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Dedication. Expertise. Passion.
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Leo Alonso
Co-Founder & President
Leo Alonso has been an innovative advocate for inclusive learning, living and employment for people with disabilities. He was one of the founders of the Paul VI Options program, the George Mason LIFE program, and Porto Charities, Inc. He has a daughter, Vivian with Down Syndrome, who graduated from Paul VI Options and the George Mason LIfe program. He has brought his experience in the grocery and mortgage business to bear on Porto Charities employment and housing initiatives. Leo has always been active in community service, serving as a Special Olympics coach and a member of Porto 104.
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Tony Stafford
Vice President
Tony Stafford is the founder, owner, and head chef of Ford’s Fish Shack. He holds a degree in culinary arts and hotel restaurant management and has over 25 years of restaurant industry experience. As a business owner and Loudoun County resident, Tony is committed to serving the community by providing valuable employment opportunities and through the Ford’s Fish Shack Heritage of Giving Back charity program. Tony’s culinary talents and restaurant success have led to recognition including Loudoun County's Top Entrepreneur of the Year, the Jim Wordsworth Restaurateur of the Year Award, and Northern Virginia Magazine naming Ford’s Fish Shack the “Best Seafood Restaurant” for multiple years.Tony regularly volunteers and is involved in youth culinary training and mentorship programs at local schools. ​​​​​​
Bill Mundy
Secretary
Bill Mundy was a founding board member of Porto Charities Inc. and is the current Grand Commander of Porto # 104 of the Order of Alhambra. Bill served in senior wealth management positions for national and local community banks before he retired. He received a B.A. and a M.A. from Villanova University. Bill was also a CFP Certificant and he held various insurance and securities licenses. Bill and his wife, Marla, have two sons and a daughter with special needs.
John Reidt
Treasurer
John Reidt spent 26 years in the Army following his graduation from West Point. He had 2 tours in Korea and 2 tours in Germany for a total of 11.5 years overseas. After retiring from the Army in 2002, he spent 17 years working in the defense sector for several different companies before retiring from GDIT in 2019. He’s been affiliated with Porto Charities since 2008. He and his wife, Mary Jo Harvey-Reidt, have a son with special needs, Sean, who lives independently in the Fairfax area.
Jerry Pelano
Development Chair
Jerry is a business consultant with a focus on Strategic Planning, Revenue Growth, Marketing, Process Development, Mergers, Acquisitions, Operations, Crypto and Digital Awareness. He is a retired CPA and was a founding director of the Potomac Bank of Virginia. Jerry served on the Board of Saint Paul VI HS for 18 years. At PVI Jerry served as a Finance Chair, liaison to the Arlington Diocese and Chaired a Capital Campaign. He was an Advisory Board member of GMU Athletic Department. Jerry is a prior distinguished alumni of the year at the Saunders College of Business and served on the President's Roundtable at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Jerry and his wife Pam live in Fairfax Station, Va., close to their five grandboys.
Bill Dalgetty
Governance
Bill Dalgetty spent most of his career as a senior attorney for Mobil Corporation. He is a past president and chairman of the board of Christians in Commerce, and author of Hope for the Workplace – Christ in You, published in 2013. He posts a weekly blog at www.christinlifeandwork.com. Bill and his wife, Marilynn have five children and thirteen grandchildren, and are members of St. Mark parish in Vienna. His daughter, Emily has Down syndrome and graduated from the Paul VI Options program.
Board Members
Art Bennett
Special Kids/Special Needs Campaign Chair
Art Bennett is a licensed marriage and family therapist. He was a Vice President for international health at SAIC for 15 years. For 8 years he was the Executive Director and co-founder of the Alpha Omega Clinics in Virginia and Maryland which integrates mental health practices with the Catholic Faith. He was the President & CEO of Catholic Charities overseeing the 22 counties of the Diocese of Arlington for 10 years. He and his wife, Laraine, have co-authored six books on marriage, parenting and communication. He is a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria and has four adult children and eight grandchildren.
Pat Cross
Director
Patrick Cross has been a long-time advocate for inclusive education and better employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He has served as the scribe of the exchequer since 2011.
Sheila Erhardt
Director
Sheila Erhardt is a long time advocate for the community with Intellectual Disabilities. Prior to early retirement, Sheila was the Controller for Octagon Sports Marketing and Athlete Representation. She has served on the Board of Porto Charities since 2015. She also serves with several volunteer organizations, including Special Olympics, Davis Family Partnership, and Vienna Presbyterian Church. She resides in Vienna with her husband Jeff and two daughters, Emma and Grace. Emma has Down syndrome and graduated from Paul VI Options and St Mark Evangelist Program. Inclusive Education is her passion.
Therese Fimian
Director
Therese Fimian has worked in the disability employment field for over 25 years. Therese enjoys working with organizations, families and individuals to develop and share practices that increase employment, education and economic empowerment for individuals with disabilities. Therese is the president of Marc Gold & Associates, an organization that is committed to increasing access to inclusive employment, education and community opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
Christine Fowler
Employment Chair
Christine Fowler was Clinical Nurse Specialist in Critical Care Nursing. She served on the Parent Education Committee of The Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia for 5 years. She is currently a Special Olympics Coach and serves on The Northern Virginia, Special Olympics Virginia Counsel of Area 26. Zach's experience at Paul VI provided her with the motivation to become involved with Porto Charities to help insure the continued expansion of Inclusive Catholic education and employment. Zach is currently employed by St. Leo the Great Catholic School and loving his inclusive experience as a staff member.
Paul Frommelt
Director
Paul Frommelt spent 19 years in Government service with both the US Air Force and the Department of Commerce, working as an engineer on space systems. In 1998, he and several partners founded Integrity Applications Incorporated, a defense contractor based in Chantilly, VA. He retired in 2020, and now works as a volunteer with St. Andrew the Apostle parish, Catholic Charities, and Porto Charities. Paul and his wife Geri have four children and six grandchildren, one of whom has Down syndrome.
Dave Hoppe
Director
Dave Hoppe holds a BA in Government from the University of Notre Dame and a MA in International Rel. from John Hopkins. He worked on Capitol Hill for 30 years in various positions, including COS to Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) in the House, AAs to Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN) and COS to Senate Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). Dave serves on the Board for Easter Seals of DC MD VA and is credited with salvaging to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997. He serves on the finance council for St. Luke’s Ordinariate Parish in Fort Washington, MD. He is married with three children, the youngest graduated from the Options Program at PVI in 2009.
Stew McHie
Golf Tournament Director
Stewart McHie spent 36 years with Exxon and ExxonMobil specializing in sales, marketing and strategic planning, including overseas assignments in Australia and England. He retired in 2010 as the Global Brand Manager for the Fuels Marketing Company based in Fairfax, Virginia. He launched a second career in academia at The Catholic University of America. Along with the Dean of the Business School, he founded, and served as Director of the Master of Science in Business Analysis program. He has served on boards of The Fairfax County School District Marketing Committee and numerous youth sports organizations. He is passionate about education and providing opportunities for young people of all abilities.
Richard Milone
Director
Richard Milone is a principal in Milone Law Firm PLLC, and before opening his own firm, was a partner in the law firm Jones Day. He is a graduate of Georgetown Law Center, and Notre Dame. He taught 8th grade CCD classes for fifteen years at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Community in Alexandria, VA, and serves as Vice Chair of the Great Falls Lacrosse Association, where he has coached youth lacrosse for over ten years. Richard and his wife Elizabeth live in Great Falls, Virginia with their sons, Jack Luke, and Michael. Michael has Down Syndrome and provides his parents and his brothers with endless joy.
Fr. Rich Miserendino
Director
Father Rich Miserendino is on the Board of Porto Charities. He is also chaplain and director of the St. John Bosco at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA. A native of Burke, VA, Father Rich has always had a special place in his heart and closeness with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. He has also worked with individuals in the Special Religious Education and Develepment programs (SPRED) and for sacramental preparation. He has served at both Saint Agnes and Saint Bernadette Catholic Churches.
Robert Mueller
Director
Bob Mueller has served the mission of the Catholic Church for more than 35 years, most recently as Vice President of Misson Development for FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students). Previously he served as Executive Director of the Office of Development in the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, for 23 years. He has worked in parish and diocesan fundraising consulting. Youth ministry was Bob’s entry area of mission into the Church. He led programs that included development of the Arlington diocese’s summer Workcamp. Bob has had the privilege to lead programs that include the annual Bishop’s Lenten Appeal, major gifts, donor stewardship, planned giving efforts to foster estate gifts, parish offertory and Catholic charities development efforts. Bob and his wife, Madeleine, have five children and are active members of St. Timothy Catholic Church in Chantilly, Virginia.
Jay Sciuto
Director
Jay joined CBIZ, Inc. via the acquisition of Marcum LLP in November 2024. Prior to joining Marcum, he was a partner with Tate & Tryon and RSM, servicing their audit and assurance practice where he assisted numerous nonprofit clients with their audit needs. Jay has more than 33 years of auditing experience. Jay also served as an auditor for the Department of Defense, Inspector General’s Office for over three years before beginning his career in public accounting. He has managed and performed multiple audits and consulting engagements for numerous NFP organizations ranging from charitable and membership organizations, trade associations, those with for-profit entities, political action committees, and pension plans. Jay was an active member of the Board of Directors for Catholic Charities Arlington Dioceses for over eight years and served as the Treasurer for two years.
Staff
Anita Phares
Executive Assistant
Anita Phares comes to Porto Charities with over 12 years experience supporting the Down Syndrome Association of Northern VA (DSANV). Anita holds a masters degree in Management Information Systems from Va Tech and previously worked as a programmer analyst supporting a propriety constituent correspondence system for the US House of Representatives, and later mortgage processing and payment systems at Freddie Mac. Following the birth of her youngest, Mia, who has mosaic Down syndrome she has been involved in the education of her daughter through both religious and academic support. She lives in Chantilly VA and is a long-time parishioner of St. Timothys where she was married and her four children were all baptized. She enjoys crocheting amigurumi and takes on special requests.
Kathryn Doherty
Chief Operating Officer
Kathryn earned her undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Binghamton and a doctorate in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. She served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Education during the Bush administration. Kathryn is a member of the Board of Directors of Divine Mercy Care, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the practice of life-affirming medicine at Tepeyac OB/GYN. She is a parishioner of the Basilica of Saint Mary and lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband, Paul Scolese, and their six children. Their youngest child Margaret was born with multiple birth defects and diagnosed at an early age with autism and intellectual disability. Navigating the great challenges and joys of raising a child with special needs gives Kathryn a special appreciation for the work of Porto Charities and a calling to contribute to the Porto Charities mission.
Carmen Chiappetta
Outreach Coordinator
Carmen Chiappetta has had over 20 years of teaching experience from the preschool to the college level and she currently teaches Spanish part-time at St. Agnes School in Arlington. Throughout her career, she has been involved with program development and curriculum design. Since the birth of her son, Alex, who has Down Syndrome, she has been involved with advancing inclusive education at the Catholic Schools. Carmen has a doctorate from the University of Miami and B.A. from Villanova University. She lives with her husband and five children in Northern Virginia.
Lupita Williamson
Communications Chair
Guadalupe was born in Mexico, where she received her degree in Communications. After moving to United States she worked as a consultant for a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC., where she helped execute conferences around the world for women holding leadership positions in public and private sectors. Lupita's oldest son has intellectual and developmental disabilities. She is passionate about Porto Charities mission and helped develop Porto's current brand image. She is an active parishioner in the Diocese of Arlington and lives with her husband and 4 children in Northern Virginia.