Team Members
The Faith and Foundation Team is made up of talented and committed community members. Many have been involved for much of the past 10 - 15 years. The Team is focused on raising funds for the new school, overseeing its construction, and sharing our story with the school and parish community.
Fundraising Committee
Adam Beaudin-Ball has been a parishioner of St. Augustine’s since 1999 and whose children attended our School. As a graduate of Vancouver College and UBC, he supports the important role that education plays in building a strong local community. Adam is a Certified Financial Planner and works in the financial industry. He is a member of the team that delivers our Wills and Estate workshop.
Mary Margaret Bentley is mother to Georgina who graduated from St. Augustine’s in 2013. Mary Margaret is a marketing specialist and has provided significant project support over the years -- helping us to ensure that our fundraising/stewardship practices are keeping
pace, ensuring good communication with our neighbours during the long construction period, and organizing a number of special events.
Douglas Clarke and his wife Alice have two boys in the school. Doug has provided strong leadership on various school maintenance issues, the most recent being the replacement of the school gym roof. He also led efforts to organize an evening celebration for the new school and provides editorial support for our newsletters. He is the President of a Vancouver-based property management company.
Geri Fujisawa has been a very active parishioner since 1951. This included volunteering in the Parish Office for more than 20 years, in addition to serving on the Project Advance Committee. She is a longstanding member of the Catholic Women’s League and sat on its executive committee for 18 years, including time as its President. Over the years, she was deeply involved in the Spring and Christmas Fairs. She has served twice on the Parish
Council.
Jennifer Ingham, Major Gifts Outreach, is VP Development for Science World and her daughter Jessica graduated from St. Augustine in 2011. She’s been actively involved with
the Pass the Torch event, serving as co-chair and now leads our Wills and Estate workshop while continuing to provide general fundraising counsel. St. Augustine’s parish and school community is a wonderful place to help nurture our children.
Robert Napoli has been a very active member of our Faith and Foundation steering committee since 2011. He recently stepped down as Chair of our Fall Campaign after
leading it for many years and continues to provide support. His three sons attended St. Augustine’s. He appreciates the fruition of so many people’s efforts and generosity and our
new school which benefits our amazing teachers and children. Robert is a chartered accountant.
Catherine Oberndorf is our Director of Development, responsible for helping to steward new school families in the Faith and Foundation tradition. She’s also responsible
for our newsletter and takes on special projects. Cathie was principal of St. Augustine School between 1989 and 2016. She’s been a member of the leadership team since its
inception in 1999 and believes that when everyone works together, giving of their time, talent and treasure, that anything is possible.
Donna O"Hara, Alumni Liaison, is a long-time member of St. Augustine’s parish and member of the Parish Council. She’s been a teacher in the Catholic Independent Schools of
Vancouver Archdiocese for more than 40 years, the last 32 at St. Augustine School. She has been deeply involved in many Faith and Foundation initiatives and provides a constant link to the school.
Lawrence Pillon, Chair of Faith and Foundation has been a member of the team since 2002. He and his wife Maureen McEvoy are parents to Madison who graduated from St.
Augustine school in 2012. He’s been a member of St. Augustine’s parish since 1989 and was active in the construction of the Parish Centre that was completed in 1998.
Lisa Hermanson joined Faith and Foundation in 2021 and is our new Chair, Fall Campaign. She and her husband John are parents to Ava who is excited to move into
grade one at St. Augustine school in the fall. Lisa has been involved in the Parish Refugee Committee since 2019. She helped to coordinate and settle a family of 9, formerly Rwandan refugees, into their new home in the Lower Mainland. She works in Group Life & Health Insurance.
Building Committee
Bruce Colwill, Chartered Accountant, is part of the Colwill family that has had a long association with the school and parish for more than 40 years. Bruce and his wife Laura’s three children all graduated from the school. Bruce was treasurer of the Parent Education Committee for many years and played a key role in assembling the financial model that was submitted as part of the new school submission to the Archdiocese in late 2011.
Linda Cormano is a parishioner at St. Augustine's – and volunteers on the parish’s Finance and Building Committees. Linda led the preparation of our parish’s submissions to the Archdiocese for the new school’s project approval. She is a professional accountant and works closely with the parish’s Director of Administrative Services and finance committee to oversee the project’s financial requirements.
Nick Maile, Project Management, and his wife Claudine have been attending St. Augustine's Parish for nearly 20 years and a member of the Building Committee since its inception. All three of their children were baptized at St. Augustine's and graduated from our School. Nick's background as a structural engineer came in handy when he completed a seismic assessment of the old school, which led to the recommendation to proceed with a new structure. He was our owners’ representative during the first phase of the school and will continue to do so during the completion of the third floor.
Vic Vela, Chair of the Building Committee, has been involved in commercial real estate finance for over 25 years. His two sons attended St. Augustine, which convinced Vic of the high quality of education and spirit of giving gained from attending the school. He is strongly committed to ensuring that the community continues to receive this benefit for years to come. Vic is an original member of the Building Committee and continues to be involved in overseeing the completion of the school’s third floor.
Communications
Brian, Communications Chair, and Sonja Moylan have been active members of St. Augustine's parish for more than 25 years. Their son, Finlay, graduated from St. Augustine School in 2012. For more than 12 years, Brian has brought his video production, marketing and communications expertise to help tell the story of building a new school. He also led the development of the Faith and Foundation logomark. Sonja has provided ongoing support for the School website for many years.
Mark Wan, technology advisor. Parishioners since 2002, Mark and his wife Jeanie have two children who graduated from St. Augustine school. The family is very active in the parish particularly as part of the music ministries. Mark provides guidance to the fundraising team on privacy of information and database security, in addition to helping us meet our technology needs.
Administration
Christine Guzman, Campaign Administrator. Christine and her husband Scott Howard have two daughters who graduated from St. Augustine’s School. She brings much experience to this role having provided administrative support for the Campaign for nearly 15 years on such matters as liaison with the parish office, special events, donor liaison and database management.
Colleen Vinnick, Campaign Assistant, and her husband Jeff are parents to two children who graduated St. Augustine School. Over the years she has been involved in many aspects of the Campaign and Pass the Torch. Colleen works very closely with Christine in providing administrative and database support for over 800 donors, and supports the fundraising team on various projects. She also works part-time in the school office.
Ex-Officio Members
Linda Arnold, Director of Administrative Services, has served primarily as financial administrator at St. Augustine’s for more than 20 years. With her background as a Chartered Accountant, she was very involved in the financing proposal in support of the Parish Centre in 1997 and was a founding member of the initiative to build a new school and a member of Faith and Foundation. She is also a leader in adult faith formation and the RCIA program.
Father Ignacy Warias OMI, was appointed Pastor of St. Augustine’s Parish in the Fall of 2022. Having devoted his early ministry in Canada in both Saskatchewan and Alberta his
coming to our parish is a blessing. In all his previous Obediences, Father was in leadership in parishes that were attached to Catholic Schools. Coming to British Columbia, and to St. Augustine’s, has proved a joy for Father Ignacy. He believes that parishes that have Catholic Schools experience the hope, joy and life that children bring into a Catholic
community.
Michael Yaptinchay, was appointed principal of St. Augustine school in July, 2016. He was previously at Ecole St. Sacrament where he was vice principal, principal and teacher for 19 years. He has been a parishioner at St. Augustine’s since 2001 and is married with two young children who attend St. Augustine School.