Board of Directors

Sister Patricia Fadden IHM

Board President

My professional service has all taken place within the boundaries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  After teaching class and music in two parish elementary schools, I taught math and served as an administrator in three diocesan high schools and the central office in Philadelphia.  In 1999, I moved to direct service to the “family”.  – the Congregation –  in Villa Maria Academy High School, Immaculata University, and now, Villa Maria House of Studies. I was introduced to the Literacy Center here, and have been honored to support its mission for these six years. 

Dr. Mary Anne Celenza, Ph.D.

Educator, Educational Leadership

For over 30 years I worked at the post-secondary level as a faculty member, department head and academic dean. These roles have engaged me in activities such as teaching, curriculum, department and program development, strategic initiatives such as Academic Master Plan creation and building renovations particularly involving science and health care facilities. I am currently retired from my last position as Dean of Mathematics, Science and Health Careers at Community College of Philadelphia. During my time as Dean, I served as a Commissioner on Accreditation for the American Nurse Credentialing Center, supervised the accreditation process for five health care programs at the College and have overseen a number of program audits and program assessments. Upon joining the Board of Directors for the IHM Center for Literacy I have worked with other Board Members to create a review of the registration process and drafted recommendations for changes to that process, served on the Development and Marketing Committee and the Finance and Property Committee. Since my retirement in July 2021, I have worked part time in leading assessment endeavors, facilitating meetings regarding environmental issues, preparing conference materials for various events relating to supporting environmental issues and individuals with disabilities, suicide prevention and dual diagnosis strategies. Working with the Center for Literacy has enabled me to reach out to a population that exhibits courage, determination and is highly motivated to succeed in life..

Dr. John E. Cooke, Ed.D

President, Bonner & Prendergast Catholic High School

With over 30 years of professional experience, I have had the opportunity to educate students at the elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Currently, I serve as the President of Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School (Bonner & Prendie) and have been in this role since 2015. Serving as President of Bonner & Prendie, I have had the opportunity to secure resources to educate high school students in a Catholic environment. Throughout all of my educational experiences, I have found one of the most rewarding to serve underrepresented student populations. I have been part of the IHM Center for Literacy Board since 2021, and it has been an honor to serve because its mission, vision, and values align with my own. The work of the Center really creates great opportunities for non-English speaking adults to assimilate in today’s society by providing them the knowledge, experiences, and skills to be successful.

Die Fall

Coming Soon

Gertrude M. Hackney

Attorney (Retired)

40 + year career in banking and finance, guiding institutions through regulatory and operational concerns. Extensive experience in team development, planning and implementation, written communication and analysis. I believe that people cannot fully participate in US society and its freedom unless they can understand English for themselves.

Matthew J. Hartnett, Esq.

Immigration Attorney, Solow, Hartnett & Galvan, LLC

I practice immigration law and federal litigation before the US Immigration Courts, the Board of Immigration Appeals and several Federal Courts including the Eastern and Western Districts of Pennsylvania, the District of New Jersey and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. I also represent clients before USCIS and other DHS sub-agencies in a variety of matters such as, but not limited to: family-based immigrant petitions, naturalization, waivers of inadmissibility, VAWA and U visas for victims of crime and T visas for victims of trafficking. I also manage a section of our Business Division where I represent small and medium-sized companies in an array of employment-based immigration matters for their employees, including PERM Labor Certifications, EB1/EB2/EB3 petitions, H-1B visas, and I-9 issues. Lastly, I’ve represented individuals and churches seeking R-1 religious worker visas, as well as other specialty nonimmigrant visas such as O-1 and P-1 nonimmigrant visas. I believe that some of my skills are relevant to the Board in as much as I have and continue to assist the IHM Literacy staff (and sometimes students) understand and navigate the ever-changing immigration environment. I’m also well versed with what it takes to pass the English test for purposes of naturalization. I am passionate about IHM Literacy because I also work with immigrants and appreciate how hard they work to learn English in order to become US citizens.

Robert Juliano

VP, Manager of Community Development & Financial Education

Robert Juliano joined WSFS Bank, formerly Beneficial Bank in 1996 in the Consumer Lending department, bringing over 35 years of financial services experience to the Bank. At WSFS Bank, Juliano is responsible for administering and coordinating the Bank’s Corporate Giving, Volunteer and Financial Literacy Programs for the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Markets. He oversees The WSFS Community Foundation, leading grant funding and interacting with local non-profit organizations. Juliano holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Charles Seminary and a Certificate of Communication for Professionals from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in Northeast Philadelphia with wife Christine and three children Marissa, Danielle and Robbie.
Board-relevant skills: Development and Finance Personal mission connection: I am passionate about the Literacy Center because it provides education and services to our immigrant brothers and sisters who yearn to be included in American society. Welcoming the stranger!

Sister Kathleen McShane SSJ

Executive Director. SSJ Welcome Center. (Previous). Volunteer (Now)

As a Sister of St. Joseph, I have had the opportunity to minister in multiple areas: Elementary Education, Special Education, teacher, Principal, Pastoral Coordinator for persons with disabilities and Curriculum Coordinator and then Executive Director at SSJ Welcome Center in Kensington where the Mission reflects the call of Jesus to love our neighbors. The Center reached out to our immigrant friends to offer English classes and other supports.

Marie Vidala Moise

RN Case Manager, GSPP

My name is Marie Moise, AKA Vida. I am currently working as an RN Case Manager at a reputable organization. I earned a master’s degree in nursing education. Nursing is my second career. I had previously worked in the insurance/finance and banking Industries. I serve as a board member at MBS (Maison Bon Samaritain) in Haiti. I am a member of the office of Pastoral Care for Migrants & Refugees (PCMR) for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I am also a member of the Pastoral Council at St. Williams Church and my community. Being a foreigner, I understand and witness what learning a new language entails. I believe in education and I am so big at giving people a second chance. As part of the Literacy Center, it is my utmost pleasure to learn that someone enters the classroom with absolutely no English and later one was able to express oneself, learns a profession, which allows them to fulfill their dreams.

Sister Rita James Murphy IHM

Director, IHM Office of Mission Effectiveness

My professional experience has included some 20 years as an elementary school teacher at various levels in the US and Peru and 35 years as an elementary principal in four different schools. Studying for a degree in Bilingual/Bicultural education prepared me to understand the different needs and challenges of immigrant families whose children attended the schools where I served. Since 2018 I have served in my current position for the IHM Sisters. My direct involvement with the IHM Center for Literacy began during the time of the pandemic when classes at the Literacy Center in West Philadelphia were cancelled and an SOS call went out asking for volunteer tutors to work with students remotely online. I continue to be awed and inspired by the impact of the mission of the IHM Center for Literacy upon the lives of all those involved – Sisters, staff and students alike!

Matthew Parsons

Vice President of Engineering & Innovation, CTDI

Coming Soon

Dr. Anurag D. Sagar, PhD

ESL Program Manager, Center for Literacy, Philadelphia (Retired)

I have been involved in adult literacy programs – and specifically adult ESL programs – for more than 25 years, with particular interest in supporting immigrant communities. As a teacher, peer coach, and program manager at The Center for Literacy (different from IHM CFL!), I was responsible for setting up ESL programs, developing curricula, and overseeing staff responsible for 16 state/federally-funded classes throughout the city of Philadelphia. I received a 2008 Outstanding Teacher Award from the PA Dep’t of Education, and have presented at various conferences (PAACE, COABE, etc; Keynote Speaker at the 2010 OVAE Symposium on Teacher Quality & Effectiveness). Since retirement, I volunteered as an ESL Teacher at the IHM Center for Literacy, teaching in person and remotely during Covid. On the board I have served on the Mission & Planning Committee, the Task Force on Curriculum Development, and the Executive Director search.

Sister Donna Shallo IHM

Sisters of IHM, Congregation Secretary

For 50 years, I was engaged in Catholic Elementary and Secondary Education throughout the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. My previous assignment was President of Little Flower Catholic High School for Girls, a position I held for 18 happy and blessed years. My grandparents were immigrants from Italy, and I have always had a special place in my heart for immigrants. This carried over in my interactions with the many immigrant families of Little Flower, as I sought scholarship opportunities for these first-generation students to benefit from a Catholic education through the generosity of compassionate Alumnae and friends of the school. It is a privilege to serve on the Board with such dedicated individuals and to support my Congregation’s mission at the IHM Center for Literacy and the great work being accomplished there.

Sister Monica Therese Sicilia IHM

Sisters of IHM, Council Member, Literacy Liaison

I presently serve as a General Council member for the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Most of my professional ministry has been serving as educator and administrator in elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Allentown Diocese and the Diocese of Connecticut. Before being elected to congregational leadership, I served as an instructor of Interactive Digital Media and Design and Vice-President of Marketing at Communication at Immaculata University. I am in awe at the amazing work performed each day at the IHM Center and am so passionate about advancing the IHM Centers strategic goals.

Linda M. Liberi Toner

Teacher in Catholic school system for 43 years

My professional life involved teaching – for 43 years! I worked St. Clement School, Holy Spirit, St. Charles Borromeo School in Drexel Hill; Archbishop Prendergast in Drexel Hill, and the combined school: Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast High School. While at home to raise my children, I worked for the STS service and as a classroom substitute in various public schools in the Upper Darby School District. I also worked at a small Lutheran School in Havertown. My daughter (for whom I could not find a kindergarten that had room for her at that time) was attending Kindergarten there. I learned a lot from staff and the students. I worked with students who were new to the country and struggling to learn our language. Many of them assisted their parents, who were also struggling with English. It was not unusual to welcome the parents who brought their children to parent conferences and other school activities. My own mom went to kindergarten speaking little English (since her parents spoke Italian at home) and she often told us how much she appreciated her Kindergarten teacher, who, in an attempt to help my mom learn English, sent her to buy her lunch at a nearby store every day. Her parents told me that her father read every school book she brought home. I am happy to know that even my small part in working with the Literacy Center is helping families who are trying to make lives for themselves and their families in this country.

Mary W. Treisbach

Marketing Communications Consultant, Self Employed Consultant 24 years; Subaru of America, Inc. 15 years

For 24 years as a self-employed consultant, I facilitated strategic planning for diverse organizations; conducted market research on a wide variety of products and services; and wrote brochures, newsletters and corporate communications. My prior corporate experience includes 15 years at the national headquarters of Subaru of America, Inc., where I was part of the executive team responsible for the company turnaround. At Subaru, my experience included strategy development and implementation, communications, advertising, niche marketing, new product development/launch and customer satisfaction/customer service initiatives. My appreciation for the immigrant experience is from my Mom, who came here from Austria via Canada. My esteem for the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary stretches back to first grade, when Sister Marie Timothy, IHM taught us the “sound train” in reading. IHM sisters provided a solid foundation throughout grade school (St. Patrick, Norristown) and high school (Bishop Kenrick). Being a Board member provides an opportunity to support new immigrants to this country and extend the offer to do the same to my network.

Michael Vail

Mike Vail has worked in the fields of adult education, human service, and workforce development for most of his adult life. In that time, he has taught English and drama at the high school and college levels; instructed and counseled at-risk adolescent students; developed and written curricula; initiated after school programs for children and evening programs for working adults; recruited, trained, and supported volunteer tutors; overhauled the orientation, training, and supervision of professional instructors; and facilitated professional development modules for the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Mayor’s Commission on Literacy (modules: Volunteer Training, Assessment, Case Management, Project Based Learning, Writing, and New Teacher Training). After moving up to State College, he oversaw the Career & Family Pathways programs in the College of Education Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy where he saw ABE, GED and ESL programs in a 3 county area including a Peer Mentoring program at the Muncy State Correctional. Mike is currently working with SEIU’s Education & Training program assisting nursing home staff in Central PA access & utilize their union benefits.