Mary Brownell is retired, after spending more than 30 years as a director and teacher specializing in Special Education. She has a Master's degree in special education from Arizona State University.

In addition to her work with The Matthew 19:14 Project, Mary currently serves on the executive board for the Arizona Council for Exceptional Children and is the president of the East Valley Chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children.

Mary has been on the board of The Matthew 19:14 Project, formerly the Arizona Catholic Schools Disability Fund, since 2016. She considers her lifelong passion for the development of happy, confident children as her calling from God, and continues to enjoy this calling through her involvement in the lives of her grandchildren.

Ed is founder and partner at Thrive Healthcare Consultants. Ed's previous roles include 18 years as a Medicaid consultant at a Fortune 200 company and four years as a health plan executive at a Fortune 10 company.

He has volunteered in support of many youth-based organizations, responding to a calling to support youth development during these formative years. He has supported a Boy Scout Troop as a Troop Leader and Boys Hope Girls Hope as a Mentor. For seven years, Ed served on the Board of Directors and two years as Chair for FSL, a Phoenix-based Catholic organization that serves Arizonans across the state with maintaining dignity through affordable housing. He previously served on the Board of the Phoenix Conservatory of Music.

Ed strongly believes in the success of Catholic schools in supporting youth in faith formation and academic excellence. He has seen the amazing accomplishments of The Matthew 19:14 Project in helping schools make great leaps forward in understanding, and gaining the tools and resources to embrace and support students with exceptional needs. He recognizes the blessing of the work of The Matthew 19:14 Project, having sat with heartbroken parents over the years who had to make the difficult decision to move their children to public schools so the exceptional needs of their child would be met.

Lisa is our founder. Her professional experience as a clinical psychologist along with her personal experience as Arizona Catholic high school student with a hearing loss was what drove her to establish the Arizona Catholic Schools Disabilities Fund (now The Matthew 19:14 Project) in 2014.

As a third-generation native of Arizona, Lisa was the first student to be mainstreamed at her public elementary school due to Public Law 94-162, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. As a result of benefitting from inclusion efforts and an education in faith, Lisa is passionate about ensuring that future generations of Catholic students with disabilities receive the best that education can offer.

Lisa wishes that all children can be successful and productive in sharing their God-given gifts and talents. Grateful for life’s blessings, she enjoys quality time with her husband and their children who she swears grow up too fast!

Kathy Johnson, recently retired is a dedicated Catholic educator who spent the last nine years at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic School in Scottsdale, Arizona as a resource teacher and Student Support Coordinator.

With almost 40 overall years in education, Kathy served mainly as a speech and language pathologist and an assistant special education director in public schools. Kathy has been on this board since its inception in 2014.

She believes in the vision and mission of the board to provide resources and support to our Catholic schools to keep families together. Kathy feels it is important to be inclusive and welcoming by working collaboratively with families, teachers, students and administration to support our exceptional learners. When she is not volunteering for the Matthew 19:14 Project, Kathy is happily spending time with her four granddaughters and family.

Andrew is a lifelong Arizona native. He attended Seton Catholic Preparatory High School and earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona. Previously, he served as the Director of Philanthropy for Amanda Hope, a local pediatric cancer nonprofit, and he currently works as a Philanthropic Advisor for the Catholic Community Foundation.

Having attended Catholic school from kindergarten through 12th grade, Andrew is passionate about making Catholic education accessible to all students. He is excited to join the board of The Matthew 19:14 Project, as he strongly believes that no family should have to make the difficult decision to separate due to a lack of resources for one of their children.

In his free time, he enjoys attending art walks, car shows, and other outdoor events with his wife and son.