Board Members
The foundation’s board members are comprised of both advisors and people on the ground who monitor and implement projects, oversee expenditures, and ensure the integrity of funds so that all dollars donated go directly to schools, hospitals and humanitarian programs. No individuals receive direct donations and all board members are volunteers.
Fr. Simon Osuchukwu (President)
Fr. Simon attended the Seat of Wisdom Seminary, in Owerri, Nigeria, where he earned both a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and bachelor’s degree in theology. After earning a third degree in religious studies from Imo State University, he became an ordained priest for the Catholic Diocese of Okigwe, Nigeria, in 2003. He served as pastor in different parishes and as a school principal at several Nigerian schools, always volunteering in the area of humanitarian services. In 2015, Fr. Simon relocated to the United States where he obtained a Master’s of Science degree from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. Fr. Simon currently serves in the Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. He founded Maria Africa Foundation to continue to provide support to the less fortunate in Nigeria where he has a brother, sister and many nieces and nephews.
Thomas Shellander
Tom serves as Vice President of Maria Africa Foundation. He is an attorney and accountant and manages all legal matters and taxes for Maria Africa Foundation. He is also president of Road to Life, a humanitarian inititative based in Tanzania.
Paul Lipari
Paul is the Secretary and the Treasurer of Maria Africa Foundation as well as the Chairman of CCT Research, a Phoenix based clinical research company conducting Phase II and III clinical trials for a variety of therapeutic areas. CCT Research is on the forefront of many of the Covid vaccine trials as well as some of the RSV trials. Paul is also the co-founder of Hudson Capital Advisors, a merchant bank focused on debt and equity private placements, mergers and acquisitions, and sourcing principal investing opportunities. Before starting Hudson Capital, Paul worked in the Leveraged Finance group at CIBC World Markets and Salomon Brothers in NY.
Paul received his M.B.A. from The Amos Tuck Business School at Dartmouth and his B.A. from Yale University. Paul currently resides in Scottsdale with his wife and daughter and attends St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church, where his daughter is an excellent altar server.
Jan Gusich
Jan founded and managed a marketing and public relations company with 30 employees and over $4 million in sales for more than 25 years. Partially retired, Jan now lends her marketing expertise to several non-profit organizations including Maria Africa Foundation, Building Hope in the City (a Cleveland-Ohio based non-profit), Hudson Community Foundation and North Coast Community Hopes (an organization that provides safe housing in Northeast Ohio for persons with developmental disabilities). She also serves on the Executive Committee for the International Public Relations Network. Jan holds a BA degree in Marketing from Baldwin-Wallace College.
Robert (Bob) Gomez
Robert J. Gomez served more than 20 years in the technology industry, working for major corporations such as Xerox, Polaroid, Cisco Systems and Adobe. Throughout his management career, Bob has been investing in real estate and is a licensed Real Estate Agent in the State of Arizona.
Over the years, Bob has been actively involved with non-profit organizations, serving from volunteer to board member with organizations that include the Knights of Columbus, CAAS affiliated Behavioral health services, Maggie’s Place, St Vincent de Paul, St Mary’s Food Bank, Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos, Hemophilia Society of Arizona, Andre House and others.
Bob currently serves as President of the Parish council for St. Bernard of Clairvaux Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. He also serves on the building committee for the Parish and has had several roles in the Parish over the past 20+ years.
Bob holds a B.S. degree in business and marketing from Arizona State University. He lives in Scottsdale, AZ, where he actively runs his real estate business and enjoys being a father to four adult children and grandfather to one.
Peg Ghering
Peg is a retired Technology Services Executive who improved client business outcomes through technology and process transformation. While at Accenture, DXC and Cognizant, she worked with Fortune 200 companies running $100M portfolios with up to 700+ team members.
Peg has previously served as Parish Council President, Education Lead for an Illinois Community Organization, and as a Religious Education teacher.
Peg is currently Vice President of her St. Vincent de Paul conference and works directly with the poor.
Peg received her Bachelors of Science degree from the University of Illinois in Business Administration (cum laude) and completed an Executive Certificate in Global Finance from Thunderbird School of Global Management.