Bill St Cyr, Executive Director
The unifying concern of Bill St. Cyr’s academic and professional life has been the process by which men and women grow to a maturity which reflects the person of Jesus. His academic pursuits have included political philosophy (B.A., Louisiana State University), historical theology and spirituality with an emphasis on the patristic period (M.A., Catholic University of America), and pastoral counseling (M.S. and Ph.D., Loyola of Maryland). Bill has been a youth minister, provided leadership to a discipleship ministry on Capitol Hill, served as assistant to the Chaplain of the United States Senate, and spent thousands of hours counseling committed believers whose life experience has been something less than love, joy, peace, patience and kindness. In 2000, Bill’s wife, Maryellen, founded Ambleside of Fredericksburg, Texas, a school dedicated to providing an education shaped by the principles of Jesus and the pedagogical insights of British educator, Charlotte Mason (1842-1923). Since 2001, Bill has been working with his wife to foster a reformation in education.
Michael Bruce
Mike serves as the board chairman of Ambleside School of Herndon, VA. He earned an MS/MBA from Carnegie Mellon University and a BS in computer science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He also pursued undergraduate studies in Aerospace Engineering at MIT as an Air Force ROTC cadet. He presently serves as the CEO of InScope International, an innovative consulting firm that addresses global issues in energy, healthcare, housing, and national security.
Ken Ausley
Ken and his wife Shari are co-founders of Ambleside School of Ocala. He currently serves as the school's board chairman. Ken is the co-owner of Ausley Construction Company and principal of ACA Construction Group. He is a founding board member and former chairman of First Avenue National Bank. Ken earned a BA in history from Florida State University. After graduation he served for 12 years with a faith-based non-profit and remains active in the non-profit community, currently serving as president of the Marion County Children’s Advocacy Center; on the Ocala Vision 2035 Leadership Group board; the Marion County Value Adjustment board; and the College of Central Florida CF Institute Advisory Committee.
Maryellen St Cyr, Founder and Director of Curriculum Development
A professional educator for over thirty years, Maryellen St. Cyr has spent thousands of hours in the classroom and hundreds of hours observing other teachers. Possessing a passion for a congruent, life- giving method of education, she has become one of the foremost experts on the “common sense” education philosophy of the nineteenth century British educator, Charlotte Mason.
Maryellen is a primary author of When Children Love to Learn (Elaine Cooper, Editor). She also blogs here with her husband Bill.
David White
Dave has served as chairman of the board of Ambleside School of Fredericksburg. In 2000 his son, Paul attended the 5th grade at Ambelside during its' first year in existence. Paul is now a senior at Wheaton College in Wheaton, IL.
Dave earned a BS Degree from Warner Pacific College and has a CFP designation. He works as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investments and has Regional Leader responsibilities with the firm.
Annarose Monroe
Annarose Monroe homeschools four children, three of whom are her own. She is in her 7th year of homeschooling and has successfully taught grades PreK-5. She has been working directly with Ambleside Schools International for over 3 years and has seen significant improvement because of this relationship. Annarose is passionate to see further support given to all families who seek a Living Education as embodied in the pedagogy of Charlotte Mason and seeks to further that cause through Ambleside Schools International.
She holds a BBA in Marketing with a Minor in Public Speaking from Stephen F. Austin State University located in Nacogdoches, TX. She has served in leadership roles with the Junior League of Orange County, For the Children’s Sake, a Charlotte Mason homeschool group in the Silicon Valley, and the Los Gatos Ballet Theater. She also teaches Sunday School to 3rd and 4th Graders and delights in using her culinary skills learned at the Viking Cooking School towards hospitality.