Board of Limited Jurisdiction

The purpose of Our Mother of Consolation Parish School Board of Limited Jurisdiction (BLJ), in collaboration with the Principal and Pastor, is to foster the highest possible standards of academic and Catholic religious education for all students. Board Members are:

Alexis Abate

Alexis Abate is the Director of Communications at Salus University since 2014. In her role at Salus, she is responsible for all University press events, community outreach, communication materials, including the University’s websites, social media accounts and comprehensive media and marketing campaigns. Since 2017 she has been an adjunct professor in communication studies at Rowan University. She earned a B.A. degree in mass media writing with a concentration in mass communication from La Salle University and holds a M.A. degree from the New York Institute of Technology. Alexis has served as a member of the La Salle University Alumni Association Board of Directors. She is a member of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association and has been a volunteer for several nonprofit organizations.

Bernadine Ahonkhai, Ed. D.

Dr. Bernadine Ahonkhai, a visionary and powerful community advocate and activist for justice and equity, founded Coalition for Racial Equity and Social Justice in 2020. Coalition4Justice provides a safe space for meaningful conversations about discrimination and racism. Under her prudent leadership, Coalition4Justice was awarded two grants in 2022 by the HealthSpark Foundation and Montgomery County to provide DEI education to youth. The recipient of several awards and recognitions, including the Pennsylvania Governor’s Family Engagement Award, the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Human Rights Award, and the PowerUp Foundation Ambassador of Social Justice Award, she serves on several community, private academic school, and college Boards and Commission in Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties.

Dr. Ahonkhai has advanced degrees (MA, M. ED, and Ed. D) in Educational Policy, Leadership and Administration from Columbia University, New York. She is an Adjunct Educator of Multi-cultural and Early Childhood Education at higher education institutions in Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Nigeria, West Africa, she now resides in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania with her husband, Vincent I. Ahonkhai, MD. They have four adult children and five grandchildren.

Peter Amuso, Esq.

Peter Amuso is a partner at the law firm of Rudolph Clarke LLC, and proud OMC parent. A member of the Jesuit Honor Society of Alpha Sigma Nu by way of Georgetown with a A.B. in Government and English, and an honors graduate of Harvard Law School with J.D. in law. Peter brings a personal commitment to Catholic education and a professional expertise in school law to the Board of Limited Jurisdiction. An active member of the parish, Peter coaches the CYO track team, and was the founding cubmaster of Pack 1855. He was recently awarded the St. John Neumann Emblem by the Archdiocesan Committee on Catholic Scouting.

Kathleen Boyle, SSJ

Kathleen Boyle, SSJ, was born and raised in Philadelphia and attended St. Bernard’s Elementary School and St. Hubert’s High School. She has been a Sister of St. Joseph for 49 years. She received a BS in Sociology from Chestnut Hill College and a Masters in Education from Villanova University. Most of her years have been spent in the Education Ministry. She has taught first, second, sixth, seventh and eighth grades. She served as principal for eleven years at St. Stephen’s School in Pennsauken, NJ. Most recently I taught Theology for fifteen years at St. Rose High School in Belmar, NJ

In 2021, she became Area Delegate for the Sisters of St. Joseph. She reports directly to the President of the order of sisters. She visits their convents and keeps the President informed about the sisters and their needs and helps to facilitate whatever needs arise. She also hold a place on their Missioning Board. She is a certified Spiritual Director and Retreat Director.

Margaret Crofton

Margaret (Meg) Crofton is an alumna of Our Mother of Consolation school of the class of 1976. She is a graduate of Mount Saint Joseph Academy (1980) and of Chestnut Hill College (1984) earning an MA with a major in Political Science. Active in education, she has worked with children of all ages. She has been a pre-school teacher at a local Presbyterian school, a catechesis teacher at OMC, a substitute teacher and full-time teacher in the second grade at OMC. Margaret is a mother of five children with four grandchildren, married to her spouse Michael for 38 plus years.

She currently sits on the school board of Saint Francis Xavier School in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia. She is an active member of her parish, Saint Genevieve in Flourtown serving as a lector and a Eucharistic Minister. Margaret is a Dame of Malta and a Lady of the Grand Cross of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem. A devote of arts and culture pertaining to Christian life. Her insights to the inner working of Our Mother of Consolation School give her an understanding to the daily life of the student, the administration, faculty, and staff, it’s facility and it’s needs and wants. She was inducted to the OMC Hall of Fame in 2022.

Pat Cunningham

Pat Cunningham was born and grew up in Mexico City. In Mexico she attended bilingual school (Spanish/English) from 1^st grade until graduating from secretarial school. While in Mexico, she worked for the International Department at the Universidad Iberoamericana. She relocated to Philadelphia in 1970 and joined the Latin American studies program at St. Joseph’s University. In 1988 she began a 30-year career with the William Penn Charter School, first in the development office and then in the admissions office. Pat retired in 2018. She has been a member of the OMC parish for 17 years and volunteers as a eucharistic minister and funeral sacristan.

Brendan Dwyer

Brendan Dwyer (OMC, Class of ’06) is a Financial Advisor with Principal Financial Network, working alongside his identical twin brother Mike (’06) and father Tim (’67). He earned his B.S. in Business Administration from Villanova University in 2014, majoring in Finance with a minor in Spanish Language & Literature. He spent five years working for Janney Montgomery Scott, a brokerage firm in center city Philadelphia, before moving to Guatemala for two full years (2020 & 2021) to volunteer and work as National Director for Asociación Nuestros Ahijados/The GOD’S CHILD Project, a non-profit dedicated to helping those living in extreme poverty through educational, healthcare, housing, and sustainable development programs. Back home in Philadelphia, Brendan spends his time outside of his role as a financial advisor leading service teams to Guatemala each year to volunteer, conducting speaking engagements to foster volunteer interest, advocate for the poor, and support fundraising efforts for The GOD’S CHILD Project, and serving on its board of directors. He is a fluent Spanish speaker and also involved in trash and street clean-up with I Love Thy Hood, a Philadelphia-based non-profit founded by fellow class of ’06 OMC graduate Matthew A. George.

Brendan was born and raised in Chestnut Hill and was the fifth generation on his father’s side to attend Our Mother of Consolation School.

Madeline Franze, SSJ

Madeline Franze, SSJ, is a Sister of Saint Joseph having entered the congregation in 1967. She received a B.S. degree from Chestnut Hill College in elementary education and a M.A. degree from Villanova University in educational administration. She holds certificates in fundraising from the University of Pennsylvania and human resources from LaSalle University. Sister Madeline also holds the designation of Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) since 1994. Her past professional experience includes 12 years as an elementary school teacher, 8 years as an elementary school principal, 15 years as Director of Development for Sisters of Saint Joseph and 18 years in her current role as a development consultant, working with religious communities of women and men throughout the United States, Ireland, and Jamaica. She has been a member of the OMC parish since 1998.

Stewart Graham, Esq.

Stewart Graham is retired after a 42-year career as a Legislative Attorney. He has served as Attorney-Advisor to the Comptroller General of the United States, and Chief-of-Staff to Philadelphia City Councilmen Frank Rizzo and David Oh. He has a Master of Public Administration degree from Harvard, a Master of Business Administration degree from William and Mary, a Juris Doctor degree from Wake Forest, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hope College. He is the Owner of Gilly Gooley Investments, which holds commercial property in Chestnut Hill. He has served on several Boards: Chestnut Hill Community Association (President); Chestnut Hill Historical Society; Chestnut Hill Senior Center; Chestnut Hill Teenagers, Inc. (President); Crefeld School; Lycoming Trust; Norwood-Fontbonne Academy (advisory) (President); St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (Rector’s Warden); Unitarian Universalist House (President); and Unitarian Universalist Outreach (President). He is also a member of numerous professional associations.

Sue Oleszewski, O. D.

Susan Oleszewski received her B.S and O.D. (Doctor of Optometry) degrees from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), the founding College of Salus University in 1976. She completed an optometric residency at The Eye Institute (the clinical practice of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry) in 1978 and received an M.A. degree in neurobiology from Temple University in 1979. She joined the faculty at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in 1979 and held numerous positions at PCO/Salus, including: clinical instructor and classroom lecturer, clinical service chief, Associate Dean for Optometric Practice, Director of Residencies, Vice President for Clinical Operations, and Chief of Staff. In July 2016 she assumed the role of Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Community Relations at Salus University. In 2018, after 40 years of service, she retired from the University as Professor Emerita.

Mary Osirim, Ph. D.

Mary Osirim is Professor of sociology at Bryn Mawr College. She received her A.B. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University and a M.S in sociology from the London School of Economics. At Bryn Mawr, she was the former Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies. Included among her previous board positions is service on the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the Baldwin School and the African Studies Association. Her experience includes faculty and curricular development, finance, and diversity and inclusion. Mary attended Catholic schools in New York and has been a parishioner at OMC for over 30 years.