Staff Biographies

Prior to joining the Roche Center in 2018 as a fiscal and operations administrator, Ana served as a fiscal and events specialist for Boston College's Center for Centers, where she coordinated events and managed the financial aspects of the department. Ana earned a master's degree in leadership and administration from the Woods College of Advancing Studies at Boston College in 2017.

Molly has served as a teacher-leader and principal in both Catholic and public schools, respectively. Most recently, she served as principal for nine years in the Chelmsford, Massachusetts district, where she was instrumental in facilitating Social Emotional Learning (SEL) effectively in all schools as approved Tier 3 SEL sites. Molly completed her doctorate in Educational Leadership at Boston College, where she also served as a clinical supervisor of student teachers while completing her degree and an administrative internship in the Boston Public Schools.

Prior to joining the Roche Center, John served as executive director of Operational Vitality for the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA), where he oversaw the organization's programs related to communications, marketing, budgeting and finance, technology management, and digital learning and discipleship. He also served as the assistant superintendent for academic excellence and budget supervision for the 32 Catholic schools in the state of South Carolina. John has a doctorate in Organizational Change and Leadership from the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.

Louis is Superintendent of Schools and Secretary of Education for the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Del. Before assuming this role in 2012, he served as assistant superintendent in the diocese, and also as director of curriculum PreK-12 and professional development for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He also has served as principal and teacher for several Catholic schools in Pennsylvania and as a professor at Neumann University and Chestnut Hill College. In every role, Louis sees his ministry in Catholic education as both an invitation and gift as he journeys with others and encounters Jesus Christ. Louis has a doctorate in educational leadership from Immaculata University.

William (Bill) Patrick Ford is the founding principal of Cristo Rey New York High School, where he served in that role for 15 years until 2019. Motivated by persistent educational inequity, Bill led the team that studied the social, economic and educational need for the school, and ultimately garnered support of community-based organizations and secured corporate employers and a school site. Now Assistant to the President and COVID-19 Response Coordinator for Xavier High School in New York, Bill continues to mentor principals and teachers from the Cristo Rey Network in the areas of curriculum and assessment. Bill earned an Ed.M. in educational administration from Columbia University, where he was a Klingenstein Fellow.

Education and Art have always been a desire and passion for me throughout my life. After graduating from the University of Memphis in 1992 with a BFA in graphic design, I learned early that my passion for both art and education would not be satisfied in corporate America. I decided to make a transformation in my life by moving to San Francisco, CA to continue my education at the Academy of Art University to receive my MFA in illustration/Storyboarding. Although the transition was in the right direction, I still didn’t understand how to create from the inside out since my usual form of creation came from the outside in. This epiphany evolved while teaching high school students for 15 years at Marin Catholic High School. There as the Visual and Performing Arts Director, I learned how to understand the value of each individual story more and more. My artistic voice matured during the many solo and juried exhibitions in various locations (Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Colorado, Connecticut, New York, Washington, Rhode Island, Oakland, and San Francisco, etc…).  The ultimate destination for me was being a part of the Open Exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco with many other talented artists. Now my work resides in Artize Gallery in Palm Springs, CA as well as a few publications and most recently Bay Area Book sponsored by Jen Tough Gallery in Albuquerque, New Mexico. During this continued time of discovery, I am pursuing my PhD in Education (Fall 2021 completion), so my platform for arts education could be broadened to help cultivate a new approach to learning which would include social, emotional, and equitable learning for all.

With my experience as an artist and educator, I have had opportunities to share my expertise in both areas with various schools and organizations. Most recently, I have been included in workshops with Boston College Roche Center for Education and this fall the Archidiocese of Omaha. As I continue to incorporate Art and Education, I hope to inspire others to use their artistic voice to tell their story and show how even though our stories are different, they still possess the same ingredients: struggle, challenges, and hope.

Laura is a postdoctoral research associate with the BUENO Center for Multicultural Education and the Department of Educational Equity and Cultural Diversity (EECD) in the School of Education at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She also is part-time faculty with the English as a New Language (ENL) program within the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame. Laura has a doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction with concentrations in bilingual education and English as a Second Language (ESL) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Fr. Gilbert is a Catholic priest from Nigeria. Before his studies in the United States, he served as a teacher, principal, and member of the Nsukka Catholic Education Commission in his native country. His research interests include educational change and policy, Catholic education, the tutorial relationship model, and formative / meaning-making education. In partnership with the Roche Center, Fr. Gilbert organized the Catholic Educators’ Conference in Nigeria and investigated the practice of the tutorial relationship model in Mexico and Chile with the Womenhoven grant. He has masters' degrees in Educational Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College and a bachelor's degree in Philosophy and Theology from Pontifical Urban University, Rome. 

Kevin is writing his dissertation on the application of Rasch-Guttman scenario scales to examine teacher candidate perspectives on their student teaching supervision experience. During his time in MESA, Kevin has worked in the Office of Field Placement & Partnership Outreach, providing guidance in assessment and statistical analysis, and playing a major role in the Lynch School’s state and national accreditation. Kevin has also worked for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) at the Center for Instructional Support and Educator Preparation team, providing psychometric support for survey analyses and authoring a report on the current state of diversity of Massachusetts’ educator workforce.

Katie served for two years as a fourth grade teacher at St. John Paul II Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, while earning a master's degree in education from the University of Notre Dame through the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Teaching Fellows program. Her research focuses on the intersection of faith, culture, and schooling, and she has worked with Native American Catholic schools in the areas of culturally-sustaining pedagogy and truth, reconciliation, and healing. Originally from Vienna, Virginia, Katie earned a bachelor's degree in Spanish and music from the University of Notre Dame.