The CWR Board looks forward to welcoming four new members in January 2018. There will be a vote (by acclamation) to elect two new board members during the business meeting Friday, Oct. 6 at the conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada: Sister Patricia Lenihan, RSC, and Jane Strittmatter. The CWR Board will vote at its Oct. 3 meeting to appoint two associate members to the board: Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM, and Jan Parrott.
Sister Patricia Lenihan, RSC
Sister Patricia is a Religious Sister of Charity originally from London, England but now living in Dublin, Ireland. At present, she serves on the General Leadership Team of her congregation. She has a B.A. in Theology for Ministry from the University of London; an M.A. in Learning Disability Studies from Salford University, and a post-graduate Diploma in Web Design and Development from the University of London.
Patricia joined the Religious Sisters of Charity in September 1991. After completing her initial formation she was missioned to Scotland to work in a housing estate in Glasgow as a Pastoral Assistant in one of the local parishes. After studies she was missioned to Birkenhead in North-West England, where she worked as the Disabilities Co-ordinator for the Diocese of Shrewsbury. During this time she also served as the Vocations Co-ordinator for the English/Scottish Province of the RSCs and was responsible for designing, launching and maintaining the Province’s website.
In 2007 she was elected to serve on the General Leadership Team of the congregation. In her current position she co-ordinates the electronic communication for the congregation through Facebook, Twitter, managing the international website and editing the eNews. She also has the privilege of visiting the sisters of the congregation in many parts of the world.
For the past year Patricia has worked with the Association of the Leaders and Missionaries of Ireland (AMRI) on their “Web Group,” a team of five sisters advising AMRI on the most effective way to have an online presence.
In January 2016, Patricia initiated the CWR in Ireland because of her belief in all that the CWR stands for in serving women religious. She is very interested in how we might forge links with the members of CWR internationally and to explore how CWR can grow more as an international organization.
Jane Strittmatter
Jane is the director of public relations for the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She earned a bachelor of science degree in business from Seton Hill University.
Jane’s communications experience began with marketing efforts for an entrepreneurial venture in the floor covering business. When her children entered college, Jane’s interests turned to helping others navigate the financial aid system. She used her communication skills at the Financial Aid Office of Seton Hill University to provide student service and assist with the development of financial aid publications and website information. Jane was a member of the Mission Effectiveness Committee, which fostered an understanding of the University’s Catholic traditions and the Setonian spirituality of its founders, the Sisters of Charity.
In 2008, Jane was appointed Assistant Director of Financial Aid at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg. There she provided financial aid counseling to students and parents, analyzed financial aid data for federal reporting, wrote manuals for financial aid processes, developed web content, and managed the work-study employment program. She chaired the United Way campaign for the Pitt Greensburg campus for two years running.
Jane has been a member of CWR since 2011, having served on both the CWR Communications and Marketing Committees. She is an active member of the Collaborative Communications Committee for the Catholic Sisters Leadership Council of Western Pennsylvania.
Sister Maxine Kollasch, IHM
Sister Maxine Kollasch is a member of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) of Monroe, Michigan. In 2006, she co-founded A Nun’s Life, an internet-based ministry at aNunsLife.org and on social media that engages with people in 150 countries about discernment and calling. Maxine has master’s degrees in theology and advertising. She has extensive experience in online community building, the online culture, and web and social analytics. She is also a former director of communications for her congregation. Sister Maxine is also an accomplished martial artist, avid biker, and history buff. She is an associate member of CWR.
Janice Parrott
Jan has worked with the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi in St. Francis, Wisconsin for more than 23 years. As with many of the members of CWR, she wears a number of hats in her role for the sisters, but primary duties for the last several years have been in the area of Fund Development—communicating needs for funding for the retired sisters and ministry works. Jan also serves as executive director of the Foundation for Religious Retirement (FRR), which serves all the religious congregations of women with motherhouses in the Milwaukee Archdiocese in a collaborative fundraising effort for retirement needs of sisters. FRR has been in existence since the year before the National Religious Retirement Office. She is an associate member of CWR.