Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees
This year, St. Francis Catholic High School, with Bishop Soto’s approval, adopted Policy Governance®, an integrated board leadership paradigm created by Dr. John Carver. In the words of Dr. Carver, “This is a groundbreaking model of governance designed to empower boards to fulfill their obligation of accountability for the organizations they govern. The model enables the board to focus on the larger issues, to delegate with clarity, to control management’s job without meddling, to rigorously evaluate the accomplishment of the organization; to truly lead its organization.” We are pleased that our Board of Trustees has embraced this new model and our members are looking forward to advancing the mission of St. Francis Catholic High School.
Helen Manfredi Pierson ‘74
Board Chair
Helen Manfredi Pierson graduated from St. Francis in 1974 and joined the Board of Trustees in August 2016. As a former member of the St. Francis Board, she brings valuable insight and experience with policy governance which is the new procedure for the St.
Mary Ellingson ‘67
Board Member
I am a fourth generation Sacramento and I’m number six of the seven children in my family. We all attended the Catholic schools K-12. I graduated from St. Francis with the class of 1967 and I’ve been active on the reunion committee since graduation. I have stayed involved with the school both as a class contact and as the mother of two daughters who attended(Amy, ’94’ and Sarah ’97’). While the girls were attending I chaired the Father-Daughter dance for 2-3 years and was the Parent Club president.
Alison Morr ‘89
Board Member
Alison Morr graduated from St. Francis in 1989 and joined the Board in August of 2015. She received her BA in Political Science from UC Santa Barbara and a JD and High Tech Law Certificate from Santa Clara University. Most recently she served as Executive Director of Development and External Relations managing the development and marketing/ communications efforts for the UC Davis, School of Education.
Jennifer O’Brien Cooley ‘89
Board Member
Jennifer O’Brien Cooley, a St. Francis graduate of the class of 1989, joined the Board of Trustees in 2019 with a desire to give back to her community and support an organization that creates strong, independent, intelligent women. Her vision includes planning to help St. Francis grow into a fiscally, educationally, faithfully, and emotionally strong high school to serve all young women in the Sacramento area.
Celestine Syphax
Board Member
Be your authentic self, know your self worth and always tell yourself “I am enough.”
My vision for the board is that it becomes as inclusive and representative of our Catholic faith and Dioceses’ congregations and mirrors the rich cultural diversity of Sacramento community as a whole. In embodying the riches of our parishes and our community the Board will be well positioned to maximize our mission in service to our faith and the young women St. Francis empowers.
Bishop’s Representatives on the Board
The Very Rev. Michael Vaughan
Vicar General of the Diocese of SacramentoLincoln Snyder
Executive Director of Catholic SchoolsNoel Hesser
Regional Director of Catholic Schools