Our common mission in all aspects of Catholic education is to teach as Jesus taught and to imitate Him in all we say and do in our parishes, schools, neighborhoods, and throughout our world. | Board of Directors' Biographies
| Dr. Ronald J. Valenti, President & Chairman
MACSC Board of Directors
Superintendent of Schools, Archdiocese of Baltimore
Dr. Ronald J. Valenti was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pa. He spent 25 years in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Catholic Education. From 1965 to 1975 he was a teacher of English, Department Chair and Assistant Principal at St. Thomas More High School, Philadelphia. From 1975 to 1983 he was appointed by Cardinal Krol to be the first lay principal in the history of Catholic education in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and assigned by the Cardinal to Bishop Shanahan High School, West Chester, PA. From 1983 to 1990 he was then appointed principal of Bishop Kenrick High School, in Norristown, PA. In 1990 Cardinal Keeler appointed Dr. Valenti as the Secretary of Catholic Education for the Archdiocese of Baltimore then in 1992 the Cardinal asked Dr. Valenti to also assume the role of Superintendent of Catholic Schools. Aside from his administrative role Dr. Valenti has taught at the university level both undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Valenti is married with three grown children Monica 35, Matt 33, and Christina, 29. | Back to Top | | | Timothy J. McNiff, Ed.D., Vice President & Vice Chairman
MACSC Board of Directors
Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Arlington
Dr. Timothy J. McNiff has been Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia, since the fall of 1995. He holds a Doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Sarasota. He has been the Superintendent of Schools for Wausau Area Catholic Schools in Wausau, Wisconsin; Principal of Newman High School in Wausau; and Assistant Principal and Director of Development for Our Lady of Good Council in Silver Spring, Maryland. Dr. McNiff has been Chairman of the Board for the Christian Brothers Employee Benefit Trust, a Chicago based national health insurance trust; a Board member for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Education, Employment and Training Committee , and on the Board of Directors for United Way, Junior Achievement, the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club, and the Wausau Conservatory of Music. He is the recipient of the John Cook Memorial Award (presented by the Chamber of Commerce for providing educational leadership to the city of Wausau) and the Wausau Public School District’s “Friends of Wausau” Award. Within the Diocese of Arlington, Dr. McNiff has been instrumental in the development of many new initiatives, including a Summer Seminars program for Diocesan Teachers, the Planned Giving Office for the Diocese of Arlington, and the Diocesan Council of PTOs. He has also gained a reputation outside of the Diocese through his creation and development of a nationwide program titled “Consortium for Catholic School Identity,” which was highlighted in an article he wrote for the Journal for Catholic Education. He is frequently a guest speaker at various conferences around the country as well as guest lecturer at such prestigious colleges as the University of Notre Dame. Dr. McNiff and his wife live in Burke, Virginia, with their three children—a daughter who is a recent graduate of James Madison University, a son attending Virginia Tech and a son attending Radford University. | Back to Top | | | Patricia A. Weitzel-O’Neill, Ph.D., Treasurer
MACSC Board of Directors
Superintendent of Schools, Archdiocese of Washington
Patricia A. Weitzel-O’Neill, Ph.D., Superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Washington is responsible for the oversight of 106 Archdiocesan early childhood, elementary and secondary school in Washington, DC and suburban and southern Maryland. The schools serve nearly 33,500 students from diverse backgrounds. Dr. Weitzel-O’Neill assumed this position in July 2002 and provides leadership in the areas of Catholic Identity, curriculum, assessment, technology integration, research, planning, inclusion and professional development for all principals, faculty and staff. Dr. Weitzel-O’Neill is working with the school community to enhance and support the goals of faith formation, academic excellence, access and service to all communities. Currently Dr. Weitzel-O’Neill serves on the Boards for Archbishop Carroll High School, the Catholic Coalition for Special Education, the Center City Consortium, the Maryland Catholic Conference, Department of Education and Junior Achievement of the National Capital Area as well as serving on the Mid-Atlantic Consortium Leadership Council and the regional Washington Area School Superintendents Council. Dr. Weitzel-O’Neill, former Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Trinity College in Washington, DC, held a number of positions at Trinity College from 1978 to 2000. She served on the faculty in sociology and in 1991, was named Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1993, she became the Vice-President of Academic Affairs. After a sabbatical in 2000, she worked as an education consultant. Prior to joining Trinity, Dr. Weitzel-O’Neill was a lecturer in sociology at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD from 1977-1978; an instructor, then lecturer in sociology at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD during the 1974 and 1977 academic years; and was a senior analyst for BDM Corporation in Vienna, VA from 1974-1975. She is married to Dr. Robert T. O’Neill, is the mother of two adult children and a member of St. John the Baptist parish in Silver Spring, MD. | Back to Top | | Susan Butta, Member
MACSC Board of Directors
Vice President - External Affairs, Verizon Susan C. Butta is the Vice President for External Affairs for Verizon-Maryland. In that capacity she directs community relations, volunteerism and corporate reputation management. She administers the Verizon Foundation in Maryland and is responsible for local stakeholder management on a variety of subjects including the company’s fiber optic build and broadband expansion. After beginning her career with C&P Telephone Company in Washington in 1979, Ms. Butta has held positions of increasing responsibility throughout the corporation. As Marketing Product Manager for New England Telephone in Boston, she introduced a then, little-known product – Caller ID – to the New England community. In 1997, she was named director of public affairs for the NYNEX Government Relations team in Washington. In that capacity she directed the company’s internal and external communications with state and federal regulators, legislators and the Administration. Ms. Butta serves on the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities in Baltimore, the University of Maryland Foundation Board, the Partners in Excellence Board, the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board, the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and is vice chair of the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland University College. A Maryland native, Ms. Butta graduated from the University of Maryland and later completed an executive leadership program at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. | Back to Top | Francine Conway
Member, MACSC Board of Directors
Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Richmond Frankie Conway has been in the field of education for 36 years, serving as teacher, school administrator, and central office administrator in the public, Department of Defense, and Catholic school systems. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from James Madison University in 1972 in the areas of Special Education and Elementary Education. She received her MEd in 1996 from the George Washington University in Educational Administration for Elementary, Middle, and High Schools. | Back to Top | | William S. Dinger, Member
MACSC Board of Directors
President, William S. Sadlier, Inc. William S. Dinger has dedicated himself to improving education for students across America for more than 40 years. As president of William H. Sadlier, Inc., an educational publishing concern founded and managed by his family since 1832, he continually offers his expertise and vision to publishing quality products for students in grades K-12. Prior to assuming the presidency, he served as a sales consultant, sales manager, Director of Marketing, and national sales manager for the company. Mr. Dinger is affiliated with many educational organizations, including the Early Literacy Development Committee of the International Reading Association. He assisted the Secretary of Education for the United States Catholic Conference with the creation of their Department of Education Office’s Catholic School Parent Associations and provided sponsorship for the Associations. He is a past member of the NCEA’s President’s Proposal Review Committee and serves as a member of the President’s Council. In addition, he served as President of the National Catholic Education Exhibitors, Inc. (NCEE) and served on its Board of Directors for 15 years. He has been recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Mid-Atlantic Catholic Schools Consortium. A member of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Mr. Dinger has contributed to and been involved in numerous Catholic causes. He has lobbied in Washington, DC, and Albany, NY, for the cause of government funding for Catholic education. He also has assisted the NCEA and the Archdiocese of New York in raising funds to help students attend Catholic elementary schools, and he has served as a fundraiser for the Rockville Centre Diocesan Annual Appeal. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Dinger organized a task force that went to Mississippi and Louisiana to replace much-needed school books for those communities. William Sadlier Dinger was born in New York City and grew up in Searington, NY, where he lived with his family for 20 years. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1963 with a B.A. in Business Mr. Dinger resides in New York City with his wife, Maureen. They have two married sons, Bill and Michael, and a grandson, Andrew. In his spare time, Mr. Dinger enjoys golf and trout fishing. | Back to Top | | James P. McAndrews, Member
MACSC Board of Directors
Chairman of the Leadership Council, MACSC
Senior Vice President, HealthSouth Corporation
James P. McAndrews III is the Senior Vice President – Tax at HealthSouth Corporation headquartered in Birmingham, AL. He is a CPA and an attorney with over 25 years experience in accounting, corporate finance, law, tax, Sarbanes-Oxley attestation, and major systems projects. Prior to joining HealthSouth Corporation in September 2005, Mr. McAndrews consulted in the Tax Department at HealthSouth for nine months as a Partner with Tatum LLC. Previous engagements with Tatum included serving as the CFO for a privately held technology company that specializes in security systems, and work with a large corporate foundation to help management establish a new Board Audit Committee. From 1985 to 2003, Mr. McAndrews was an officer at Freddie Mac in McLean, VA, serving as Vice President, Finance, and Vice President, Corporate Tax and Tax Counsel. In 1985, Mr. McAndrews joined that firm to establish its Corporate Tax function, as the then $16 billion company first became subject to federal income tax. After 13 years in the Corporate Tax area at Freddie Mac, he moved to other responsibilities reporting to the CFO, including work on the firm's Y2K century change effort, with responsibility for corporate-wide disaster recovery plans and updating the firm's finance systems. In 2000, Mr. McAndrews started that firm's intellectual asset management function, establishing procedures and policies to protect its intellectual property. Mr. McAndrews began his career with Arthur Andersen in Washington, DC, where he provided clients with accounting, tax and business counsel, managed audits and prepared financial statements and tax returns. Mr. McAndrews received his B.S.B.A. degree in Accounting from Georgetown University, and a law degree and his Masters of Law in Taxation degree from The Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC. He is admitted to the Bar in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and he is a CPA in DC and Virginia. Mr. McAndrews has substantial community involvement experience in leadership roles, including Co-Chairing the 1999 and 2000 Leukemia Balls in Washington, DC. He has a long history of service at St. Mary’s Parish in Alexandria, VA, as a member and Chair of its Parish Council; as a member and Chair of its Parish Finance Committee; and as a member, Treasurer, Vice President and President of St. Mary’s School’s Home and School Association (PTO) Executive Board. In addition, he has served the Diocese of Arlington as a member and Chair of the Diocesan School Board, and as a member and Chair of the Diocesan PTO Council. Mr. McAndrews also was named the 2005 Community Service CFO of the Year at the 9th Annual Greater Washington Technology CFO Awards in June 2005. | Back to Top | | Sister Elaine Poitras, CSC, PhD, Member, MACSC Board of Directors
Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston Sister Elaine, the oldest of 5 children, was born and grew up (except for 11 months when her father’s job took the family to Danbury, CT) in New Bedford, MA where she was attended Catholic elementary school and Catholic high school. She was taught by the Sisters of Holy Cross and the Sisters of Mercy, respectively. She entered the Sisters of Holy Cross in Manchester, NH upon graduation from high school and has been an active member this French Canadian Congregation for 41 years. She has served children and youth through the ministry of Catholic school education since 1970. She has taught grades 5-8 in the Diocese of Norwich, CT and in the Diocese of Fall River, MA. Sister has served as principal and associate superintendent in the Diocese of Norwich, director of curriculum and testing as well as regional director in the Archdiocese of Boston, associate superintendent in the Diocese of Manchester, and superintendent in the Diocese of Rochester. Throughout her career Sister has served on a number of committees, including appointments to the Governor’s state committees on Title I and Title II in Connecticut and the NH Commissioner’s Non-Public School Advisory Committee. She has served as liaison with the State Department of Education for state and federal funding in both Connecticut and New York. She has also represented Catholic schools on the Manchester School District’s multi-cultural committee. In addition, Sister Elaine has worked closely with other ministry offices in the Dioceses of Norwich and Manchester. She trained and served as a member of the Diocesan Mediation Team and trained Catholic school personnel and parish catechists to recognize and report child abuse as early as the late 1980’s in the Diocese of Norwich and more recently provided training for Catholic school personnel in the Diocese of Rochester. She has also collaborated closely with the other New England diocese on curriculum development and the annual new principals’ institute sponsored by New England CACE. In 2004 she was selected as one of the 250 delegates to the January 2004 NCEA Centennial Symposium that drafted the Strategic Vision for the Future of Catholic Education in the United States. As a Sister of Holy Cross she served 9 years in Congregational leadership as Unit leader for the Holy Cross Educators of Children, an international group of Sisters of Holy Cross who minister to children in Haiti, Peru, Chili, Canada, and the United States. In the US Region she has chaired and participated in many committees but most recently has chaired the Region’s Commission on Children. In 1987, Sister was asked by her Congregation to join with the Washington Office on Haiti to participate as a member of an international observation team during a presidential election in Haiti. Sister Elaine has done keynote presentations as well as other presentations and workshops on topics including, but not limited to, Creating the 21st Century Catholic School: If You Build It Will They Come?, “The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millenium”, justice and peace education, multiple intelligences, classroom management, assessment strategies, teacher appraisal, and on the value and appropriate use of standardized testing. Sister Elaine holds a BA in Education and History from Notre Dame College in Manchester, NH, an MA in American History from Assumption College, a CAES in Catholic school administration through the Catholic School Leadership Program at Boston College and a Ph.D. in school administration from Boston College. She is a member of NCEA, CACE, and Phi Delta Kappa. | Back to Top | Catherine P. Weaver, Member, MACSC Board of Directors
Superintendent of Schools, Diocese of Wilmington
Cathy Weaver currently serves as Superintendent of Schools in the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, where she has been a member of the Catholic Schools Office staff since 2002. She has previous experience as principal in Catholic Elementary school, and has also held educational assignments in Montessori education, at the college level, and in industry. Her areas of interest include catechesis, educational innovation and leadership, human resources management, curriculum review and revision, administrative and pastoral relationships, and community service. Cathy holds a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Studies with a concentration in Administration from Loyola College in New Orleans, a Principal’s certificate from the Center for Montessori Teacher Education in New Rochelle, New York and a Bachelor’s degree in American Civilization from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania.. She also holds an Academic Counseling certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additional graduate work includes courses in spirituality, counseling, education and technology. She is married to John Weaver, a Wilmington attorney. They have three children: Christy, Molly and John, all currently attending college. | Back to Top |
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