LVG—Meet the Board

By Karen Bruer

The Literacy Volunteers of Gloucester (LVG) is a committed group of people who work in various activities such as tutoring, administrative tasks, fundraising, festivals and events, supporting the mission of providing educational assistance which will enable adults to reach their full potential as literate members of our community. Volunteers are the core foundation of our delivery of individual literacy services. Some adults coming to LVG for help want to learn financial management, improve their reading skills, are learning English as a second language or want to earn their GED. Whatever the educational & improvement goals an individual brings to LVG, our fantastic group of volunteers are ready to help any adult who wants to learn. The Literacy Volunteers of Gloucester is guided by the LVG Board of Directors. Recently, there have been volunteers newly elected to the Board, so we thought this would be a good time to introduce the entire Board. They are:

Terri Byrne

LVG President

Terri volunteered and has worked with the LVG the past 4 years, serving as President of the Board of Directors for the past 3 years. She freely admits she was ‘recruited’ by her dear friend and co-teacher Ann Burruss. However, her commitment to the LVG Mission of equipping adults in Gloucester and the greater Middle Peninsula with the educational skills to improve their quality of life, coupled with her leadership skills, quickly lead to her election as President of the Board. Being an educator has been her life-long passion, facilitating her rewarding career of 30 years as a middle school Language Arts teacher. Upon retirement, the desire to teach and work with others didn't diminish. As an LVG tutor, she works with Spanish speaking adults, stating “It is a joy working with these people committed to learning how to speak, read and write English better.” Additionally, she helps tutor the inmates in Gloucester County jail and administers placement tests for adults who wish to earn their GED. Terri is an Active member of Abingdon Church, where she is co-chair of the Panther Packs, a weekend feeding program for students at Abingdon Elementary. When not doing all of these other activities she loves to travel, travel,travel.

Cynthia Geisert

LVG Vice President

Cynthia has been with the LVG for 6 months because she has a passion for helping people learn. Additionally, she states: “From a Christian Faith perspective, I feel that God directed me to LVG.” She worked as a registered pharmacist in Gloucester County for over 20 years and continues her work, after retirement, working as a volunteer at the Gloucester Mathews Care Clinic as a pharmacist. She brings organizational and leadership skills from her background as part of Leadership teams that have started and maintained 3 different organizations. Her tutoring started with young kids at TC Walker Elementary school when her, now grown, girls were students there. Cynthia has continued to tutor in a number of settings over the years while enjoying flower gardening, kayaking and camping.

Betsy Guckeyson

LVG Secretary

Betsy has volunteered her time on the LVG Board for the past 13 years, because of her strong belief that education is the best route to long-term financial security and happiness. Through her efforts the LVG has helped citizens of our community overcome lack of education to achieve their goals of better jobs, more stable lives. She is a retired secondary school biology and math teacher who continues her deep commitment to the community as a church affiliated youth counselor, LVG substitute teacher and tutor. Betsy bakes cookies, breads and rolls for the Williamsburg Farmers Market stating that her favorite baked creation is Christmas cookies. When not working or volunteering with LVG, Betsy enjoys quilting and scrapbooking.

Ashley Miller

LVG Treasurer

Ashley is the most recent addition to the LVG board volunteering 3 months ago because of her strong belief that literacy provides important life skills. She brings invaluable financial guidance to the LVG through her experience in her work as an accountant for the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry. She has a Master of Science degree in Finance and is currently preparing to take the CPA examination. She not only provides excellent stewardship and management of LVG finances, she teaches financial classes to our students when needed. Ashley loves to cook and bake when she is not volunteering or gardening. She has three rescue/special needs dogs of mixed breeds.

Ann Burruss

LVG Board Member at Large

Ann was influenced by her Mother’s work with the LVG, and has carried on the LVG tradition for 23 years. For many years she was very active in the Gloucester school system and it was those years of experience that intensified her belief that adults who could read and write produced children who fared better in school and life. Her dedication ensures the LVG program working directly with incarcerated young adults gives them the educational tools necessary for improving their lives and value to the community; in her own words, “Inmates at the Gloucester Jail are among my favorite students…coming to improve their lives upon release.” She is the recipient of the Governor’s award as Volunteer Educator and the Bank of America Volunteer Award for Education. Additionally, through education she is inspired to raise the confidence level of non-English speaking adults seeking better jobs and/or citizenship. When not working on LVG activities and tutoring, Ann is interested in physical fitness for aging populations. She enjoys water sports such as rowing, canoeing and kayaking. In the colder winter months her relaxation activities change to sewing and reading.

Karen Bruer

LVG Board Member at Large

Karen has worked with the LVG in events section for the past 4 years and joined the Board 1 year ago. She works to support all activities of the LVG because of her strong belief that education is the key to success and self-improvement. According to her, helping through volunteering is simply the right thing to do. She retired from the United States Navy after 23 years and is currently the Quality Assurance Manager / Environmental Health and Safety Manager for an Alaskan Native company, Amee Bay. She is active in several national technical groups and an involved mentor to young professionals in both Quality Control and Nondestructive Testing. In her off time, Karen enjoys art, painting and cooking.

Brooke Pizzetti

LVG Board Member at Large

Brooke has been volunteering to support the goals of the LVG for 1 year working diligently to bring her educational experience to closer collaboration with community-based literacy. She is actively the Program Manager for the Adult Education Program at Rappahannock Community College on the Northern Neck of Virginia. Her strong background as a secondary and post-secondary classroom instructor and current position ensure the LVG stays current with educational trends and needs. Brook’s dedication to the community and people around her is long standing as a Peace Corps volunteer, ESOL and AIDS Hospice volunteer and recently adding LVG to her list of community service.

Glenn Sturm

LVG Board Member at Large

Glenn joined the LVG 8 months ago because of his strong belief that education is key to community progress. He works as a Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for Virginia Cooperative Extension serving the Middle Peninsula. He is an alumni of the AmeriCorps VISTA program and spent the fall of 2010 as a volunteer Business Development Researcher and Advisor for a Micro-Finance and Business Development organization in Ghana, West Africa. As a graduate of Virginia Tech he is an avid fan of all Virginia Tech athletics and loves to scuba dive. His service to the community does not stop with LVG as he is also a member of the Gloucester Lions Club and Chairperson of the Gloucester Resource Council.