I am the ultimate product of Catholic Education.  Beginning in first grade at St. Bridget’s in north Minneapolis, through Totino-Grace High School, home of the eagles, onto to the College of St. Catherine, with graduate work at the University of St. Thomas.  I LOVE everything about Catholic School:  the community, prayer, liturgy, the liturgical year and our commitment to the Catholic Social Teachings!

I was meant to be an educator.  My paternal grandmother taught in a one room schoolhouse in Roscoe, Minnesota.  Her own Little House on the Prairie story.  I have  over a dozen first cousins, who are teachers. Our reunions are little education conferences.  My husband taught special education for over 20 years and as frightening as it sounds; all three of our children are in education!

Highland Catholic School means everything to me.  I have been blessed to be part of this vibrant community for over 20 years.  I have the luxury of reporting that I have never once said, “I am going to work.”  I have left the house all of these years with the farewell, “See you later.  I am going to school.”

Two years ago, I was given the honor of being one of the first Van Lunen Fellows, a program out of Calvin College, that brought 20 Christian school leaders together for study in leadership, management and visioning for our schools.  My membership in this group has been a source of inspiration and motivation.  Plus, they gave me a beautiful plaque for my office!

I love reconnecting with past students and would enjoy hearing from any of my former charges.  I have wonderful memories of all of you.

Highland Catholic School is the greatest place to "work".  I started at Hi-C as a young Mother volunteer when our children were here in the younger grades.  One summer the secretary was not able to start the year due to health problems and Sister called me to see if I would be able to help.  Of course, I was very excited.  The secretary and I then job-shared for a time, but she was never able to come back to work full time and decided to retire.  By virtue of the fact that I knew the job so well, I inherited the position and joined the staff in becoming the second secretary of Highland Catholic School.

I wondered what I would do when our children graduated from here, then from high school, and then college, but each time thought about why I would ever leave here.  It is such a delightful opportunity to work with the children and watch them grow through the years.  And now, because I have been here for so long, I see many of those who have graduated walk back through the doors of Highland Catholic not as students, but as parents continuing the tradition and enrolling their own children.  It's so much fun to seem them in this new role.  This is just such a fantastic community of which to be a part.

I worked in a variety of office/customer service positions before coming to Highland Catholic School in 2006, and I really enjoy the activity and busyness of the school atmosphere.  "Never a dull moment" sums it up pretty well.  I have developed a much more profound admiration for teachers and the job they do, and hope that I can help lighten their load at least a little so they can do their very important job.  I love interacting with the students, and will continue to enjoy watching them grow in coming years.

After earning a degree in Accounting from St. Johns University in Collegeville, MN, I have been lucky to enjoy many varied responsibilities in the world of Accounting. I have been Business Manager of Highland Catholic School for 16 years, responsible for balancing the day to day finances and operations of the school. I am also thrilled to dabble in recess duty, lunchroom supervision and facility maintenance.

I serve as the Director of Finance for Lumen Christi Catholic Community. In the days I'm not at Hi-C and Lumen Christi, I serve my other clients as Financial Director of the PR Firm, Maccabee Group, Account Consultant with St. Thomas More Catholic School and CFO for Exhibit Partners. In my free time I to dote on my family, including my wife Linda, toddler daughter, Evie, and baby son, Will. I love spending time at my Cabin in Hackensack, walking in the woods, searching for elusive grouse, fishing and sitting in front of a roaring fire.

I arrived at Highland Catholic as a summer volunteer to help my sister, Peggy Gernes, with her end of the year projects. I actually took over some of her job and summer flowed into fall and before I knew it the spring winds were blowing through the office windows. I must have impressed the powers that be because they offered me a job. As in every Catholic school, I have worn several hats and worked both full and part time. After seventeen years, I remain in the office helping my sister but concentrate my time working with families new to the school. In touring prospective new families I try to show them the wonderful learning opportunities that occur here and the safe and loving environment that will surround their wee ones when they entrust them to our care. I also hope I give them a glimpse of the fabulous community of teachers, staff and parents that has kept me coming back year after year to a job that I love.

I grew up in Minnesota and was ordained a priest in 1978. I served as associate pastor at three parishes before being asked to be on the faculty of the Saint Paul Seminary at the University of Saint Thomas. I taught liturgical theology there for many years. I was a pastor of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Saint Louis Park for four years before becoming Lumen Christi's pastor in the fall of 2007. I enjoys biking, skiing, camping and most other sports. I have a garden and love to cook. I am an avid reader and traveler but also enjoy getting my hands dirty doing repairs at home. Life is good!