Board and Staff

Below is the list of all current board and staff.

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Ranae Bartlett

Interim Executive Director

MCCL is hiring! If you are interested in becoming the next Executive Director, send a cover letter and resume to mccl.director@gmail.com

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.

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.

Kelli Washburn

Special Events Coordinator

Kelli joins the MCCL staff in 2021 as our Special Events Coordinator. In that role you will see Kelli helping during special events and chess tournaments throughout the year and performing administrative scheduling. Kelli is a dental hygienist. She and her husband Pete have four kids Max(BJHS) Jillian(DMS) Lewis & Miles (both at RES). She likes to spend her time reading, hiking, traveling and doing almost any crafting project she can find. Her son Lewis started playing chess when they moved to Madison and she is excited to be more involved with the program.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Jeff Meyer

Scholastic Chess Coordinator

Coordinates activities involving all scholastic (K-12) chess players including Monday night meetings at the Madison Library. Jeff Meyer is a retired systems engineer from The Boeing Company, where he provided Research, Development and Technology support to key franchise programs for more than 30 years. Jeff’s boys, Jack and Cooper, joined the chess club in 3rd Grade and it ignited in them a passion for the game. “As their chess skills improved, I noticed parallel improvement in school and home life. They have become more patient, thoughtful, and diligent in completing homework and chores, and they’ve grown in their consideration for others,” Jeff says. Jeff’s daughter Kate joined the chess team in 4th grade simply because of the fun she had tagging along with her brothers at events. “The Madison City Chess League continues to be pivotal in providing the academic structure and resources for my kids success,” he continues. “I want to encourage and provide opportunities for other children in our community to achieve similar success.”

Bradley Denton

Chess Coach Coordinator

MCCL is pleased to announce that FM Bradley Denton has accepted the position of Chess Coach Coordinator. Bradley will be working with our MCCL coaches to help develop them as coaches and players. Bradley will lead periodic meetings with our MCCL coaches where they can share ideas and best practices and learn from each other. Bradley is the highest rated chess player in Alabama, and our entire organization will benefit greatly from his expertise.