Faculty & Staff Directory

Deacon Roberts lives in Chestnut Hill with his wife Hannah and their four daughters. He is a permanent deacon at Our Mother of Consolation parish. The Roberts family moved to Philadelphia in 2005 so Chris could teach in the Ethics Program at Villanova University. Chris has also worked for the Collegium Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. Chris is a graduate of Yale (BA, Religious Studies and Environmental Studies), Oxford (MPhil, Christian Ethics) and the University of London (PhD, Theology). He also received a further MA in theology from Philadelphia's St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 2017.

Ms. Bridget Burke was born and raised in Newtown, Pennsylvania. She grew up attending St. Andrew's parish with her family. She went to high school at Council Rock North, where she ran cross country and track. She graduated from West Virginia University (WVU) with a major in Communication Studies and a minor in Spanish. While at university, she also studied in northern Spain, where she deepened her knowledge and love for Spanish language and culture. She worked in the WVU Education Abroad Office, helping students from other countries navigate their studies in the US. Not only is Ms. Burke passionate about languages and building friendships across cultures, but she's also an entrepreneur.

Mrs. Sonja Civillico was born and raised in Houston, Texas. She graduated from Baylor University in 2004 with a B.S. in Biology and Forensic Science and double minors in Chemistry and English. Upon graduation, Mrs. Civillico moved to Philadelphia, PA to pursue her M.S. in Biology at St. Joseph’s University as a research fellow at Lankenau Institute for Medical Research. From 2006-2010, Mrs. Civillico worked as a laboratory manager and research specialist in a genomics lab at Princeton University. More recently, she has been teaching science at the Regina Academies.

Sheehan Clark is a native of Lancaster County, PA, where he was raised in the Brethren in Christ (Anabaptist) tradition. Sheehan became Catholic in 2014, after studying at Eastern University and falling in love with the great truths offered by the faith. Sheehan joined the Martin Saints family after a Homeric journey through the various educational systems our culture offers, both as a student and as an employee. After graduating from the Templeton Honors College at Eastern University, he started his journey by working in a privately-run residential treatment facility for boys with violent behavioral disorders in Coatesville, PA.

Mrs. Nicole Cochrane was born in Buffalo, NY, homeschooled K-8 in Salt Lake City, UT, and went to Lansdale Catholic High School in PA. Mrs. Cochrane graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in International Business and minors in Finance and Theology. After graduating, she served at a boarding school run by The Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) in a small town in Mexico called Colon. Upon returning to the United States, Mrs. Cochrane started as an Admissions Counselor at Franciscan University and became Assistant Director for a total of three years. She completed her M.S. in Educational Administration in the summer of 2023. She wrote her thesis on The Effects of Technology on High School Students’ Cognitive and Social Abilities.

Mr. Cuddy grew up in Dauphin, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Seton Hill University with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Sacred Music Certificate. Mr. Cuddy continued his studies at the University of Arkansas, earning a Master of Music in Choral Conducting. In addition to conducting collegiate ensembles, he conducted a nearby church choir, worked with choirs at a local high school, and began teaching private voice lessons. Following graduation, he spent a year in Yuma, Arizona as the Choral Director at a public high school.

Mr. Vincent Dinoso grew up in Blue Bell, PA and still lives in his childhood home. He graduated with a B.A. in Classics from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and a M.A. in Classics from the University of Chicago. He has been a teacher in independent schools for twenty-five years at both the middle and high school levels. He has designed and taught courses in all levels of Latin and Ancient Greek as well as in Greek and Roman history, Greek mythology, and Classical literature. The vast majority of his teaching has taken place in secular schools. He has been blessed to have had the opportunity of teaching in a Catholic and classical school environment for the last few years. When he is not teaching at Martin Saints, he homeschools his elementary school-age children. He and his wife, Maria, have five children. His family are parishioners at St. Mary Church in Conshohocken.

Sister Marganne Drago is a Sister of Saint Joseph, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. She holds a doctorate in Music Education from Temple University, Philadelphia, a Masters in Music Education from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, and a Masters in Liturgy from the Liturgical Institute, Mundelein, Illinois. She studied piano at Carnegie Hall in New York City for five years. Her career has been principally in music education: on the elementary level in Illinois, New York, and Philadelphia; on the high school level at John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School; and as professor of music and chair of the music department at Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia.

Lisa Eshleman was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. She moved to Philadelphia to attend college at the University of Pennsylvania. She graduated in 2022 with a B.A. in Health and Societies, as well as French and Francophone Studies. During her time at Penn, Lisa experienced a radical conversion and joined the Catholic Church through the Newman Center at St. Agatha St. James parish, where she now serves as part of the Christian Initiation team. After graduating, Lisa worked for Generation Life for two years as office manager, writer, and educator, traveling across the northeast, speaking with thousands of students about pro-life and chastity issues.

Kiera Fitzpatrick, originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, has always had an interest in the arts and the sacred, and a deep passion for the intersection of the two. Having nearly completed her bachelor’s degree in Art History, she felt the study of aesthetics to be empty without the presence of God, and then obtained a B.A. in Religious Studies from Temple University. Transitioning from a lifelong creative (theatre kid and singer) to a visual artist, Ms. Fitzpatrick has honed her skills over the past five years by collaborating with and learning from esteemed fine artists in Philadelphia.

When she's not in her home studio, Kiera can be found actively involved as a parishioner at St. Agatha St. James in University City. Her dedication to integrating faith and art extends to the rectory basement, where she has been working lately in the rectory woodshop.

Mr. Franz was raised in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. He earned his B.A. in History at West Chester University where he concentrated on American History and Education. After he graduated from West Chester, he moved to Asheville, North Carolina and worked at a folk art gallery. Subsequently, Mr. Franz moved to Annapolis, Maryland, to study the Classics in a formal setting at St. John’s College. He earned his Master’s in a calendar year and focused on medieval poetry, philosophy and ancient Greek. He translated pieces such as the opening to St. John’s Gospel and the Homeric Hymn to Hephaestus. He and his wife Heather have two daughters and one son.

Nathaniel Gotcher hails from the Midwest and received a bachelor of architecture degree with a minor in medieval studies from the University of Notre Dame. He is a practicing architect registered in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and was project architect for the new St. Charles Borromeo Seminary Student Life Center and Chapel. He has a deep passion for traditional church design as well as urban planning and believes that a well-designed city can greatly aid in establishing a just society. Mr. Gotcher lives with his wife and kids in a railroad suburb of Philadelphia where he enjoys artistic and philosophical diversions of all kinds.

Holly Guertin is a fiber artist and textile designer based outside of Philadelphia with her husband and four sons. Holly grew up in suburban North Carolina and studied Fibers at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Throughout her college years, she was a leader at an all-girls Catholic high school in Savannah for a non-denominational discipleship ministry called Young Life. In the Catholic faith, Holly has found a rich language, artistic precedent, and treasure trove of theological concepts to deepen her understanding of wool and sheep and their window to the sacramental worldview. Holly's most known for her "Sheepskin" series of crocheted artworks, which have been commissioned for SCAD's Permanent Collection and displayed internationally.

Dr. Harnett earned her B.A. in Classics from Temple University in 1974 and a Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology from Bryn Mawr College in 1986. Her dissertation centered on the study of Roman sculpture in its civic context at the ancient town of Minturnae in southern Italy. She has worked as a field archaeologist in Israel, Romania, and at Franklin Court, the site of Benjamin Franklin’s house in Philadelphia. With over 40 years of teaching experience, Dr. Harnett has taught Latin at every level—from 4th graders to graduate students. For most of her career she was at Friends’ Central School, where she received an award for excellence in teaching. Dr. Harnett is also an adjunct professor of Latin at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

Ms. Lindmeier is a recent graduate of Immaculata University, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Secondary Education and Theology with minors in American & British Literature and Communications. This past fall, she completed her student teaching at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School. Graduating in May 2020, Ms. Lindmeier received The Sister Marian William Hoben Medal for English and was named the 2020 recipient of Immaculata University’s “Legacy of 1920 Award.” Ms. Lindmeier graduated from the Theology of the Body Institute’s Certification Program and has worked for Ascension Press (Exton, PA), where she helped to develop the introduction of Ascension Kids, the company’s first line of children’s books.

Mr. David Merola and his wife, Christine, currently live with their three children in Dresher, Pennsylvania. He was born and raised in Warwick, RI. David attended Lehigh University where he earned a minor in music and a B.S. in pure mathematics. He was awarded Lehigh’s Thorburg Mathematics Prize for the most outstanding record in an advanced mathematics course. He continued his studies at Florida State University to earn an M.S. in pure mathematics. He first taught at Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth and then spent 3 years teaching and living alongside students with non-verbal learning differences and Aspergers at Franklin Academy. After that, David spent the next decade teaching at The Solebury School in New Hope, where he learned to teach Harkness Table mathematics.

Ms. Casey O’Donnell grew up in Lansdale, PA. She recalls her first distinct moment of encounter with Truth in her senior year high school theology class, learning the profound wisdom of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. She went on to study in the Humanities department at Villanova, also majoring in Theology and minoring in English. She also had the opportunity to study at Blackfriars, Oxford, for several months, where she attended tutorials in Theology, Scripture, and Shakespeare under the guidance of the Dominicans there. After undergrad, Ms. O’Donnell went on to complete her M.A. in Education at Villanova, for which she completed her student teaching requirement at Martin Saints.

Mr. Post is a guide and chaperone on the annual canoe and camping trip that launches Frassati Fridays and each school year. He also teaches Craftsmanship classes in wood working, first aid, and outdoor skills. In addition to several years of service on the National Canoe Safety Patrol and certification in wilderness first aid, Mr. Post is a professional carpenter. He worked as a teenager with Amish builders and now has a career in Residential Construction Management and a certification from the Building Performance Institute. Previously, Mr. Post served in many positions from apprentice to lead carpenter, eventually becoming vice president of Janiczek Homes, a luxury home builder on the Main Line.

Mrs. Faith Schnaak and her husband Jake live in Roxborough. Faith attended Christendom College where she received a bachelor’s in English Literature. After graduation, Faith lived in solidarity with the Congregation of Saint John in Salvador, Brazil, where she worked with children in a local favela. Upon returning to Philadelphia, Faith worked for The Legacy of Life Foundation as an advocate for underprivileged pregnant women. She then worked in a community serving individuals with autism.

More recently, Faith served as the Director of Institutional Advancement for Regina Coeli Academy in Abington, PA, for five years, where she discovered her passion for classical Catholic education.

Mr. Blair Tiger is a retired US Army officer, Catholic educator, and administrator. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He was commissioned as an Infantry Officer. Over the next 22 years, he served overseas and across the United States at various postings. His final assignment was back to West Point, where he served as both faculty and staff. Upon retirement Lieutenant Colonel, Mr. Tiger and his family moved to Peru, Illinois, to teach and coach at St. Bede Academy, a Benedictine Order prep school. In 2015, Mr. Tiger and his family moved to the Lehigh Valley to become the Principal at Allentown Catholic High School. Mr. Tiger also has a Masters of Arts from Webster University. He is working on his dissertation for his Ph.D. from Benedictine University.

Rose Tomassi grew up in Portland, Oregon and has lived in New York City for the past eight years. In college at Ave Maria University, Rose majored in Literature. She entered a PhD program in English at the CUNY Graduate Center in NYC, where she also had the opportunity to teach Composition and Literature classes at City College of New York and New York City College of Technology. Eventually she decided to leave graduate school with a Masters degree in order to pursue a career in high school teaching. For the past several years, she has worked at St. Joseph High School, a small all-girls Catholic school in Brooklyn, NY.