Faculty

Mr. Dan Kelly - Headmaster

Dan has been involved in Catholic education for nearly his entire life. After graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in Aerospace Engineering (yes, he is a rocket scientist), Dan joined the first cohort of teaching fellows in Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (“ACE”) program, serving as a teacher for two years in Lake Charles, Louisiana and obtaining a Master of Arts in Teaching. Dan subsequently taught at Trinity School at River Ridge in Minnesota for three years before attending Ave Maria School of Law. Dan served as counsel to Chesterton Academy of the Twin Cities at the time of its founding and later served on its board as well as the board for The Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton. Dan presently serves on the boards for Our Lady’s Montessori School in Kansas City and Adeodatus.

Dan lives in the south metro with his wife and four children and enjoys disc golf and woodworking in his spare time.

**Mrs. Lisa Corley - Academic Dean**
As a founding trustee of Kansas City’s first classical Catholic high school, Lisa Corley brings both vision and experience to her role as Academic Dean at Chesterton Academy of St. Philip Neri. She and her husband, John, are the proud parents of four children and have long embraced the mission of forming their children’s minds and hearts in the Catholic liberal arts tradition.
From a young age, Lisa Corley felt a clear vocational call to teaching. She earned her Bachelor’s in Education with minors in Literature and History from the University of Kansas. She began her career in public education before dedicating herself to the classical education of her own children. Over the past decade, she has immersed herself in the study and practice of classical Catholic education, earning certification as a CiRCE Master Classical Teacher and a Master’s degree in Classical Leadership from Benedictine College.
She has served for eight years as the Dean of Academics at two diocesan Catholic K-8 schools, transforming modern educational models to a Catholic liberal arts approach. Her leadership has been instrumental in fostering environments where the true, the good, and the beautiful are not only taught but lived.
Deeply committed to the revival of classical Catholic education, Lisa Corley considers it a joy and a mission to help cultivate souls in pursuit of wisdom and virtue. She believes, as David Hicks wrote, that “the supreme task of education is the cultivation of the human spirit—to teach the young to know what is good, to serve it above self, and to reproduce it.”

Dr. Sujin Yoon - Faculty

Sujin Yoon, a native of South Korea, has a deep love for studying, teaching, and performing sacred music. She earned a Master of Music from Westminster Choir College, Princeton, N.J., and a M.M. and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Organ and Church Music from the University of Kansas. Her principal teachers have been Michael Bauer, James Higdon, and Joan Lippincott. Sujin has been married to her husband Doug for sixteen years and has a twelve-year-old son Evan who loves reading. She enjoys hiking and various forms of sacred art with her family. Currently, She serves as Director of Music for the Novus Ordo and Extraordinary Form liturgies at Christ the King Catholic Church, Kansas City, MO where she offers a Gregorian chant class and directs the Schola Cantorum. She is delighted to teach at Chesterton Academy of St. Philip Neri.

**Mrs. Valerie Thornburg - Faculty**
Valerie attended Catholic Schools, kindergarten through 12th grade, graduating from Saint Gertrude High School in Richmond, Virginia. She earned degrees in Biochemistry and in French from Penn State University, followed by a Master’s in Physiology from the Medical College of Virginia.
She has taught a Physiology course at Washburn University in Topeka for the past 15 years. For a decade of that time, she has also taught middle and high school maths and sciences. Throughout her teaching career, she has had the joy of showing students the Truth in the created world according to Catholic teachings and traditions. Her first year at Chesterton brings with it the highest teaching Good - Classical and Catholic!
Valerie resides in Topeka with her husband, Todd, and their two daughters. The family (mostly) enjoys the company of a pet free-roaming rabbit named Cocoa.

**Mr. Elijah Lee - Faculty**
Elijah Lee is a graduate of Wyoming Catholic College, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts. While at WCC, he wrote and defended a Senior Thesis titled *A Breath of a Life Imparted in Ink: An Exploration of the Relationship between Meter and the End of Poetry*, reflecting his deep love for the poetic tradition. Elijah recently married his wife, Mattea—whom he met during his time at WCC—and together they share a love for the outdoors and a spirit of adventure.
Last summer, Elijah led backpacking expeditions through Wyoming’s Wind River Range, culminating in a 21-day backpacking expedition. It was in the wilderness, sharing in the beauty of creation with students, that his passion for teaching took root.
When not teaching or exploring the outdoors, Elijah enjoys reading poetry and classic literature. Otherwise, you’re likely to find him mountain biking rugged trails or rock climbing alongside his wife. He is thrilled to be part of the Chesterton community and looks forward to sharing in its joyful pursuit of wisdom.

**Mr. Mark Poindexter - Faculty**
Mark Poindexter is a native of the Kansas City, Missouri area. Growing up he loved playing soccer and reading books. He went to college in Rolla, MO and earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

**Miss Cornelia Asjes - Faculty**
Cornelia Asjes (who goes by Coco) sees everything as a short-story in the making. She graduated with a BA from Thomas Aquinas College in California in 2020. The rich Catholic formation she received there informs her writings and coursework at UMKC, where she currently studies for an MFA in Creative Writing. Coco lives with her grandmother and her cat, and enjoys playing guitar, lifting weights, and burying her nose in a good book.

Mr. David Miller - Faculty

When Dave heard about the Chesterton Academy of St. Philip Neri, he saw an opportunity to combine his degree in history, past teaching experience, and faith. His graduate degree in management served him well during his years in business but like St. Philip Neri, he had grown tired of it and was ready for a new chapter. He feels blessed to be able to help these devout, intelligent, and industrious students along the way as they begin their lives.

**Rachel Decker - Faculty**
Rachel Decker graduated from Benedictine College with a bachelor’s in Classics and is now pursuing her master’s in Classical Education. She is delighted to have the opportunity to share her love of all things Roman and Greek with students at Chesterton Academy and hopes to invoke in them a deep appreciation for the ancient world. Outside of the school setting, Rachel is permanently on the lookout for new and exciting “rabbit holes” to get lost in, whether they be creative hobbies or random topics of special interest such as analyzing Egyptian hieroglyphs and memorizing poetry. All in all, she is excited to be working in a Christ-centered environment that fosters curiosity, wonder, and a love of goodness, truth, and beauty.

Mr. Daniel Fox - Faculty

Raised in Huntsville, Alabama, Dan’s imagination was formed within the rich complexities and baffling contradictions of “Rocket City” in the Deep South. Between his awe of the engineering wonders of the U.S. Space Program and his love of the cultural treasury of his Southern Baptist roots, Dan has found that his “right” and “left” brain are always competing for his attention and investment. He considers it a joyful challenge to continue to nourish them both.

Dan was a University Fellow at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, where he studied Great Books and sang with Samford’s A Cappella Choir. He graduated in 2015 as a Brock Scholar in Economics and Arts, with a BA in Business Administration. Dan has arranged performance music and vocal scores for Samford’s “Step Sing” performance annually since 2016.

After graduation, Dan worked in Alabama as a market researcher in commercial real estate and in healthcare, while performing regionally as a singer-songwriter. After his reception into the Catholic Church, Dan traveled to Washington D.C. to study at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute, where he graduated with a Master’s in Theological Studies in 2022.

Dan journeyed to Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where he served as a Residence Director and a content producer for The Center for Catholic Media until 2024. Now in Kansas City, Dan is delighted to join Chesterton Academy of St. Philip Neri in the Fall of 2025 to teach Mathematics and Philosophy.

Mrs. Colette LaFave - Faculty

Colette recently moved to Kansas City from Chicago! She received her BA from Thomas Aquinas College and is a high school graduate from Chesterton Academy of The Holy Family in Lisle, IL. During her senior year at Thomas Aquinas College she wrote and defended a Thesis On Femininity: What it means to be woman. She has a great love for Theology and Philosophy and a deep appreciation for the Chesterton Curriculum and Liberal Arts Education! In her free time Colette loves spending time outside, connecting with other young adults, and singing. She moved to Kansas City a year ago and was just married this past June.

**Mrs. Natalie Sadler - Faculty**
Born and raised a Roman Catholic, Natalie Sadler is wife to Phillip Sadler of 32 years and mother of eleven children. She has homeschooled their children, 26 years to date, and has taught in, and helped establish, a variety of education forums from co-ops to academies. Her passion for Catholic pedagogical principles has served to intuitively hone her classical teaching methods. Therefore, it is with great enthusiasm she finds a home at Chesterton Academy which embodies a vision for which she has long clamored in academic circles. She is the Director of Religious Education at St. Bridget Catholic Church and operates a website offering her handmade sanctuary accoutrements and Catholic textiles. She enjoys teaching Spanish, Latin, math, and grammar, growing English roses, and engaging in theological conversations. At Chesterton, she will be teaching Spanish in sight of St. Paul’s mission to be all things to all men. (1 Cor. 9:22)

**Mrs. Kelley Reitmeier - Faculty**
Kelley Reitmeier received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and a Bachelor of Science in Education in Speech and Theatre from Emporia State University. Kelley has been directing, teaching, choreographing, stage managing, and performing for nearly 20 years. She has worked with countless students around the U.S and even Costa Rica! Kelley has enjoyed serving as the head of several theater departments around the Kansas City area including Gardner-Edgerton High School, The Culture House, and Heritage Christian Academy. She currently can be found teaching tap classes at The Culture House and recently joined the faculty for Storling Conservatory of Dance. Kelley truly loves investing in young lives through the arts! Her most important role however, is wife to an amazing husband and homeschooling mother to three beautiful children!

**Miss Mattie Karr -** **Faculty**
Mattie Karr is a professional sacred artist based in Kansas City. She earned her Bachelor’s degrees in Illustration and Film at the University of Kansas in 2019 and continues to take courses to become the best artist she can be. Though she does not limit herself to only painting religious works, they seem to pour out of her identity as a beloved daughter of God. She hopes that with every piece she finishes, her clients will sense a larger story flowing under their lives and dig deeper to discover the infinite God who loves them more than they could ever hope for. As Chesterton's art teacher, Ms. Karr especially loves watching her students uncover their imagination and budding talents with every drawing.

Staff

Miss Nicole Conroy - Executive Director

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kansas State University, Nicole strives to cultivate Beauty in everything she does. Nicole brings with her an extensive background in education administration and nonprofit management, having previously served as Director of Operations for an inner Kansas City school serving underprivileged students. Originally from Topeka, KS, Nicole received a classical liberal arts education herself and is excited to help others gain the same benefits as she did from her rich educational experience.

Mr. Ollie Bockwinkel - Director of Mission Advancement

Ollie is an entrepreneurial Catholic with a heart for Latin and Greek root words and a mind for numbers. Founder of Custos CPA, an outsourced accounting firm serving faith-based nonprofits, he joined the Board of Trustees of the Chesterton Academy of St. Philip Neri in the summer of 2021. Inspired by his own faith experience at the University of Dallas (BA ‘15, Classical Philology-Greek), Ollie knows firsthand the power of an intentionally Catholic, integrated curriculum to heal and form souls in the love of Christ and has fully embraced the mission of this high school as a seed of the New Evangelization.

Ollie grew up in Shawnee, KS and attended St. Joseph Catholic School and Rockhurst High School. He now leads the Sunday choir at Coronation of Our Lady in Grandview, MO and resides a five-minute walk away from the parish with his wife, Lindsay, and five sons.

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