Meet Our Board Of Regents English Department Incorporates Guest Speakers Into the

Back row, left to right: Ken Coopman, Stephen Swofford, Benedict Coulter, Gary Arakelian ‘88, Erica Menke, and Stuart Posin. Front row, left to right: Sister Nancy Jurecki, OP (PH&S Executive Liasion to PHS), Libby Ghekiere, Anne Zwart, and Pam Corradi. Not pictured: Sr. Sheila Browne, RSM, Carlos Flores, M.D. ‘95, Denise Gutches, Sr. Mary Hawkins, SP, Fr. Francis Mendoza, Sharron Dowthwaite Nelson ‘75, and Stacy Smithers.

Meet Our 2015-2016 Board of Regents

THe Board oF regentS at Providence HigH ScHool operates as an advisory board. Members are comprised of parents of students, alumni of the school, and representatives from the business and civic community. The Board has the authority to advise the Head of School, through various committees, in order to strengthen and carry out the mission and vision of Providence High School. This year, we welcomed many new members to the Board of Regents, including Benedict Coulter, Elizabeth “Libby” Ghekiere, Denise Gutches, Erica Menke, and Anne Zwart. Their enthusiasm for our school is infectious and we look forward to their involvement.

gAry ArAkeliAn ‘88 is a Partner, Los Angeles Office Leader, and Head of Litigation at Kimball, Tirey, & St. John, LLP which is a statewide firm that provides legal services to the real estate industry. Additionally, Gary is a licensed real estate broker and appraiser. Looking back on his days at PHS, Gary realizes just how much his time at Providence enhanced his educational experience and believes he became a more grounded and focused person as a result of attending PHS.

sr. sheilA Browne, rsm is the Director, Mission Leadership at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. Sr. Sheila is a former educator in secondary education, and is a positive and spirited leader at PSJMC.

ken cooPmAn’s relationship with Catholic education began when he was a child, and planted the seeds for his eventual ties to Providence High School. He is the father of PHS alumna, Kendal Coopman ‘05. Ken has more than 35 years of experience in financial services and was the Executive Vice President, Director Commercial Markets for Citibank.

PAm corrAdi has been a member of Providence’s Board of Regents since 1991 and has been very active in her involvement with the school as the chair of numerous committees. Pam is a financial advisor specializing in estate planning, investments, and business consulting. Prior to this, she owned a tax consulting business for more than 23 years and has been an active member of the city of Burbank serving on the Providence Saint Joseph Community Board, United Chamber of Commerce, and Burbank Sunrise Kiwanis.

Benedict coulter, and his wife, Ulli, and their son, Maxie ‘18, have recently joined the PHS community. Maxie is a current 10th grader at PHS. Benedict is a highly accomplished, award-winning creative advertising executive who co-founded and led one of Hollywood’s most highly respected creative agencies, Trailer Park. He has edited and produced hundreds of movie trailers. Recently, he and Ulli launched Baby’s Brilliant, an innovative company providing educational and entertaining content for babies and toddlers, in a digital format. Benedict also has previously served on the Board of Trustees at The Buckley School, but he, Ulli, and Maxie are now excited to be Pioneers!

cArlos flores, m.d. ‘95 attended the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Psychobiology to prepare for a career in medicine. Following this, he moved to the nation’s capital, Washington, DC to attend Georgetown University School of Medicine earning his Doctor of Medicine degree. Now back in his hometown of Burbank, California, Dr. Flores is committed to providing superior health care as a specialist in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

elizABeth “liBBy” ghekiere is a current Providence High School grandparent. Her granddaughters are: Madelyn ‘16, Sophia ‘18, and Hannah ‘19. Libby is a Senior Vice President, Group Products Manager of Marketing & Product Strategies at City National Bank. She is an experienced Board member, and she is a “raving fan” of PHS! denise gutches launched her company, DKG Consulting, in 2004. DKG specializes in comprehensive strategic planning, institutional project management, and business management consulting services for small to mid-size non-profit and private organizations. Affording clients a full complement of business and project management services, the firm prides itself on its effectiveness in developing strategic solutions that are easily translated to realistic execution plans, with measurable results from the top-down and the bottom-up.

sr. mAry hAwkins, sP has been a member of the Board of Regents since 2008. She served as the Vice Principal of Academics at PHS from 1990 until her retirement in 2008 and prior to that, taught at PHS from 1971-1978. Her career in education began in 1963, where she taught in elementary and secondary schools.

ericA menke is employed by the Burbank Unified School District and works at John Burroughs High School as a Discrete Trial Trainer (aka Behavior Interventionalist Assistant). She and husband, Kyle, are parents of recent PHS alumna, Olivia ‘15, and current students Grant ‘16 and Carl ‘19, as well as future Pioneer, ten-year-old Veronica. Erica is a dedicated and involved volunteer at PHS, and she cares deeply about this community and our school’s mission.

fr. frAncis mendozA is the pastor of Saint Finbar Parish. Prior to that, he was an Associate Pastor at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and Pastor at St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Los Angeles.

shArron dowthwAite nelson ‘75 is a proud graduate of PHS and previously worked as our alumni coordinator. She has invaluable school board experience as a result of being on the Board of Trustees at Notre Dame High School, where her two daughters attended high school.

stuArt Posin is the Director of Technology at Marlborough High School and the co-founder of Association of Technology Leaders at Independent Schools (ATLIS), which is a professional development organization supporting technology professionals in the independent school (NAIS) community.

stAcy smithers is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Wells Fargo. She and wife, Denise, are the parents of Zach ‘17.

stePhen swofford is the Vice President, Client Services, Disney Digital Studio Services of Walt Disney Pictures. He and wife, Michelle, are parents of PHS alumnus, Brandon ‘14 and were deeply involved and supportive of PHS from day one.

Anne zwArt is deeply involved at Holy Family School in South Pasadena, and she is excited to serve on the Board of Regents and help lead our recruitment, outreach, and marketing endeavors. She and her husband, Peter, are new PHS parents as their son, Michael ‘19, is a freshman this year.