Board of Trustees

Bishop Robert Barron

President

Diocese of Winona-Rochester

Rev. James Steffes

Co-Chair

Church of the Resurrection

Mr. Michael Cook '02

Treasurer

Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Church

Michael was born and raised in Rochester, and is an alumnus of St. Pius X and Lourdes High School. His wife is an alumnus of LHS and they have 4 children, 3 of whom attend St. Francis. Michael is a project manager at Olmsted County supporting the County's solid waste and environmental resources department. He was fortunate enough to be part of 2 LHS state championship soccer teams and he and his family love watching and supporting LHS athletics.

Mr. Mike Jewison '01

Holy Name of Jesus, Wayzata

Growing up in Rochester, Mike ('01) and his family have a strong connection to RCS. As Vice President of Enterprise Operations at Target Corporation, he brings deep expertise conceiving and executing strategies, a passion for building a strong organizational culture, and experience solving complex problems and delivering sustainable results. Mike's professional background and commitment to Catholic education position him to help Rochester Catholic Schools make significant progress toward our strategic objectives.

Lisa Dierkhising

Pax Christi

Lisa is deeply committed to the values of Catholic education and has been an active volunteer within the Rochester Catholic Schools system for many years. Her passion for serving the community and her dedication to ensuring a quality education for all students will be a great asset to the board.

Lisa and her family are active members of Pax Christi parish. She has two children, one of whom is a Rochester Catholic Schools alum and another who is a senior at Lourdes High School.

Rev. John Sauer

Pax Christi Catholic Church

Rev. John Sauer, pastor of Pax Christi Parish, has a long history of Catholic education.  He attended his parish school, Holy Spirit, and Cathedral High School in St. Cloud, Minnesota. He graduated from St. John's University in Collegeville. Since ordination in 1985, Rev. Sauer has taught at Cotter, Lourdes and Loyola High Schools in the Diocese of Winona-Rochester.  As pastor, he has supported schools in Winona, Austin, Litomysl, and Owatonna and looks forward to serving on the RCS Board.

Mrs. Melissa (Jensen) Saunders '97

Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Church

Melissa grew up as member of the St. Pius community, attending K-8 there and graduating from Lourdes in 1997.  After graduation, she obtained her BA in Economics from Carleton College and her JD from William Mitchell College of Law.  Melissa practiced law at Dunlap & Seeger, P.A. for the last sixteen years where she was an owner, member of the firm’s management team, and chair of the human resources committee.  In October 2021, Melissa became the Director of Planned Giving at Carleton College.  She has served on the boards of Samaritan Bethany, Inc., Families First of Minnesota, Honors Choirs of SE Minnesota, the Olmsted County Bar Association, and the Rochester Estate Planning Council. She has a child at St. John’s, a child at St. Pius, and another eagerly awaiting the start of preschool.  Melissa’s husband Andy recently began working at Mayo Clinic in Child Life after fifteen years as a private school elementary teacher. 

Fr. Luis Vargas

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

Fr. David Medow

Holy Spirit Catholic Church