Advisory Council

The School Advisory Council ("the Council") was established on October 1, 2015. The Council currently assists Sister Joann Marie Aumand, Director, Mrs. Suzanne Florendo, Principal, and Monsignor Cronin, as pastor, in our 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-centered school community that offers academic excellence to all of our students.
 
Supporting the Pastor, Director and the Principal, the School Advisory Council, with the assistance of many committees, will initially focus on improving key areas, including the following: Academics, Business and Finance, Electives,  Marketing, Development, and Building and Grounds. All committee chairs are assigned at least one area of focus. They are charged with organizing a group that will work with them on their respective committees. 
 
We want to create an open and transparent dialogue on how we ALL can contribute towards improving our school. 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 need your help: we say we are Christ-centered offering academic excellence, which we are! Now we will do it even better with the help of God and all of you.

The members of the Council include:

B.J. Agugliaro, Chair of the School Advisory Council:
B.J. is the father of four children (three graduates of Saint James School and one current student) and is married to Jeannine. His oldest daughter attended Mount Saint Mary Academy and recently graduated from Providence College.  His son attended Delbarton and is currently a junior at Boston College.  His second daughter also attended Mount Saint Mary Academy and is a freshman at The Catholic University of America.  His youngest daughter is currently a seventh grader at Saint James. A Managing Partner of PwC's New Jersey practice, B.J is committed to youth education and our Catholic faith values.  

Adriane Adler, Co-Vice Chair of the School Advisory Council, Chair of Electives Committee:
Adriane is Co-President of the Home School Association (HSA). She is married to Geoff and their two daughters are currently enrolled in Saint James School. Mrs. Adler works as a freelance director in the television industry.

Tim Caffrey, Co-Vice Chair of the School Advisory Council, and Member of the Finance, Investment, and White House Committees. 
Tim is married to Robin and they have been parishioners for more than 30 years.  They have four children Matthew, Caitlin, Meghan, and Patrick, all who attended Saint James School.  Their children went on to attend Delbarton, Ridge, and Oak Knoll.  Matthew and Patrick graduated from Villanova while Caitlin graduated Seton Hall and Meghan, Penn State.  Tim has spent more than 30 years in the securities and finance industry.  He was promoted to Managing Director in 1998 at Morgan Stanley and held various leadership roles at Deutsche Bank.  Tim co-founded New Vines Capital LLC in 2008 and has subsequently transformed the company into a family office, where he is now president and managing member.  Tim also serves as a member of the President’s Advisory Council at Seton Hall University and serves as a board member of Flushing Financial Corp.

 
Richard C McMahon, Chair of the School Advisory Council's Marketing Initiative:
Rich and his wife, Caroline, have three children who attended the Saint James School. Their sons' attended Oratory Prep High School and are now attending Villanova University.  Their daughter attends Villa Walsh Academy. Mr. McMahon is the Founder & CEO of cda Ventures LLC and previously spent 17 years as the Chief Strategy Officer & VP Corporate Operations, President International for Bed Bath & Beyond Inc and President Linen Holdings (a subsidiary of Bed Bath & Beyond).

Shawn Lynch, Chair of the Council’s Buildings and Grounds Committee:
Shawn and his wife, Jennifer, have three children, two Saint James School graduates and one current student. Their son attended Oratory Prep and their daughter attends Mount St. Mary Academy. The family has been active Saint James Church parishioners for 20 years. Shawn has served in the reinsurance industry for 25 years and is Senior Vice President at TransRe in NYC.  Shawn also serves on the Saint James Parish Parsonage Committee ('White House' renovation).

Mary Killian, Council Member:
Mary is a former CPA/stay-at-home mom. She and her husband, Joe, have been parishioners at Saint James for the past 26 years, and their two sons are both Saint James School graduates. She is a three-term SJS HSA Board Member and past Corresponding Secretary for the Delbarton Mother’s Guild. She currently does part-time accounting work.
 
Monsignor Sylvester J. Cronin, Pastor, Saint James Catholic Church (ex-officio) 
Sister Joann Marie Aumand, Director, Saint James School (ex-officio) 
Suzanne Florendo, Principal, Saint James School (ex-officio)  

Through our labor of love, our goal is to position Saint James School for success in its next 50 years of Catholic education. Thank you for you your support of Catholic schools here in the Diocese of Metuchen.