Meet the Team at Mathnasium of Warrenton

Alex Lichty

Starting at Mathnasium as a senior in high school, she fell in love with the students, staff, and Mathnasium method! Now, after graduating from William & Mary, she is back full time as the Assistant Center Director. Her favorite math topic is any and everything triangles! They make great supports in architecture, have awesome properties, and are found in some of the earliest math problems in history! A fun fact about Alex is that she is in the top 1% of global 2048 players!

Melanie Grandelli

Melanie graduated from college with a Bachelor's of Science degree in math education. Since then she has taught not only math, but most other subjects as well, in private school, boarding school, public school, and her family's homeschool. She enjoys finding different ways to explain math concepts to people, whether they be kids encountering the problems for the first time or adults who never really understood the ideas when they were in school. Outside of teaching, Melanie likes to read, garden, bird watch, ski, shoot squirrels, dirt bike, and listen to classical music.

Kanoa Ratliff

Kanoa has a B.S. in architecture with a minor in Spanish from the University of Virginia. After graduating from college, she worked as a substitute teacher where she frequently taught math and Spanish classes. She also honed her practical math skills while working in a picture framing store and in the construction and drafting department of a national deck builder. Additionally, Kanoa has spent 17 years homeschooling her two sons from Kindergarten through high school. One son is currently finishing a degree in mechanical engineering at VCU and the other is nearly finished with high school. For the past three years she has tutored homeschool students in math at a small co-op, where she has enjoyed helping students discover the ways that they best learn math. Kanoa also volunteers with many local community organizations. She lives with her husband and sons on 11 acres in southern Fauquier in a home that she and her husband designed and built. She loves to travel with her family and visit amazing feats of architecture such as the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Space Needle in Seattle, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, the CN Tower in Toronto, the Confederation Bridge on Prince Edward Island, the Alhambra in Spain, and many others too numerous to mention. Other hobbies include reading, photography, weightlifting; and hiking, kayaking, and biking with her family.

Alex Gallehr

Alex graduated from The College of William & Mary in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in standard mathematics and minor in physics. In his time at W&M, he enjoyed learning about abstract math, theoretical physics, environmental science, and conservation. He started instructing at Mathnasium in 2017 and fell in love with learning from the amazing instructor team and seeing students grow not only as math students, but also as people. On any given day, one may find Alex practicing Super Smash Bros., binding books for his tabletop hobby, or scarfing down a piece of pizza. Alex looks forward to using his experience to make a lasting impact on his local community.

Anthony Ainsworth

Anthony is a graduate of Fauquier High School and enjoys the challenge that math offers. His favorite classes included Physics, Calculus BC, and AP Computer science. After college, Anthony would like to specialize in Cybersecurity. He spends a lot of free time doing theater with the local Torch Drama Club. When he is not busy with Mathnasium or Torch, Anthony enjoys playing video games, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and reading.

Blaine Pfannkuch

Blaine graduated from Cornell University with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. After graduating, he spent seven years working for a Japanese Chemical company, of which two years was spent living in Japan. He then moved on from Engineering to become an FBI Special Agent but never lost his love for engineering and mathematics. After a 24 year career with the FBI, he recently retired and is looking for ways to give back to the local community. He coached volleyball for local youth teams as well as Middle School and High School volleyball at Fresta Valley Christian School where his two daughters attended. His older daughter graduated from Christopher Newport university and is currently working as a workforce training counselor. His younger daughter is graduating from James Madison University to teach Middle School Science. His younger daughter attended Mathnasium in Middle School and he saw first-hand her skill and confidence blossom with increased math fluency. Blaine has loved math from a young age and has seen both first hand and through his children how math skills can change lives and therefore is excited to give back to the community by helping students find joy in math.

Edward Fleming

Edward is in his third year of college, studying electrical engineering at George Mason University. Math has always been a focus for him, especially while pursuing his degree. Edward’s favorite part about Mathnasium is seeing students’ excitement when they accomplish their goals. Outside of Mathnasium, Edward has a passion for hiking and being outdoors that he discovered in his journey becoming an Eagle Scout.

Elizabeth Berman

Elizabeth is a current student at both Fauquier High School and Mountain Vista's Governor School. Math has been one of Elizabeth's favorite classes throughout high school and she loves math's problem solving aspect! When Elizabeth isn't doing math, you can find her in the ice rink skating or outside playing volleyball.

Eric Radel

Eric Radel is a Catholic man who lives with his beautiful wife Grace and their son Benedict in Culpeper. He grew up the 11th of 12 children, and graduated high school at Holy Family Academy in Manassas. Two and a half years later he received a Bachelors in Business from Liberty University in 2022 and is currently working on receiving his plumbing license while working at Dulles International Airport. He began working at Mathnasium last year to grow his skills in child education and math education, and enjoys creating a fun learning environment that brings smiles to kids’ faces while helping them and himself grow at Mathnasium.

Kristy Tran

Kristy is a current student at Fauquier High School and Mountain Vista Governors School. Throughout Elementary and Middle School, Kristy always knew that math was her favorite subject and the one she was most confident in. Her favorite topic is radicals because she loves the way they simplify! In her free time, Kristy enjoys spending time with friends and family, listening to music, shopping, and playing volleyball!

Meredith Rickabaugh-Devolder

Meredith is a current high school student enrolled at Fauquier High School and Mountain Vista Governors School. She loves all math and sciences, and plans on pursuing a career in science. In her free time she likes to draw and paint, and enjoys spending time with her two dogs.

Mitchell Gallehr

Mitchell is a junior at Virginia Tech, studying mathematics with a minor in computer science. Math has always been his favorite subject in school, especially finding new ways it can be applied. The problem solving aspect of computer science and math is what drives him to work hard and keep learning! He previously worked as the sound technician at The Torch Drama Club for many years with his love of music and theater. When he is not working on math, you can find him enjoying music or cheering on the Capitals!

Owen Strong

Owen is a student attending Fauquier High School and Mountain Vista Governor’s School. Math and physics are his favorite subjects in school and he plans to go into engineering as a career because he enjoys solving problems and completing challenges. In his free time he enjoys watching and playing almost any sport with his favorites being baseball, football, and basketball. He also likes playing video games and card games with his friends and family.

Rebecca Nuar

Rebecca is a high school senior whose favorite classes this year are Calculus, Government & Politics, and Physics. In addition to math, she also loves working with kids. Outside of school, you might find her playing soccer, singing, dancing, or practicing the piano. She hopes that she will be able to make math fun for the students at Mathnasium.