Advisory Council

The School Advisory Council was established on October 1, 2015.  The Council currently assists Mrs. Suzanne Florendo, Principal, and Monsignor Cronin, Pastor, in their respective roles.  This group of individuals brings different professional and spiritual gifts to the table and are willing to offer their time and talents in service to the Holy Mother Church.  The Council is committed to strengthening our school and making our presence essential to the people in Basking Ridge and our neighboring communities.  We are a Christ-centere school community that offers academic excellence to all our students.

Supporting the Pastor and Principal, the School Advisory Council, with the assitance of many committees, focuses on improving key areas, including Finances, Marketing, Advancement, and Facilities.  All committee chairs are assigned at least one area of focus.  They are charged with organizing a group that will work with them in their respective focus.

The Council wants to leverage the many gifts and talents of our teachers, parents, alumni, and parishioners from their careers and their faith-life experiences.  We say we are Christ-centered and that we offer academic excellence, which we do, now we will do it even better with the help of God and everyone in our community.

The members of the Council include:

Suzanne Toscano, Chair of the School Advisory Council
Suzanne and her husband Mike are the parents of three children.  She has been a parishioner of St. James for over 30 years and is an alumni of Saint James School. She has spent many years supporting the school in various roles with the Home School Association and is a co-founder of Mary's Hands of St. Margarets in Morristown.  

Tim Caffrey, Liaison to Parish Finance Council
Tim is married to Robin and they hae been parishioners for more than 30 years.  They have four children, all who attended Saint James School.  Tim has spent more than 30 years in the securities and finance industry.  He co-founded New Vines Captial LLC in 2008 and has subsequently transformed the company into a family office, where he is now president and managing  member.  Tim is an original member of the School Advisory Council.

Mary Killian, Secretary
Mary is a former CPA and stay-at-home mom.  She and her husband, Joe, have been parishioners at Saint James for 30 years and their two sons are both Saint James School graduates.  She is an original member of the School Advisory Council and worked for many years with the Home School Association in various capacities.

Lisa Checchio, Marketing
Lisa and her husband, Dave, joined Saint James Parish and School in 2021.  Their three sons all attend Saint James School.  Lisa is the Chief Marketing Officer at Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

Matthew Mulcahy, Finance
Matthew, with his beloved wife, Lauren, raised three children. Lauren, who passed in 2021, graduated from Saint James School.  Matthew is an Executive Vice President at Covanta and is a parishioner of Saint James.

Anthony Volpe, Facilities
Anthony and his wife, Deirdre, have been parishioners at Saint James for 12 years.  They are raising three children, all of whom attend Saint James School.  Anthony is a Civil Engineer and works at The Falcon Group.