Faculty & Staff Directory
Steven Barmore | Headmaster Literature, Philosophy, History, & Greek
Mr. Barmore is from Houston, but has called Fort Worth home since 2015. He has degrees in Philosophy from Sam Houston State University and Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and multiple publications. He has eleven years of teaching experience in both Catholic and public high schools, and is co-founder of the Chesterton Academy of Fort Worth.
A convert from atheism, he was received into the Catholic Church in 2010. He and his wife, Linky, have three wonderful daughters and attend St. Benedict Catholic Church.
In his free time, Mr. Barmore likes to study languages, read, and play cello with his family.
Sam Esparza
Math, Science, & History
Mr. Esparza hails from the deserts of El Paso, Tx. Growing up in a largely Catholic environment, the faith was something that he often took for granted even in his Catholic school upbringing. For College, Mr. Esparza attended Baylor University where, for the first time he encountered a culture with a faith tradition that was largely different from his own and, in a few cases, even hostile. This, along with the forming of wonderful Catholic friendships, spurred him into exploring the faith he had so long let fall to the wayside and dive back in to the beliefs and traditions that he grew up with.
During his time at Baylor Mr. Esparza majored in Physics and minored in Great Texts of the Western Tradition, as a way to explore the universe that God had created, the philosophy behind what it all means, and how we can approach God through His creation.
In his career Mr. Esparza has worn many hats, working in bartending, sales, teaching, fundraising, and development. In his free time Mr. Esparza loves exploring the DFW metroplex with his family and finding the most delicious cuisine from all parts of the world, playing well crafted video games with his wife, watching movies and going to the park with his kids, and reading one of the many unfinished books that line his bookshelf.
Some of his favorite Catholic scientists and thinkers are: St. Thomas Aquinas, Fr. George Lemaitre, Fr. Robert Spitzer, G.K. Chesterton, and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Megan Faries | Academic Dean Literature & Theology
Mrs. Faries grew up in a vibrant Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas. A product of Catholic schooling, Mrs. Faries attended Catholic schools from Pre-K through college, and went on to teach for the Archdiocese and Diocese which formed her. After logging some years in the Fort Worth Independent School District, Mrs. Faries has returned to Catholic education in grateful service to the school that has made Catholic education accessible for her own children.
Mrs. Faries and her husband, Richard, have four children, the eldest of whom is a current Chesterton sophomore. Their other three children are anxiously awaiting their future days as Chesterton Crusaders.
Mrs. Faries’s favorite hobbies include reading, dancing, and baking. “Faries” is Gaelic and is pronounced like Ferris wheel or Ferris Bueler, but all the Farieses still respond accordingly when referred to as fairies.
Samantha Lopez
Office Manager, P.E./Health, School Nurse
Samantha Lopez is proud to be a Chesterton parent to Paulina Lopez and excited to be a new member of the Chesterton team.
She hopes to use her experience to serve, support, inspire and care for the students at Chesterton this year. Go Crusaders!
Gabrielle Peters
Art
Miss Peters was born and raised in Seattle, Washington, but has been proud to call Texas her home since moving in 2019. She has spent the past two and a half years studying classical art with the Texas Academy of Figurative Art, and has logged close to 2,000 hours of studio work. Most of her time is spent painting and drawing. Miss Peters' work has been featured in the Maker's Institute magazine, the Craighead Green Gallery, and the Texas State Fair, to name a few. When not working on some art project, Miss Peters enjoys working on anything that uses her hands, such as, but not limited to, cooking, knitting, and gardening.
Veronica Sotelo Executive Assistant
Veronica Sotelo earned a BA in Psychology from the University of North Texas. She is the proud mother of five and grandmother to one. She spent 25 years homeschooling her children and during that time, she taught Biology and Human Anatomy and Physiology for eight years at a homeschool co-op. Before homeschooling, she taught elementary for three years with DISD.
Veronica currently serves as a Tribunal Advocate for the Fort Worth Diocese and is excited to step into her new role as Executive Assistant, supporting Chesterton Academy in its mission to provide affordable Catholic education.
Jack Thrippleton | Dean of Students
Math, Science, & Drama
Long ago, in the far-away land of Wyoming, Mr. J. William Thrippleton III graduated from Wyoming Catholic College. Since then, he has been teaching and working for parishes. Oath-sworn to the eternal pursuit of the questions "Why?" and "How?", Mr. Thrippleton is a knight-errant for the abstract concepts of Truth, Love, and Inquiry.
Mr. Thrippleton and his family are members at St. Thomas Becket, a community of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. His background and training is in the liberal arts, focusing on metaphysics and epistemology- studies he now uses to approach and illustrate the mathematical, scientific, and philosophical worlds.
Ken Wright
Latin
Mr. Kenneth Wright grew up in the Texas Panhandle and received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Dallas. From 1986 to 2024 he taught Latin at R.L. Paschal High School in FWISD.
Reared an Episcopalian, Mr. Wright entered the Church in 1990 and is a parishioner at St. Andrew Catholic Church. He is very much looking forward to a new year at the Academy.
Christopher Wrinn
Choir
Mr. Wrinn learned the art of Gregorian Chant from Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB, and Fr. Karl Pikus, FSSP. For seven years, he directed the choirs of St. Benedict Parish (FSSP) in Fort Worth, and has sung for Catholic liturgies in the Diocese of Fort Worth for over three decades. His experience includes serving as Lead Bass at Mater Dei and St. Benedict Parishes, and providing music for countless weddings, funerals, and feasts of the Church.
A graduate of Notre Dame Catholic School in Wichita Falls, TX, Mr. Wrinn is passionate about passing on the beauty of sacred music - especially Gregorian Chant - to the next generation. When not conducting or singing, he can often be found enjoying a well-packed pipe and a fine Irish whiskey, usually while plotting his next great musical arrangement.
Linky Barmore
Executive Director
Mrs. Barmore was born in Dallas Texas and grew up in both Edinburgh, Scotland and Austin, Texas. She spent her early childhood attending the Anglican Church, where her father was ordained. After more than twenty years spent as an Agnostic fleeing the Hound of Heaven, she converted to Catholicism in 2013. She holds degree in music therapy with a minor in percussion from SHSU and runs a music therapy private practice for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and has taught music in several local homeschool co-ops.
She is honored to officially step into the role of Executive Director for the Academy this year to support the mission and looks forward to her three young daughters being CAFW Crusaders.