Meet Our New Board Members

This spring we welcome three new members to our Board of Directors.

Their varied backgrounds reflect the how FMS strives to be an intersection of the different paths within the Franciscan movement. The support of our mission is a meeting point for religious, seculars, and the “Franciscan-hearted” laity who are also attracted to the example of St. Francis of Assisi.

Fr. Jim Gardiner, SA
In 1961, Fr. Jim took his first vows with the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. He is the former director of the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center in Garrison, NY. Currently, Fr. Jim is director of special projects at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America chair of the Washington Archdiocesan Holy Land Committee, regional representative for the Catholic Association of Diocesan Ecumenical and Interreligious Officers, and vice president of the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council. His first involvement with Franciscan Mission Service was leading a seminar on Christian-Buddhist relations. When asked about his decision to join the board, Fr. Jim said, “FMS is such a good idea — Franciscan, collaborative, mission-driven, next generation; who wouldn’t want to contribute to it?”
   

Patrick Martin, OFS
A secular Franciscan, Patrick currently serves as the regional minister of St. Margaret Cortona region and is a member the St. Anthony of Nagasaki fraternity. The fraternity meets monthly at Franciscan Mission Service’s Casa San Salvador where many missioners, both those preparing and those returning, join in for prayer and ongoing formation. Patrick is also a parishioner of St. Peter’s on Capitol Hill where he led a JustFaith group, which sparked for him an interest in global issues. In 2007, he was a founding member and, subsequently, co-chair of the Archdiocese of Washington’s Global Solidarity Committee, charged by Cardinal McCarrick with animating the U.S. Bishops’ letter to parishes, “Called to Global Solidarity.” In 2006 he left his position at the American University to help open the archdiocesan Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, one of 25 schools across the country that serves the children of low income families exclusively with a college prep education and an innovative work/study program.

Doug Garofalo, returned missioner (Brazil 2006-2007, Washington, D.C. 2008-2009)
Doug has seen the direct impact of lay missioners on the receiving communities and the lasting effects felt by the missioners themselves and families and friends back home here in the U.S. Doug is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA) with more than 20 years of experience in the business world. Since returning from mission, he has served as an accountant  for a firm that specializes in providing accounting and advisory services to small to medium sized non-profits in Northern New Jersey and New York City. Doug has been a parishioner of Saint Peter the Apostle Parish in River Edge, NJ his entire life and serves in variety of their ministries. Also, Doug is an active member of the Hackensack, NJ chapter of UNICO National, the largest Italian-American service organization in the US.

Read the rest of our board member bios on our website.

Thank you to these new members for answering the call to serve, and thank you to former board for the gift of their time and leadership.