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Porto Charities Inc. Team
Board of Directors
Leo Alonso, President
Leo Alonso has been an innovative advocate for inclusive learning, living and employment for people with disabilities. He was one of the founders of the Paul VI Options program, the George Mason Life program, and Porto Charities, Inc. He has a daughter, Vivian with Down Syndrome, who graduated from Paul VI Options and the George Mason LIfe program. He has brought his experience in the grocery and mortgage business to bear on Porto Charities employment and housing initiatives. Leo has always been active in community service, serving as a Special Olympics coach and a member of Porto 104.
Bill Dalgetty, Vice President
Bill Dalgetty spent most of his career as a senior attorney for Mobil Corporation. He is a past president and chairman of the board of Christians in Commerce, and author of Hope for the Workplace – Christ in You, published in 2013. He posts a weekly blog at www.christinlifeandwork.com. Bill and his wife, Marilynn have five children and thirteen grandchildren, and are members of St. Mark parish in Vienna. His daughter, Emily has Down syndrome and graduated from the Paul VI Options program.
John Reidt, Treasurer
John Reidt spent 26 years in the Army following his graduation from West Point. He had 2 tours in Korea and 2 tours in Germany for a total of 11.5 years overseas. After retiring from the Army in 2002, he spent 17 years working in the defense sector for several different companies before retiring from GDIT in 2019. He’s been affiliated with Porto Charities since 2008. He and his wife, Mary Jo Harvey-Reidt, have a special needs son, Sean, who lives independently in the Fairfax area.
Bill Mundy, Secretary
Bill Mundy was a founding board member of Porto Charities Inc. and is the current Grand Commander of Porto # 104 of the Order of Alhambra. Bill served in senior wealth management positions for national and local community banks before he retired. He received a B.A. and a M.A. from Villanova University. Bill was also a CFP Certificant and he held various insurance and securities licenses. Bill and his wife, Marla, have two sons and a daughter with special needs.
Art Bennett, Director
Art Bennett is a licensed marriage and family therapist. He was a Vice President for international health at SAIC for 15 years. For 8 years he was the Executive Director and co-founder of the Alpha Omega Clinics in Virginia and Maryland which integrates mental health practices with the Catholic Faith. He was the President & CEO of Catholic Charities overseeing the 22 counties of the Diocese of Arlington for 10 years. He and his wife, Laraine, have co-authored six books on marriage, parenting and communication. He is a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Alexandria and has four adult children and eight grandchildren.
Patrick Cross, Director
Patrick Cross has been a long-time advocate for inclusive education and better employment opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He has served as the scribe of the exchequer since 2011.
Sheila Erhardt, Director
Sheila Erhardt has been a long time advocate for the community with Intellectual Disabilities. Prior to early retirement, Sheila was the Controller for Octagon Sports Marketing and Athlete Representation for the majority of her career. She has served on the Board of Porto Charities since 2015. In addition to Porto, she currently serves with several volunteer organizations, including Special Olympics, Davis Family Partnership, and Vienna Presbyterian Church. She currently resides in Vienna with her husband Jeff and two daughters, Emma and Grace. Emma has Down syndrome and graduated from Paul VI Options and St Mark Evangelist Program. Inclusive Education is her passion!!
Christine Fowler, Director
Christine Fowler was Clinical Nurse Specialist in Critical Care Nursing prior to the birth of her second child. She served on the Parent Education Committee of The Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia for 5 years. She is currently a Special Olympics Coach and serves on The Northern Virginia, Special Olympics Virginia Counsel of Area 26. Zach's experience at Paul VI provided her with the motivation to become involved with Porto Charities to help insure the continued expansion of Inclusive Catholic education and employment. Zach is currently employed by St. Leo the Great Catholic School and loving his inclusive experience as a staff member.
Paul Frommelt, Director
Dave Hoppe, Director
Dave Hoppe holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame (BA Government) and Johns Hopkins University SAIS (MA International Relations). He began working on Capitol Hill while completing his MA and went on to serve 30 years in various leadership positions, including COS to Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) in the House, AAs to Hon. Jack Kemp (R-NY) and Sen. Dan Coats (R-IN), and COS to Senate Majority Leader Lott. After 6 years in the private sector, he returned to the Hill as COS to Senate Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and later COS to Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI). Dave serves on the Board of Directors for Easter Seals of DC MD VA and is credited with salvaging legislation to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1997. He also serves on the finance council for St. Luke’s Ordinariate Parish in Fort Washington, MD. He is married and has three adult children, the youngest of which, Greg (31) graduated from the Options Program at PVI in 2009.
Stew McHie, Director
Stewart McHie spent 36 years with Exxon and ExxonMobil specializing in sales, marketing and strategic planning. He served in 16 assignments including overseas assignments in Australia and England. He retired in 2010 as the Global Brand Manager for the Fuels Marketing Company based in Fairfax, Virginia. Following his retirement, he launched a second career in academia at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Along with the Dean of the Business School, he founded, and served as Director of the Master of Science in Business Analysis program for 11 years before retiring from that role and serving the program as Assistant Adjunct Professor. Stew has two married daughters, one a marketing executive in NYC and the other an elementary and special ed teacher in Reston, Virginia. He has served on boards of The Fairfax County School District Marketing Committee, The Executive Board of The Advertising Council, and numerous youth sports organizations. He is passionate about education and providing opportunities for young people of all abilities.
Gerald Pelano, Director
Jerry is a business consultant with a focus on Strategic Planning, Revenue Growth, Marketing, Process Development, Mergers, Acquisitions, Succession, Operations, Crypto and Digital Awareness. He has a B.S. from the Saunders College of Business at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a retired CPA and was a founding director of the Potomac Bank of Virginia where he served on multiple committees. Jerry served on the Board of Saint Paul VI Catholic High School for 18 years, where he was a founding member and Chair of the Development Program. At PVI Jerry served as a Finance Chair, liaison to the Arlington Diocese and Chaired a Capital Campaign. He was a long-time member of the George Mason University Athletic Department Advisory Board working on fundraising and membership recruitment. Jerry is a prior distinguished alumni of the year at the Saunders College of Business and served on the President's Roundtable at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Jerry and his wife Pam live in Fairfax Station, Va., close to their five grandboys.
Tony Stafford, Director
Laura Saracina, Director
Laura is an attorney at Littler Mendelson, P.C., where she focuses her practice in employment litigation. She graduated from Villanova University with a BA in Political Science, and was a coxswain and two-year team captain on the Varsity Women's Rowing Team. While at Villanova, she volunteered with the school's yearly Special Olympics events and developed a passion for expanding opportunities for young people of all abilities. In 2018, Laura graduated from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where she served as Executive Editor for the Civil Rights Law Journal and President of the Pro Bono Society. She was awarded the Pro Bono Award from the law school upon graduation. In her free time, she enjoys volunteering with Christ House, Shelter House, and Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation. Laura is a member of St. Thomas More parish, and is a proud alumna of Bishop O'Connell High School.
PCI Staff
Larry Rzepka, Executive Director
Larry Rzepka has been part of the non-profit sector for more than 35 years specializing in nonprofit management, resource development, strategic planning, external relations and governance. In addition to having served as President of the National Defense University (NDU) Foundation and the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) Foundation, he has also held executive leadership positions with the Bethlehem University Foundation, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics Foundation, Gerber Memorial Health Services, and the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network.
PCI Volunteers
Carmen Chiappetta, Outreach Coordinator (part-time)
Carmen Chiappetta has had over 20 years of teaching experience from the preschool to the college level and she currently teaches Spanish part-time at St. Agnes School in Arlington. Throughout her career, she has been involved with program development and curriculum design. Since the birth of her son, Alex, who has Down Syndrome, she has been involved with advancing inclusive education at the Catholic Schools. Carmen has a doctorate from the University of Miami and B.A. from Villanova University. She lives with her husband and five children in Northern Virginia.
Guadalupe Williamson, Webmaster (part-time)
Guadalupe was born in Mexico, where she graduated with a B.S. in Communications. After graduating, Guadalupe moved to United States, and worked as a Program Coordinator for a non-profit in Washington, D.C., where she continues to work as a part-time consultant. Guadalupe’s oldest son has an intellectual disability. She's been an outspoken advocate for children with disabilities in the local public school district, advocacy that she has carried into Catholic schools. She lives with her husband and 4 children in Northern Virginia.