To learn more about the remarkable biography of our founder, Fr. Al, click here.
To access the World Villages for Children video collection, please click here.
To listen to our One 2 One Podcast featuring Fr. Dan Leary and Kevin Wells, visit our podcast page.
To read updates and stories from our staff and contributors, please click here.
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Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
Thomas F. P. Sullivan and Glory Maloney Sullivan will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in 2023. They have three grown children and seven grandchildren. They reside in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and are active members of Our Lady Star of the Sea Parish.
Tom is a native of St. Louis, Missouri; he received a Doctor of Law (J.D.) degree from the Catholic University of America. He received an honorary Doctor of Science degree at Adamson University in Manila, the Philippines. Tom’s writing and lecturing endeavors in the environmental field led to his founding of Government Institutes in 1973 with his wife, Glory. Tom served as President and Chairman of the Board, and Glory served as Senior Vice President and Board Member until their retirement in 1998.
Glory is a founding board member of the Sullivan Foundation. She served on the Board of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), Ave Maria University in Naples, FL, Daniel Memorial, and several Boards in Washington, DC.
Since they retired from Government Institutes, Tom and Glory have devoted their time to Catholic charitable and educational works, including the Sisters of Mary World Villages for Children. They are co-founders of the Amazon Children’s Fund and are actively involved in the Catholic Diocese of Belize and the Catholic Church in Jamaica. They remain active in the Archdiocese of Washington. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan are members of the Order of Malta, the Order of the Holy Sepulcher, Legatus, and the Papal Foundation.
Tom serves on the Board of Directors for the Sisters of Mary World Villages for Children, and both Tom and Glory are honored to serve as Advisory Council Members.
York, PA
Norm graduated from Clarion University with a Magna Cum Laude Actuarial Science degree. He worked in the insurance industry for 45 years, initially with a National Company, Aetna Insurance Co., then went to a local agency, McConkey Insurance, for the remaining 42 years. At McConkey, he started as a Sales and Service Technician and rose to President / CEO over the years. The company grew from 13 employees to 100 employees over that time. He retired as Chairman of the Board in 2021. Norman and Tina are very active on many Non-Profit and Religious Boards, serving as President or Chairman on several of them.
Severna Park, MD
Steve Peroutka is a Maryland lawyer who attended Loyola College and the University of Baltimore Law School. He founded the Law Firm of Peroutka and Peroutka, P.A. in 1991 and is currently its Managing Partner. He hosted various local and national radio programs dealing with pro-life and faith-based issues for several years. He has served on many Boards, including The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, The Women’s Care Center, and the Maryland March for Life. He is the proud recipient of a Doctor of Humanities from Thomas More College, the Culture of Life Medal of Honor from the Archdiocese of Baltimore, and many other Catholic, pro-life, and civic awards.
Steve and Debbie reside in Severna Park, Maryland. They have seven adult children and eleven grandchildren. Debbie and Steve devote significant time to Catholic charitable work and are very active with the Sisters of Mary World Villages for Children. They are active Legatus members and regularly lead pilgrimage trips to visit the work of the Sisters of Mary.
President/CEO World Villages for Children
Paul joined Sisters of Mary World Villages for Children in 2020, motivated by the tireless work of the Sisters of Mary and the inspiration provided by its founder, Fr. Al. Paul has over 20 years of experience working the in the non-profit sector. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Colorado, and his master’s in public administration from the University of Illinois. He has certificates in non-profit management and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).
Paul enjoys running to no place in particular, following Colorado sports teams, and spending time with his wife and four kiddos.
Longmeadow, MA
Coming soon
Richfield, OH
Marney and Rick have been married for 30 years (in May 2022) and have five children, Michael (age 27 in Sales for Palo Alto Networks), Joey (age 25 in Sales for Beckton Dickenson), Emma (age 23 in sales for Oracle), Faith (age 19 Sophomore at Catholic University), and Malina (age 15 – Homeschooled 10th Grader).
They met and graduated from John Carroll University with degrees in Marketing and also received their MBAs from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western University. Marney began her career with Progressive Insurance but ultimately decided to stay home and raise her young children. Rick began his career in the family business (Kent Corporation), which manufactured equipment, primarily for the tube and pipe industry, internationally.
Rick left the family business in 2008 and ran a surgical instrument repair business which eventually sold to STERIS, a public company in 2012. Rick stayed with the business until 2016 when the travel became too excessive. He spent a short stint as an operating partner for Align Capital (a private equity company) but decided that the continued travel was not in the best interest of the family. He began working for a local landscape supply company (Kurtz Brothers) and is currently President of their Cleveland Operations.
As a stay-at-home mother, Marney heeded the call to homeschool in 2010 and is currently enrolled at Divine Mercy University where she is pursuing a certification in Spiritual Direction.
As a family (and Legatus members), the Costello’s have been privileged and forever impacted by two visits to Chalco with their daughters. What began as a “side trip” on their Guadalupe pilgrimage quickly became a highlight of the trip.
Marney and Rick are humbled to be considered advisors to the Sisters and have tremendous respect for Fr. Al, the organization, and their dedication to the poorest of the poor.
Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
Bishop Joseph L. Coffey, son of the late Dr. William F. X Coffey, M.D., and Roseanita Schubert Coffey, was born in Rochester, MN, on May 31, 1960. He was raised in Philadelphia and is a life-long fan of all the Philly sports teams. He is the fifth of nine children, the proud uncle of 46 nieces and nephews and 12 great nieces and nephews.
Bishop Coffey graduated from La Salle University in 1982 with a double major in English/French, including a year of study at Sorbonne University in Paris, France. After college, Bishop Coffey worked as a grade schoolteacher, a ski instructor in Switzerland, and in the automobile industry in Germany and Belgium for five years.
Heeding a call to the priesthood, he attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated with a Master of Divinity degree (MDiv) and was ordained in 1996 by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua. He earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Moral Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 2000.
While still in seminary, Cardinal Bevilacqua permitted then Father Coffey to enter the U.S. Navy Chaplain Candidate Program in May of 1992 with the rank of Ensign. He stayed in the Navy Reserves for the next nine years.
Following ordination in 1996, Bishop Coffey was assigned as an Associate Pastor to St. Katherine of Siena parish in Philadelphia, PA. After five years in parish ministry, he was given permission by Cardinal Bevilacqua for full-time active duty as a Navy Chaplain in September of 2001.
Bishop Coffey’s duty assignments have included: Combat Assault Battalion, Okinawa, Japan; Division Officer and Command Chaplain on Board USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73), homeported in Norfolk, VA, with a 6-month deployment to the Arabian Gulf; Command Chaplain at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center, Cape May, NJ; Marine Air Group 39, Camp Pendleton, CA, an assignment that included a seven-month month deployment to Camp Leatherneck, Helmand Provence, Afghanistan; U.S. Navy Recruiting Command, St. Louis, MO; Command Chaplain on USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN 76), home ported in Yokosuka, Japan, with a six-month deployment to the South Pacific Ocean; and his final assignment as Assistant Chief of Staff for Religious Ministry, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, CA.
Bishop Coffey’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal with two gold stars, the Navy Achievement Medal with two gold stars, the Navy Sea Service Medal, the National Defense Medal, the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the NATO Service Medal, 3 Battle E Ribbons.
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
John was educated by De La Salle Brothers at De La Salle Grammar School in Sheffield, England. He then studied law at The London School of Economics and graduated with a Law Degree (LLB). He then went to Lancaster Gate College of Law in London to complete his Solicitor’s Finals.
As a solicitor, he specialized in corporate law. He later worked for an Issuing House carrying out corporate finance work. Subsequently, he went into the business world, carrying out numerous acquisitions, including the acquisition of Techtron Inc, a U.S. corporation headquartered in Chicago. In 1991, he and his wife Clare moved to Chicago from London, England.
A few years later, John and Clare moved to Ponte Vedra, Florida, and since that time, they have been involved in numerous Catholic Ministries as volunteer executives. John has been a Board Member and former President of The Women’s Help Center, a prominent crisis pregnancy center in northeast Florida, for 14 years. John was also a Director of St Gerard’s Campus in St. Augustine, a non-profit maternity home and Christian high school for pregnant teenagers over nine years. John and Clare were also founder members of the Legatus Jacksonville Chapter and have served in every capacity on the Board. John is a past President.
John has been a Board member Homes of Hope India for over three years. This registered charity works in orphanages and schools, run by seven Orders of nuns (Salesian, Carmelite, Franciscan Clarist Sisters etc.) throughout India. Since 2006, we have provided a safe home and new life for over 3,000 orphaned, abandoned, or trafficked girls.
Clare has raised funds for numerous local organizations, including The Ponte Vedra Women’s Club, Dart For Art, Palmer Catholic Academy, Our Lady Star of the Sea, The Women’s Help Center, etc. She currently volunteers four days a week as a Sidewalk advocate outside a local abortion mill.
Sister of Mary
Sister Margie Cheong has devoted herself to providing the best opportunities for education to the poor children of our world. Born in 1963 in Milyang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, she found her vocation early and eventually joined the Sisters of Mary when she was 22 years old. In 1991, Sr. Margie served as the local superior to our Girlstown in Chalco, Mexico, for 17 years. In 2008, she became the director of the Sisters of Mary schools in Korea. Currently, she is serving the Sisters of Mary in the Latin American community as a support for the Sisters’ of Mary well-being.
Sr. Margie enjoys watching flowers, drawing each moment to remember, and keeping a journal whenever her time allows. She has published two books, ‘The Foolish Heart’ (2014) and ‘The Art Diary’ (2017), and held several exhibitions with her drawings in Korea.
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