Board of Directors
Andy Blechman
Andy is a three-time founder and operator who has spent his career building companies from zero to one. He is the co-founder of Bottle.com, a software platform for local food entrepreneurs, and was previously co-founder and COO of Accordion.com, which was acquired by Charlesbank Capital Partners in 2022. Today, Andy is an Entrepreneur in Residence at an early-stage venture firm and advises the CEO of Happier Meditation on strategy and product, where he is deeply involved in building an AI platform for personal well-being.
Andy holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was captain of the varsity lacrosse team. He has a love of sports and youth development, coaching lacrosse in Atlanta for five seasons with the Thunder Lacrosse program and Sutton Middle School, and volunteering for six summers on the leadership team at Experience Camps, where he helped build out the Leaders in Training program. He lives in Serenbe with his wife Meredith, their three children, and their Vizsla, Macallan.
Ray Broadhead grew up in Massachusetts and, after earning a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and an Sc.M. from Brown University, began a 33-year career at Brooks School (his high school alma mater). There, he taught math, science, and psychology; coached football and basketball; and held numerous administrative roles including Dean of Students and Assistant Head of School. He later served as Head of School at The Elon School in North Carolina and The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee. Now retired and living in Chattahoochee Hills, Ray tutors students and substitutes at local private schools.
Ray Broadhead
Shep is the Managing Partner of Atlanta Property Group, a real estate investment firm based in Atlanta, where he oversees the firm’s day-to-day functions with a focus on investment activity and portfolio performance. During his time at APG, he has been involved in principal transactions totaling nearly $1.5 billion. Prior to joining APG in 2011, he spent four years in the commercial mortgage banking industry working in the Atlanta office of Grandbridge Real Estate Capital, a subsidiary of BB&T.
Shep earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. He is an active member of NAIOP, a commercial real estate professional organization, where he previously served as President of the Georgia Chapter. Additionally, he currently serves on the Board of the Fulton Perimeter Community Improvement District.
Shep is a native of Atlanta and currently lives in Serenbe with his wife, Elaine, and their three sons.
Shep Dinos
Tom Hadfield
Tom is a British entrepreneur whose first company, Soccernet.com, was sold to ESPN when he was 17 years old. Today, Tom is the CEO of Mio, an enterprise software company backed by Y Combinator, Khosla Ventures and Zoom. He graduated from Harvard University and is a board member at Heifer International, a charity working to end hunger and poverty around the world. Tom and his wife, Christen, moved to Serenbe from Austin in 2021 with their two children.
April Ledom
April Ledom is a Managing Director at Coxe Curry & Associates, a nonprofit consulting firm, where she helps guide the strategic direction and oversees HR functions. April brings extensive experience in talent management and human resources to provide invaluable guidance to nonprofit clients.
She previously served as Executive HR Director for iResearch, specializing in leadership development and organizational strategy. During her decade-long tenure at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, she managed diverse HR functions and oversaw charitable giving.
Beyond her corporate roles, April is a trusted advisor to startups and entrepreneurs, offering insights on leadership and culture. In the community, she has served on various educational boards and as a Power Over Prejudice Facilitator, empowering middle school students to embrace differences.
April holds a B.S. in Management from Georgia Tech and is a certified SHRM-SCP professional. She resides in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia, with her husband, Matthew, and their two children.
Board Chair
Garnie Nygren
Garnie Nygren, the eldest daughter of Serenbe founder Steve Nygren is the Co-Managing Director for all things Serenbe inclusive of development operations, real estate brokerage, hospitality and commercial planning and operations. She grew up in Atlanta and Chattahoochee Hills, attended Woodward Academy, and is a 2005 graduate of Cornell University’s Hotel School. Garnie has also served as co-chair of Terra School’s 1st Phase Capital Campaign in 2022.
She lives in Serenbe with her husband and two sons and daughter and is dedicated to living a well-lived life, meaning she eats fresh, local food, mostly from Serenbe Farms, avoids single use plastic, walks everywhere she goes, and regularly runs and practices yoga.
Treasurer
Todd Ryan
Todd recently retired from Coca-Cola North America as Vice President of Strategy & Transformation. He enjoyed a successful 26 year career with Coke where he held various leadership roles across the North American system focusing on strategy development, beverage portfolio management, business transformation, business planning and performance management. Prior to Coke, Todd began his career as an Imagineer in Resorts Planning with The Walt Disney World Company. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. Todd and his wife, Lisa (a retired Speech-Language Pathologist) first visited Serenbe in April of 2019 and immediately fell in love with the community. They moved here later in the year from Marietta, GA, and now live here full time with their two dogs (Tito and Fergus).
Michael Specht
Michael is a technology leader and product expert whose professional career has focused on image and video quality development for the most widely used mobile cameras in the world. Michael currently serves as the Lead Image and Video Quality Product Manager for the Google Pixel. Prior to this, he spent eleven years at Apple as a Lead Image and Video Quality Engineer for the iPhone. Throughout his career, Michael has excelled at bringing diverse teams—including software, hardware, and silicon—together to solve complex user problems and deliver exceptional products.
A native of Atlanta, Michael moved to Serenbe with his family in 2023. As a graduate of Eckerd College with a B.A. in Visual Arts, he is passionate about interdisciplinary education that blends both his love of art with pragmatic knowledge that prepares students for impactful careers. Michael is an avid cyclist and enjoys traveling to new places with his family citing the opportunity to experience new cultures as one of the best educators.
Tiffanie Towns, Ed.D. is the Chief Operating Officer of Accelerate. Through her leadership of research, finance, programs, and administration, she advances Accelerate’s mission to embed high-impact tutoring and personalized learning in public schools. In 2022–23, she served as Deputy Superintendent for Gwinnett County Public Schools, Georgia’s largest district and the 11th largest in the country—supporting over 181,000 students and managing a $2.9 billion budget. Her earlier roles include interim Superintendent of Hamilton County Schools, Assistant Commissioner of Data and Research at the Tennessee Department of Education, and Chief Accountability Officer at Knox County Schools.
Tiffanie Towns, Ed.D.
Jessica Willis
Secretary
Jessica Willis is the Chief Financial Officer of The Springmont School, an independent school in Atlanta, where she brings a strong background in school financial management and a certification in human resources. Her work centers on strategic planning, leadership development, and financial compliance, ensuring the long‑term sustainability and mission alignment of the school. Jessica is also actively involved in school board work, contributing her expertise to governance and organizational leadership. She lives in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia, with her husband, Lance, and their two children.
Brandon Wolfe
Vice Chair
An Atlanta native, Brandon Wolfe graduated cum laude from Bucknell University with a B.A. in Art History and Sociology, and later finished first in his class while earning an M.A. in Art History from Christie’s Education, followed by a J.D. from John Marshall Law School. He went on to build a career in senior healthcare, ultimately serving as CEO of Richmond Healthcare from 2017 to 2022, before selling the business and stepping away from professional life.
He and his wife, Allison, moved to Serenbe in 2022 and love raising their two boys in this community. Today, Brandon is a full-time father and husband — and when he’s not in the garden, out on the trails, or deep in a good book, he’s investing in the place his family is proud to call home.
Jonathan’s professional work and interest bridges the fields of law and education. Jonathan is currently Vice President and Senior Division Counsel of InComm Payments. Before joining InComm, Jonathan was Associate General Counsel at Samsung Engineering in Seoul, where he served as lead counsel in the delivery of mega projects across the globe. Prior to Seoul, Jonathan was an associate in the construction law and litigation practice at Troutman Pepper in Atlanta and New York. He is alumnus of University of Chicago Law School, Universiteit Utrecht, and the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Each and every milestone in his legal career has served as a classroom for understanding the defining role mentorship plays in the success of students. Throughout his legal career, Jonathan has leveraged his experience as an admissions officer at The University of Chicago, an admissions coach at Anna Ivey Consulting, and an admissions ambassador for Service 2 School, to assist hundreds of student and military servicepersons and veterans win admission to a variety of universities and law schools across the nation and the world.