The American Overseas Schools Historical Society is managed by a volunteer board of directors. Our current board is as follows:
Frank Roehl
President (Executive Committee)
Frank E. Roehl received his Bachelor of Science in Physical Education & Coaching from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln (1970) and his Masters in Human Services Delivery in Education Administration from Boston University (1983). Frank retired from DoDEA in July 2018 after 48 years of Federal Service. He served as the Superintendent of Schools for the DoDEA Europe West District, Superintendent of the Isles District and Heidelberg District, Assistant Superintendent of the Bavaria District, Assistant Superintendent and Acting Superintendent of the Heidelberg District, DoDDS Middle Level Coordinator, and a principal, assistant principal, classroom teacher, and coach at elementary through high school levels with assignments in Germany and Turkey. Frank served as the Germany Vice President and DoDDS Worldwide President of the Federal Managers Association, Chapter 135, for four years.
Mr. Roehl is a “military brat,” attending 13 different schools in grades K–12 and experiencing his father’s two unaccompanied tours while his father served in Korea and Vietnam. He served as a US Army commissioned field artillery officer on active duty and in the reserve forces in Germany prior to and during his teaching career. He was a member of the United States Reserve Europe Marksmanship Team representing the US in competitions throughout Europe.
Frank and his wife, Margy, a retired DoDEA teacher and Information Specialist for 46 years, live in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Together, they raised two children who attended DoDEA schools K–12, and both graduated from Heidelberg High School. Brian is working as a government civilian employee at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Aileen, recently with the Paul Taylor Dance Company in New York City, is in Stuttgart, Germany with her Navy helicopter pilot husband.
Frank’s hobbies are traveling, “tinkering” with his 1995 BMW M3 and 1966 Austin Healey 3000 Mark III and enjoying his free time!
Jamey Hansen
Secretary (Executive Committee)
Jamey graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in NAS Sigonella, Sicily in 1992. He and his wife Julie, who also graduated from Sigonella, went to Iowa State University. With a degree in elementary education, Jamey’s career focused on technology and innovation in K12 and higher education. He is a graduate of University of Minnesota’s Management of Technology (MOT) masters program, with its emphasis in strategic technological leadership and studies in forecasting, innovation management, new product development and analysis of cultural, socioeconomic, and political structures as they relate to international business. Currently he is the Chief Strategic Innovation Officer for the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota where he leads a team of research consultants, instructional designers, digital media specialists, business analysts, technologists, and strategic planners. Jamey has integrated a study of participatory leadership and facilitation to lead change initiatives in complex higher education cultures.
Jamey comes from a family of educators. His father is former DoDEA teacher and administrator and AOSHS Board member Joel Hansen. His mother managed the DoDEA budget. His sister Andy, after time in the Air Force, is a head teacher in Waterloo, Iowa. His other sister Abby is a philosophy professor at Wartburg College. His veterinarian wife is an instructor and director of a veterinary technician program at Northwood Technical College. Both his grandmothers were elementary teachers and perhaps his kids (Ella, 19, and Ben, 16) will continue the trend.
Jamey facilitated the AOSHS Board’s September strategic retreat in 2021 and was invited to join the board in January 2023. He took on the role of Secretary in June 2023.
Ron Harrison
Treasurer (Executive Committee)
Ron was raised in Kansas and graduated from Kansas State University in 1968. He joined the Air Force and his first assignment was in Berlin, Germany. He and his wife, Glenna, were stationed there for 3 years before returning to the states in 1972. Glenna taught for 2½ years in the Berlin American High School and Ron was assistant basketball coach for the 1971-72 season.
After returning to the states, Ron worked in Missouri and Illinois before returning to Wichita, Kansas. After retiring in 2011 Ron was called to work at the AOSHS office as an Archivist and has improved both the physical appearance of the building and accomplished the daunting task of organizing the storage of many AOSHS archive boxes. Glenna also volunteered her time to assist in the inventorying of the boxes.
Ron and Glenna now reside in Manhattan, Kansas, and Ron serves as Treasurer for the organization. He also works remotely to input box inventories into AOSHS office records.
Mary VanDeventer
AOSHS Quarterly Publication
Mary began her DoDEA career as a substitute teacher at Kaiserslautern American High School in 1979. The next two school years found her at Baumholder American High School and Sembach Elementary / Junior High School. She made her way back to Kaiserslautern High School, then transferred to Naples High School when her active-duty husband retired. She was fortunate enough to also spend time in the Pacific region, teaching at Lester Middle School and Nile C. Kinnick High School. She eventually made her way back to Germany, spending the last thirteen of her thirty-eight years in DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) at Vilseck High School. She has taught English, music, drama, yearbook, journalism, and social studies.
Mary attended Ball State University, earned her Bachelor of Art in English at Trenton State College, and her Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction at National Louis University.
Since her retirement in 2021, Mary and her husband (also a retired DoDEA teacher) have spent time travelling to visit family and friends, returning to Europe several times. Their daughter, son, and daughter in law are all Kinnick High School graduates. One granddaughter is currently a DoDEA “Brat” enrolled at Vicenza Elementary.
Mary and her husband Steve currently reside in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
DeVee (York) Dietz
DeVee (York) Dietz is a lifelong learner, educator, and artist who believes her roots as a military child have profoundly shaped her perspective and purpose. Growing up an “Army brat” with three siblings, they moved every 1–3 years, living across the U.S. and abroad before graduating from Karlsruhe American High School in Germany. These frequent transitions instilled in her a deep appreciation for cultural diversity, adaptability, creativity, and the power of connection and values that continue to influence her today.
Following in the footsteps of her parents and grandmother, she earned her B.S. in Art and Art Education from South Dakota State University and her Master of Science in Educational Leadership at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Over 30 years in education, DeVee has taught in alternative, middle, high school, and college settings across South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. Her roles have included visual arts teacher, reading interventionist, instructional coach, language arts, and social studies educator. As Director of Civic Education Programs at the Chiesman Center for Democracy through the Center of Civic Education, she coordinated statewide initiatives such as Kids Voting South Dakota and Project Citizen, promoting student voice and civic engagement.
As an advocate for arts and civic education, DeVee has presented and held workshops at local, state, and national professional development conferences on visual arts, civic, and character education. Alongside a colleague, she co-created, ARTsome Astronomy I & II, innovative STREAM curricula integrating visual arts with space science, and provided workshops and resources across the state. She has also served as President of the South Dakota Art Education Association and contributed to numerous advisory boards supporting the arts, community, and civic education.
DeVee lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, Kevin. They have two grown children, Kyle (Harrisburg, SD) and Kendra (Boerne, TX), and 7 grandchildren. As with many military brats, she feels a strong connection with other “military brats” and believes the DoDEA schools, teachers, and her peers helped support and shape who she is today.
Mary Leonhart
After graduating with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Southwestern Oklahoma State University and teaching two years in rural Oklahoma, Mary Leonhart began her DODDS career in 1983 as a Home Economics and Reading teacher at Cristobal Jr./Sr. High School in Panama. Her next duty station of three years was Bahrain School. Following an amazing adventure in Bahrain, Mary moved on to Frankfurt High School for eight years, teaching Foods and Nutrition, Child Development, Clothing and Textiles, Family Living, U.S. History, and World Regions. At Frankfurt High School, Mary sponsored the Keyettes and served as chair of the Vocational Education Department, School Improvement Committee, and the Social Committee. As the U.S. military moved out of Frankfurt, Mary transferred to Camp Zama, Japan, where she taught Home Economics, Reading, and Health for three years, as well as chaired the School-Home Partnership Committee. In Japan, Mary served as PDK-Japan secretary and later Vice President.
Longing to return to Europe, Mary accepted a transfer to Darmstadt Middle School, where she taught Home Economics and English for eight years. At Darmstadt she led the School Improvement Team, the social committee, and sponsored a Crafts Club. She also served as President of the Darmstadt Spouses’ Club and volunteered at the chapel, sang in the chapel choir, and worked at the community thrift shop. With Darmstadt’s impending closure, Mary applied for and was selected to serve as the School Improvement and Assessment Specialist for the Heidelberg District. She served two years as the PDK-Germany President. While in Heidelberg, she completed her PhD in Organizational Leadership with the University of Oklahoma.
As Heidelberg closed, Mary moved on to the same role in the Bavaria District. Three years later the Bavaria District was redistricted and Dr. Leonhart moved to the DoDEA-Europe Regional Office in Sembach, Germany, to serve as Activities Coordinator for Europe. Retiring in 2021, Mary currently enjoys retirement in Lawton, Oklahoma, where she manages her church’s clothes closet for the needy, volunteers at the senior center, leads singing at church, serves as church lay leader, serves as a board member for the Wesley Foundation at Cameron University, and prepares meals for Family Promise Homeless Shelter. Mary also enjoys participating in OHCE, providing a creative outlet for her Home Economist skills. She looks forward to the annual DODDS reunions as opportunities to renew old friendships and build new ones!
Julie Wittenberg
Julie Wittenberg graduated with her bachelor’s degree from Capital University, Columbus, Ohio in 1986 and began her teaching career at an inner-city elementary school in the Columbus City School District. She received her master’s degree from The Ohio State University and for five years worked as a district Title I Primary Program Coordinator for the Columbus City School district.
In 1996 Julie moved to Germany as a Reading Recovery Teacher Leader for DODDS Europe. Housed at Vogelweh Elementary School in the Kaiserslautern district, this position gave her the opportunity to travel and work with teachers and administrators at many of the elementary schools across Europe. She supported schools in Germany as well as teachers and schools in Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland, the Azores, Italy, and Spain.
After 11 years of working with adult educators, she decided to return to the classroom where she taught first grade at Landstuhl EMS(ES) from 2007–2024. During this time, she had the honor of being the 2018-2019 Teacher of the Year for the VFW at the Post, District, and Department of Europe levels. She was active with her local PTSA as well as the European PTA. She spent five years on the European PTA board serving as secretary and membership chair. During this time, she met teachers and parents from all over Europe.
Working with military affiliated students and parents was the highlight of her career. After 28 years with the Department of Defense schools, Julie retired in 2024. She moved back to the Columbus, Ohio area to be with family and now resides in Grove City, Ohio.