Author: Mark Turner

Ann Cameron Burkholder Casasanta earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise, with a minor in Leadership and Social Change at Virginia Tech in 2009. While at Tech, she worked through the YMCA to develop the innovative “YToss” program which earned the Governor’s Silver Award for Recycling and “Hens for Haiti”, a sustainable egg production program to reduce protein starvation.

She earned her PhD in Translational Biology, Medicine and Health in 2018. Her research allowed her to make significant advancements to the electron microscope so that scientists worldwide could progress in the study of cancer and other diseases.

Dr. Casasanta conducted research and served as Biomedical Engineering Course Instructor at Penn State University. Her work earned her an invitation to speak at the International Microscopy Conference in Australia.

During graduate school and her time at Penn State, she mentored students to overcome the traditional hurdles and challenges of STEM programs. She brought cancer survivors to the lab to observe ongoing bench work and she worked to improve diversity within the scientific community.

Cameron recently stated, “During my time at Handley I had many teachers who invested in me, believed in me, and met me where I was at that moment in my life. This gift was and continues to be profoundly influential in my life.”

In 2022, she was awarded a Science & Technology Policy Fellowship by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her work integrates scientific findings and knowledge into practical policies and functions for the Department of Defense. It moves beyond one-size-fits-all to consider the variety of cultural, ethnic, educational, environmental, and personal factors that influence the overall performance and well-being of our service members.

Cameron lives in Boston with her family. She is a Master Gardener and performs ongoing community service projects through the program in her own joyful and relentless way.

Mary Virginia Carson was a member of the Class of 1943. Her yearbook states she earned “many A’s” and the respect of her fellow students. By her own revelation, she was not encouraged to pursue her interest in science while a student at Handley as were male students at that time. However, she did not let that deter her from enrolling in science classes. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education at Madison College in 1947.

After college graduation, she returned to Winchester and became a faculty member at Handley. As there were no openings in the science department, she accepted a position as an elementary teacher instructing fifth grade students. She was able to move from there to teach chemistry and physics. She became head of the science department, co-sponsor of the Science Club, and an advisor to the student government.

Mary Virginia Carson received the National State Teacher of the Year award in 1978.

Mary Virginia served on the Board of Directors of the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society following her retirement from teaching. She was a docent at Abram’s Delight and she edited the diary of Mary Hollingsworth. She became the editor of the Society’s annual journal and contributed several articles. She was named Historian of the Year in 1996 and received the Nancy Melton award for her work.

Anne Locke Drury had Miss Carson as a teacher in both her 5 th grade and her senior years. She remembered Miss Carson doing a significant amount of extra work to help her students and described her as “the epitome of what a good teacher, citizen, neighbor and friend should be.”

Her tombstone is inscribed with the word “Teacher. “

Betty was an excellent commercial studies student and active in student affairs at Handley. She was the school’s first Homecoming Queen in 1954.

Betty started working part time for the Farmers and Merchants National Bank as a teller during her senior year. From then until she retired in 2001, she held many positions and became the first woman in Virginia to be named president of an established bank.

Betty served on the Board of Directors of the Winchester Medical Center, of the Chamber of Commerce, of Apple Valley Credit, and the Martinsburg Board of Directors for F&M Bank.

She was President of the local American Heart Association, Secretary of
Stonewall Jackson American Institute of Banking, and a volunteer for the United Way Campaign. She was a recipient of the Business and Professional Women’s Club Community Leadership Award.

Betty was the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Shenandoah University and worked on the annual fundraising committee. She received Shenandoah University’s Twelfth Man Award for the development of and her dedication to the football program.

She was the recipient of the Judges Athletic Association’s Eddie Manuel
Distinguished Service Award and the Ancil Gray Award for her continuing support to the Handley student-athletes.

Betty led the Handley High School Museum and Archives committee and took on the arduous task of the organizing the archives that had fallen into disarray during the 2005-2009 renovation. She oversaw the creation of the inventory and the placement of items into the vault. She selected items to be displayed in the archive room and ensured that new cabinets and lighting were constructed to better display Handley’s history.

Lewis B. Campbell completed the Academic-Science program and graduated from John Handley High School in 1964. He then earned his Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Duke University in 1968.

Campbell started his 24 year career with General Motors as a product engineer in 1968. He held various management positions with the company including General Manager of the Flint Automobile Division, Buick-Oldsmobile-Cadillac Group, and the GMC Truck Division. He was Vice President of General Motors from 1988 until 1992.

Campbell joined Textron as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in 1992. He was promoted to President in 1994 and was Chief Executive Officer from 1998 until his retirement in 2009.

In the mid-2000s, Textron became a $10 billion company with over 40,000 employees worldwide. Its diversified holdings included Bell Helicopter, Cessna aircraft and E-Z-Go golf carts.

While at Textron, Campbell engineered a transformation of the company including a company-wide restructuring program to increase efficiency of operations; consolidation of several manufacturing facilities; outsourcing non-core production; and careful attention to product development. Campbell applied Six Sigma principles providing a consistent approach to operational efficiency.

In addition to his work with General Motors and Textron, Lewis Campbell has served on the boards of Bristol Myers Squibb and Sensata Technologies.

The daughter of Ewen and Maybell Campbell, Kirsti Campbell was Valedictorian of the Class of 2008. She was co-captain of the girl’s varsity soccer team and the Winchester Star Leadership Award winner. She was a recipient of the U.S. Presidential Scholars Award, one of the nation’s highest honors for high school seniors who exemplify academic excellence, leadership qualities and community service.

Kirsti earned a BS in Biology with highest distinction at the University of Virginia. She was a Jefferson Scholar and lived on The Lawn. She received first place at the University of Virginia Katz Biology Research Symposium in 2012. She served as Chair of the Undergraduate Research Network and was a volunteer tutor for Genetics and Molecular Biology.

Kirsti graduated from Harvard Medical School in 2017. She spent her Harvard research year in the Massachusetts General Hospital Cardiac Psychiatry Research Program.

Her residency in Internal Medicine was performed at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital from 2017 to 2020 where she received the Resident Mentor Award for excellence in clinical mentoring and she was selected as 1 of 4 West Roxbury Veteran’s Affairs rotating chief residents.

Kirsti completed a two-year Fellowship in Gastroenterology conducted at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in June 2023. Her fellowship included both clinical and research components.

During her comprehensive medical training, she collaborated on ten published manuscripts, four as first author, seven abstracts and a book chapter.

At Harvard and in her subsequent medical placements, Kirsti has served on committees and in leadership positions advocating for LGBTQ persons as patients and providers in the medical community.

Kirsti enjoys running, cooking, reading, cheering for the Red Sox and taking adventures with her spouse, Nora McCormick. They reside in Boston but will relocate to the Washington, D.C. to work for Capital Digestive Care at Sibley Memorial Hospital late in 2023.

Lang Campbell earned all-state honors in three sports during his senior year at Handley. He was a member of the 1999 State Championship baseball team that compiled a 25-1 record for the season and a Winchester Star Player of the Year.

Lang is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play for William and Mary. He led the Tribe to one of the most successful single-seasons in school history with 11 wins, the Atlantic 10 championship, and its first appearance in the NCAA National Semi-Finals.  During the 2004 season, he set school single-season records for passing yards, total offense, passing touchdowns, total touchdowns, and passing yards per game. He also set the NCAA regular-season record with a 0.31 interception percentage with 1 interception in 326 pass attempts.

Campbell is the first, and only, Tribe player to earn the prestigious Walter Payton Award given to the Top Offensive Player in Division I-AA. He earned consensus First-Team All-America honors and was named as the Atlantic-10 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2004.

After graduating from William and Mary, he signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Browns. Campbell represented the Browns for the Berlin Thunder during the 2006 NFL Europe season. He played in the Arena Football League (AFL) in 2007 before joining the practice squad of the Arizona Cardinals. Campbell retired from football in 2008 after suffering a knee injury with the Arizona Rattlers of the AFL.

Lang began his professional career at Morgan Stanley in Private Wealth
Management. He has since entered the technology industry in various sales and management roles in software consultation and development. Lang has also served as a board member for Project HOPE’s NEXTGeneration Leadership Initiative project to support Project HOPE’s global health and humanitarian work.

 

Shep Campbell has been a leader in the Winchester community for over 50 years. He was an exceptional student and athlete at Handley. A member of the monogram club for four years, he played basketball and was a member of the 1966 state runner up golf team.

He earned his degree in Material Engineering at Virginia Tech in 1972. He graduated Number 2 in his class.

Shep started his career at O’Sullivan Corporation in Winchester. By 1980 he was the Assistant Vice-President for Sales and by 1999 he was the Chief Executive Officer of the company. He later became President of Glaize Components.

He served 6 years on City Council. He represented the city on the Winchester-Frederick County Economic Development Commission where he helped recruit new manufacturing facilities to the community. He chaired the Government Committee on the Vision 2020 Project, a joint city-county long range community planning project in 1989.

Shep served on the Board of both the Judges Athletic Association and the Shenandoah University Athletic Association. He coached Little League baseball, football and basketball and won the Winchester Country Club’s golf championship several times.

He is currently a member of the Handley Board of Trustees. The Trustees manage the endowment fund created by John Handley in 1896.

Shep recently stated that a member of his family has been in attendance at Handley High School in every decade except the 1940’s and 1980’s. “The Handley educational experience has provided the building blocks needed to launch our careers and families. Some have taken their talents to other parts of the world while others stayed locally and helped to carry on the JHHS tradition. Regardless of that choice, John Handley remains part of our lives. Thank you to the countless teachers, coaches and staff who made it all possible.”

Beth Kellas was the Chair of Handley’s Student Honor Court, Valedictorian of the Class of 1981 and Captain of the Cheerleading Team. She graduated, summa cum laude, as the top Public Administration student at James Madison University, and graduated in the top 10% of her class at the University of Virginia School of Law. While at UVA, she served as Chair of the Legal Aid Society assisting children and adults in the surrounding community.

Beth’s parents served as emergency foster parents for children during her childhood years, allowing her to witness first-hand the challenges children face in dealing with the effects of family instability.

After 12 years in private practice, the Virginia General Assembly appointed Judge Kellas as the first female Judge in the 26 th Circuit. She is in her 20 th year on the bench, currently serving as Chief Judge of the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. She is known as a zealous advocate for children on and off the bench.

She has created and continues to work on numerous community collaboratives including creating a Systems of Care throughout Winchester/Frederick County and as a founding member on the Executive Committee of the Northern Shenandoah Valley Substance Abuse Coalition. Judge Kellas served as Chairman of the Board of the Top of Virginia Chamber of Commerce, was on the Winchester Medical Center Board, and served in leadership roles at Braddock Street United Methodist Church.
 
She currently serves as Steering Committee Chairperson for the Timbrook Achievement Center, a detention alternative program for truant and delinquent youth.

Judge Kellas has held numerous judicial leadership roles through the Supreme Court of Virginia, speaks frequently at national and state conferences on many child-related topics, and trains all new Juvenile Court Judges.
 
Judge Kellas has been recognized as Business and Professional Woman’s Young Careerist, Commonwealth Leadership Award – Statewide BPW Award, and Winchester/Frederick County Woman of the Year.