During the annual NCEA convention and convocation in Anaheim, the association will honor five individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Catholic education. Four of these awards will be presented during a special awards dinner on the Monday evening prior to the convention opening. The Emmaus award will be presented during the convocation of the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors. Seventy other departmental awards will be presented at various times during the convention, including recognition of two exhibiting companies, Highlights for Children and Cengage Learning, for 50 years participation in the NCEA Exposition.
Catherine T. McNamee, CSJ, Award
Honors leadership in promoting a vision of Catholic education that welcomes and serves cultural and economic diversity and enhances service for students with diverse needs.
Shane Martin, Ph.D.
Dean, School of Education
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California
Shane Martin taught in Catholic middle and high schools for six years before joining Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He has taught for 13 years in the graduate division of the School of Education and was named dean of the school in 2005. He oversees the largest enrollment of any graduate program and the largest enrollment of Catholic school personnel of any university in the country.
Martin heads the Catholic Schools Research Project, an initiative funded and supported by the Catholic Education Foundation of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The project researches and analyzes the long-term results of Catholic schools, especially in educating poor and marginalized students.
He is the author of two NCEA-published books and has contributed to many peer-reviewed publications on cultural diversity in Catholic schools, technology and learning, social justice in education and multicultural education.
Martin also has become a leader in the larger community surrounding Loyola Marymount, including service to the Los Angeles Unified School District and the charter school movement in the city. Recently he was appointed to the commission of Teacher Credentialing, representing all of the independent schools in California.
C. Albert Koob Merit Award
Honors a distinguished Catholic educator who has made extraordinary contributions on a regional or national level.
Most Rev. Richard J. Malone
Bishop of Portland in Maine
Portland, Maine
Most Rev. Richard Malone has a lifetime of involvement with Catholic education as a
teacher or professor at the high school, college and seminary level and as a college chaplain. He served as a diocesan director of religious education and as secretary of education, during which he oversaw all educational activities in the Archdiocese of Boston.
A priest since 1972, he was ordained to the episcopacy in 2000 for the Archdiocese of Boston. He was installed as bishop of Portland in 2004. Since becoming a bishop, he has continued his support of Catholic education through extensive committee service for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and through numerous speaking engagements, many of them for NCEA, on the topic of catechesis, evangelization, the “National Directory for Catechesis” and the high school doctrinal guides. Recently he served as a catechist for English-speaking participants for World Youth Day in Australia.
Within his diocese, the bishop interacts frequently with students and faculties in schools and catechetical and youth programs. Visiting each school each year is a priority for him.
Msgr. John E. Meyers Award
Honors an individual who has supported Catholic education at any level or in any educational setting.
John (Jack) Klenk
Director, Office of Non-Public Education
U.S. Department of Education
Washington, D.C.
Jack Klenk began working in the Office of Non-Public Education of the U.S. Department of Education in the 1990s and has been the head of the office since 2001. The mission of the office is to ensure maximum participation of private schools and teachers in all federal education programs for which they are eligible. In carrying out his role, Klenk has given unflagging attention to the concerns affecting Catholic schools, including school choice and participation in federally funded education programs.
He scours legislative and regulatory provisions to craft language that ensures benefits for nonpublic school students while also protecting the autonomy and freedom of private schools. His optimism, persistence and hard work have helped thousands of private and Catholic school students receive tutoring and counseling services.
Prior to his current position, he was director of the Department of Education’s Center for Choice, an office that focused on expanding education choice for all students.
He brings energy and passion to the task of finding ways to make private education available to students whose families are not financially able to place their children in Catholic schools.
Leonard F. DeFiore Parental Choice Advocate Award
Honors an individual who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in promoting full and fair parental choice in education
Mae M. Duggan
President and Co-Founder, Citizens for Education Freedom
St. Louis, Missouri
Mae Duggan has worked tirelessly on behalf of parental rights in education for half a
century. As long ago as 1959, she set out to gain a fair share of tax dollars for parents
who select a God-centered education for their children. With encouragement from the late Father Virgil Blum, SJ, Milton Friedman and others, she founded Citizens for Educational Freedom, the nation's first organization devoted to parental school choice. The organization rapidly grew into a national organization and achieved success in numerous states. Many school choice organizations have since sprung up and some are banded together in the Alliance for School Choice, which has recognized Duggan as founder of the movement.
A crowning achievement of the movement was the U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled that the use of state tax funds for religious schools, chosen by parents, is not in violation of the Constitution.
Duggan is an accomplished writer and public speaker who has participated in countless forums and legislative hearings throughout the years. President Ronald Reagan appointed her to the President’s Advisory Council on Adult Education and she also served on the Missouri Governor’s Task Force on Education.
Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis
Honors an individual who has exercised outstanding national leadership in the field of catechesis, one who consistently has generated significant contributions to the mission of spreading the Gospel, including writing, publishing and teaching. Presented by the National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors.
Joseph P. Sinwell, D.Min.
Foster, Rhode Island
Joseph P. Sinwell has spent the last 40 years engaged in the ministry of catechesis as a parish catechist, parish DRE, diocesan staff person, diocesan director and speaker and writer on issues in catechesis and initiation. For more than 34 years, he was diocesan director of religious education and director of the catechumenate in the Diocese of Providence. He retired from diocesan work in 2008 and currently is a catechetical consultant, diocesan and regional speaker on catechetical issues and the RCIA and a writer for national magazines and journals.
Sinwell is author, editor or co-editor of seven books on the catechumenate and initiation, including the three-volume work “Breaking Open the Word of God: Cycle A, B, C,” now in its third edition. He has published more than 50 articles in national magazines and journals.
He is a founding member of the North American Forum on the Catechumenate. He was chairman of the NCEA Department of Religious Education executive committee and a member of the NCEA board of directors. For more than 30 years, he was an active member and leader in the New England Conference of Diocesan Directors.
Department Awards
Elementary Schools
NCEA Distinguished Principal/Dr. Robert J. Kealey Award
Joann Borchetta
St. Cecilia School
Stamford, Connecticutt
Sister Joan DiRienzo, MPF
St. Bernadette School
Brooklyn, New York
Sister William Adele Metcalfe, SSJ
Saint Luke the Evangelist School
Glenside, Pennsylvania
Barbara A. Cole
St. John Neumann Catholic School
Columbia, South Carolina
Joan Hutson
St. Gerard Majella School
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mary E. Stratford
All Saints School
Cincinnati, Ohio
Sharon K. Weiss
St. Patrick School
Washington, Illinois
Kathleen M. O'Hara
St. Vincent de Paul School
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Mary Jane Koberlein
St. Gerard Majella School
Kirkwood, Missouri
Leslie A. Shultz-Crist
St. Ambrose Catholic School
Tucson, Arizona
Cynthia M. Meek
St. Francis Parish School
Bakersfield, California
Sister Miriam Farrell, PBVM, Distinguished Teacher Award
Lydia Forgetta-Sheffield
Our Lady of Mercy School
Madison, Connecticut
Mary Ann Margrey
Augustinian Academy
Carthage, New York
Lorraine Ford
Our Lady Queen of Peace School
Hewitt, New Jersey
Elizabeth Eubanks
St. Mark Catholic School
Boynton Beach, Florida
Clarice Casper
St. Agnes School
Louisville, Kentucky
Lisa Driggers
St. James White Oak
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mary J. Quish
St. Athanasius School
Evanston, Illinois
Amy L. Gallus
Guardian Angels School
Chaska, Minnesota
Jane Northrup
Mazzuchelli Catholic Middle School
Dubuque, Iowa
Ula Jean Stucka
St. Laurence Catholic School
Sugar Land, Texas
Janet McLoughlin Burke
St. Veronica Catholic School
South San Francisco, California
Maryanne Obersinner
O'Hara Catholic School
Eugene, Oregon
Distinguished Pastor Award
Rev. John D. Fleckenstein
St. Joseph Church
Battle Creek, Michigan
Rev. Craig F. Harrison
St. Francis of Assisi Parish
Bakersfield, California
Msgr. Robert Hartnett
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish
Baltimore, Maryland
Msgr. George Hundt
St. Anthony Church
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Rev. Richard G. Lavalley
St. Francis Xavier Parish
Winooski, Vermont
Rev. Joseph R. Paquette
St. Teresa of the Child Jesus
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Rev. William C. Schooler
Saint Pius X Catholic Church
Granger, Indiana
Msgr. Kenneth Schwanger
St. Jerome Catholic Church
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Rev. Patrick J. Sheedy
Blessed Trinity Catholic Church
Ocala, Florida
Rev. John Siemianowski
St. Agnes Parish
Chicago Heights, Illinois
Msgr. Joseph E. Strickland, JCL
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Tyler, Texas
Rev. Andrew J. Umberg
St. William Parish
Cincinnati, Ohio
Msgr. William L. Young
St. Vincent de Paul Church
Houston, Texas
Distinguished Home and School Association Award
In honor of Maxine J. Blader Donahue
Families Supporting Faculty
St. Joan of Arc School
Indianapolis, Indiana
Jamie Pachciarz, Home & School Association President
Mary Pat Sharpe, Principal
St. Matthew Home and School Association
St. Matthew School
Gahanna, Ohio
Susan Mulligan, Home & School Association President
Carole Marsh, Principal
Queen of Angels Commons Group
Queen of Angels Elementary School
Chicago, Illinois
Thomas Dugard, Home & School Association President
Julia Kelly, Principal
St. John’s Academy Parent Teacher Guild
St. John’s Academy
Hillsdale, New Jersey
Annette Gallagher, Home & School Association President
Elizabeth Viola, Principal
Secondary Schools
Catholic Secondary Education Award
Nancy Coonis
Notre Dame Academy
Los Angeles, California
James P. Franz
Bishop T.K. Gorman Catholic School
Tyler, Texas
Brother Eladio Gonzalez, FMS
Christopher Columbus High School
Miami, Florida
Charles Lee
Blanchet Catholic School
Salem, Oregon
William C. McGahan
North Platte Catholic Schools
North Platte, Nebraska
Linda Messina
St. Joseph Academy
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Tom Otten
Elder High School
Cincinnati, Ohio
Michael J. Guerra Leadership Award
Anthony Bryk
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Stanford, California
Religious Community Leadership and Service Award
Order of Friar Servants of Mary, The Servites
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
Department of Religious Education
Mustard Seed Award
Nancy M. Denhart
St. Paul and Christ the King Parishes
Athens, Ohio
Paula Martinez
Holy Cross Parish
Dallas, Texas
Sister Martha Otterstedt, PBVM
St. Theresa Parish
Bronx, New York
Religious Education Excellence Award
Sandy Belleque
Sacred Heart-St. Louis Parish
Gervais, Oregon
Irene Coyle
St. Christopher’s Parish
Red Hook, New York
Dawn Mayer
Holy Family Parish
Inverness, Illinois
Sister Margo Shea, CSJ
Immaculate Conception Parish
Malden, Massachusetts
Department of Boards and Councils
O’Neil D’Amour Award
Most Rev. Gregory T. Aymond
Bishop of Austin, Texas
Outstanding Board Award
St. Mary Help of Christians School Advisory Board
Aiken, South Carolina
Villa Maria Academy Board of Trustees
Bronx, New York
Chaminade College Preparatory Board of Directors
Chatsworth, California
St. Cecelia Interparochial School Advisory Commission
Clearwater, Florida
American Martyrs School Board
Manhattan Beach, California
Holy Family Cathedral School Parent Advisory Board
Orange, California
St. Mary’s High School Board of Directors
Phoenix, Arizona
Little Flower School Board
Reno, Nevada
St. John School Advisory Board
San Francisco, California
Exhibitors
50 years
Highlights for Children
Columbus, Ohio
Cengage Learning
Florence, Kentucky
25 years
Rediker Software
Hampden, Massachusetts
National Catholic Educational Association
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