Board and Staff

Below is the list of all current board and staff.

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Todd Guthrie

Executive Director

Todd Guthrie is the new Executive Director for the Madison City Chess League. Mr. Guthrie is a US Chess certified Senior Tournament Director and National Arbiter. He currently serves as Scholastic Vice President for the Alabama Chess Federation. He has served as chief tournament director for local and state chess tournaments in Alabama. He also has worked as a floor tournament director at the National K-12 and National Elementary Championship.

Ranae Bartlett

Board Member - President

Ranae Bartlett is a former school board member for Madison City Schools. After developing a successful chess program at Rainbow Elementary, she wanted to provide a place for all students in Madison to grow and develop their chess skills. The idea for the Madison City Chess League was born. Ranae founded the Madison City Chess League and served as its first Executive Director. In 2020 she became Education Director for ChessKid.com. Ranae is the Girls Chess Coordinator for the Alabama Chess Federation. She also serves as co-chair for the Chess In Education Committee for US Chess. She is an advocate for chess instruction in schools and has been instrumental in developing chess programs and elective options for all students in Madison County, Alabama. Contact: mccl.director@gmail.com

Balaji Purushothaman

Board Member - Vice-President

Balaji and his wife Suba are Engineers at Adtran and parents of two passionate chess kids Madhu (JCHS) and Shravan (Millcreek). Balaji has been associated with MCCL for many years. Balaji is technology savvy who loves to learn about modern technologies and think about how to apply it in our daily life. Balaji believes that chess helps young people learn to concentrate, think logically, overcome obstacles, spot patterns, and categorize information.

Rosi Rajbhandari

Board Member - Secretary

Rosi Rajbhandari is a software/systems engineer and mother of two passionate chess girls. She believes in the benefits of kids learning chess to help them learn to focus, think ahead, make logical decisions, and build confidence. She has joined the Madison City Chess League to promote these benefits to young girls in the Madison community. She also serves as our Girls Chess Coordinator.

Erin Howell

Board Member - Treasurer

Erin is a CPA specializing in not-for-profit audits and also serves on the PTA board for Rainbow Elementary. She and her husband, Aaron, have 3 boys. Emory (8), Oliver (5) and Elliott (2). Emory started playing chess before Kindergarten and still plays at Rainbow. He has also passed his love of chess on to his younger brothers! Erin loves the discipline and logical thinking that chess fosters in young children and the community of friends has been a wonderful added bonus!

Sunil Ramegowda

Operations Director

Sunil Ramegowda is a software engineer and chess dad to two students in the Madison City School system. Sunil works as our Operations Director and brings his computer software skills to MCCL. He will help direct our tournament activities both on the floor and in the backroom. He will also serve as webmaster and help us promote our chess program in middle and high school.

Nicole Wall

Marketing Manager

Nicole Wall is the new Marketing Manager for the Madison City Chess League. Nicole and her growing family reside in Madison where they love to try out new restaurants, chase the live music around town, and spend time with their two rescue pups. Nicole’s stepson enjoys the challenge of chess and is excited to teach it to his soon-to-be new baby brother once he is old enough. Nicole is most excited to explore the sport and see how she can serve the MCCL Community!

Will Stevenson

Monday Night Chess Coach

Will Stevenson is coach for the Rainbow Elementary chess team. He also runs our weekly Monday night chess program at Madison Library.

Amber Hopkins

Monday Night and Chess Events Coordinator

Hello! My name is Amber Hopkins, I am very excited to join the Madison Chess League. My family and I moved here from Colorado four years ago. We love living in Madison. I have a middle school daughter who keeps me very busy as her personal taxi driver. When she is at school, I also attend school as a local preschool teacher. In my spare time I enjoy exploring Alabama with my family, playing games, and reading.

Adam Epling

Chess.com Coordinator

Adam is the Chess.com Coordinator for Madison City Chess League. In that role he will be hosting tournaments for the MCCL Club on Chess.com and help grow our club online. He also coaches at Midtown Elementary and is a certified club tournament director. You may also see Adam substituting at Monday Night Chess at the Library when Coach Will is not able to attend.

Jeanne Burch

Administrative Assistant

Jeanne Burch joins MCCL as an administrative assistant. She is a Madison parent of two graduates of Bob Jones High School. Jeanne helps set up and run tournaments, assists the Treasurer in daily bookkeeping and assists the Board as needed.

Cece Syarif

Girls Chess Coordinator

Cece is a chemical engineer and parent of two chess loving children. As a woman in STEM, she believes it is important that girls are given opportunities to pursue their interests. Madison City Chess League (MCCL) is a great organization that promotes chess for girls as young as 4 years old. Children who play chess are proven to have problem solving skills as well as significant improvement in visual memory, attention span, and spatial reasoning ability. More importantly, chess develops life skills such as planning ahead, assessing risks, and seizing opportunities.

Justen Alexander

Volunteer Coordinator

Justen has lived in the Madison area for most of her life - attending Discovery Middle and Bob Jones HS. Her three children are enrolled in MCS and have been in the MCCL program since 2018. Justen has volunteered with MCCL in varying capacities over the years, from running the concession stand at tournaments and assisting at Monday night chess, to being the parent sponsor of her school's team. She looks forward to volunteering in a larger role as the Volunteer Coordinator.