Randolph-Macon College alumni April D. Hennis Marchetti ’97, Hunter Leemon ’00 and Charleita M. Richardson ’00 have been named honorees for the 2019 Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD) Person of the Year award, which recognizes 24 servant-leaders and others who strengthen and highlight the Richmond region. 

RMC President Robert R. Lindgren says, “April Marchetti, Hunter Leemon and Charleita Richardson are true innovators—always seeking new and creative avenues in their quest to enrich the lives of others—and we are delighted that these distinguished alumni are being considered for this important award.”   

The RTD Person of the Year Program
With the help of nominations from the public, the RTD selects some Person of the Year honorees based on achievements during a particular year or in recent years, and some are cited for ongoing or lifelong contributions to the Richmond region.

The 24 honorees will be featured in the December edition of the RTD’s Discover Richmond magazine, which will capture not just how the honorees have shaped the region but who they are as individuals behind their titles and accomplishments. The RTD Person of the Year will be revealed at a luncheon at the Omni Richmond Hotel on December 16, 2019.

On October 14, 2019, the RTD published an online gallery of the honorees. 

April D. Hennis Marchetti ’97
RMC Chemistry Professor

Marchetti, who earned her B.S. from Randolph-Macon College and her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University, joined the RMC faculty in 2001. She teaches general, analytical and instrumental chemistry, and her research interests lie mainly in the fields of polymer and forensic science. In 2010 Marchetti was named RMC’s Garnett-Lambert Endowed Professor in Chemistry.  

In 2017 Marchetti and a team of regional collaborators were the recipients of a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant was used to fund Pathways to Science, a program designed to mentor Richmond-area Latinas throughout high school, with the goal of increasing their likelihood of college attendance and a career in STEM. Pathways to Science was enormously successful, and in 2019 the NSF awarded Marchetti a $1,082,291 grant to continue the program. This grant will fund three additional years of the project.  

In 2015, Marchetti was awarded a $151,155 grant from the Jessie Ball DuPont Foundation, which was used to fund Advances in Informal and Formal STEM Education: A Collaboration with the Science Museum of Virginia. The project enabled 12 RMC students to intern at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond. Under Marchetti’s mentorship, they designed STEM curricular modules for elementary school classrooms in high-need school districts.

Marchetti also serves as the college’s director of the Honors program. Working with an RMC colleague, Marchetti recently launched the FOCUS Series, a multidisciplinary exploration into equity and inclusion. 

Hunter Leemon ’00 
Executive Director, Sportable

Leemon earned his B.A.in political science from Randolph-Macon College, where he minored in journalism and competed on the baseball team. After graduation, he worked in commercial real estate. 

Sportable is a Richmond non-profit that helps transform the lives of people with physical and visual disabilities through sport. The only adaptive sports club in Central Virginia and one of the top Paralympic sport clubs in the country, Sportable provides sporting opportunities to more than 400 athletes by offering a variety of competitive and recreational adaptive sports programs. In 2009 Leemon was introduced to Sportable when he volunteered to coach one of the nonprofit’s soccer teams. In 2017, he was recognized for his work at Sportable by Style Weekly as one of Richmond’s Top 40 under 40.

In 2019, Sportable, in partnership with the VCU Center for Sport Leadership, was part of a Virginia-based delegation of sport professionals and adaptive sport experts to Turkmenistan for a program aimed at ways sport can create social change. 

A dedicated alumnus, Leemon is a member of the RMC Board of Trustees; previously served as president of the Society of Alumni; and is actively engaged in the life of the college through his participation in a wide variety of alumni events. In addition, he has hosted internships at Sportable and regularly shares his business expertise in conjunction with RMC’s EDGE Career Center. 

Charleita M. Richardson ’00 
President and CEO, Partnership for the Future 

Richardson earned her B.A. at RMC, where she was the first African American woman in the history of the college to serve as student speaker at Commencement. She earned her M.B.A. from Strayer University.

Partnership for the Future (PFF) is a Richmond-based community-driven college preparation and workforce development program dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty for young people by providing training and educational opportunities that will fuel their future success. Students in the program work as interns for local businesses and take courses in life skills, college testing and college prep. 

Richardson joined PFF in 2006 as director of programs, and in 2007 she was named president and CEO. Richardson, who is responsible for the operations and management of this not-for-profit organization, has during her tenure added leadership and life skills components that distinguish PFF students apart from others preparing to enter college and the workforce. 

Richardson, who served on Randolph-Macon College’s Society of Alumni for several years, also served on the Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital Community Advisory Board. In 2008 she was recognized by Style Weekly as one of Richmond’s Top 40 under 40. In 2013 she was named a recipient of the Stettinius Fund for Nonprofit Leadership Award, and in 2016 she was named a Richmond Public Schools Living Legacy. 

In 2019 Richardson was named an honoree by the Richmond History Makers in the “Creating Quality Educational Opportunities” category. Richmond History Makers highlights trailblazers in the community by celebrating their lasting contributions to the Greater Richmond region.  

originally published in October 2019