ST. BONAVENTURE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Sr. Vice President, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc | Naperville, IL
— Raymond S. Vogt, Trustee
Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs. A graduate from Ascension grammar school and Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. Graduated from Bradley U. 1966 with a B.A. in Business Management.
Worked for Whirlpool Corp., FMC Corporation and Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. in N. American, and international positions over 38 years. Retired as Sr. Vice President, Human Resource and Administration reporting to the CEO of Lincoln Electric in late 2004. Married with 4 adult children and 11 grandchildren. Worked part-time for 4 years assisting people with handicaps find employment.
Special Council for Appeals, Texas Health and Human Services Commission | Austin, Texas
— Paul A. Leche, Secretary
Mr. Leche is an attorney who has served on a variety of local and national boards and has advised numerous charities. He helped found a Catholic lawyers group in Austin. He is Special Counsel for Appeals for the Texas Health & Human Services Commission and serves on the board of Austin’s classical music station, KMFA
Family Office Financial Executive | Lakewood, Colorado
— Paul Birnesser, Chair
Mr. Birnesser is a CPA with a background in real estate development, investment, and construction. Mr. Birnesser joined the Board in 2010 and served as Treasurer for ten years prior to becoming the Chair. As Treasurer, Mr. Birnesser worked closely with the Executive Director and the Board to bring financial stability to the Mission and to retire its debt. Mr. Birnesser lives in Lakewood, Colorado with his wife of over 20 years, their son and daughter, and their two dogs. Mr. Birnesser is an avid snowboarder and adult ice hockey player.
Lorton, Virginia
— Joseph Savittiere, Jr., Trustee Emeritus
Mr. Savittiere is a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a former Assistant Vice President for Corporate Development at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). He has many years of experience as a board member in a number of non-profit organizations and also as a volunteer engaged in feeding the homeless in Tokyo, Japan and Washington, DC, among other activities. He is a past vice-chairman and treasurer of the Board at St. Bonaventure’s.
United States
— Betsy Brown, Trustee
Mrs. Brown’s worklife has been varied, working as a teacher with severely behavioral disordered children at Austin State Hospital in Austin Texas in the 70’s and 80’s. She started medical school at age 32, completing residency in 1993 and starting her career working as a physician for the Indian Health Service from 1993-1996 at Keams Canyon Hospital in Arizona that served both Hopi and Navajo Nations. Afterward, she returned to Seattle working for a Community Health Center serving the underserved, with a particular focus on HIV/AIDS patients. Later, she and her husband, Jamie Hascall, moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2007 for him to work for the state museums located there, including the Museum of Indian Art and Culture, the New Mexico History, and Folk Art Museum.
In her spare time, she loves to garden, hike with her dog, and play old time music on my fiddle with her husband who plays the banjo. She has also written an online newsletter about the COVID-19 pandemic that is read regularly by more than a thousand subscribers.
Mt. Juliet, Tennessee
— Diane Metz, Trustee
Diane Metz – 55 years old and originally from Indianapolis, IN. I graduated from Indiana University -Kelley School of Business in May 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Business – Marketing & Management. I have been employed with Aldi Inc. for 32 years in various capacities – District Manager, Director of Administration, Director of Purchasing & Administration, and currently Director of Warehouse Operations. I currently reside in Mt. Juliet, TN and have been married for 24 years and the mother of two adult children. My initial contact with St. Bonaventure Indian Mission began in 2016 as a Summer Mission Trip volunteer. Since then, my husband and kids have also participated over the various years in these mission trips. I have participated each summer since then with the exception of the two Covid years.
Attorney at Law | Rio Rancho, New Mexico
— William Tryon, Trustee Emeritus
Mr. Tryon is an attorney in both private and criminal practice. He is a former Albuquerque Assistant City Attorney. A graduate of the United States Military Academy and University of New Mexico.Mr. Tryon is a veteran volunteer on numerous city commissions, involved in public service projects.
Austin, Texas
— Tom Valentine, Trustee
After a 30 year career at the state and federal level, serving Texas and individuals with health and human service needs, Tom joined Texas Insight in October of 2012. He began his career as a special education teacher, teaching deaf-blind, severely disabled children. With the passage of federal legislation guaranteeing free appropriate education for all students, Tom joined the Texas Education agency where he assisted local school districts to develop the capability of serving all their children as required by the new federal law.
Having an interest in performance evaluation and budgeting, Tom joined the staff of the Legislative Budget Board where he served for 13 years as the Senior Analyst for Health and Human Services. In that time Tom recommended significant changes to state law and agency operations that would enhance the lives of the people served through Health and Human Service programs in Texas.
In 2003, until retiring from state service, Mr. Valentine returned to Texas as the Senior
Policy Advisor for Health and Behavioral Health at the Health and Human
Services Commission.
Indianapolis, Indiana
— Robert Hoereth, Trustee
Prefers to be called Bob – married to Della for 57 years and they have 4 children and 3 grandchildren.
Bob attended college at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Westmont, Illinois. After college, Bob was employed with various organizations and businesses and also had a small stint in the U.S. Army.
During the past 15 years, Bob has led over 20 church mission teams to Guatemala, Ecuador, Waveland, Mississippi after hurricane Katrina, Gallup, N.M., Keams Canyon, Arizona & Thoreau, N.M. For the last 10 years, Bob has led an annual mission team to provide outreach work at St. Bonaventure Indian Mission.
Bluewater Acres, New Mexico
— Denise Whelan, Ex Officio
Born and raised in Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State. Married to Gerald Whelan. Obtained a B.A. in Elementary and Special Education from Trinity College Burlington, VT. Moved to Thoreau, NM in 2000 to teach Grade One at St. Bonaventure School. Since 2003, Denise has been the Kindergarten teacher. In April 2018, she accepted the added responsibilities of becoming the Assistant Principal. In addition to these responsibilities, she is also the coordinator for the St. Bonaventure Summer School program.
Seattle, Washington
— Erin Bonipart, Treasurer
Erin is a certified public accountant who specializes in tax work for individuals and small businesses. She is currently with the accounting firm Safstrom & Company in Seattle, Washington. She is a graduate of the University of Washington and formerly worked in the tax departments at Frank Russell Company and Arthur Andersen LLP. She previously served as a board member for the CRIS Foundation and on the finance committee of Assumption-St. Bridget School. In her free time, Erin likes to cook, ski and travel with her husband and two teenagers.
