RVSCI CORPORATE BOARD MEMBERS
Mary Jo Fassié
is a former Roanoke City Public School French teacher, 1979-2015, and Chairman of St-Lô Sister Cities, 2004-2015. She has held many leadership positions on the state and local level in Alpha Delta Kappa. Mary Jo has an MA in French Literature from Indiana University. She has traveled widely in Europe, leading 5 Roanoke Sister City delegations to France. In April 2014, Mary Jo was recognized by the French government for promoting the French language and culture and named Knight in the Order of Academic Palms by the French government.
Bill Modica is Kisumu Chairman, serves on the Roanoke City Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and is a local real estate agent. He has served on the board of Local Colors and worked in East Africa with Virginia Tech’s student teacher program. Under his leadership, Kisumu Sister City has planted fruit trees in Kisumu, assisted with expenses at Bethel Home for Orphans and GLAC primary school, paid for AIDS education in Kenya and joined the City of Kisumu Urban Area Association. Bill has traveled to Kisumu, meeting with local leadership and exchanging ideas for cooperation.
Debra Boulé joined RVSCI in 2018 and later joined the St-Lô Sister Cities Executive Committee in March 2023. She moved to the Roanoke area in January 2017 before retiring from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. Debra has a BS in Computer Information Systems. She loves to travel and has been to Canada, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. She was part of the 2019 delegation to St-Lô to celebrate the 20th anniversary of twinning.
Bill Bestpitch, a member of Roanoke City Council, serves on the Budget and Personnel Committees and chairs the Legislative Committee. He represents the city on the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission and the Transportation Planning Organization. He received his BSW and MSW from VCU. During his long career as a social worker, he worked for the VA Department for Children, TAP, Blue Ridge Behavioral Health Care, Family Service of Roanoke Valley, Big Brothers Big Sisters of SW Virginia, and Creative Family Solutions. Bill is a community leader and with his wife, Sheri, has volunteered as a host family for RVSCI visitors.
RVSCI MEMBERS AT LARGE
John Makay holds a BS in Biology from VCU and an MA from John Hopkins. John taught military personnel in Germany and Egypt and for the Defense Department in Germany. In the US, he worked for John Hopkins University, Baltimore Schools and Baltimore City Community College. He also served as the department head for the Division of Rehabilitation Services in Baltimore. Returning to Roanoke in 2009, John worked for Virginia Western CC as a grant specialist and has begun pro bono work for organizations in Roanoke.
Lee Learman, MD, PhD, joined the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine as dean on July 1, 2019. He is an obstetrician-gynecologist with over 25 years of progressive leadership experience in medical education and health care, and is an award-winning educational scholar and clinical researcher. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), his M.D. from Harvard Medical School, and a Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University. He completed residency training at UCLA and held leadership positions at UC San Francisco, Indiana University and Florida Atlantic University before moving to Roanoke.
Sara Epperly, a Roanoke native, is an assistant principal and coordinator of advanced studies at Salem HS and previously taught Spanish and Mandarin Chinese in Charlottesville. She received a bachelor’s degree in Politics and East Asian Studies from UVA and a Master in Teaching and Educational Specialist degrees from UVA’s Curry School and a PhD in Educational Leadership through ODU, with special research focus on leadership through sociopolitical crisis events. In 2004 she conducted a research trip to Lijiang, China and also taught at the American International School of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Sara, her husband, and three daughters live in Roanoke.
Archie L. Freeman III, currently the Chief Academic Officer for Roanoke City Public Schools, previously served as Principal at Woodrow Wilson MS and at William Fleming HS. He holds a B.S. and M.A. from Virginia Tech where he is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. Active in the community, he received the NAACP Youth Council Impactors of Excellence in 2015 and was NAACP Roanoke Citizen of the Year for Education in 2018. An Associate Minister at Pilgrim Baptist Church, he assists in the music ministry, and is on the board of the Roanoke Boys and Girls Club.
Andreea Mihalache-O’Keef, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Roanoke College. A native of Romania, she holds a BA from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, an MA and PhD from Pennsylvania State University, and she completed postdoctoral work at Princeton University. She enjoys exploring the world both in a professional capacity—travelling with students, teaching courses on International Relations, and conducting research—and with her family. Since settling in Roanoke in 2010, she has learned the value and rewards of positive community engagement and she also discovered the joys of hiking, biking, and urban gardening.
Joe Cobb, Roanoke Vice Mayor and member of City Council, served as chair of the Lijiang committee after a 2018 visit to China. Residing in Roanoke since 2001, he is active on many community boards, and he chairs the Council of Community Services and the Gun Violence Prevention and Audit Committees for the City of Roanoke. Chaplain at Hermitage Roanoke, Joe has an M.A. in Theology from Perkins School in Dallas and a B.A. from Southwestern College in Kansas and is working toward a Doctor of Ministry with Columbia Theological Seminary in Georgia. He lives with his husband, James, and their two children, students in Roanoke City Public Schools.