CAFM Announces New Leadership Team
The board of directors of Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs announces upcoming changes to the school’s administration: a fond farewell to its founding headmaster, Chris Moore, and an enthusiastic welcome to its new leadership team, Headmaster David “Charlie” Johnson and Executive Director Alicia Carff.
After serving the school from its inception, first as a founding board member and then as founding headmaster, Mr. Moore is moving out of town to care for extended family. Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs thanks Mr. Moore for his selfless work building the fledgling school, his daily oversight of all school operations, and his dedicated efforts to train its students in wisdom and virtue.
The school's new headmaster, David “Charlie” Johnson, served as the humanities teacher during Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs’ inaugural year, sharing with its students the love of Jesus and a deep appreciation for the Catholic liberal arts tradition. As headmaster, he will oversee the school’s academics and student life and will continue to teach several classes.
Raised a Protestant Christian, he has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Apologetics from Luther Rice University. His university studies first led him on his path to the Catholic Church, a path that continued as he developed a devotion to Our Lady. His journey to Rome found an intellectual foothold in the writings of Peter Kreeft, C.S. Lewis, and G.K. Chesterton, and he entered the Catholic Church in 2014. Mr. Johnson believes that “the primary task of a Catholic educator is to lead young people to encounter the living God and become aware of His great love for them.”
In addition to teaching at Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs last year, Mr. Johnson served as the men’s leader for Catholic Argos campus ministry at the University of West Florida. Before becoming a teacher, Mr. Johnson worked as a law firm operations coordinator and gained valuable experience as a financial paraplanner. He also has extensive volunteer experience in youth ministry, co-teaching parish faith formation and, together with his wife, supervising youth pilgrimages to Italy and Poland.
Mr. Johnson currently is completing his training for a Certificate in Spiritual Direction with the Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spiritual Direction. An avid reader who loves learning and sharing what he has learned, Mr. Johnson felt drawn from an early age to be an educator. It was in the early stages of training in spiritual direction, however, that Mr. Johnson first felt a strong call from the Holy Spirit to teach. He was excited to discover a new high school forming in Pensacola with G.K. Chesterton as its patron, seeing in its curriculum the kind of education he would want for his own children. He has been accepted into the University of Dallas Graduate School in Classical Education, where he will pursue a master’s degree through their online program.
Mr. Johnson and his wife, Katie, have three young children. Mrs. Katie Johnson is the campus ministry coordinator for Catholic Argos at UWF and will teach art at Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs this coming school year.
As the executive director for Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs, Alicia Carff will manage the business aspects of the school, from enrollment and financial aid to health and safety compliance, and nearly everything in between. This year, she has volunteered on the recruiting, fundraising, and gala planning committees for Chesterton Academy of The Florida Martyrs, as well as serving on its board of directors.
Mrs. Carff holds a B.S.B.A. in Marketing Research and enjoys thinking outside the box to find creative solutions and streamline organizational processes. She has a passion for sharing the beauty of the Catholic faith with families, beginning with youth and children, who are often the greatest evangelists for their parents.
Over the past five years, Mrs. Carff has worked closely with families through the faith formation program at St. Paul parish. As the director of faith formation for three years, she coordinated baptisms, elementary faith formation, Sacramental preparation, and summer catechesis programming. During this time, she also established the parish’s Catechesis of the Good Shepherd chapter and went on to serve as its coordinator for the next two years. Through this ministry, Mrs. Carff witnessed the magnitude of the young child’s relationship with Christ. Over the past two decades, she has also been involved in several other ministries, including high school youth group, Women’s ACTS Ministry, and the diocesan Lay Formation Institute.
Mrs. Carff and her husband, John, have been married for 15 years and have four children. She and her family enjoy creating art together, including drawing, painting, and crafting. They also love to travel to both historic and natural landmarks, where they can be found camping, fishing, hiking, and exploring God’s creation together.
Please warmly welcome and pray for Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Carff and their families that they enjoy a smooth transition.
