Board of Directors
OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS IS AS FOLLOWS:
- Jason Jesso - Chair
- Jennifer Guinee - Vice Chair
- Stephen Lampe - Treasurer
- Kelly Fitzgibbon - Secretary
- Walter Bashaw
- Michael Bench
- Heather Dieckmann, '00
- Mary Kirk
- Jeff Peretin
- Jesse Rodriguez
- George Sokos
Ex Officio:
- Very Reverend Michael S. Sedor, Diocese of Pittsburgh, STL, JCL, Director for Canonical Services, Judicial Vicar
- Charles J. Goetz, Diocese of Pittsburgh, Chief Facilities Officer
The board is currently seeking new members from a diverse group of alumni who are willing to share their time and talent with the school. For more information, please contact John Gargani at [email protected].
GET TO KNOW THEM:
Jason Jesso - Chair
Jason Jesso is the Chief Executive Officer for The Gateway Engineers Inc., a 200-person multi-disciplinary civil engineering firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. As CEO, Jesso’s focus is on establishing, implementing, and communicating the vision of the organization, both internally and externally. Prior to joining Gateway, Jesso was a Landscape Architect for two independent architecture and engineering firms in Pittsburgh where he learned how to combine both design and engineering into a single solution. Jesso obtained his Bachelor’s of Science in Landscape Architecture from West Virginia University and his Master’s of Business Administration from Waynesburg University. After completing his MBA, he received a certificate from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School of Business, Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence. He then went on to complete more professional certifications such as the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification and join multiple industry associations such as the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Project Management Institute. Outside of his professional organizational involvement, he has also volunteered on the St. Bernard School Advisory Council, the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, and the Mt. Lebanon Hornets hockey program.
Jennifer Guinee - Vice Chair
Jennifer Guinee is the parent of five Seton LaSalle students (Caitlin ‘17; Bridget ‘19; Patrick ‘22; Brendan ‘23; and Liam ‘27.)
She is a graduate of St. Francis University and Suffolk University Law School. She practiced insurance defense litigation before deciding to stay home to raise her children.
She has been an active member of St. Bernard Parish (now St. Michael the Archangel) since 1995. For many years, she coached the cross-country team, but retired in October. Currently, she volunteers at the fish fry, parish festival, and apple pie making.
Jennifer is a strong supporter of Catholic education and believes it has been instrumental in the lives of her children.
She has had a student at Seton LaSalle since 2013, and has witnessed tremendous improvements over the years: increased enrollment; facility repairs and modernization; strengthening of Catholic identity; positive and targeted marketing, enhancements of athletics; and strengthening of rigorous academics.
She would welcome the opportunity to serve on the board and to build upon the recent improvements.
Steve Lampe, '71 - Treasurer
Steve Lampe is a 1971 graduate of South Hills Catholic and is currently a retired employee of PPG Industries, where he worked as the Controller for the Coatings businesses, as well as Vice President of Purchasing & Logistics. During his almost 40-year career, he lived abroad and traveled extensively. Steve is a CPA with an Accounting degree from Penn State. Although he is a native of Bethel Park, he now lives with his wife, Pat, in Franklin Park. They have three grown children and are active members of Saints John & Paul Church in Franklin Park.
Kelly Fitzgibbon - Secretary
Kelly Fitzgibbon is the mother of two Seton LaSalle graduates, Anna (2019) and Marie (2022), and current student, Sarah (2026). Catholic education has been very important to her family with children attending St. Bernard School/Ave Maria Academy, Seton LaSalle Catholic High School, Duquesne University and Villanova University. She was on the St. Bernard School Advisory Board prior to its merger.
Kelly’s husband, Scott, owns Fitzgibbon and Associates Inc., an education-based consulting firm. Scott conducts trainings and consults with clients while Kelly handles the financials of the business.
Kelly has a Master of Business Administration and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics - both from West Virginia University.
Prior to working for Fitzgibbon and Associates and being a stay-at-home parent, she worked for 15 years at Mellon Financial Corporation as a Vice President in Investment Banking and in Asset Securitization and also for Mellon Bank as a financial analyst.
Kelly and Scott are parishioners at St. Michael the Arch Angel/St. Bernard and she is currently serving as an Ecumenical Minister of Holy Communion.
Michael Bench
Michael is a recently retired Mechanical Engineer who has spent the last 30 years in Operations and Maintenance for ATI Specialties Materials Company. He retired as the Director of Operations, and his final project was the installation of a High-Tech Annealing line for ATI. Mike is married to Kathleen Bench and has 3 daughters: Kathryn (Jake) Arentzen, Colleen Bench, and Kelly Bench. Katie and Jake have 2 children, Connor and Riley, providing Mike and Kathleen with 2 wonderful grandchildren.
While Mike is a graduate of Baldwin High School, he is a firm advocate for Catholic School education. His three daughters have all attended 12+ years of Catholic school and have each graduated from Seton LaSalle (Katie ’13, Colleen ’16, and Kelly ’19). Mike first started advocating for Catholic schools while assisting Kathleen in various galas and fundraising events for Saint Patrick’s grade school in Canonsburg. That commitment naturally extended to Seton LaSalle as his daughters attended. Based on his public-school experience, Mike recognized that there is a better way to educate our kids in a faith-based atmosphere that creates opportunities that weren’t available to him.
Mike is a committed Parishioner of Saint John XXIII (Saint Benedict the Abbott Church) in Peters Township.
He served 6 years as a member and President of the Pastoral Council and was instrumental in developing a new path forward from the historical Parish Council model. He was also involved with the building of a new church building. Mike was a founding member of the Saint Vincent Paul Society at Saint Ben’s and served multiple appointments as the Secretary of the group.
Heather Dieckmann, '00
Heather Dieckmann is the Mortgage Department supervisor at SSB Bank and has been working there since January 2017. Heather oversees consumer loan origination for SSB Bank along with overseeing the residential mortgage team. SSB Bank is a community bank with 2 locations - the North Side of Pittsburgh, and in McCandless. From October 2017 to April 2016 she worked as a mortgage specialist at United America Savings Bank (purchased by Famers National Bank in April 2016). Heather was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA earning her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Duquesne University in 2004 after graduating from Seton LaSalle in 2000. She currently serves on the Executive Board and Board of Directors of the Builders Association of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (BAMP), Regional Vice President for Pennsylvania Builders Association (PBA), Board of Directors of Mortgage Bankers of Southwest PA, Board of Directors of Every Child lnc., and member of the Rotary Club of Bethel-St. Clair.
Mary Kirk
Mary Kirk is a stay-at-home parent, and a new addition to the Seton LaSalle family with the 2019 transfer of her daughter Sydney, who graduated in 2022. Mary became involved in Seton LaSalle right from the start—leading the Women’s Rebel Volleyball boosters then stepping directly into the role of adjunct marketing consultant on key events like the annual Seton LaSalle Gala, as well as many marketing initiatives, strategic annual planning, and the relaunch of the new SLS website. With over 25 years of experience in both traditional and non-traditional media and marketing in two of Pittsburgh’s largest advertising agencies, Mary’s extensive background in event planning and strategic communications (national and international) has been put to good use to support the strong leadership team at Seton LaSalle. Mary also served 10 years (2003-2013) on the Board of Directors for Sisters Place, a non-profit organization supporting homeless women and children.
Residing in Upper Saint Clair with her husband Bob and two children (Sydney, 17 and Ian, 15), she actively volunteers at both St Thomas More Catholic parish and at St. Winifred’s food bank. As a lifelong Catholic, Mary has fallen in love with the Rebel family and all things ‘Green and Gold’ and is excited to help move SLS into the next chapter as a member of the board of directors.
Jeff Peretin
Jeff Peretin is president and CEO at Connors Group, a leading management consulting firm, where he is responsible for partnering with executive teams to develop and deliver transformational strategies and tactics to establish operational excellence. Jeff has spent the majority of his career in the consulting industry working with over 500 organizations throughout the world. He is a recognized thought leader who has spoken throughout the country on the topics of industrial engineering, lean, and productivity improvement. Prior to Connors Group, Jeff worked for Accenture and H.B. Maynard and Company. Jeff is an active volunteer and has served on other advisory boards for organizations such as Young Life, and the University of Pittsburgh Department of Industrial Engineering. Jeff is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a veteran of the United States Navy who served on active duty during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. He lives in Peters Township with his wife and four children, two of whom are Seton LaSalle graduates and one a current student. He and his family are active members of St. Catherine Laboure Parish in Upper St. Clair.
George Sokos
George G. Sokos, DO, FACC is the Director of Cardiology Operations, Chief of Cardiology, Director of Noninvasive Cardiology, Advanced Heart Failure & Cardiac Transplant and Professor of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine and colleague of Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and The Heart and Vascular Institute at WVU Medicine.
Prior to his appointment at WVU Medicine, Dr. Sokos was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine and Program Director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Fellowship program at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. He currently is the Domain Leader for Cardiology for the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) which is an NIH sponsored initiative to learn more about the effects of COVID-19 on cardiovascular disease and includes researchers from several sites across the US. His research interests include the cardiovascular effects of COVID-19, delivery of heart failure care in rural at-risk populations, utilization of multidisciplinary teams to enhance medication adherence in patients with heart failure, as well as metabolic abnormalities in cardiac dysfunction. He has received the prestigious American College of Cardiology Merck Fellowship award for his work using a novel product to aid with recovery from cardiovascular surgery.
Dr. Sokos has authored or co-authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications. He has given more than 100 presentations in regional, national and international scientific meetings, and has served on numerous committees in the American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, and other organizations.
Dr. Sokos has served as a clinical investigator in over 50 clinical trials in heart failure, transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, and pulmonary hypertension. He has received funding from the AHA, ACC, Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Dr. Sokos received his Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy from the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy and his Doctor of Osteopathy degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) where he also served as Chief Resident. He completed his Cardiovascular Medicine fellowship at AGH and completed an additional fellowship in Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr. Sokos is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiovascular Disease and Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology and is licensed in the states of Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Per George “My faith and my family are of the utmost importance to me and have shaped my life and my career. I have been happily married to my wife Denise for 27 years and we are the proud parents of our daughter Elizabeth. We are longstanding parishioners of Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church and are very involved with church activities. I served as President of the Parish for 2 years and was on the council for over 10 years. My wife and I strongly believe in the benefits of Catholic education. Elizabeth attended St Louise Catholic School prior to enrolling at Seton Lasalle and we have been extremely pleased with her education as well as the emphasis on faith and values.”