Posted January 7, 2020

On Thursday, Jan. 30, St. Mary Interparochial School will host the St. Mary Soirée, generously presented by City Plumbing. This celebration of St. Mary Interparochial School’s continued dedication to building hearts, minds, and futures through excellence in Catholic education will be held at the Union Trust. The proceeds from the Soirée will support the improvement of the school’s physical space so that St. Mary can sustain academic excellence and spiritual formation in the heart of historic Philadelphia.

The Soirée will honor Mrs. Joann Sullivan, recipient of the Legacy Leader Award. Joann Sullivan has dedicated her life to the advancement and sustainability of Catholic education. Joann has shared her time and talent with the students and faculty of St. Mary Interparochial School for more than a decade as a member of the Advisory Board and Board of Limited Jurisdiction, where she chaired the Academic Committee from 2010 through 2015 and served on the Advancement Committee from 2015 through 2019. She has also mentored and coached the St. Mary faculty and led the preparation of St. Mary’s submissions to the U.S. Department of Education, assisting in the school’s designation as a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.

During her lengthy career as an educator, Joann has been a classroom and reading resource teacher, staff development specialist and educational consultant to Catholic schools across Southeastern Pennsylvania. She developed and implemented teacher training curricula and continuing education programs for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and Diocese of Allentown and served as a consultant for the School District of Philadelphia’s Office of Nonpublic Programs. She was the Faculty Liaison to the Parent Advisory Board of St. Aloysius Academy in Bryn Mawr and a member of the Foundations Board of Our Lady of Lourdes School in Overbrook. Joann has also served as a Consultant for the Philadelphia Writing Project, a program of the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education.

Joann’s support for her community is longstanding, including her past work at Southwest Community Enrichment Center in Kingsessing, as a parent volunteer at Rosemont School of the Holy Child and the Baldwin School, and currently sits as President, Development Council of St. John’s Hospice and as a board member of the Green Byrne Child Care Center.

In addition, St. Mary will honor the Global Philadelphia Association with a Partner in Education Award. Global Philadelphia Association was created to assist – and to encourage greater interaction among – the many organizations and people who are engaged in international activity in the Greater Philadelphia Region, to promote the development of an international consciousness within the region, and to enhance the region’s global profile. St. Mary Interparochial School is proud to partner with the Global Philadelphia Association in celebration of Philadelphia being designated as the first World Heritage City in the United States of America.

Individual admission tickets to the St. Mary Soirée are $100. Young professionals, ages 21 to 25, may purchase admission tickets for $75. Please make checks payable to St. Mary Interparochial School. Reservations are due by Jan. 15.

To learn about other ways to support the St. Mary Interparochial School Soirée, or to pay securely online, visit www.saintmarys.us/support/st_mary_soiree.

For more information, or to make a payment by phone, please contact Betty Montgomery, Advancement Assistant, at emontgomery@saintmarys.us or 215-923-7522.