In her own words:

      The story of my faith journey has to begin with my childhood. My parents made faith the centerpiece of our family life. We attended Mass together every Sunday and Holy Day (even on vacation). My parents were always very involved in parish ministries. Some of my earliest memories are of music practice and prayer meetings in our home. My brother, sister and I all attended Catholic school. After grace before meals each member of our family would say “I love you” to the others. The whole family knelt together every night for bedtime prayers. During Advent we would decorate a felt tree with our good deeds and light the Advent wreath at dinner. Road trips always began with a prayer. My father would anoint us and pray with us when we were sick. I am still very close to my parents and siblings; they continue to be amazing examples for me in my adult life. I know that my faith life is built on the strong foundation provided by my family.

     With the example set by my parents it is not surprising that I have been actively involved in the Church since I was young. I often attended daily Mass at school and I started lectoring as soon as I was confirmed. I was very involved in my high school youth group and a program called Day by Day Agape that was run by the Capuchin Franciscans. I attended college at Drew University where I studied Spanish Language and Culture. Catholic Campus Ministry was an important part of my college experience and a place where I found a great sense of community. There I served as a lector, Extraordinary Minister, RCIA leader, and liturgy director. I applied for medical school with the belief that medicine was a vocation, a way God was calling me to do His work by caring for and healing people. I studied medicine at New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ. Medical school was a physically, emotionally and spiritually challenging time in my life during which faith and God’s grace carried me. My parish during medical school was a wonderful spiritual community and the people I met there became part of my family. It was during that time that I met an energetic, faith-filled and deeply spiritual priest in that parish, Father Matthew, who has been a spiritual mentor and close friend over the years. I came to Philadelphia in 2001 for residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. I have been a pediatrician in private practice in New Jersey for the past five years. In January 2008 I became the chief of pediatrics at the hospital where I practice and I am working to develop programs that better meet the community’s need for pediatric care.

     In addition to my work with patients I am part of the design team for the hospital’s transition to an electronic medical record. I am involved in community education programs and serve as a medical consultant for Head Start and Early Head Start programs. I continue to rely on God’s grace to live out this vocation and serve His people. I joined Saint Mary’s in 2005 when I married my husband Darren and moved to Roxborough. Darren has lived in Philadelphia his whole life. He is a tremendous blessing and source of strength in my life. I remember Father Jim’s homily around the time that the movie The Da Vinci Code was released. In discussing Opus Dei and other movements within the Church he reminded us that people are most attracted to these groups when a parish does not fulfill its role as a faith community.

     Throughout my life I have belonged to several parishes that are great faith communities. I feel blessed to have found another such community here at Saint Mary’s. I believe the small groups at Saint Mary’s are a key to the growth of this community and my small group at Saint Mary’s continues to deepen and strengthen my faith. Saint Mary’s has been a wonderful and welcoming faith community for me over the past four years and I am very proud to be a part of it.