The Catholic Foundation of Utah’s Board of Trustees is comprised of dedicated professionals from around the Diocese. Trustees bring a depth of expertise from their respective fields, which helps inform our work in service to the Foundation’s mission.
Howard “Howie” Lemcke, President of the Catholic Foundation of Utah’s Board of Trustees is retired from the United States Army and the Office of District Attorney for Salt Lake County. Howie, a St. Vincent’s parishioner, is an adult convert to Catholicism who also serves as Secretary for the Madeleine Choir School, School Board. He and his wife Nancy established the Irene C. Sweeney Endowment for the benefit of that school in 2012. One of Howie’s goals for his term is to raise the visibility of the Foundation’s several potentials in assisting donors and beneficiaries who desire to enhance elements of our diocese, large or small, into being.
Kristine Merrell Rogers, Vice President of the Catholic Foundation of Utah’s Board of Trustees, was appointed by Bishop Solis in October 2020, and has served many years on the board in previous terms. Kristine is a retired attorney, who specializes in mediation, criminal defense, family law and civil rights. She converted to the Catholic faith in 1999 and she and her husband Lane Wille are parishioners at St. Vincent DePaul.
Patrick Porter, Treasurer of the Catholic Foundation of Utah’s Board of Trustees, has worked as an Investment Advisor in the Financial Services industry for nearly four decades and currently manages $75 million in assets as a Financial Advisor Vice President. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a BBA in Accounting, Patrick serves on the Finance and Capital Campaign Committees for St. Thomas More Parish. Patrick has also been a dedicated volunteer ski patroller for over thirty years and currently serves as an Assistant Director at the Intermountain Division of the National Ski Patrol.
Patrick Garcia, Secretary of the Catholic Foundation of Utah’s Board of Trustees, retired in 2015 as Associate Superintendent for the Salt Lake City School District. He holds master’s and doctorate degrees in Educational Administration, from the University of Utah. Patrick taught school for eight years and was an elementary school principal for a decade. Patrick worked with former Secretary of Education, Dr. Ted Bell to implement an early high-tech instructional model to advance educator practices. In addition to his service on multiple non- profit boards, Patrick was appointed by the Governor Gary Herbert to serve on the Utah Board of Juvenile Justice and was appointed by Bishop Solis to serve as the chair for the Catholic Diocese of Utah Review Board for the Protection of Young People and Vulnerable Adults. A charter member of the Knights of Columbus, and Lay Leader of Prayer for the Catholic Church leading Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest for his local parish, Patrick attends both St. Joseph in Monticello and St. Pius in Moab.
Kevin Murphy is recently retired from corporate America, where he held executive-level positions with Onyx Graphics (a Canon subsidiary), Océ, and Eastman Kodak Company. Corporate relocations have taken Kevin and his wife Barbara all over the USA and Europe, culminating with a final move to Salt Lake City. Kevin is a parishioner of the Cathedral of the Madeline parish and has previously served on the parish council. Kevin hopes to expand awareness of the CFU’s benefits across our diverse diocese: geographic, ethnic, and economic.
Fr. Christopher Gray is the pastor of St. Mary's (Park City), and its mission, St. Lawrence in Heber City. Fr. Gray attended The Madeleine Choir School and Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City. He studied mathematics and Spanish at the University of Utah, while working at the Intermountain Catholic as a staff writer and associate editor. Fr. Gray entered Mount Angel Seminary in 2007 and went on to study in Rome at the Pontifical North American College. Fr. Gray earned a Bachelor of Sacred Theology (STB) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 2012 and a Licentiate of Sacred Theology (STL) from the Pontifical Lateran University in 2014. Fr. Gray was ordained a priest in 2013, at the Cathedral of the Madeleine by the Most Rev. John C. Wester. In the Diocese of Salt Lake City, he has served as parochial vicar of St.’s Peter and Paul Parish and the Cathedral.
Karla Padilla is the Director of Admissions for The Madeleine Choir School. She is passionate about serving the youth of her community. Karla has a degree in Communications/Public Relations from the University of Utah, and a M.A. in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix. She has worked with youth organizations and schools including the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Salt Lake, The National Youth Sports Program, West Lake Junior High School, Rose Park Elementary, and Saint Andrew Catholic School. She served as her parish's Youth Minister for three years. Karla deeply appreciates that her professional endeavors allow her to combine her passion for education with her Catholic faith. She and her husband of 27 years, Duane Padilla, have two children, and are parishioners at St. Andrew’s.
Dan graduated from Judge Memorial and the University of Utah. He spent 20 Years with Pfizer in various management roles throughout the United States. After leaving Pfizer, Dan worked for a venture capital firm where he co-founded two life science companies. Dan spent the last 10 years of his career in executive leadership positions with ambulatory surgery centers and in 2020 he retired as CEO from Lone Peak Surgery Center.
Dan has volunteered for many years throughout the Diocese, including St. Ambrose Parish Council President, Cosgriff School Board, Catholic Business Network, coaching multiple youth sports, youth group leader, Carmelite Fair and dozens of fundraisers. Dan also served as President of the American Heart Association for Utah and held leadership positions with Big Brother & Big Sisters. Dan and his wife Joni are members of St. Ambrose Parish and raised two boys who graduated from Cosgriff and Judge.
Peggy O'Leary received a B.S. degree from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio and an MBA from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. Peggy is a Senior Vice President at Northen Trust and is responsible for new business development in the Western U.S. withing the Global Family & Private Investments Office group. In her current position, Peggy works with families to develop solutions to a broad range of sophisticated investment management, custody, banking, fiduciary and tax issues. The majority of Peggy's career has been with the Global Family and Private Investment Offices working directly with family members, family office executives and advisors.
Peggy is involved in several local charities and her parish. Peggy has served on the Board of the Salt Lake City Ronald McDonald House.
Chuck brings a passion for living a life well lived and for helping others become the best they can be within his Catholic Community. Growing up on a farm in southern Illinois and then building family businesses in both Arizona and Utah, he retired from his career in 2022 as the Chief Risk Officer of Divvy / BILL Inc after previously serving as a Chief Credit Officer at American Express.
Chuck is the proud ‘Papa’ to two amazing grandkids that he is privileged to care for once a week, has two adult children, and is married for 33 years to his wonderful wife Eileen. In his spare time, he enjoys building/fixing things and the occasional camping or fishing trip when time allows. Chuck and Eileen live in Sandy Utah just over a mile away from their home parish of St. Thomas More
Ron is the founder and managing partner of Oquirrh Ventures, a Salt Lake City based Private Equity firm investing in software and technology companies competing in global markets.
Building upon an extensive technology operating career, Ron founded Signal Peak Ventures in 2006 and remains as a General Partner managing the firm’s legacy assets. Prior to forming Signal Peak, Ron was the CEO of both Helius and Phobos where he drove the commercialization efforts that led to successful acquisitions of both companies. Earlier in his career, Ron spent 12 years with Novell where he was SVP of Worldwide Sales and Marketing.
Outside of work, Ron enjoys a wide variety of sport related activities and appreciates spending time with his wife and four adult children with their growing families. Longtime members of St. John the Baptist parish, he and his wife Tricia are active in supporting the advancement of parochial school secondary education in the US.
Ron holds a BS from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute, an MBA from American University, and a Masters Certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Candice Greenwald, MACC, CPA is the Chief Financial Officer of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, and CFO of the Catholic Foundation of Utah. A solutions-oriented Finance professional, Candice brings 25 years of industry experience to the Diocese. Prior to accepting the appointment at the Diocese, Candice was Director of Budget and Financial Reporting for Westminster College. She also served as Adjunct Professor for the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business, coaching Enterprise Performance in the Master of Business Administration program. Candice served as Business Manager for St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Business Office Manager and Accountant for Walworth County, WI., and as Financial Analyst for the Aurora Health Care in the state of Wisconsin. Candice is a Certified Public Accountant, and a Microsoft Certified Trainer and Instructor. Candice and her husband are parents to three grown children and attend St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Draper.
Nevah Stevenson brings a background in development, sales, and marketing to her role as Executive Director. Dedicated to the Foundation’s mission to plan for the future and financial stability of the Catholic Church in Utah, Nevah seeks to expand awareness, share successes, and grow new donor support. Nevah spent the first part of her career in national sales management in the radio industry, before shifting focus to the development sector in Catholic education. She served six years on the board at St. John the Baptist Catholic Schools, before becoming the schools’ Director of Advancement. She later worked in Business Development for Shriners Children’s Hospital and as Director of Major Gifts for a private academic institution. Originally from northern Virginia, Nevah and her husband have called Utah home for nearly 30 years. They have three grown sons and attend St. John the Baptist Parish in Draper.