Virginia, Mother of Presidents: Seven Historic Sites

Karen Warnecke attended the University of Buffalo. After college, she made her way to San Diego, California, where she met her husband. His 30-year naval flight career led them to raise four sons all over the country. In Charlottesville, Karen continued her career with the University Of Virginia School Of Medicine as a course coordinator for first-year medical students. She retired several years ago to allow more opportunities to travel, visit family and friends, work in her garden, read, and enjoy the local area.

Teri Toepke has been an educator for her entire adult life. She graduated from The College of William & Mary with a B.A. in Elementary Education, an M.Ed. in Special Education, and advanced course work in administration. She taught at Eastern State Hospital, public and private schools, and Hampton University Department of Education. Moving into museum education, she provided educational programs for children and adults. In 2006, she returned to the College as director of Learning Odysseys. Teri is a Civil War historian and reenactor.

For more than a decade, Dennis Bigelow has interpreted the character of President James Monroe for the College of William & Mary at Highland, Monroe's home in Albemarle County, Virginia. He has performed at the White House, Colonial Williamsburg, the Virginia State House, the National Archives, the Smithsonian, and other venues. He shares ancestral grandparents with Thomas Jefferson through the Randolph family as well as Chief Justice John Marshall, a great friend of Monroe and a maternal ancestral uncle.

Michael Dickens, M.D., is an honors graduate of Princeton University and received his medical degree from Columbia University. In addition to a longtime career practicing medicine in Charlottesville, he has been employed on the interpretative staff at James Madison’s Montpelier and James Monroe’s Highland. He has served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. He also had five years' experience as a volunteer researcher for the staff of the Papers of George Washington.

Patrick Campbell spent an exciting and challenging 21 years as a U.S. Marine Corps infantry officer and lawyer, then 13 years teaching government courses, coaching, and administration in independent schools. He joined the team at Montpelier in 2017 and appreciates the chance to partner with groups who want to expand their understanding and engagement as citizens. Patrick has a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, and an M.Ed and J.D. from the University of Virginia.

John Ragosta, an award-winning author, is currently a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and a fellow at Virginia Humanities. He has taught history and law at the University of Virginia, George Washington University, and Hamilton, Oberlin, and Randolph Colleges. Dr. Ragosta has published on a broad range of topics in historical, legal, and scientific journals and written several important books on the development of American religious freedom.

Debbie Corber, the daughter of a foreign service office, grew up in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She attended American University and became a high school and college French teacher. Upon retiring, she moved to Williamsburg, Virginia, where she volunteered at Colonial Williamsburg and taught French history at the College of William and Mary. She has also run her own global travel company for over two decades. Debbie now resides in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Armin Mattes is an assistant professor and assistant editor of the Papers of James Madison at the University of Virginia. Having earned a M.A. in history at the Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen in 2005, Mattes crossed the Atlantic to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia in 2011. In addition to his work on Madison, he has published two books as well as several articles on the history of the American Revolution and the Early Republic.