Board of Trustees

Chris Dotolo

Chris is a Norfolk native and attended Norfolk Academy for 12 years. After playing baseball at Virginia Wesleyan, Chris played professional baseball for 5 seasons in the San Francisco Giants organization. After his playing career, he coached Division 1 college baseball for 15 years as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College, St. John's University (NY), and as the head coach at Hofstra University (NY). He then worked in the Development Office at Norfolk Academy for 5 years before moving into a career as a Financial Advisor and is now working as an Associate Vice President at Morgan Stanley.

Chris has a Master's Degree in Sports Administration from George Mason University and a Master's Degree in Financial Planning and Law from Regent University (2021). He has extensive fundraising experience and is the Chair of the Business and Finance Committee as well as an advisor on the Development Committee for the Friends School. He has 3 daughters; Gina, Savanna, and Maria and resides in Virginia Beach.

Paige Downs

Paige Downs has been a general dentist for 30 years and for the last 13 years has been practicing general dentistry as the owner/operator of Downs Dental Care in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and received her Doctor of Medical Dentistry from the University of Mississippi. In 1998, Dr. Downs accepted a position at the Naval Station Norfolk and moved to Virginia and her love for the area had kept her in Virginia Beach. In 2013, she fulfilled a long awaited dream of opening her own practice. Dr. Downs is a member of the American Dental Association, Virginia Dental Association, and the Tidewater Dental Association.

She contributes to local dental study clubs, humanitarian and mission work, and community events that allow her to stay involved with dental trends and the surrounding community. Dr Downs is married to Jayson Downs and they are the proud parents of two sons, Cole and Reid Downs. Cole is 23 and is in graduate school at the University of Virginia and Reid is 19 and is a freshman at the University of Richmond. Dr. Downs and her family are sports enthusiasts with active involvement in numerous sports and outdoor activities, especially fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.

Kevin Emerson

Kevin is a native of Virginia Beach and graduated from Norfolk Academy. Kevin attended Washington & Lee University and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Business Administration. He started his career with Price Waterhouse in Norfolk in 1994 and is a Certified Public Accountant. In 2005, Kevin joined McKesson Corporation, a diversified healthcare services company, and has held various senior finance and accounting roles, including Controllership roles, leading M&A and Integration activities, serving as a Business Unit CFO, Leading Transformation programs and now serves as Senior Vice President, Internal Audit. These roles have taken him from San Francisco, CA to Richmond, VA, Atlanta, GA, and Dallas, TX, before landing him back in Virginia Beach.

Kevin and his family live at the oceanfront and enjoy being active and spending time at the beach. He has two children at Norfolk Academy and his wife Meredith, who also grew up in Virginia Beach, is a Real Estate Agent with Atkinson Realty.

Brian Facemire

Brian Facemire was a Middle and Upper School History Educator for 15 years at Cape Henry Collegiate. He is still active in the Cape Henry community as a Varsity Soccer Coach. In his fifteen years in the classroom Brian attempted to instill a sense of wonder and exploration in children about the world in which they live. This is evidenced by his status as a National Geographic Educator as well as his focus on experiential learning as part of a primary model for education. After recently finishing a second master’s degree in The Classical Mediterranean, Brian is currently pursuing PhD programs in archaeology and ancient history.

As well as instilling a passion for history and education in the classroom, Brian also served on several directorships in the local community including the Virginia Beach Historical Review Board and the philanthropic organization Virginia Gentlemen Foundation. In addition to his daily classroom duties he also served on several internal boards at Cape Henry to create an in-house professional development program that relies on the expertise of teachers to teach teachers. What teachers are passionate about and how they bring that passion to their classroom is instrumental in sharing knowledge among the faculty. He also served on the Board to create a proactive educator evaluation system not based on draconian measures of punishment, rather focused on goals and insights derived from open and honest conversations between faculty and administration.

He might be called an advocate for teachers in a world that sometimes runs them down. Brian understands what it means to give back to the local community. Acting locally reaches globally. Teaching and education are part of the fiber of his being and he knows that if he reached only one child, that could be the difference in making a better world.

Matt Harding

Matt grew up in Virginia Beach with his sister and parents.  His Dad was in the Navy for 20+ years and his Mother was a dietician.  He attended First Colonial High School and William and Mary for College.  After college, Matt moved to Northern Virginia to work for Freddie Mac.  In 2005, he moved to New York City to work for Morgan Stanley where he met his wife (Whitney) and spent a few years there on the Upper West Side.  In 2012, they made their way back to his home town with their first son, Parker.

Along with his business partner (who is a friend from High School), Matt operates a market making business in fixed-income securities.  His family lives at the North End of Virginia Beach with their three sons, Parker (12), Davis (10,) and Camden (5) – 3 boys who are into baseball, tennis, and surfing.  As a family they like to travel, although that has gotten increasingly more difficult with kids’ sports.  But they do manage to spend a lot of time in Charlottesville, VA.  Whitney enjoys volunteering (Ocean Front Circle for CHKD, Junior League and very involved in various aspects of the Virginia Beach Public School System) and they both play a lot of tennis and enjoy the beach.

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Heather Larrabee

Heather moved to the area in 2023 when her husband became Head of School at Norfolk Academy. She spent her career teaching elementary and middle school in Boston, Washington, DC and Philadelphia. Heather grew up in Connecticut and attended Trinity College. She received her Master's degree as a Reading Specialist and most recently worked as the Middle School Learning Specialist at the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. Heather and her husband have three children and love living near the beach!

Mark Paccione

Mark Paccione is the CIO and Co-Founder of EQV Advisory, a multi-family office focused on individuals and families with complex needs.  Previously, Mark served as the Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer for Curi Capital and as the Senior Director of Wealth Management for CAPTRUST Financial Advisors.  Mark is Past President of CFA Society NC and serves on the Board of Trustees for Peace University.   He holds the Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) designations.

George Polizos

George is a native of Norfolk and credits the four  years he attended Friends in the 1960’s as fundamental to his academic, character and spiritual growth. 

George is a graduate of Norfolk Academy, Washington & Lee University and the Mason School of Business at William & Mary.  He brings to Friends a professional background in marketing and communications as well as a 20-year career in life insurance, health insurance and long-term care planning for families and business owners.  George serves on the Advancement Committee and is dedicated to helping the school be a positive force in the community for the next generation.

In addition to his work for Friends, George is a director on Norfolk’s Economic Development Authority and is a member of the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral Parish Council.

Steve Stackhouse

Steve is a lifelong teacher and versatile educator who brings over forty years of K-12 school experience to VBFS. The native of Norfolk is a graduate of Norfolk Collegiate School and Hampden-Sydney College. He holds a masters in educational leadership from University of Virginia and a masters in business administration from the College of William and Mary.

Steve began his career teaching history and English at Christchurch School. He returned to Norfolk Collegiate where he taught history and was Director of Development during the construction of the Granby Street campus. He was appointed Head of Steward School in Richmond where he helped grow enrollment and the advancement program.

At Fort Worth Country Day, he served in various roles over 23 years including Senior Director of Operations, Assistant Head of School, and Head of Upper School. Along with administrative responsibilities, Steve taught classes in history, government, economics and world religions. Most recently, he taught at Honors College at Montana State University.

Steve knows small schools like VBFS can have a big impact on the lives of their students. He is inspired by the community, its Quaker mission and core values. He looks forward to being part of the school’s leadership team.

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