Thank you to all the parents that have shown interest in being a part of the St.Catharine School Advisory Board. We will be electing 3 new members to our board for this coming school year. Every parent is entitled to vote for 3 people. The top 3 vote-getters will be elected to a 3-year term. In the case of a tie, the current sitting board will be the tiebreaker. All votes are due by Friday, May 21 at 9 pm.
Please use your voice and exercise your right to vote!
Nominees for the 2021 Advisory Board Election
Term Fall 2021 - Spring 2024
- Mindy Anderson
- Jenny Assman
- Nick Coenen
- Jimmy Ference
- Joe Kemp
- Jaime Lawler
- Emily McFadden
- Jason Molnar
- Gini Ryan
- Elyse Salisbury
- Kelly Scocco
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Nell Vitale
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My name is Mindy Anderson, I have 3 children and child who passed away in December. My family is a long time member of St. Catherine. My 2 oldest boys graduated from St. Catharine and our daughter Sophie is currently a 5th grader at St. Catherine. The community at St. Catherine means so much to our family especially during the difficult time when we lost our son. I would love to give back by being on the Board. |
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I served on the Administrative Team under Mike Winters at Bishop Hartley from 2007-2014 before teaching 7th/8th grade at St. Catharine for a couple of years. After having baby number two, it made more sense to stay at home with my kids so I became a stay-at-home mom from 2016-2019. I switched gears and obtained my real estate license and have been buying and selling homes for 2 years.
I love St. Catharine and have a kindergartner and preschooler. I am a parishioner and supporter of the community. Someone mentioned to me this morning at drop off that my name had been brought up for this position and after thinking about it, I think it would be a good fit for me and I would be honored to serve the school in this capacity. If I am not selected, there will be no hard feelings and I will continue to be involved in other ways. Thank you and God bless!
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I am a parent of two children at St Catharine's Jack (1st Grade) and William (Preschool). We live in German Village and wanted a private, catholic school option with a great community and St Catharine fit the bill. In my professional life I am a Principal and Co-Founder of management / IT consulting firm Wikifri, where we focus on working with insurance companies on operations, data and digital innovation.
Outside of my main professional pursuits I have served as an advisor for tech startup investor funds and have previous education board experience. From 2014-2017 I served on the Board of Directors for The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (ECOT), a virtual K-12 charter school, including 1 year as Board Chairman. I believe I can bring strategy and technical experience to the board.
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My name is Jimmy Ference and we have been in the St. Catharine community for a little over a year now. My wife, Katie, and I have two beautiful daughters, Olivia (2nd) and Noelle (KS), who are completing their first year at St. Catharine. I was educated in the diocese from K-12 at St. Matthew and St. Charles. Catholic education is very important to us and I wish to see the best for our community and children.
Prior to St. Catharine, our girls attended St. Matthew and with experience at more than one school with different approaches I would be an asset to the board. I believe in providing a safe, faith-rooted education for our children and support our teachers to provide that environment. As far as my career, I am a Mainframe Technology Architect for IBM supporting financial services customers. I hold a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Computer Engineering and intend to pursue my Ph.D. to teach in higher education later in life. I enjoy spending time with my family, house DIY, exercising, music, watching movies and sports, and taking trips.
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My name is Joe Kemp. My wife and I have four children, three of whom attend the parish school. They are the 5th generation of our family to attend the school. I'm an active member of the parish; involved in the Knights of Columbus, Alpha and Catholicism 101 as a host. Our family lives in the Eastmoor neighborhood, where we believe the Church to be a pillar.
I work as a law enforcement officer, where I uphold the same core values our community strives to develop in our children. Honesty, commitment, loyalty, integrity, duty and more personally, a deep faith in our Lord.
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Catholic education is what I am passionate about. I grew up in Gahanna attending St. Matthew continuing to Bishop Hartley High school. In 2001, Jeff and I moved to Eastmoor in order to be in this unique community. One that we knew our neighbors, the kids could walk to school and ride their bikes to practice. Immediately getting involved in the parish, I coached girls basketball for 3 years at St Catharine before we had our own children. Our sons were in the inaugural preschool class in 2008 and currently our youngest children are in 5th and 7th grade with our oldest 2 sons attending St Charles.
Since our children have attended St Catharine, I have coached teams, volunteered at school and at parish activities. Since I have been around the “block”, I offer knowledge of the past and a resource for the future.
Our parish is passionate about Catholic Education and supporting our school community which mirrors my beliefs. After the last year, we are in a transition with navigating the new changes. Our community has what it takes to come out of this stronger than we were before. St Catharine is a gem in the diocese because of our unique community, we do what it takes to get things done. Even though our children are almost out of St Catharine, it is important to leave it strong for the next generation.
In that spirit I ask for your vote to the Advisory Board.
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I am the mom of Paddy (2nd grade), Veronica (Kindergarten), Peter and Rosemary (excitedly awaiting attending St. Catharine). My husband Jon and I have been part of this parish community for the past five years. I hope to become a member of the Advisory Board to help our school stay true to its mission to inspire our kids to love God, love their neighbors and love learning. I have a bachelor’s degree in religious studies and a master’s degree in public administration. My professional background includes teaching and campus ministry at the high school level, charitable foundation work and community building experience.
As a member of the Advisory Board, I want to help our school be the best it can be for our students, our families, our neighborhood and our church. I would hope to provide Mr. Watts and our new pastor Fr. Morris with a perspective grounded in faith and practical experience to help St. Catharine remain a strong anchor of our community.
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I am a husband, father, son, combat veteran, former national intelligence officer, leader, entrepreneur, business executive, herder of cats, creative problem-solver, and stalwart catholic. I believe helping children solve their own problems rather than solving them for them. I operate well as part of a team or as the team leader. I make decisions in the best interest of the project/customer/situation rather than in the best interest of myself. I hold my children and others to a high standard—ethically, morally, and professionally—and see adversity as God’s obstacles rather than unsalable chasms.
I give my opinion openly and expect candid feedback from contemporaries, direct reports, and superiors. I don’t like liars instead opting for harsh truths over deceit. I build organizations and help teams flourish. I am naturally curious and, as has been said often, gregarious. I am social by nature and like to interact with others. Most of all, I love my wife and children with the understanding that all that I have is a gift from God.
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My name is Gini Ryan, and my husband, Kevin, and I have three children at St. Catharine’s (Finn-kindergarten, Tommy-3rd, Maddie-5th). I was born and raised in Bexley, Ohio, attended Ohio University, and presently work in Corporate Real Estate at Nationwide Insurance.
Having myself grown up attending public school (Bexley) and Kevin Catholic (St. Catharine and then St. Charles), we spent a lot of time discussing where we wanted to send our children. We determine the foundation of a Catholic education was our priority. Over the last several years, we have found a home at St. Catharine’s and love the feeling of community fostered by the students, parents and faculty. I would love to have a voice as part of the St. Catharine advisory board to ensure the safety, wellbeing and education of our children remain at the center of all decisions. I would love to be a part of ensuring the high standards presently held for our children not only continues, but expands and grows.
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I would like to be considered for the school advisory board. I have a passion for Catholic Education and my oldest daughter is currently in Kindergarten. We have been so blessed by this beautiful community and the wonderful year our daughter has had and we are very excited to continue to be a part of the school community for the next decade or more as our family grows.
I have a background in economic development which entails financial reviews, allocation of funding and evaluating and addressing the needs of Ohio’s companies with the end goal of supporting the growth of communities around the state. I feel like my passion for our Catholic faith and my career background would be a great combination to offer my services to our wonderful school. Please consider me as you evaluate new advisory board members.
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I would like to be considered for the St. Catharine School Advisory Board because my experiences, both personally and professionally, have led me to have a wide-ranging perspective that I feel would be valuable to the Board. Our family are fairly new members of the parish, having joined last year after transferring from another parish. I personally have been Catholic my whole life and take my faith very seriously.
I am a mother of three children; two boys and a little girl. Both my boys that currently attend St. Catharine's School also attended other schools previously so I have that experience from knowing what works and does not work from other schools. One of my boys has special needs and I have a vested interest in making sure that the school continues to offer these services due to so many more children these days being correctly diagnosed and deserve a quality education. This is what brought us to the school in the first place because so many schools do not accept or suitably address these needs and options are limited, particularly to Columbus City students.
Professionally, I am an urban planner and currently serve as the City of Columbus Department of Public Service's Deputy Director overseeing all things transportation within the City's 225 square miles. Our family has happily resided on Franklin Park for the past eight years and enjoy bike rides, traveling to new places and eating ice cream.
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I am a mother of six (oldest 9, youngest 1), and have been a member of the St. Catharine's community since attending the school as a child approximately a million years ago.
As a pediatric and neonatal intensive care nurse with a background in early childhood development social work, it is important to me that our children are exposed to a varied, challenging learning environment that is both healthy and safe. I served as a member of the reopening Task Force for the 2020-2021 school year and work in the Children's Covid testing pod.
I believe our children need a solid education that gives them the skills they need to keep learning throughout their lives. I believe our students, families, and teachers are the best experts on what works and what doesn't in our schools and hope to uphold that positive environment for my own children.
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