian University, Class of 2021), JT Peet (Texas A&M University, Class of 2023) and Katherine Peet (Abilene Christian University, Class of 2025) and Alex Peet (Geneva Class of 2023 and Abilene Christian University, Class of 2027).

When Allison isn’t taxi driving to extra-curricular activities or feeding her family, she enjoys serving the Geneva community. Her favorite volunteer opportunities have included: being a classroom reader, selling fundraiser ice cream/pizza to teenagers, Medieval Feast MC, art/music docenting, chaperoning field trips and substitute teaching.

Allison and her family are involved at Currey Creek Church where she and her husband serve on the “Welcome Team.” Allison was also a part of Bible Study Fellowship’s Evening and Day Women’s classes in Boerne for 22 years.

 

 

NATHAN PICKLE, MEMBER

Nathan Pickle grew up in Tyler, Texas, and moved to Carrollton to finish high school. He graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Texas A&M University in 1995. After graduating, he worked for Enterprise Rent-A-Car for close to 20 years both in Dallas and Hamburg, Germany. Nathan currently works in the corporate wellness industry and is the Chief Revenue Officer for digital health company Walkingspree.

Nathan met his wife Sara in Dallas, and they were married in 2005. They have twins, William (Geneva Class of 2026) and Caroline (Geneva Class of 2026) and have been part of the Geneva community since 2013. The Pickle family are members at Currey Creek Church where Nathan serves on the Welcome Team, and Sara is on the Hospitality Team. They also led a small group at Currey Creek for many years.

Since 2013, Nathan (and Sara) have served in many ways in the Geneva community and have loved getting to know other families and working together to serve the school and community well. Nathan has served in the Grammar School lunchroom, Geneva Youth Sports League, many campus clean-ups, Fifth Grade NASA trip chaperone, Milton House grill Dad and on various internal committees.

 

JANNA WALKER, MEMBER

Janna was born and raised in Tyler, Texas, and has traversed the I-35 corridor since leaving home for Baylor University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication and Political Science. She then traveled to Austin, graduating with honors from The University of Texas School of Law before practicing in the Banking, Real Estate, and Corporate Securities sections of Haynes and Boone in Dallas.

She met her husband Rex in Dallas, and they moved to New Braunfels soon after marrying. They have three adult children who all graduated from Geneva: Callie (Geneva 2013/Baylor 2017/Oxford 2020), Reynolds (Geneva 2016/Baylor 2020, and Charlotte (Geneva 2020/Pepperdine 2024).

Janna has served in many roles at Geneva but particularly enjoyed the early years of coaching Eighth Grade Oratory and TAPPS Dramatic Speech events. Her years serving on the Admissions Committee have provided opportunities to continually interface with new families and communicate her love of classical education and its unique expression at Geneva. She and Rex are members of The Springs Community Church in New Braunfels where they regularly stay up late hours serving Young Adults.