Our teachers, staff and board members have a passion for life, learning, children, the Kingdom of God, family, books, nature, music, relationships, truth, and beauty.
The Board
Tyler Emmons
Board Chairperson
BA History, University of FloridaTyler is the practice manager at Sabal Direct Primary Care. While at the University of Florida he completed a six-week program on Elizabethan England at the University of Cambridge. He serves on the board of HUGs Charities. He and his wife CJ have two boys, Elijah and Samuel. They have been a part of Ambleside since 2014. He also enjoys golf, cooking, baking, and Gator basketball. He is also the founder of Spackler Cup.
Shari Ausley
Founder, Board Member
BA International Business, San Diego State UniversityIn 1994 Mrs. Ausley received her degree in International Business from San Diego State University. Her studies included 6 months studying at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City. She also studied one semester in Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Tijuana, Mexico. After college, she worked for seven years with Campus Crusade for Christ during which time she met her husband, Ken. They relocated from San Francisco to Ken's hometown of Ocala in 2002. They have three children. Mrs. Ausley's interests range from reading, swimming and paddle boarding to house and garden projects that often disappoint.
Ken Ausley
Founder, Board Member
BA History, Florida State UniversityMr. Ausley is a principle and the CEO of Ausley Construction Company, LLC. He graduated from Florida State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in History. After graduation, he worked for twelve years with Campus Crusade for Christ/Cru and served as a director in Tampa/St. Petersburg and the San Francisco Bay Area. He remains active in the non-profit community through his service on various boards including the Children’s Advocacy Center/Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection. Mr. Ausley also serves on the City of Ocala’s 2035 Vision Leadership Group, as the Chairman of the Ocala/Marion County Chamber and Economic Partnership, the Marion County Value Adjustment Board and the Board of CBC National Bank. In his downtime he enjoys spending time with family, shuttling his kids to sporting events and a variety of outdoor activities.
Cayce Miller
Board Member
BA, M. Ed., University of Florida
Alan Garri
Board Member
BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Florida Licenced Professional Engineer by the State of FloridaAlan is a licensed engineer working at Kimley-Horn, Inc. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. While in college he met his wife and they began their adventure shortly thereafter. Alan has 15 years of engineering experience in areas mainly focused on hydrology and hydraulics.
He remains active in the non-profit community through his service on various boards including the advisory board for Taylor College, the Florida Engineering Society, and Grace Church. Alan and his family have been involved in Ambleside for 8 years and he and his wife taught algebra and art respectively for 2 years. In his downtime, he enjoys spending time with family, freshwater fishing, skeet shooting, and a variety of other outdoor activities.
Principals
Jill Romine
Principal
BA Journalism, Ohio State University jromine@amblesideocala.comIn 1993, Mrs. Romine received a BA in Journalism from The Ohio State University, and spent the next ten years in the corporate world prior to starting her family. She discovered Ambleside while investigating educational options for her young children, and was delighted to make the connection between L'Abri, Francis and Edith Schaeffer's family, and the work of Charlotte Mason. In reading For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer, Mr. & Mrs. Romine connected deeply with the philosophy, and they enrolled their son in the first stand-alone Kindergarten class at Ambleside eight years ago. She began working in the classroom that year, and continued served in various capacities, including teacher and admin, prior to becoming principal in 2011. Her love and commitment to the school and community, coupled with spiritual and relational emphasis at Ambleside serves as inspiration for her in her work. She enjoys watching God at work in the lives of the community she loves, and considers her position a "good and perfect gift from above." (James 1:17)
Esther Olwagen
Dean of Students
BS, Biblical Counseling, Lancaster College MS, Biblical Counseling, Carin UniversityMrs. Olwagen earned her BS in Christian Counseling from Carin University (previously Philadelphia Biblical College). She arrived at Ambleside as a parent when her son Josh entered Kindergarten and she loved it so much she decided to have it become part of her life's work. Some of her favorite things are Live Oak Community Fellowship, reading and spending time with her family.
Teachers
Melissa Charske
Kindergarten Teacher
BS, Education, Health Sciences, MS, Education , Health Sciences University of DaytonMrs. Charske has been married to her husband for over 18 years and has five children. She enjoys many activities: rollerblading, weight lifting, relaxing at the beach, reading, exercise classes at the YMCA, traveling with my husband, hiking in the mountains and especially snow skiing in the mountains. Steamboat Springs, Colorado is her favorite place to snow ski. As a family, she really enjoys sitting down for a family meal and sharing "highs" and "lows" of the day. She loves being a part of her woman's group who study God's word and pray regularly.
Madilin Gangelhoff
First Grade Teacher
BA English Literature, Simmons CollegeMrs. Gangelhoff moved to Ocala, FL in 2010 with her family. After finishing her BA in English Literature at Simmons College in Boston, MA, she decided to go into the full-time ministry with her husband where she served for five years. As a stay at home mom of three boys, she was inspired to teach after substituting in First Grade at Ambleside School of Ocala. Mrs. Gangelhoff, started teaching Spanish to middle school students in 2013 at Ambleside and currently teaches First Grade since 2014.
Courtney Works
Second Grade Teacher
BS Psychology, University of FloridaMrs. Works is married with both children attending Ambleside. Before starting a family she was actively involved in theater, both on stage and behind the scenes. Although she enjoyed performing, she decided she did not want it to be her life’s work. She changed her major and received her Bachelors of Science for Psychology from the University of Florida. She enjoys running, traveling, and spending time with her family. She can still be seen performing, whether she is on stage or not.
Beth LaValley
Third Grade Teacher
BA Human Services, minor in Psychology, Geneva CollegeMrs. LaValley heard about Ambleside through her husband’s family after her my step-daughter began attending the school. She has a heart for helping children and growing them in the knowledge of who Jesus and also enjoys building relationships with people. She loves being silly with her family, eating dark chocolate, and drinking coffee.
Valarie Lacefield
Fourth Grade Teacher, Arrowsmith Teacher
BA Education of the Speech & Hearing Handicapped, MS Speech & Language Pathology SUNY-FredoniaMrs. Lacefield has been part of the Ambleside community since January 2007. She passionately embraced Ambleside philosophy, working with founders, Ken & Shari Ausley in the early years to share this education and grow our community. Aside from teaching Kindergarten, Second and Third Grade, she served as a Board Member and Head of School. She holds a BA in Education of the Speech & Hearing Handicapped as well as an MS in Speech & Language Pathology from the State University of New York, College at Fredonia. This background, and Arrowsmith Certification, equips her for her role as a teacher in the Arrowsmith Program.This program supports students with specific learning difficulties by identifying and strengthening cognitive capacities. She also coordinates our Title 1 program in relationship with Marion County Public Schools. Mrs. Lacefield considers herself a life-long learner and therefore has many interests. Mrs. Lacefield and her husband, Jerry, have three daughters, the youngest of whom is in eighth grade at Ambleside.
Kristy Gibboney
Fifth Grade Teacher
BS Psychology, University of Central FloridaMrs. Gibboney loves connecting with people, especially young adults. Her heart is to help them grow in healthy relationship with one another and God. She and her husband, John love the Florida Gators and their fur child, Gabby. Mrs. Gibboney is proud to serve on the board of directors of The Arnette House.
Clay Walkup
Sixth Grade Teacher
BA Biblical and Theological Studies, Covenant College; M. Div. Reformed Theological Seminary, OrlandoMr. Walkup was ordained as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America in 2010 and has served in Youth and Family ministries throughout the southeast since 2005. He and his wife, Rhoda, have two lovely daughters. The Walkups were introduced to Ambleside and Charlotte Mason through family and friends as their oldest daughter approached school age. Mr. Walkup enjoys running, reading, coffee, music, and playing games with his girls.
Carli Phillips
Seventh Grade Teacher, Algebra II
BA, Business Administration, Florida Institute of Technology; ADN Nursing, Midlands Technical CollegeFollower of Christ, wife to Josh, and mom to Lyric, Jacob, Justin, and Kody, Mrs. Phillips grew up in Illinois and moved to Florida after graduating nursing school in 2004. After completing her business degree and working as a registered nurse for several years, she chose to begin a family with Mr. Phillips and stay home with their children. She went on to homeschool her three youngest children where she learned of Charlotte Mason and a living education. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are active in their church community where, through God's divine strategy, they were introduced to Ambleside School of Ocala. Their three youngest children are now attending Ambleside (the oldest is off to college), and Mrs. Phillips knows it is a gift from the Lord to have the opportunity to teach and love the students in her class.
Greta Owens
Eighth Grade Teacher
BA Sociology, Education Minor, University of FloridaMrs. Owens graduated from The University of Florida in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a minor in Education. She is a wife to Shane since 1999 and a mother to three children, all of whom attend Ambleside School. She grew up in Miami, FL and is the oldest of six. Mrs. Owens can be trusted to explain any and all variations on our weather, and to point out any and all birds on campus! You'll hear her infectious laugh if you're within a mile of campus!
Joshua Head
Music Teacher
BA Vocal Performance, Liberty UniversityMr. Head builds a creative community at Ambleside, centered around joy-filled, Christ-exalting singing. He’s served at Ambleside for seven years, bringing a passion for corporate worship to our mornings. He teaches composer study for 3rd-8th grades in addition to elementary music each week. Primarily a family man, Mr. Head draws much inspiration from his wife and five kids, as well as from the students on campus. When he isn’t teaching, Mr. Head is usually working on the next musical instrument on his list to learn.
Meagan Miles
Middle School Music Teacher
Ms. Miles has always had an enormous love and passion for music. She has studied music for 15 years with 3 of those years being at the College of Central Florida where she studied Music Theory, Sight Singing, Music Literacy, Composition and Performance. Her love of performing started at age 15 when she performed in New York City in the production “Paradise Lost: Shadows and Wings”. This experience helped her sing and play in cities like New Orleans, Atlanta, Tampa and Disney World. Performance was her main passion until 3 years ago. She was offered a teaching position at Grace School of the Arts in Ocala. This job changed her heart from wanting to perform, to desiring to teach and inspire children with music and the word of God at the same time. She was introduced to Ambleside in 2017 and began assistant-teaching Middle School Choir. She now directs this choir as well as our High School Choir.
Cheryl Lewis
Art Teacher
Mrs. Lewis is originally from Ocala and has lived here most of her life. She has an AA degree from CFCC and has been artistically creative from an early age. She was introduced to the Charlotte Mason method three years ago when her 2 youngest grandchildren began attending Ambleside. She has always believed art was a very important part of any child's education so voluntarily taught elementary art in a local Christian school where her youngest son attended. She also taught middle school math classes at the same school. She enjoys crafting, reading, biking, swimming and kayaking as well as any other outdoor activity. She also loves spending time with her grandchildren. She and her husband are semi-retired and travel to Charlotte NC as often as possible to visit their son and daughter-in-law.They also enjoy refurbishing houses. She considers it an honor to work with such amazing teachers and staff at Ambleside.
Natalie Barnes
Kindergarten Teacher Assistant
AA History, College of Central Florida
Jenna Stark
First Grade Teacher Assistant, Ambleside Afternoons
Ms. Stark has lived in Ocala her entire life. Though she loves spending summers in North Carolina working at summer camp, she has continued to gain a greater appreciation for the city of Ocala. Through working with children in various ways and settings for most of her life, Ms. Stark discovered the immense joy found in teaching. She also delights in learning from children about the beautiful way our Heavenly Father sees us and sees it as an incredible responsibility to be able to help shape how children see themselves. Ms. Stark was able to connect with families through working at Grace Episcopal VPK and feels both privileged and blessed to now be apart of the incredible family that is Ambleside. Ms. Stark loves experiencing God’s creation through hiking through the mountains, kayaking, swimming, and road-tripping.
Debbie Ayton
Second Grade Teacher Assistant, Ambleside Afternoons
Mrs. Ayton is the first face you will see upon entering campus during school hours. She is here to support the office, teachers, and students with whatever need presents itself throughout the day. Her 3 boys have been attending ASO on this very beautiful campus since Kindergarten. She gets to use her love for photography by co-leading the Yearbook Committee.
Barbara Butler
Algebra I Honors Teacher
BS Education, SUC Oneonta; MA Education and Reading, SUC Oneonta; Ed.S Education Leadership, University of Florida.Mrs. Butler and her husband Del are both children of dairy farmers and love being outdoors. After receiving her Master’s Degree, Mrs. Butler moved to Florida in 1983 where she taught in the Marion County Public School System for 30 years. She also served as an adjunct professor at the College of Central Florida since 1989. Mrs. Butler holds a Florida Teaching Certificate in multiple areas from elementary education all the way up to twelfth-grade math. Her and her husband have been married for over 30 years and have raised six children, three boys and three girls. They also have six grandchildren, including Kaitlin who is in second grade at Ambleside. Mrs. Butler enjoys singing, playing the guitar, riding horses, researching, and skating. So far her youngest student has been a four-year-old learning guitar and her oldest student was 86 years old and learning to read her Bible.
Dorothy Dersch
Part-time Teacher
AA Nursing, Anderson UniversityMrs. Dersch received her Associate Degree in Nursing in 1986, soon after marriage to her high school sweetheart. After a 10 year career in cardiac critical care, she transitioned home to educate their growing family. She embraced homeschooling her children through their elementary years with a passion that they have opportunity to love the act of learning. Their family joined our Ambleside community in 2011 when their youngest child was adopted internationally. Four of her children have attended Ambleside and Mrs. Dersch has spent countless hours on our campus as a volunteer. She loves our community well through nurturing our flower beds, encouraging others in the world’s best and hardest job of parenting, overseeing our Shakespeare costumes and being willing to serve where needed with a joy-filled heart.
Kelli Ferguson
Part-time Teacher
AS Dental Hygiene, Columbus State UniversityMrs. Ferguson, her husband Gary, and their three children moved to Florida from Georgia five years ago. Mrs. Ferguson is passionate about nature and the God who created it. She loves to spend her time in her yard and greenhouse, embroidering, and reading. After 20 years of teaching her children at home, she is delighted to join Ambleside to teach two of the subjects she enjoys the most: nature study and handwork.
High School
Stephen Zedler
High School Director
BS, Pre-Law, John Brown University, Siloam Springs, AR, MTA, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OKMr. Zedler has worked in and around education for almost 20 years, teaching in a variety of settings. He was an Ambleside teacher for 5 years before going to work for a company that develops and provides tutoring in literacy and language programs. He is excited to be back at Ambleside to work with the high school students and staff in this brand-new program. Mr. Zedler's areas of interest include history, theology, and philosophy, and on the lighter side, superheroes and adventure stories. He loves spending time with his family in both indoor and outdoor activities.
Katherine Germain
High School Spanish II Teacher
B.A. Spanish, University of Evansville; M.Ed with concentration in Teaching English as a Second Language, George Mason UniversityMrs. Germain started learning Spanish as a freshman in High School and fell in love with the language early on. After High School she continued her studies in college and majored in Spanish while minoring in Business and International Relations. During her sophomore year, she studied abroad for six months in Seville, Spain. Through that experience, she developed a deeper love for living in other countries and connecting with other cultures. After graduating, Mrs. Germain moved to Santiago, Dominican Republic, where she lived for 8 years working as an ESL teacher, serving in church, and forming wonderful relationships with Dominican and American friends and families. During this time on the island, she and her husband also started a restaurant which they ran for six years. After about a two year break from teaching to be home with her two daughters, she was delighted to get back into Spanish again with an opportunity to teach at Ambleside. A Kentucky native, she loves seeing the horse farms in Ocala as they remind her of her home state.
Lanier Lewis
High School Biology Teacher
BS, Food Science, MS Food Science, University of FloridaMrs. Lewis stayed at UF for graduate school, researching the phytochemical and antioxidant properties of guava fruit for her thesis project, and earned her Master’s Degree in 2005. Upon graduation, she worked as a food scientist for 6 years before leaving the food industry to start a family. She then happily stayed home with her two children for the next 6 years. She is passionate about science, education, and the Ambleside philosophy and enjoys spending time with her husband and two children, reading, outdoor activities, cooking, and baking in her free time.
Dax Romine
Geometry Teacher
A carpenter by trade, Mr. Romine brings a natural love and appreciation for the language of mathematics to his middle school classes. Originally from Ohio, he spent almost the first ten years of his time in Ocala building equestrian barns and custom homes before transitioning out of the industry. Mr. Romine is passionate about Jesus, and helping people close the gap between religion and relationship. He pastors a little church, Live Oak Christian Fellowship, and loves to spend time tinkering with motorcycles or broken things in need of repair.
Support Team
Emmy Lilholt
Office Manager
Mrs. Lilholt, along with her husband David, and their three teenagers, moved to the Ocala area in 2006. In July 2015, after 26 years of serving, Emmy retired her position as a Children's Pastor and joined Ambleside's administration team. She continues to serve in ministry within our community as well as traveling with her Fireflies Coaching Network over her weekends.
Jennifer Cochrane
Admin Assistant
Mrs. Cochrane was first introduced to Charlotte Mason while researching methods for homeschooling her three children. Charlotte Mason's ideas and philosophy of education immediately resonated with her as truth. After several years of homeschooling in the method, her two youngest children began attending Ambleside. Mrs. Cochrane is grateful that she has the privilege of participating in meaningful work and serving in such a great community. She enjoys nature, being with her family and discovering more fully who God created her to be. She also has a strong desire for people to understand the finished work of Christ on the cross and God's unfathomable love for them.