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WASHINGTON, DC (June 10, 2005) – Spokane Bishop William S. Skylstad, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), announced today the appointment of a chairperson and four new members for the National Review Board for the Protection of Children and Young People (NRB).
Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, an educational consultant and serving board member, has been named chairperson. Dr. Ewers succeeds Nicholas P. Cafardi, dean of the Duquesne University Law School, Pittsburgh, who was named last fall to serve as chair through the conclusion of his term this month. Dr. Ewers will serve until the end of her term, October 31, 2007.
The new members, appointed for three-year terms concluding June 30, 2008, are: Dr. Joseph G. Rhode, President of Midland Family Physicians in Texas; William D. McGarry, President of Anna Maria College, Paxton, MA; Thomas A. DeStefano, former Interim President of Catholic Charities USA and Executive Director of Brooklyn Catholic Charities; and Milann H. Siegfried, a philanthropist who was chairperson of the St. John Medical Center's Board of Directors in Tulsa.
Bishop Skylstad said the NRB has "played a tremendously important role in helping the Church confront and deal effectively with the crisis of the sexual abuse of minors in the Church."
He cited the accomplishments of the NRB during the past two years, including the development of the NRB's "Report on the Crisis in the Catholic Church in the United States"; its role in commissioning the research study conducted by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, "The Nature and Scope of the Problem of the Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests and Deacons in the United States"; and its review and approval in two successive years of the "Report on the Implementation of the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People" by the USCCB Office of Child and Youth Protection.
"I continue to be amazed and inspired by the work the NRB has done and continues to do," Bishop Skylstad said. "I thank all of its members both old and new for their generosity and dedication in carrying out this work that is so important to the Church and to all of society."
Bios of the new Chairperson and members follow. Photos can be found at the Web at http://www.usccb.org/ocyp/nrb.shtml
Patricia O'Donnell Ewers is an educational consultant whose clients include DePaul University and the Poetry Foundation. Previously, she was the fifth president of Pace University and the first woman to lead the institution, which has an enrollment of more than 13,000 men and women on five campuses in New York City and Westchester County. Prior to this position, Dr. Ewers was the chief academic officer and a Professor of English at DePaul University in Chicago. She is a graduate of Mundelein University and Loyola University, Chicago, where she earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. in English. She was Trustee, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, from 1985 to 1990, and on the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities from 1984 to 1990. Married to John L. Ewers, Dr. Ewers is the mother of two and the grandmother of two.
Dr. Joseph G. Rhode received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of Virginia and is currently President of Midland Family Physicians in Texas. He serves as Chairman of the Credentials Committee for Midland Memorial Hospital, where he also established the hospital's Ethics Committee. He is a Knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Dr. Rhode is a father of seven, married to Caroline Creighton Rhode, M.D. He serves on the Review Board for the Diocese of San Angelo, to which he was appointed in 2002 by Bishop Michael Pfeifer.
William D. McGarry is President of Anna Maria College in Paxton, MA. He has served as Vice President of Administration and Finance at Springfield College, Springfield, MA, and Vice President of Business and Finance at both Albright College, Reading, PA, and Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ. Mr. McGarry holds two degrees from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a certificate in Planning Program Budget Systems from the University of Michigan. He has held many directorships, including those of Mercer County Chamber of Commerce, Mercer Council on Alcohol and Drug Addiction, Worldwide Marketing Partners, and Princeton Rotary Club. Mr. McGarry is married to Mary Burke McGarry and has two daughters.
Thomas A. DeStefano is former Interim President of Catholic Charities USA and was the first lay Executive Director of Brooklyn Catholic Charities, a position he held for more than 20 years. He was also a member of the Vision 2000 Task Force and Steering Committee. Mr. DeStefano is on the advisory board to the New York City Department of Social Services and was president of the board of the SS Joachim and Anne Nursing Home. He was also on the regional board of St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers of New York and Fidelis Care New York. He was president of the Progress of Peoples Management Corporation and is a former advisory board member for Chemical Bank. He holds a Master in Social Work from Fordham University where he has also served as an adjunct professor in the university's Graduate School of Social Work. Mr. DeStefano is married to the former Joan Ellis. He is the father of two and the grandfather of five.
Milann H. Siegfried attended the University of Oklahoma and was Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Cascia Hall Preparatory School. She was on the State Arts Council, Vice Chairperson of the Governor's Art Awards, and served on the Philbrook Art Museum Board. She is past president and Chairperson of Gilcrease Museum and a member of the ALS Advisory Committee of the Judith and Jean Pape Adams Charitable Foundation. Ms. Siegfried was a director at the University of Tulsa, Trustee of the University of Portland, and on the Board of the St. Philip Neri Newman Center at the University of Tulsa. A retired Registered Nurse from St. John Hospital, Ms. Siegfried was the first female Chairperson of St. John Medical Center's Board of Directors. She was also on the Board of the American Academy on Physicians and Patients. Ms. Siegfried was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2003. Milann Siegfried is the wife of Ray Siegfried. They have six children and six grandchildren.
The new members replace Dr. Alice Bourke Hayes, Ms. Pamela Hayes, Mr. Ray Siegfried, and Dean Cafardi.
This is the list of members of the National Review Board as of June 10, 2005.
Dr. Patricia O'Donnell Ewers, Chairperson
Michael Bland, Psy.D., D.Min.
Mrs. Jane Chiles
Angelo P. Giardino, M.D., Ph.D.
Ralph I. Lancaster, Jr., Esq.
The Honorable Justice Petra Jimenez Maes
Paul R. McHugh, M.D.
Michael R. Merz, Esq.
Joseph P. Russoniello
Joseph Rhode, M.D.
William D. McGarry
Thomas DeStefano
Milann H. Siegfried