Board of Directors
Mrs. Anna Freska has practiced law in the United States and Hungary for over twenty years. A native English, Polish, and German speaker, she has also taught in Switzerland, China, and Japan, in addition to serving on the boards of numerous nonprofit organizations. She lives with her family in Great Falls.
Mr. James Kelly is passionate about Catholic education. Originally a New Yorker, he is still adapting to the southern lifestyle. For over 20 years, he has operated Paladin Financial, an investment practice, and has been fortunate to serve on a variety of non-profit boards as well as assisted in establishing two Catholic private schools. In his spare time he enjoys coaching youth sports, including the Chelsea Knights. He and his wife Ellen and their 6 kids have called Front Royal home for the last 25 years.
Mr. Paul Lagarde is a lawyer with over twenty years of experience and serves as the COO and General Counsel for CLD Partners, a software development company that specializes in business technology. He and his wife have five children and live in Winchester.
Father Bjorn Lundberg is the pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Winchester. Father Bjorn was raised in an Army family, and grew up in Germany, Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington State. After graduating from Christendom College with a B.A. in History, and interning at Vatican Radio in Rome, Father was an Associate Producer for two years at the Eternal Word Television Network in Irondale, Alabama.
Mr. Douglas McCarthy is an attorney and founding Partner and CEO of the law firm McCarthy & Akers, PLC. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Chelsea Academy and the Chelsea Academy Foundation. Doug has also served on the boards of numerous other non-profit organizations, including Lord Fairfax Community College, Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, New Eve Maternity Home, and iVerbum, Inc., the creator of the iPieta app, one of the highest rated and most downloaded Catholic apps for iPhone and Android. Doug was elected to the Frederick County Board of Supervisors in 2017 and 2019. With the assistance of his wife and children, he operates Aisling Hill Farm, LLC, an organic farm that has been in Doug’s family for over 180 years. Doug and his wife Megan have been blessed with twelve children, half of whom are current or graduated Chelsea students.
Mr. Patrick David McCarthy, Jr. has been teaching Politics, Government and American History for more than 40 years. He began his career at St. John’s College Christian Brothers High School, in Washington, DC and retired from full-time teaching from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Alexandria, VA after seventeen years. He currently teaches part-time at the Classical Cottage School, in Winchester, Virginia. Patrick lives in Winchester, Virginia and is a parishioner of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.
Merylann “Mimi” J. Schuttloffel, Ph.D. is Professor Emerita at The Catholic
University of America, Washington, DC. Professor Schuttloffel directed their
Catholic leadership programs including the doctoral program in Educational
Leadership and Policy Studies (CELPS) for principal and superintendent
preparation. She served as Chair of the Department of Education from 2006-
2016. She is also Founding Director of the Institute for Catholic School
Leadership at The Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity/University of St.
Thomas (MN). In addition, Professor Schuttloffel publishes and presents
extensively on contemplative leadership practice, a model she developed, and
ethnographic studies on how Catholic identity formation and cultural
influences impact leadership. Previously she was a teacher, school counselor
and principal of a Catholic school. She serves as a consultant to national and
international dioceses, and religious congregations. Dr. Mimi, her familiar title,
and her husband of 49 years, Marvin, live in Silver Spring, Maryland. Their
grandchildren attend Chelsea Academy.
Joseph Lyons is GM and VP of Services at CLD Partners. A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College in Ojai, CA, he is committed to Chelsea's program of Catholic liberal education. Joe has served in a variety of high-level corporate positions in his career. Before CLD, Joe served as CTO at Formatta Corporation, an enterprise software product company focusing on business process automation and data integration. There he oversaw the design, development and support of the product suite and also managed many customer implementations of the software. Joe has an extensive background in professional services and in application delivery.
Dr. Kathleen Kilty is the Principal of Mother Seton School in Emmitsburg, MD. An accomplished educator, she is a graduate of The Catholic University, Washington, D.C., where she earned her B.A. in Elementary Education. She also earned her M.S. in Administration and Supervision from Johns Hopkins University and earned her Ph.D. Catholic Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. Prior to her position at Mother Seton, Dr. Kilty served as Executive Assistant to the Head of School in Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School (9-12), Washington, D.C. She previously was Principal, as well as Assistant Principal and Middle School Teacher, at St. Andrew Apostle Catholic School (Pre-K through Grade 8), Silver Spring, MD. She also served as Middle School Teacher at Saint Catherine Labouré Catholic School, Wheaton, MD., and St. Jerome Catholic School in Hyattsville, MD. Ms. Kilty was also the Women’s Head Basketball Coach for five years at The Catholic University of America and served as Team Captain while a player during her undergraduate junior and senior seasons.