Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Announces New Board of Trustee Members

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private, nonprofit organization that owns and operates Monticello, welcomed four new members to its Board of Trustees: Glenn K. Davidson of Fort Worth, Texas; Louise Dubé of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Rudene Mercer Haynes of Richmond, Virginia; and Thomas Hill of Charlottesville, Virginia. 

“With decades of expertise that lifts up various facets of our mission, these individuals join us at an exciting moment as we begin our year-long celebration of America’s 250th,” said Dr. Jane Kamensky, president and CEO of Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. “Their leadership will be vital to Monticello’s long-term vision and to maximizing the impact of this historic milestone, both in 2026 and beyond.” 

Glenn K. Davidson recently concluded his tenure as chairman and CEO of BJG Electronics following the company’s sale to FDH Aerospace. Prior to this acquisition with Rockwood Equity, Davidson served in various capacities at A.E. Petsche Company from 1983 to 2009, including CEO from 2001 to 2009. During his tenure, A.E. Petsche Company was recognized as the world’s largest focused distributor of aviation interconnect products. In 2009, Davidson led the sale of A.E. Petsche Company to Arrow Electronics and continued to oversee the mil-aero business within Arrow until 2013. 

Davidson currently serves as an advisor, investor, and board member for two private equity firms. He and his wife, Julie, have been actively involved in several Fort Worth community-based organizations, including ACH Child & Family Services. Since 2015, Davidson has been a trustee at The Amon Carter Museum of American Art and currently serves on the board of Bridge2Rwanda.

Davidson graduated from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business in 1983. He resides primarily in Fort Worth, Texas.

Louise Dubé serves as the CEO of iCivics. As the largest civic education provider in the nation, iCivics is dedicated to advancing civic learning by leading the movement to make civics a nationwide priority and providing educators and students with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to embrace and engage in our civic life together. 

Under Dubé’s leadership, iCivics has won many awards, including Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Education Companies, the MacArthur Foundation’s Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, and EdTech Creator winner from Unity. Previously, Dubé served as Managing Director of Digital Learning at Boston’s WGBH where she helped launch PBS LearningMedia, a platform reaching 1.5 million educators. Before WGBH, Dubé had a successful career in K-12 educational technology.  

Dubé’s honors include the 2017 People’s Voice Award from the Diller-Von Furstenberg Family Foundation, the 2018 American Civic Collaboration National Award from the Bridge Alliance and was recognized as a 2019 Donaldson Fellow by Yale School of Management. 

Dubé is a frequent commentator on civic learning in media outlets from The Washington Post to PBS. Dubé began her career as an attorney in Montreal, Canada, and holds a law degree from McGill University, as well as an MBA from Yale University.

Rudene Mercer Haynes is managing partner of the Richmond office of Hunton Andrews Kurth, co-leader of the firm’s servicer advance financing practice, and has historically represented Ginnie Mae, the federal government’s mortgage corporation, in its multiclass and mortgage-backed securities programs. The results of her work in the residential mortgage financing industry have helped make homeownership affordable and possible for many Americans. 

In addition to her dedication to clients, Haynes is known for her devotion to fostering an environment that embraces differences, promotes equality and engenders mutual respect, and for creating a culture of inclusion where everyone has the opportunity to excel in the legal profession.   

Outside the law firm, Haynes is a recognized leader in the community. Passionate about ending health disparities and racial inequities, Haynes was part of the trio that formed “Facts & Faith Fridays,” a series of weekly calls with the Black faith community to provide accurate information on COVID-19, transmission, vaccination, and improving outcomes during the pandemic.

Thomas Hill is a founder and managing partner of PlusTick Management LLC, a private investment partnership based in Charlottesville, Virginia. He previously co-founded New Generation Advisors LLC, a Boston-based distressed securities investment partnership following several years spent working in New York and Boston.  

In addition to his work at PlusTick, Hill is an investor in small startup businesses and in smaller nonprofit organizations. He has been a financial and housing supporter of displaced or otherwise marginalized individuals. Hill’s involvement with Monticello began in the 1990s and grew in 2004 with the Foundation’s purchase of Montalto. Hill has supported other Monticello initiatives including the Burial Ground for Enslaved People and an ongoing program that brings Charlottesville schoolchildren and families to the mountaintop.

Additionally, Hill is the owner and operator of Rapidan River Ranch, a cow/calf cattle ranch in Madison County, Virginia. He is a former trustee of the Virginia Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and board member of the Covenant School in Charlottesville. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Hill grew up in Richmond and has lived in Charlottesville for the past 35 years.    

About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello 

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. As a civic institution, Monticello seeks to increase knowledge and share the ideals Jefferson articulated in the Declaration of Independence through programming and scholarship built upon a foundation of rigorous research.  

Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site, and a Site of Conscience. As a private, nonprofit organization, Monticello receives no ongoing local, state, or federal funding. Visitors and the generosity of donors make Monticello’s twofold mission of preservation and education possible. For information, visit monticello.org.