Board of Directors


Ed Buechel, Kentucky
President

Ed received his undergraduate degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati and his law degree from the University of Kentucky. He practices law in Northern Kentucky. Ed and his wife Kathy live in Edgewood, Ky. Ed and Kathy each have a gay son, and they are very proud of both of them. Ed also has a daughter and son-in-law, and Ed and Kathy have one grandson. Ed has participated in numerous parish activities and is involved in a number of community organizations. He serves as the first lay Chair of St. Charles Care Center, Inc. Ed and Kathy host Catholics Embracing the LGBT Community, a support group for parents of LGBT individuals in Northern Kentucky.


Michael Duffy, Illinois
Vice Presdient



Cathy Hoffmann, Indiana
Treasurer

Cathy is a lifelong resident of southern Indiana. Cathy and her husband, Chris, have been married for 28 years and have two grown sons, one straight and one gay.
Cathy received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting at the University of Southern Indiana in 1988 and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. Currently, Cathy serves as the Controller the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana. Her prior professional career includes 16 years with Karen L Schenk and Associates LLC, providing accounting and tax services to individuals, small businesses, trust and estates, and not-for-profits. She also spent 10 years with Deaconess Hospital in various roles in the finance and personnel services departments.

Cathy was raised catholic and has been a member of St Wendel Catholic Church since 1993 and has served on the building committee, finance committee and as a CCD teacher. She also served as a speech and debate coach and on the PTO of St Wendel Catholic School. Cathy was a YWCA Live Y'ers mentor in Evansville, Indiana for several years.
 

Penny Smith-Bogert, New York
Secretary

Penny Smith-Bogert lives near Albany, New York with her beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Jackie. She is a retired speech/language pathologist, a devoted yoga practitioner and the mother of a 34-year-old daughter and a 29-year-old gay son.

She participates in various local LGBT+ events and volunteers for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Penny is a very active member of her parish, and has served as a Eucharistic Minister, Faith Formation Teacher, Confirmation Team Facilitator and Chaperone to the National Catholic Youth Conference. She currently sings alto in her church's music ministry group and considers herself blessed to be part of such vibrant secular and religious communities.


 

Fr. Mario Serrano, OFM Conv.,Texas

Friar Mario, has been a Conventual Franciscan Friar since 2003 and was ordained a priest in 2016.  He currently serves as University Minister at St. Joseph University Parish, a Conventual Franciscan Parish in Terre Haute, IN. He is a first generation Mexican-American; the first in his family to pursue higher education and the only to have a graduate degree. Prior to his present assignment, he served as Director of University Ministry and Adjunct Faculty in the Theology Department at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU). Friar Mario holds a B.A. from Catholic University of America and a Masters of Divinity from Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.  Since 2012, he has been the Spiritual Companion for the ACTS HOPE ministry which offers retreats to all members of the Body of Christ who are in need of spiritual healings, especially those who may not otherwise be able to attend a "mainstream/ traditional" retreat and who may require special healthcare services.


Jason Steidl, New York

Jason Steidl lives in Bronx, New York where he is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Fordham University. He received his BA in government and theology from Georgetown University, his Master of Theological Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and his PhD in theology from Fordham University. His research focuses on the relationship between the peripheries and center of the US Catholic Church. How do communities on the margins create and sustain dialogue with the hierarchy? What resources are available in Catholic tradition for those struggling against systematic social and ecclesial sin? As a gay Catholic, he puts this theology into practice as a member of the ministry team for Out at St. Paul, the LGBTQ ministry of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Manhattan. Outside of his research, teaching, and ministry, he enjoys spending time at the New York Botanical Gardens, shopping at thrift stores, and singing Sacred Harp, an a cappella shape-note tradition.  


Deacon Steve Hester, Rhode Island
Deacon of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington recently assigned to Saint Andrew Parish on Block Island, Rhode Island. I am blessed with my wonderful wife and two teenage daughters, all of whom keep me in line, especially regarding social justice, fairness, and equality. I believe that the message of Jesus is one of love and mercy for all God's creatures and my role in ministry is to further that message, always. I seek to reach out to the marginalized, stand up for the oppressed, and represent Christ in my service to others. The LGBTQ+ community holds a special place in my heart, as mine is one of the fortunate families. I am honored to work on their behalf. 


Betty Dirr, Ohio

Betty lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, Mike. They have 2 children, a 32-year-old son and a 30-year-old lesbian daughter. Betty is a native of Louisville, KY where she attended Catholic schools for 16 years. After graduating from Spalding College (now University) with a BS degree in home economics, she went on to earn a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from the University of Kentucky. Betty started her career as a registered dietitian in New Haven, CT where she worked for four years before moving to Cincinnati in 1977.  She retired from Good Samaritan Hospital in 2014.

Betty is active in parish life at St. John the Baptist Church as a lector, coordinator of the Fair Trade product sales and Vincentian volunteer for the St. Vincent DePaul Society Conference. Her involvement with Fortunate Families has included being a Listening Parent and assisting in the planning of a Parent Gathering in Cincinnati. She is also an active participant in local parish ministries for Parents/Families and Friends of LGBT+ Persons.


Janice Schwegmann, Kentucky  

Jan lives in Cold Spring, KY with her husband of 45 years, Joe.  They have 3 children; two of whom are gay, and three grandchildren and one grandchild on the way.  

Jan attended Catholic schools all through grade school and high school, and has degrees in Elementary Education and Music.  She was on the faculty of St. Joseph School and directed the children’s choir for the last 30 years.  She retired in 2016.  

She is presently volunteering in and around her parish in various groups and choirs, and teaching piano in an after school inner city program.  She is active as a listening parent in the LGBTQ+  group at her St. Joseph, Cold Spring parish, and only in recent years has ventured into other cities to support the LGBTQ+ community.  She feels honored to be part of the Fortunate Families’ “Family”n and is grateful everyday for the opportunity to work with such a loving group of people.  




Anita Capillo,  Kentucky 
 

Anita Capillo is the second of eight children who grew up in Montclair, New Jersey.  Educated in Catholic schools until college, she learned early in life about service to the church and others from her parents.  At the age of nineteen she was one of the youngest volunteers for the Catholic Church’s Lay Apostolate Program.  Following graduation from the New York Foundling Hospital she wanted to serve in one of the poorest areas of eastern Kentucky and was placed in a medical clinic in Wolfe County, Kentucky, where she worked for several years.  In 1987, while working in the Fayette County Attorney’s Office during a break from her nursing career, she was asked to write a grant to fund a Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Program to support victims of interpersonal violence through safety planning, needs assessment and referral, as well as through the court system. Thirty years later this program continues to assist victims in the county prosecutor’s office today.  In 1999, Anita was once again tasked with writing a grant to establish a program to provide state of the art forensic examinations for victims of sexual violence.  Anita established one of the first such programs in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the year 2000, which is the only law enforcement based program in the state.  This program is in its eighteenth year.  Anita retired from the Police Department in August 2017 and is currently the Clinical Program Coordinator/ Nurse Examiner for the Childrens Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass since October 2017.  She has been a member of St. Paul Catholic Church for almost 40 years and an active member of the music ministry.

 

Beth Garascia, Indiana

Beth has a B.A. in elementary education from Thomas More College in Fort Mitchell, Ky., and a master's degree in human development from the University of Maryland. She currently lives in South Bend, Ind., but is originally from Erlanger, KY.

Beth has been a teacher for thirty-two years and is currently teaching GED classes for the Adult Education Department of the South Bend Community School Corporation.

Beth and her husband, Tony, met as members of the Advent Community, a Marianist lay community, and they have both been lay members of the Marianist Family ever since.
Beth was a founding member of the Marianist Social Justice Collaborative’s GLBT Initiative and has been chair since 2008. She and Tony are the proud parents of three grown children, one straight and two gay, and have one granddaughter.
 


 Tony Garascia, Indiana

Tony received his master's in counseling from Indiana University at South Bend in 1986. In addition he received a master's degree in liturgical studies in 1978 from the Catholic University of America. Tony has more 25 years of experience counseling individuals, couples, families, adolescents and children. His areas of specialty include marriage and relationship issues, family difficulties, depression and anxiety, traumatic stress and bereavement work and sexual identity issues.

He works with clients from age 7 up. He is the author of the popular marriage preparation programs Before “I Do” and Catholic Remarriage (Ave Maria Press), Rekindle the Passion While Raising Your Kids (Sorin Books), and Getting Married, Living Together(Ave Maria Press). Tony is licensed in the State of Indiana as a clinical social worker.

Tony and his wife, Beth, met as members of a Marianist lay community and have been lay members of the Marianist Family ever since. Tony served as the president of the International Organization of Marianist Lay Communities from 2005 to 2009. They are the proud parents of three grown children, one straight and two gay, and have one granddaughter.