Staff Directory

Born in the Philippines, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Divine Word University located in Tacloban. Then, I graduated from the University of Santo Tomas Central Seminary. Next, I completed a diploma course of Pre-marital and Marital Counselling at Ateneo Loyola University in Quezon. Finally, I was ordained November 21, 1998 for the Diocese of Naval, Biliran, Philippines.

Moving to the Phoenix Diocese in 2008, I have been Parochial Vicar at St. Mary’s in Chandler, Queen of Peace in Mesa and San Francisco de Asis in Flagstaff. I was assigned as Parochial Administrator here at Our Lady of Joy in 2013. I was incardinated as clergy of the Diocese of Phoenix and appointed Pastor of Our Lady of Joy on July 29, 2014. It is a blessing to be your pastor!

I am from Makurdi, the capital of Benue State in Nigeria and have nine brothers and sisters. My journey to the priesthood began in 2002 when I gained admission to the Via Christi Society. I then trained at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Makurdi and at the National Missionary Seminary of St. Paul in Gwagwalada, Abuja. I was ordained a Deacon in 2009 and in 2010 I was ordained a priest.

I have a postgraduate diploma in Education and an M.A. in Philosophy. After seven years of service in Nigeria and then Flagstaff, AZ, I arrived at Our Lady of Joy on December 30, 2017. I love meditation and I play soccer, ping pong and volley ball. I love reading, listening to good music and traveling.

Originally from New Jersey, I come from a large Catholic family. I have a brother and four sisters. I graduated the University of Delaware with a degree in Economics and Mathematics quite a long time ago! My wife, Mary Linda and I attended Delaware together and then served together in the Air Force. I also have an MA in Theology. Mary Linda and I been married for 48 years, although our counts don’t always match, and have three children and two grandchildren.

I spent 40 years in Information Technology and am thoroughly a geek. I retired several years ago as head of IT for DirecTV. I enjoy sailing, flying and underwater photography.

Deacon Dan was a senior executive with Reyes Holdings, a privately held company based in Rosemont, Illinois from 2000 to 2019. During that time, he served as Executive Chairman of Great Lakes Coca-Cola Bottling for 5 years and as Executive Vice-President and Chief Financial Officer of Reyes Holdings for 15 years. Prior to that he was a partner with the accounting firm KPMG.

In 2016 he was ordained a deacon in the Joliet, Illinois Diocese and transferred to the Phoenix Diocese when he became a full-time resident of Scottsdale in 2020.

Deacon Dan graduated from the University of Illinois in 1984. He is a member of several public and charitable boards of directors. He and his wife Anne have two adult children who now call Phoenix area home.

I knew from a fairly early age that I felt the call to serve the Lord in ministry. However, having been born and raised a Protestant, I tested several denominations, but never discerned the call to pursue a path to ministry in those communities. After converting to the Catholic faith, I began to serve the church in a manner that I had never done before. I began serving the church in several ministries at my parish, Our Lady of Joy in Carefree, Arizona.

Over time, I served my parish as a lector, Eucharistic minister, RCIA as a catechist, served on the parish council, and began to lead a prayer group.

I was very comfortable serving in a variety of ways and soon felt called to more intimate service around the altar. Through this, the Holy Spirit led me to discern a call to Holy Orders as a Permanent Deacon.

With the constant support of my wife, family, the deacons and priest of my parish, and support of the laity, the formation journey began.

The journey has been rigorous, and the growth in all areas of life has been immense, especially my prayer life while learning what it means to be a servant of Christ.

I am looking forward to working among the community of Our Lady of Joy Parish. I am from Ireland originally. I joined the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate after being in the United States for twelve years. I love our charism of door-to-door evangelization and our contemplative spirit. For most of my religious life I have done door-to-door evangelization. I have worked in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Oklahoma, California and Arizona. I, with one of our Sisters, opened a mission in Nigeria, West Africa, where I spent eleven years. Since I have been in the Phoenix Diocese I spent six years working at St. Vincent De Paul Parish, Phoenix, where I led the RCIA program for the English speaking; taught in the RE program; started an adult group who wanted to learn more about the Faith, and; with the help of parishioners, visited over five thousand homes. For the past two years I have been spiritual director for “Maggie’s Place”. I am praying for all I will meet in my new mission at Our Lady of Joy Parish. Pray for me, too!

I was born in Buffalo and was raised in Rochester, New York. I have one older sister and two siblings in heaven. God has a sense of humor. Growing up, my family was always faithful Christians even though we changed denominations frequently when I was young. We were Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian, and, finally, found our home in the Catholic Church in 1989.

I entered the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate in 2002. As a Sister, I have done door-to-door visitation, taught First Sacraments and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (Montessori method), and I also assisted our retired Sisters at our Motherhouse in Monroe, New York. When I am not working, I enjoy baking, singing, and playing the flute.

Since arriving at Our Lady of Joy in September 2021, I have felt very welcomed by your community. I look forward to working with you.

It is an honor to be the Director of Parish Operations/Finance & Human Resources here at Our Lady of Joy. After a career in retail management and then wholesale with Levi Straus & Co., I was longing to do something that would involve my faith and helping other people. I was hired as the Coordinator of Stewardship here in 2002 and after enjoying many years in that role, I have spent the last seven years in my current role. It is my privilege to work alongside our many talented and giving Priests, Religious, staff, parishioners and volunteers.

I grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona and graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. My husband, four children and I have been members of Our Lady of Joy since 1995, so needless to say, this is our home. As a family, we have celebrated many special times and have many wonderful memories here at Our Lady of Joy. It is my hope that you find our parish to be your home as well.

It is an honor to be the Director of Faith Formation here at Our Lady of Joy. In 1992, I joined the National Evangelization Teams (NET) and have been either volunteering or working full time for the Catholic Church throughout Arizona and California ever since. I have written for the Catholic Sun, been interviewed on Immaculate Heart Radio, guested on The Broken Halo radio show and facilitated hundreds of retreats.

I live in Maricopa County with my wonderful wife Maryrose and my amazing daughter Georgiana. In my free time, I have written two novels, Skull Valley and A Life of No Coincidence.

I am blessed to be the Director of Preschool at Our Lady of Joy Catholic Preschool. I have been in education for 17 years in both private and Catholic schools. A positive, engaging and safe learning environment is the setting here at OLOJ Catholic Preschool and I am proud to lead our great school in academic excellence in a faith filled surroundings.

My family has been parishioners at Our Lady of Joy for over 25 years and we love being a part of the Cave Creek community. I enjoy being a part of the community in which I was raised, growing up in Cave Creek has been wonderful. Our two children, Warren age 15 and Elena age 12 enjoy participating in church activities, playing basketball and camping.

Credentials

• M.ED Administration and Supervision/University of Phoenix
• B.A Science /University of Arizona
• Arizona Certified Principal
• Arizona Teaching Certificate/Highly Qualified Biology
• Structured English Immersion Certificate
• Catechist Certification

I am very fortunate to hold the position of Coordinator of Stewardship and Communications at Our Lady of Joy. My goal is to make sure that every parishioner knows we offer a wealth of opportunities and support with the intention of increasing awareness and participation in our Catholic faith. Our three daughters attended Notre Dame Prep where I served as Communications Coordinator for 12 years. Born in Tucson but raised abroad, I earned a B.A. in Journalism from the U of A and a master’s degree from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Madysen "Mady" Mooradian recently joined our staff as the new Coordinator of Youth Ministry. She has a B.A. in Anthropology and previous experience as a Youth Minister in Topeka, Kansas. She most recently worked for Mt. Claret Retreat House in Phoenix helping them with their on-line communication needs. In her free hours, Mady enjoys drinking iced coffee, hiking, exploring thrift stores and playing board games. Mady says she is convinced that if Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and Pope St. John Paul were alive today, the three of them would be the best of friends and climb mountains together.

It is a great honor to be a part of the Our Lady of Joy family. I am a native of the valley, attending Our Lady of Perpetual Help Scottsdale, Xavier College Preparatory, and Arizona State University. I had the honor to work for both state and national government representatives. Later, I pursued my career in early childhood education. I taught 7th grade science and grades 3 and 4, all in parochial schools located in Northern Virginia and Scottsdale.

My family and I are so fortunate to live in this beautiful community. I am truly blessed with a supportive husband, Michael, our four children, Michael, Presley, Katarina, and Giada, and our doodles Magnum and Higgins. I am here to serve you and our beautiful Catholic community!

Michelle Pierce serves as the Administrative Assistant to the Pastor. Her responsibilities include scheduling parish facilities, coordinating funerals and weddings, maintaining the parish master calendar, and working closely with the staff and all ministries. A resident of Cave Creek for 35 years, Michelle originally hails from Colorado and is the mother of eight children aged 14 to 34. She has many years of experience in administration, sales, marketing, and facilities management. Michelle also served as Troop Leader, Training Coordinator, School Organizer and Incentive Administrator for the Girl Scouts of Arizona; has been involved with various groups in the Cave Creek School District; and taught religious studies at St. Gabriel’s Parish where she was very active in the women’s group, Wings.

Parishioner Mindi Nechanicki has joined our staff as the Administrative Assistant to Faith Formation and reports to David Lins. A graduate of the University of Iowa, Mindi and her husband of 32 years, John, recently moved to Carefree from suburban Atlanta where they have lived the past 20 years. They are avid golfers and have five children and two grandchildren. Mindi was an active parishioner at St. Monica's Catholic Church in Duluth, GA where she enjoyed planning style shows for the parish women's club and preparing food for the teen youth groups. Most recently, Mindi was a volunteer in the parish office and is excited to join our staff.