Governing Board Chair

Brandon is currently employed with Moline Machinery, in Duluth, where he began his career as an electrician. He worked his way up to lead in his department and served in a number of ways for Duluth's Local 1575 Machinist and Aerospace Workers Union (IAM), including a term as Union Secretary. Over the past several years, Brandon has worked towards obtaining his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and upon graduation, transitioned into the Engineering department at Moline Machinery. Brandon is the father of seven children and a life-time resident of Cloquet. He and his wife, Rebekah, converted to the Catholic faith in the fall of 2006 and have been involved with youth ministry at Queen of Peace Parish ever since. Brandon has been involved with numerous committees and fundraisers through Queen of Peace Catholic School, including serving on the Advisory Board in the Chair position. He has a passion for authentic Catholic education and is dedicated to helping it succeed and thrive in our culture.

Governing Board Secretary

Mary received her BS in Animal Science from the University of Connecticut and worked for many years at Woodland Hills both as a treatment staff and head of their animal husbandry program. She became a FertilityCare practitioner in 1991 and served on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals for several years. She is currently the Staff Supervisor for Northland Family Programs. Because of a close relationship with the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist (FSE), Mary and her husband Phil moved from Connecticut to the Cloquet area in 1983 and became members of Queen of Peace Parish, where the FSE were in charge of the school. All six of their children attended Queen of Peace Catholic School and Mary has been actively involved there over the years, serving in various roles including school board member and librarian. Mary and her husband Phil live in Esko.

Governing Board Member

Adam attended the University of St. Thomas, double majoring in Philosophy and Catholic Studies. While at St. Thomas, he spent three years at St. John Vianney College Seminary. He later attended the University of Minnesota Law School, receiving his Juris Doctor of Law Degree in 2018. Adam was in private practice in Duluth handling a wide variety of legal matters, specializing in real estate, business transactions, corporate, and employment law. Currently, Adam serves as Assistant Legal Counsel at Enbridge Energy in Duluth, and resides in Esko with his wife and their five children.

Governing Board Member

Tom received his Medical Degree from the University of Minnesota after receiving a BA in Biology at the University of Saint Thomas. He is a practicing general surgeon and has been the course director and instructor for the Advanced Trauma Life Support program at St. Luke’s hospital the past 25 years. Tom and his wife, Yolanda, have raised six children whom all together received 51 years of Catholic education at Holy Rosary Catholic School in Duluth, MN. He was on the Blue Ribbon committee set up by then Bishop Schnurr to help strengthen Catholic education in the Duluth area so that it would be available and affordable for all who desired it. Having witnessed the profound impact of Catholic education and the Catholic Faith, Tom is motivated to help Mater Dei in any way he can so that students achieve the most important goal in their lives—getting their souls to Heaven.

Governing Board Member

Kevin comes to Mater Dei following a thirty-nine-year career in military and civil aviation and management. Born and raised in Rhode Island, he received his BA in History and MA in American History from Providence College. During his time in Rhode Island, he worked as a newspaper journalist and writer. In military and corporate settings Kevin has spent many hours instructing professional development in both the cockpit and classroom. Kevin, his wife Debra, and son Jack live in Cloquet and are active members of the Queen of Peace parish where he has assisted as a substitute teacher at the parish school. He has also served for many years as Scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 171 in Cloquet, dedicated to developing strong character, good citizenship and physical fitness in young men.

Governing Board Member - Ex officio

Brady received his Bachelors of Arts in Humanities from the College of St. Scholastica and his Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing/Poetry from the University of Southern Maine–Stonecoast, where his research centered on English verse prosody and Modernist poetics. He has taught at the collegiate level at Lake Superior College and the College of St. Scholastica, in the areas of composition and rhetoric studies, English literature, and creative writing. An accomplished poet, Brady is known for his work published in journals such as 2River, SLANT, The Northern New England Review and Cave Wall. He currently resides in Duluth. A firm believer in education that is founded in the classical heritage, he looks forward to his role as Headmaster at Mater Dei, in addition to teaching literary subjects near and dear to him as part of the dedicated faculty.

Advisory Board Member

Pope Francis appointed Felton bishop for the Diocese of Duluth on April 7, 2021, and he was consecrated as a bishop on May 20, 2021. After his ordination to the priesthood in 1981, Bishop Felton served as a priest in the Diocese of Green Bay, as well as vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Green Bay Diocese. Bishop Felton received his BA in Psychology and Religious Studies from St. Norbert College and his Master’s of Theology degree from St. John's University. He also holds a Master’s degree in Social Communications from Pontifical Gregorian University and a Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Dogmatic Theology.

Advisory Board Member

Fr. Nick was ordained to the priesthood in 2013 and currently serves as the Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Duluth. He holds a BA in Accounting and Philosophy from the University of Saint Thomas and a Bachelors of Sacred Theology from the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas and the North American College in Rome. He also studied at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family in Rome. Fr. Nick is the pastor of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Cloquet, and is actively involved in leading their PreK-8 parish school, as they grow and embrace a classical curriculum and philosophy. He believes in this apostolate and has been a moral and financial supporter of Mater Dei from the beginning.

Advisory Board Member

Eric is a board certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist. He received his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia and did his OB/GYN residency at the University of Chicago. Eric practiced medicine from 1981 until his retirement in 2019. This included the last ten years as Chairman of OB/GYN at Park Nicollet Clinics and Methodist Hospital, where he oversaw the creation of the Family Birth Center at Methodist Hospital and the Women's Center at Park Nicollet. During this time he also collaborated in the merger of Park Nicollet and HealthPartners. During his career, Eric was committed to protecting the unborn and family values. He plans to use this experience to promote Catholic education. Eric’s four children and his wife, Sue, attended Catholics schools. Eric and Sue are committed to Catholic education and to the mission of Mater Dei Apostolate.