Board Member Bios

Dr. Todd "TJ" Turner, President
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Dr. Todd “TJ” Turner is a senior materials research engineer for the United States Air Force Research Laboratory since 2003, and is a Research Team Leader for seven scientists conducting work on fatigue in metallic aerospace components. He holds a Bachelors of

Engineering in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University, and a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Cornell University. He is also a reserve military officer for the Air Force, where he serves as a federal agent and a detachment commander conducting felony level criminal investigations. Dr. Turner is active in the community and also serves as the President of the Board of Trustees of the Antioch Writers Workshop, and helped form and coach the FC Springs U13 boys soccer team which hopes to deliver a near full squad to the Yellow Springs Varsity team in a few years. Dr. Turner has deployed to Afghanistan four times, and was twice awarded the Bronze Star. He is the author of three novels. In his free time he attempts to build acoustic guitars and kinetic sculptures. He and his wife, Nancy Sundell-Turner, have three children who all attend Yellow Springs Schools. He has served on the board since August 2018. His term expires on December 31, 2023.

 

Dr. Dorothée Bouquet, Vice President
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I am a villager and a parent of both a Mills Lawn student and a preschooler who will join the Yellow Springs Exempted School District soon. I grew up in Normandy, France. I completed my bachelor's degree both in Rouen, France and in Tuebingen, Germany before moving to the United States to complete my Ph.D. program in transnational history of education. I now work as a Senior Lecturer for the History Department at Purdue University. After I gained citizenship in the United States, I became involved in volunteer voter education campaigns, before running for school board. 

As a board member, I want to help find a long-term facilities solution and reinvigorate community engagement.
 

Luisa Bieri Rios, Member
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I grew up in Yellow Springs, attending Mills Lawn Elementary and graduated as Salutatorian of YSHS class of 1997. I attended Smith College, where I graduated with honors with a double major in Theater and Latin American Literature. Afterwards, I earned a Master's Degree at Utrecht University in the Netherlands in Comparative Women's Studies. Later, I worked in international education as well as at an award-winning community art center, Creative Alliance in Southeast Baltimore. Since 2015, I have been a faculty member at Antioch College in the Cooperative Education (Co-op) Department. I also teach classes in Performance and Dialogue Across Difference. I am pleased to have a child in the Yellow Springs School District learning from such talented and caring educators.



 

Ms. Judith Hempfling, Member
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I grew up in Northwest Ohio on a farm, and lived in London, England, New York City, and Western Massachusetts before becoming a resident of Yellow Springs 25 years ago. My two adult children attended Yellow Springs schools and now my two grandchildren attend Mills Lawn School.

I have been a registered nurse for many years with 15 of those years working as a hospice nurse. I am now working part-time at Miami Valley Hospital downtown campus on medical surgical units.

My hopes for our village school district include the following two: That we open up a more inclusive public discourse when making decisions about our schools, as public schools are an essential institution of democratic societies. We should model that democratic process for our young people. I also am hopeful that we can have a fair, cordial and open process in deciding how to go forward in having facilities that meet the needs of our students, faculty and staff.


 

Dr. Amy Magnus, Member
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Having grown up among corn fields and dairy farms in Upstate New York, I felt an instant connection to Yellow Springs when I was assigned to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in the 1990s. I wanted to raise my children here and, when our oldest was born, my husband and I returned to Yellow Springs to set down roots.

I am a retired officer of the United States Air Force. I taught math and science at the Air Force Institute of Technology for twelve years. As I pursued basic research in advanced computation and group learning, I became actively involved in the region’s startup community through the Yellow Springs’ farmers markets, the Dayton Collaboratory, and Wright Brothers Institute.

I attended Tioga Central Schools, a small rural district much like Yellow Springs Schools, where I graduated valedictorian in 1985. I received a bachelors degree in electrical engineering from Rochester Institute of Technology and received a PhD in electrical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. In 2022, I  completed a masters degree in professional design with the Columbus College of Art and Design.

Pursing a life long dream, I founded the Yellow Springs Science Castle in 2019. I have been aided in this fun and adventurous endeavor by the Association of Children’s Museums, the National Informal STEM Education Network, and Learn to Earn Dayton.