Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame
Dr. Katy Lichon serves as the Director for the English as a New Language (ENL) Program, the Director of the Catholic School Advantage (CSA), and is an Associate Teaching Professor with ACE Teaching Fellows. In addition, she serves as faculty fellow for five Notre Dame institutions: Institute for Latino Studies, Institute for Educational Initiatives, Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child, Center for Literacy Education, and Center for the Study of Languages and Culture.
Lichon is an educational linguist who focuses on the education of K-12 multilingual learners in Catholic schools and teacher education. This work has led to the publication of four books: English Oral Language Assessment (ACE Press, 2013), Our Legacy and Our Future: A Framework for Serving English Learners in Catholic Schools (NCEA Press, 2017), Supporting English Learners: A Diocesan Handbook for K-12 (NCEA Press, 2018), and Ten Days to Becoming a Better Educator of English Learners (NCEA Press, 2018), as well as numerous articles in diverse publications. She was honored with the Christ the Teacher award in 2020 by the University. She is passionate about linguistics, language acquisition, the role of maternal speech, Latino enrollment, and ensuring that culturally and linguistically diverse students thrive in our Catholic schools. Lichon has also helped to begin the two-way immersion program at Holy Cross School in South Bend, IN, which is now in its fifth year. At Holy Cross School, enrollment has grown from 190 students to 350 in 5 years! She resides in South Bend, Indiana with her husband and three children.
Retired Principal, Archdiocese of Denver
Jeannie Courchene has worked in education for over 40 years. She has a BA in Mathematics and an MA in Curriculum & Administration. She taught high school mathematics for 25 years in Missouri, followed by 5 years in curriculum development.
After retiring to Colorado, Jeannie spent 10 years as principal of St. Rose of Lima School (1999-2009). Under her leadership, she and her Development Board turned a failing inner-city Denver Catholic school with declining enrollment into a success story. St. Rose built a gymnasium, library, and preschool under her leadership and now boasts a waiting list and four major scholarship donors. St. Rose has been an ACE school since the program expanded to Colorado. One of St. Rose of Lima’s proudest moments was being chosen as the lead story in the Notre Dame Task Force Report, To Nurture the Soul of a Nation.
Jeannie continues to serve on the Advancement Board of St. Rose of Lima Academy. Jeannie has served as an LEI mentor and presenter since the inception of the LEI.
Director of Marketing and Enrollment, Archdiocese of Seattle
Kristin Moore is a Catholic school marketing expert whose creative and daring approach challenges audiences to think WAY out of the box. Her dynamic strategy and practical resources have been shared with schools across the country and inspire a more contemporary approach to expanding the mission of our schools.
After her graduate work at the University of San Francisco, Kristin launched her career as a classroom teacher in the Bay Area. Witnessing first hand the transformational effect of Catholic education on the entire family, she couldn’t help but wonder who was not in her classroom and why. Her passion for educational access deepened and her trajectory shifted. Kristin stepped away from her first love, teaching, to pursue leadership roles in admissions, marketing, and advancement in order to provide access to a larger number of students…and she did.
Now, as Director of Marketing & Enrollment for the 72 schools in the Archdiocese of Seattle, it is not business as usual. Kristin continues to develop innovative support initiatives to enrich, challenge, and expand the schools in Western Washington. She has become a true leader and advocate for Latino outreach and is relentless in her efforts to grow schools into the future.
Kristin is a national speaker on marketing and enrollment topics in addition to being a member of two national marketing groups where there is a generous exchange of ideas and a desire to develop compelling, effective, and unified messaging for Catholic schools.
Program Director, Latino Enrollment Institute, University of Notre Dame
Manny Fernandez is the Program Director of the Latino Enrollment Institute (LEI). Following a long career as an elementary and middle school teacher in Los Angeles, CA, and Goshen, IN, Fernandez joined the ACE team to help facilitate the improvement and expansion of Catholic education within the Latino population. Each year that Fernandez taught in Indiana, he was recognized by the state department of education for facilitating the highest growth in test scores among his students. Fernandez graduated from California State University at Los Angeles with a degree in Urban Learning, a teaching program designed specifically for working with at-risk children from poverty-stricken neighborhoods. He resides in South Bend with his wife and three children ages 10, 7, and 2.
President
Anne Cullen Miller joined the Catholic Community Foundation in 2008, first serving as investment officer and vice president of finance and investments before becoming president in 2013. Under her visionary leadership, the Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota (CCF) has grown to become the largest of its kind in the nation, managing $510 million in charitable assets and granting at $17+ million annually. Since its beginning, CCF has granted $207 million to our community.
Anne’s career includes more than 20 years of experience in the investment and insurance industries. She earned her B.A. in economics and MBA from the University of St. Thomas.
Anne is an active community volunteer, currently serving on the boards for Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities (FADICA), and Saint Paul Urban Tennis. She sits on the President Advisory Committees for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps and the Minnesota Independent School Forum. And, she offers volunteer leadership to the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis’s Roadmap for Excellence in Catholic Education and the Capital Campaign Advisory Committee for Our Lady of Peace Home.
Vice President of Finance and Administration
Casey Scott is the Vice President of Finance and Administration at the Catholic Community Foundation, overseeing finance, human resources, information technology, and donor-directed grants.
Casey brings more than 35 years of experience in accounting, finance, and administration to his CCF role. Most recently, he headed the finance and administration department at Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity.
Casey serves on the board of directors for Chesterton Academy and is a member of the finance committee at the Pinky Swear Foundation. He is a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo in Saint Anthony, where he also serves on the finance committee.
Vice President of Impact
Meg Payne Nelson oversees CCF’s grantmaking team, facilitating grant program strategy and design, impact goal setting, and nonprofit screening. Prior to joining our team, Meg spent 22 years in leadership at Bromelkamp Company, a firm that provides software and services to foundations. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a major in studio art and a double minor in theology and business, and is partway through the master’s in theology program at St. John’s University. Meg has an extensive background in parish volunteer leadership.
Vice President of Development and Donor Engagement
Christopher D. Nelson is the Vice President of Development and Donor Engagement at the Catholic Community Foundation, where he serves individuals, parishes, and Catholic nonprofits in meeting their philanthropic and stewardship goals.
Prior to his work with CCF, Chris was a partner at a law firm in Southern Minnesota where he represented a wide variety of nonprofits, including Catholic dioceses and parishes. He also provided legal counsel to individuals and financial institutions regarding asset protection, corporate governance, charitable giving, and tax and general business planning. Chris earned his doctor of jurisprudence from the University of St. Thomas where he served as Editor in Chief of the UST Law Journal.
Chris serves on the board of directors for a community bank and on the Minnesota Council on Foundation’s tax committee. He previously served as chair of the United Way of Olmsted County’s board of directors and sat on the boards of the Rochester Community and Technical College Foundation and First Alliance Credit Union.