OUR STAFF
John Young
Executive Director
John Young was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Raised in a Catholic family, John received his BA in Film Arts in 2008 and his MBA in General Business in 2022 while serving as Director at Liberia Mission. He attributes his zeal for the faith and love for Liberia to eight years spent in Comunita Cenacolo, a Catholic lay Community that Mother Elvira Petrozzi started in Italy in 1983. From 2013–2016, John first served the poor in Liberia at Cenacolo’s St. Josephine Bakhita mission, thirty miles away from Liberia Mission.
A burning desire to return to his “second home,” guided by the Holy Spirit, led John back to the Land of Liberty as a Communications and Operations Officer at Liberia Mission. His pictures, videos, and blog posts shared the Mission’s story with countless individuals. In early 2020, he became Director of Liberia Mission. In January 2024, after over eight years in Liberia, John returned home to the USA and now serves as the Executive Director of Franciscan Works.
John likes to spend his free time watching movies, visiting friends, eating Liberian food, and (cautiously) riding his motorbike.
Joan Agosto
Outreach and Finance Coordinator
For Joan, the commitment of donors and staff have continuously guided her work for Liberia Mission. She was a Chicago Public School teacher for many years, and is now doing educational research with the Prairie Group at the University of Illinois. In addition, Joan is a church pianist, choir co-director and active member of St. Aloysius Parish in Chicago.
Emily Putzke
Stateside Coordinator
Emily is a native of Western New York and has a background in nonprofit communications, editing, and writing. As the Stateside Coordinator of Franciscan Works, Emily supports Liberia Mission through grant writing, fundraising, donor communications, and coordinating mission appeals. Before joining the Franciscan Works team, Emily volunteered with Franciscan Mission Service’s DC Service Corps, where she supported domestic and overseas Catholic missions as a Communications Associate. Emily enjoys good books, travel, and spending time with her many nieces and nephews.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Fr. P. Sumo-Varfee Molubah
Fr. Varfee runs the Catholic Education Secretariat (CES) of the Archdiocese of Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa. Father brings with him tremendous insight into the West African Education System. He guides a centralized Catholic School System, which operates 28 schools throughout Liberia. Father is a native Liberian who studied in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana before being sent to Rome to study at the Urbaniana Pontifical University. Father did his graduate studies at the Cuttington University in Monrovia, Liberia.
Fr. Varfee has been an advisor to Liberia Mission for many years. He has served the Mission as a spiritual and administrative advisor to staff and students. He knows our organization well and was an anchor of counsel during the Ebola Crisis.
Fr. Varfee is a great collaborator and conduit for communication between the Archdiocese of Monrovia, the Government of Liberia, and Franciscan Works. He is a wonderful steward and partner of Franciscan Works and Liberia Mission.
Bob O’Dwyer
Bob has been a Board Member of Franciscan Works since 2003 and was Board President for 8 years. He is a recently retired Network Engineer. Bob demonstrates a deep commitment to youth as is evidenced by his 30 years as a volunteer with the Boy Scouts of America. His mission experiences began in 2003, when he traveled to Honduras and was deeply affected by the pervasive poverty there. He has been working with Franciscan Works since its creation and has traveled to Liberia Mission several times.
Bob and his wife Kathy are both actively involved in raising needed funds for Liberia Mission through mission appeal talks and by hosting events in their home. They are both professed Secular Franciscans for over 40 years. Bob and Kathy live in Willowbrook, Illinois and are parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. They enjoy spending time with their children, grandchildren, friends, and extended family.
Monica Desmond
Child Protection Officer
Monica served as Franciscan Works’ Executive Director from 2009 - 2013. Now as a Board Member, she is grateful for the opportunity to witness the development of Liberia Mission and the people who live, work, learn, pray, and serve there. Monica brings a passion for social justice, community building, and upholding human rights and dignity. Her interests in these fields developed through her education in social work, through volunteering with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, as well as in Honduras and Central America, and through work in the fields of homelessness and child protection.
Currently, Monica coordinates a team working to address child exploitation and volunteers with local nonprofits. She also enjoys being out on the trails with her family and golden retrievers, exploring the abundant beauty of Central Oregon.
Miriam Stachowski
Miriam began her involvement with Franciscan Works as a volunteer at Liberia Mission in 2016, when she visited and taught a summer remedial reading session for a group of students. The presence of the Franciscan spirit is what drew Miriam to Liberia Mission and continues to inspires her involvement. Miriam has worked as a special education teacher for eight years in the state of Indiana, has volunteered her time for local Catholic ministries for those with disabilities, and has fundraised for the Global Autism Project.
She is originally from South Bend, Indiana, but currently resides with her husband in Glen Allen, Virginia. As a Board Member, Miriam’s passion for education and for her faith are able to come together in a concrete way as she continues to serve the students in Liberia.
Quinn Eide
Prior to his involvement with Franciscan Works, Quinn held an active role with COAP (Christian Outreach for Appalachian People) and helped in the development of several Corporate Partnerships with the Greater Chicago Food Depository.
He was drawn to Franciscan Works for its grassroots approach and Catholic roots. He works as Director of Development for Wyndham Hotel Group within the Midwest and lives with his wife, Lauren, and baby daughter in Chicago, IL.
Dr. Kurt Heyrman
Kurt is a retired Wisconsin pediatrician whom the Lord hooked on Catholic missions in the 1970’s with a month in Central America. He later made 9 medical mission trips to Honduras. Now his focus is on supporting Franciscan Works and Liberia Mission. He loves their strong commitment to teaching authentic Catholic values and to child safety in their programs. He also loves their 3-fold emphases reflected in their motto: God, Education, Work, building for the long term temporally and spiritually.
His medical interests include infectious diseases, child diabetes, and the effects of life habits and media on youth development and well-being. His free time is filled with church, family, friends, running, reading non-fiction, guitar, sketching, and yes - lots of home repairs.
Along with his wife Gail he is a strong believer in the contagiousness of hope that comes from salvation through Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Claire Kollie
Claire is a Colorado native and split her time growing up between Colorado and North Carolina. Claire took a gap year after high school and traveled to Liberia Mission for 7 months. After returning to the states, she attended Campbell University in North Carolina where she graduated with BS in Nursing. She is now a nurse on a progressive care floor in Denver, CO.
Claire met her husband Handful while serving in Liberia and has since travelled back to Liberia numerous times. Claire's connection and passion for the kids, and now friends, at Liberia Mission is what drew her to be on the Board of Directors.
Paul Lipowski
Paul Lipowski, a native of Toronto currently living in Deer Park, IL, brings extensive expertise and a deep commitment to Franciscan values and is currently the Chief Charism Officer at the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor. With a background spanning Franciscan theology, religious education, strategic planning, recruitment, and nonprofit management. Paul holds master’s degrees in Pastoral Studies and Bible and Contemporary World studies and a Doctorate in Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership, along with certifications in Change Leadership and HR Management. He also serves as a lecturer at Holy Family University and has a consulting firm, VirtuteDuce, LLC.
Outside of his professional endeavors, Paul is actively involved in volunteer work, including coaching youth ice hockey, lacrosse, and playing polo. He is supported by his wonderful family, of three kids and wife Kathy. Paul's dedication to Franciscan values draws him to the amazing and transformative work of Franciscan Works!
Jennie Martin
Jennie is our angel in Heaven. Although she passed away in April 2013 after a two-year battle with cancer, we consider sweet Jennie an eternal member among the Franciscan Works Board of Directors. Jennie worked tirelessly for over a decade on behalf of the children of the Missions, touching countless lives on three continents and raising well over half a million dollars. She continued raising money and awareness for the Mission until her final days on Earth. She was an invaluable presence on our Board and an incomparable woman of faith.
Jennie and her husband, Deacon Eddie, were members of St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Prairieville, LA, where Jennie also shed her light among many parish ministries. Although Jennie is no longer with us in this world, we are confident she is watching over our Mission children in the next. We often call upon her sweet soul in prayer to intercede for us to Jesus on behalf of the children of Liberia Mission whom she never met but so dearly loved.
We could not do our work without the donors, sponsors, and volunteers that advocate for our children with their donations and time. We give awards to supporters who go above and beyond for our students. To read about their work, please visit our Awards Page.