September 10, 2009

Bill May

Chairman, Catholics for a Common Good

Bill May is Chairman and founder of Catholics for the Common Good, which is a direct response to Pope John Paul ll’s repeated call for a new Catholic Action for the evangelization of culture and the U.S. Bishops call for the faithful citizenship.

A life-long devout and active Catholic, Bill’s business and professional career has prepared him well for leadership of this organization. He worked for Chevron Corporation where he had 20 years experience in issue and lobbying management, coalition building, and political action. He has chaired two statewide electoral campaigns and participated in many others. He is past president of the National Association of Business PAC and serves as Chairman of the Western Political Affairs Task Force of the US Chamber of Commerce.

After leaving Chevron, Bill went into the hi-tech sector pursuing his interest in the application of technology for grassroots politics. As Executive Vice President of Digital Campaigns, he was on the cutting edge of developing software and database management tools for command and control of large number of volunteers doing high valued campaign work, of which technology played a prominent role in the last Presidential campaign.

April 9, 2009

Gery Short

Catholic Education

Our April 9th speaker, Director Short is responsible for strategic planning, administration, and the implementation of educational services for over one thousand educators, administrators, and Board members.

His primary responsibilities include; overseeing the District’s Lasallian formation programs, assuring that the authenticity of the District’s mission works, and overseeing the development and stabilization of schools recently established to serve the poor.

Gery Short has a Masters in Human Resource Management and Organizational Development, Graduate, Theological Union and Franciscan School of Theology, and also has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.

March 12, 2009

Frank Treanor

February 12, 2009

Harry Coffey

Personal Redemption

Harry was born in 1946 at Long Beach, CA; and has two older siblings. His father worked in shipyards, and early on the family moved to Fort Bragg, CA, before arriving in Galesburg, Ill when Harry was 3. Harry grew up in Galesburg, Ill. He attended public schools. His father worked as a farm hand and his mother worked in a factory, both were alcoholics. Harry attended Western Illinois University on a wrestling scholarship.

While at WIU he met his future wife, Judy, who was the oldest of 9 children. Harry refers to Judy as his inspiration and it was she and her father who taught him how to be man. Judy and Harry married and after a period of time, left Illinois and came to California. They lived in Rohnert Park and attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Cotati, before moving over to St. Elizabeth Seton.

Harry started a Catholic Softball league and became very involved in the local parish. Unfortunately, Harry had become an alcoholic, and after his 3rd drunk driving episode, Judy threw him out of the house. While trying to recover on Dec 7, 1986 Harry looked at himself in the mirror and saw his alcoholic father. At that moment, Harry decided he did not want to travel the path of his father. This was the start of Harry’s redemption. Harry was able to put the past behind him. He lives by the statement, “It is what it is, and I am what I am”. He believes that there are something’s you can control and others that you can not. Work with what you can control. His wife, Judy, accepted him back into her life and they are about to celebrate 40 years of marriage. Harry introduced his mother to AA and she was sober for the last 12 years of her life. Harry’s niece, Kelly, recently went through rehab. (HARRY ASKS THAT WE PRAY FOR HER RECOVERY)

Harry and Judy have 5 children and 6 grandchildren. They recently experienced the death of their 2nd child, 17 year old Alexa (Aug, 07); having previously had a 21 day old daughter, Taylor (Apr, 89), pass on to our heavenly Father. The Community of Friends came forth and comforted their family. These events brought a great deal of appreciation and meaning to the term, “One day at a time”; “Rejoice and be grateful for what you have”.

Harry is involved in:

• Community involvement.
• Santa Rosa Sunrise Rotary Club.
• Sonoma County Executives Association- Past President.
• Santa Rosa Chapter of Realtor's Board member.
• Volunteer at the Sonoma County Food Bank.
• American Heart Association volunteer.
• Rebuild Santa Rosa volunteer.
• Service to the Santa Rosa Men's Cursillo.

January, 2009

Rev. Stephen Privett, S.J.
President, University of San Francisco

Father Privett began his tenure as the 27th president of the University of San Francisco on September 15, 2000.

He was born in San Francisco. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1960 and is a graduate of The Catholic University of America, the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and Gonzaga University. His doctorate is in Catechetics and his particular expertise focuses on the Hispanic community in the Catholic Church.

Prior to his appointment at USF, Father Privett served as provost and academic vice president at Santa Clara University. As provost, he was responsible for oversight of student life, intercollegiate athletics, as well as academic affairs. While teaching at Santa Clara, he was recognized for “Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership” with the Sears Roebuck Foundation Award.

Early in his career, Father Privett was an instructor at Jesuit High School in Sacramento and Principal of Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose.

He currently serves as a trustee at Schools of the Sacred Heart and Seattle University. He is also a member of the California Campus Compact Executive Board, Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Club of California, Board of Directors of the American Council on Education, Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, Public Architecture, and the Fromm Institute. He also serves on the Bishops and Presidents Committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Advisory Board of the California Foundation as well as an honorary member of the San Francisco Host Committee.

Throughout his career, Father Privett has demonstrated a commitment to “whole person education,” a traditional hallmark of Jesuit education. At Santa Clara, he helped establish the Eastside Project, a program that has received national recognition as a model program for community-based learning.

Father Privett’s talk focused on the mission of Catholic education. He noted that there are three positions of authority in the Church. The first is a holy person such as Mother Teresa.. The second is a scholar, such as Aquinas. The third is the office holder such as any Bishop. He stated that there is a natural tension among these three positions. Father Privett continued his talk informing his audience that students of USF are required to participate in various outreach programs for the poor. He went on to discuss his visit back East last year to hear Pope Benedict speak to more than 400 Catholic college presidents and diocesan education representatives at The Catholic University of America. Fr. Privett noted that it was important to not what the Pope said and did not say. The pope did note the importance of academic freedom.

December 11, 2008

Jim McBride
Merrill Lynch

Ethics in the Financial Industry

Jim McBride, Wealth Management Advisor for Merrill Lynch in Santa Rosa, former Business Editor for TV 50 and two term President of the CP&BBC will be our December 11th speaker. Jim will talk about how he and his faith-filled colleagues are dealing with the ethical and spiritual challenges generated by the present financial crisis both for his organization and the nation.

Jim moved to Sonoma County in 1971 to attend Sonoma State University. He graduated from SSU in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in physics and earned a second bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1976.

Jim has a Masters of Business Administration from Pepperdine University and was awarded the Certified Financial Planner designation in 2004, a distinction held by only 5% of Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors. Recently, Jim has returned to school with the goal of earning a master's degree in theoretical physics.

November 13, 2008

Nick Franceschine

008: Licensed to Approximate

Long-time member Nick Franceschine will share his behind-the-scenes look at the life an actuary, his faith journey and the bond between his faith and his work.

September 11, 2008

David Gervais, CPA

A CPA Meets the Ten Commandments

Mr Gervais is a Certified Public Accountant with Wright & Gervais of Santa Rosa. Mr Gervais was born in Willits, CA. His family was Protestant and didn’t attend church regularly. He did attend a church teen club and always believed in God. In the late 1950’s, while in high school, his family moved to Santa Rosa where he attended Santa Rosa High School and met his future wife. He attended SRJC before transferring to the University of Santa Clara. His wife introduced his to the Catholic Church while in high school. David was attracted to the Church because of its history, and he felt very comfortable raising his kids within the Church.

In 1962, Mr Gervais attended “Inquire Classes” (equivalent of RCIA) taught by Bishop Walsh’s cousin Father Greg. David became on convert at St. Eugene's.

David’s business partner of 30 years, Joseph Wright, retired at the age of 86.