J. Michael Downey, President
Serra Club of Des Moines, Iowa
J. Michael Downey is President of the US Council for Serra and chair of the Leadership Development Committee for the Council. Until recently, he was also Region Director for the Central Region of Serra—a role he served in for the past 4 years. Prior to that he was District Governor of District 9E (Iowa) covering six clubs and four dioceses representing about 320 Iowa Serrans. He served in this role from 2014 until 2018. Mike is a member of the St. Serra Club of Des Moines, IA and he has held the following offices in that club: President, V.P. Vocations, V.P. Communications and Trustee. He chaired two region conventions held in the Central Region that were hosted by the St. Serra Club of Des Moines. Mike has a degree in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University (1974) and a law degree from the University of Iowa (1977). He served as Associate General Counsel and General Manager of the Des Moines Register and Tribune Co. and is a former–now retired–business owner and has served as president of three manufacturing companies.
Anne Roat, President-Elect
Serra Club of Lafayette, Indiana
Anne Roat first encountered Serra in 1992, when she was invited by the Chaplin of the Lafayette Serrans to speak about her ministry as a Director of Religious Education at her parish. The local club was composed mainly of men and later welcomed both single and married women. In 2004, Anne and her husband Bill joined the Lafayette Serra Club. Anne served as a member of the Membership Committee, Treasurer, Trustee, and member of the Bylaws Committee, while Bill served as President and Treasurer.
Anne currently ministers as a Spiritual Director and works as the Director of Evangelization, Family Life, and Pastoral Ministries at the St. Mary Cathedral and St. Ann Church Pastorate in Lafayette. She has also been the Director of the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana Office of Catechesis, parish Director of Religious Education, and a Catholic School Vice Principal.
Anne holds a Master’s degree in Pastoral Theology from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation, and a theology certificate from the University of Notre Dame. Anne and her husband Bill have two adult children, five brilliant grandsons, and one beautiful granddaughter!
Richard Arians, Past President
Serra Club of Rochester, Minnesota
Richard Arians first joined the Serra Club of Mankato, MN, in 1995, and joined the Rochester, MN, club when he moved there in 2001. In Rochester he served two non-consecutive terms as president and a term as District 7-S governor. Upon relocating to the Mankato area, he re-joined his original club, serving a term as President while also serving as the Region 8 director. Richard has been a regular contributor USA Council Rally’s and leadership trainings. He has been the chairman of the Leadership Committee for the past two years.
Mr. Arians has an undergraduate degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Wisconsin and earned an MBA from Augsburg College (MN) in 2012. His professional interests include serving as a business consultant for local companies, a USTA tennis umpire, and supplemental insurance agent. He regularly substitutes as a teacher at the Loyola Catholic High School in Mankato, Minnesota. He and his wife Ruth live in Madison Lake, MN, where they are active members of All Saints Catholic Church. They have two children.
Moira Leite, Vice President Vocations
Serra Club of Arlington, Virginia
Moira Quinn Leite is the President and Design Principal of M. Quinn Designs, Incorporated, which she founded in 1984. She is a leader in the design field and recipient of many interior and lighting design awards for innovative solutions to complex design problems. As the developer of the Pack-N-Move™ system for Senior Transition, she brings over thirty years of experience to the planning and implementation of lifestyle transitions and relocation services including downsizing and moving to a new residence.
Mrs. Leite is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin—Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and the Art Institute of Design in Lucerne, Switzerland, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Art with a major in interior Design. She attended the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College where she completed the coursework for a Masters of Systematic Theology with an emphasis in Sacred Art. She has been a Stephen Minister since 1985.
Since moving to Virginia in 1992 following her husband’s service in Desert Storm, she has been active in promoting vocations in her parish and in the Arlington, Virginia, Diocese. With the vocation committee of St. Michael’s Parish, she organized a vocation day for the school that brought in six religious orders they presented their charisms to the upper and lower schools. She began the distribution of Advent and Lenten devotions for vocations which have been made available to the Diocese for the past twenty years. For the past five years she and her husband have prepared the Vocation General Intercessions and weekly Bulletin Blurbs for the Arlington Diocese. These have been made available to the U.S. Council for the past two years.
Mrs. Leite is currently the Vice President for Vocations of the Arlington Virginia Serra Club. In 2020, she coordinated a Serran Holy Hour for Vocations at Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria, Virginia. It was themed on the Eucharistic Miracles Program developed by Blessed Carlo Acutis; and, due to COVID, it was live-streamed on Facebook with over 1,000 viewers in addition to those in the church. For Priesthood Sunday, she coordinated spiritual bouquets for the priests of her parish, put up banners celebrating the priests, and coordinated sending cards to all priests of the dioceses and chancery from the Serra Club.
She is a Certified Aging in Place Specialist and a member of the International Furnishings and Design Association, the Illuminating Engineering Society and an Allied Member of the American Society of Interior Designers.
Morie Ratuiste, Vice President Programs
Serra Club of Tri-Cities Area, WA
Morie and his wife, Cocot, have been active Serrans since joining Serra Club of Tri-Cities, WA, in 2010. He currently serves as the Pacific Northwest Region Director of the USA Council. Morie concurrently participates in the USA Council Program Committee, Serra Hispanic Ambassador Committee, and as a Serra Mentor as part of the USA Council’s SPARK program to launch and to support parish-based vocation ministries. He introduced the 9 for 9 Challenge, an effective membership initiative rooted in intentional prayer for potential new Serrans. He has authored several articles for Serra Magazine. He also oversaw the development of the pamphlet Vocations Apostolate Daily Prayers (available in the Vianney Vocations Serra Store), encouraging others to pray for vocations, for which he received a Missionary of St. Junipero Serra Award in 2021.
Morie and Cocot are privileged to promote vocations with their eldest son, Fr. Kyle Ratuiste, who serves as the Director of Vocations of the Diocese of Spokane. Their youngest son, Kevin, is an officer in the US Air Force and is married with three daughters.
Morie earned a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering. He works for Lamb-Weston Inc., a major international producer of French fries and other potato products.
Don Simoneaux, Vice President Communications
Serra Club of North Central Dallas, Texas
Don Simoneaux is a native of New Orleans and grew up in a suburb on the Westbank across from the city. He received a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Tulane University, where he also did graduate work, and was commissioned via the ROTC program as an officer in the U.S. Navy. His various sea duty and shore assignments involved operation, maintenance, development, and testing of Navy ships, equipment, and systems. Along the way, he earned a MS degree and a post-master’s degree in electrical engineering, with an emphasis on computer hardware and software, from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. After retiring from the Navy, he began a second career with a major aerospace company in the Dallas, Texas area. He is now retired from that career as well, having served as a systems engineer and program manager for development and testing of major software systems for U.S. government customers.
Don was invited to attend a meeting of the Serra Club of North Central Dallas in 1988 by three friends from his parish who were members. He had not been inclined previously to accept invitations to join other organizations, but he had read about a looming shortage of Catholic priests and other religious. After learning about the mission of Serra, he felt the Holy Spirit was calling him to get involved to help ensure the spiritual needs of following generations would be met, including those of his children and grandchildren. Upon retiring from the Navy and deciding to remain in the Dallas area, he joined the club in 1989. He has served in various club offices, including two non-consecutive terms as president. He has also served as district governor, two terms as regional director, two years on the Council’s Long Range Planning Committee, and four years as chair of the Council’s communications committee. Don and his wife Carolyn met in high school. They married when he graduated from Tulane and have lived in Plano, Texas since 1985. They are both active in their parish and diocese and enjoy spending time with friends and family, including three children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
Jesse Gallegos, Vice President Cultural Outreach
Serra Club of Harlingen, Texas
After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in 1980, Jesse was a public school teacher until 1995, when he earned a Master’s Degree in Education Administration from Pan American University. From 1995 through 2014, he was a middle school and high school assistant principal and principal. Jesse retired from the public schools in 2014 and currently is a licensed Real Estate Agent with Ideal Realty. Jesse is married to Delma Solis Gallegos. They have two adult children, Stacey Marie and Ezekiel Jesus.
Jesse was the founding member of the Serra Club of Harlingen which was chartered on August 14, 2001 with the guidance and mentorship of his brother, Dr. Ruben Gallegos, former Serra International President. Jesse has been President, Treasurer, and Secretary of his club. He was District Governor for District 126 from 2017 through 2020. He has attended several Serra International Conventions and USA Council Rallies.
As Serrans, service is the priority for our Catholic Church, priests and religious. Jesse is honored to serve as VP Communications for the USA Serra Council. In this position, Jesse’s objective is to move Serra forward and make Serra a name that resonates among all Catholics.
Candice Tyrrell, Vice President Membership
Serra Club of North Houston, Texas
Candice Tyrrell received her bachelor’s degree from U. of Houston, then worked as a buyer and supervisor of Metallurgical Records for 34 years at Cameron Iron Works. She and her husband Ed married in 1989 and are very active in their church, Christ the Good Shepherd in Spring.
Gino DiMattia, Secretary
Serra Club of Lima, Ohio
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Gino Dimattia became a member of the Serra Club of Lima, OH, in 1997. “I joined Serra to help connect with fellow Catholics in what was a new community for me,” he recalls.
Gino went on to serve as chairman of the Parish Contact Team, club chairman of Vocations Committee, club president, District 51 governor in 2009, chairman of USA Council Vocations Committee in 2010, and USA Council Vice President of Vocations. While national Vocations vice president, Gino was able to write an article on how parish vocation committees can influence a culture of vocations that was published in the Summer 2013 issue of Horizon Magazine, a quarterly publication of the NRVC. Gino also served as Regional Director of the USA Council’s Region 6, an area that encompassed Ohio, West Virginia and the Michigan Lower Peninsula.
Gino is unmarried and works at St. Rita’s Medical Center as an occupational therapist.
Ed Tyrrell, Treasurer
Serra Club of North Houston, Texas
Edward L. Tyrrell has been with Houston Methodist (HM) since 1988. Prior to joining HM Ed was a Manager with Ernst & Young. He first became associated with HM in February 1988 as the Director of Corporate Accounting. He became Assistant Vice President of Corporate Financial Services in 1993, Vice President of Corporate Financial Services in 1996 and has been in his present position (Senior Vice President of Corporate Financial Services and Revenue Cycle) since October 2011. Mr. Tyrrell received his Bachelor of Business Administration and MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo (UB). Ed’s UB wrestling team, which won the Division 3 National Championship in his Junior year, was inducted into the UB Sports Hall of Fame in October 1994. In his senior year Ed earned All American honors by placing second in his weight class in the Division 3 National Wrestling Championships. Ed is a certified public accountant and a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Ed is past Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM); past President of the Executive Board of NAM; past Treasurer of NAM; past Member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of Vecino’s Denver Harbor Clinic; past treasurer of the Houston Chapter of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and has held Board positions with the Houston Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and Urban Affairs Corporation. Mr. Tyrrell is currently a University of St. Thomas Board member; a Sir Knight in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher; Immediate Past President of the St. Serra Apostolate for Vocations of North Houston; a fourth degree member of the Knights of Columbus George Wilhelm Assembly and a third degree member of Knight of Columbus Council No. 10872 in Spring, Texas.
Jim Burns, Central Regional Director
Serra Club of Kansas City
Jim Burns is a member of Serra Club of Kansas City in Kansas where he has served as Trustee, VP Membership and President. He was District Governor of District 12-2C. He was also Trustee, VP Membership and President of the Serra Club of Albuquerque. He is a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus and member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. His is retired with 42 years in the Health Insurance and Managed Care industry. Jim and Joanne, his wife of 48 years, live in Overland Park, Kansas. They have three grown children and 11 grandchildren.
Ken Peet, Great Lakes Regional Director
Serra Club of Louisville, Kentucky
Ken is a true son of the Bluegrass State of Kentucky. He was born in Louisville but raised in the bluegrass of central Kentucky. He became a member of the Serra Club of Louisville in 2013. He has served as a board member and secretary of the club as well as District Governor for the four clubs in the State of Kentucky.
As a member of St. Gabriel Parish, he is a Sacristan, a Eucharistic Minister and takes communion to a large assisted living facility. He is a member of St. Gabriel’s Men’s Bible Study Group. He is a Mentor in the ACE Mentor Program for High School Students and serves on the Facilities Board for Presentation High School in Louisville.
Ken has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is a Professional Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Ken spent his career as a Consulting Engineer and owned LSE Engineering, Inc. for 25 years.
Ken and Pat have been married for 53 years and have three daughters and seven grandchildren.
Joe Dicharry, Southeastern Regional Director
Serra Club of East Jefferson, LA
I was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1946 and moved to Louisiana in 1958. I graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in Civil Engineering in 1970 and received a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1975. I worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Civil Engineer/Project Manager for thirty-three years, retiring in 2003. I have been married to my wife Nancy for fifty-three years and have three children and eight grandchildren.
I have been in Serra since 2005 and have served as President, Treasurer, Vocations VP, and now as Membership VP for the East Jefferson Club in Metairie, Louisiana. I have served as the District Governor for District 11, which encompasses the state of Louisiana, for about twelve years. Since being DG, I was able to form two new clubs in the New Orleans area.
We are parishioners of St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Metairie and I have been a lector for that parish for over forty years. I am the leader for the Vocations Ministry for the parish and an active member of the Men’s Club, for which I was president four times over the years.
Cathy Ahern, North Central Regional Director
Serra Club of Mankato, MN
Cathy Ahern is a member of the Serra Club of Mankato in Minnesota and the present District Governor of 7S. She became a member of the Mankato Club in 2004 and has served as President, Secretary and VP of Communications. Cathy was a Registered Nurse and worked in Cardiology before retiring. She and her husband Dick have two children and 4 grandchildren. Dick has been a member of Serra since 1995 and served as President and Treasurer several times. They love to travel and one of the highlights was the Serra Rally in 2020 in Ventura, California. The theme that year was “Creating a Culture of Vocations” which has been inspirational for both of them as they continue their commitment to the Serra mission of Vocations.
Pacific Northwest Regional Director
Anne Champagne, Pacific Region Director
Serra Club of City of Orange, CA
Anne Champagne, long-time resident of Tustin, California was born in Scotland and emigrated to the United States as an infant. She has been married to Mark Champagne for 50 years, mother of one son, Timothy, and grandmother of four. Anne has served as secretary, president, and district governor with Serra Club, since joining Serra in 2012. Anne worked in the retail grocery industry for over 45 years and retired in 2012. She and Mark are parishioners at St. Cecilia Church in Tustin since 1972, where she volunteers as a Eucharistic Minister to the sick, and as lector. Anne also volunteers with Loyola Institute of Spirituality and Ignatians West. In retirement, she has worked part-time as a caregiver with seniors.
Anne enjoys travel, entertaining friends and family, and cake decorating in her spare time.
Rose Marie Stimpfl, Rocky Mountain Region Director
Serra Club of Pueblo, Colorado
Rose Marie joined the Serra Club in Pueblo, CO, in 2014. She served as President, Treasurer, and a member of the Membership Committee before moving to Colorado Springs in 2018. She served as District 6 Governor in 2020-2021. She has been a member of the District 6 Convention Planning Committee for the past three years. Rose Marie assisted Judy Cozzens for the past two years in following up on the status of the Seven Serrans Prayer Program. She recently volunteered to become a Mentor for one of the parishes in Colorado Springs who is in the process of establishing a Parish Vocation Ministry Council. She is active with a couple prayer groups at St. Gabriel the Archangel Church.
Rose Marie is a retired registered nurse. She worked for many years as a Nursing Consultant to Long Term Care and Assisted Living Centers. She has a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration. She currently volunteers at a local hospital.
She is a widow with two sons, three granddaughters, one grandson, and one great grandson.
Jo-Ann Bresowar, South Central Region Director
Serra Club of University of Dallas, Texas
Jo-Ann Bresowar has been a member of the University of Dallas Serra Club for more than twenty years. She is a past president of the University of Dallas Serra Club and past Chairperson of the District’s Vocational Awareness Program (VAP). In the past, Jo-Ann was President of the Diocesan School Board, Chaired Parish Finance Councils, served as a Red Cross Volunteer, is a founding member of the Diocesan Ministry on Disabilities, was Chair of the Laity representation for the Texas Catholic Conference and a Catholic School Grant writer.
Jo-Ann attended the University of Dallas, SMU and UTA. Her career was in Human Resource management with a specialty in International Compensation and Benefits. She worked for major international corporations as well as the US Department of Energy. Jo-Ann retired from Alcon Laboratories in 2010.
It was at a Serra International Convention in Chicago that Jo-Ann first heard of the John Paul II Monstrance. The year was 2014 and she was that year’s Chairperson of the VAP. Since that time, District 46 has had the St. John Paul II Monstrance for adoration in our dioceses for seven consecutive years.
Jane Errera, Northeast Region Director
Serra Club of Lehigh Valley
Jane Errera is a charter member of the Bethlehem (PA) Serra Club. An active Serran since the
Club’s founding in 1990, she has served as Club President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Jane was
awarded degrees from Muhlenberg College (AB) and Lehigh University (MA) and a Certificate in
Gregorian Chant from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. Her professional life includes 32
years as an elementary education teacher and almost 60 years as a church musician, all in
Bethlehem. Since her retirement from teaching, Jane has worked at St. Anne’s Church as
principal organist and director of the 36-voice semi-professional choir. Mrs. Errera has held
membership on the Boards of the Latin Liturgy Association, the Society for Catholic Liturgy, and
the American Guild of Organists, for which she was Regional Councillor responsible for six Mid-
Atlantic states and Washington, DC. For these organizations as well as for Serra, Jane has been
a speaker, workshop presenter, and convention planner.