About Us Organization Financial Information
Board of Trustees
Rev. Thomas J. Hagan, O.S.F.S.
President and Founder
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Fr. Tom Hagan, OSFS , is a Catholic priest of the order of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Fr. Tom was ordained in 1969 in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and is well known for his prolific work with the inner city poor in Philadelphia and his campus ministry work at the University of Pennsylvania, Lafayette College, Moravian College and Princeton University.
In 1997 Fr. Tom left Princeton University and moved to Haiti to run Hands Together and he has been working in Port-Au-Prince overseeing Hands Together many outreach programs ever since.
Hands Together's roots date back to 1985 when Father Tom Hagan, O.S.F.S., who was serving as chaplain to Lafayette and Moravian Colleges in Pennsylvania, led a group of students on a visit to Haiti. When he returned, Father Tom realized that the experience's profound impact on the students opened opportunities for college students to become more sensitive to the plight of the people in this impoverished country. Educating, encouraging, and inspiring the students to translate their Haiti experience into a compassionate response to help the poor were the seeds sown by Father Hagan that eventually grew into the Hands Together of today.
Douglas Campbell
Executive Director
Springfield, MA
Doug Campbell began working in Haiti in 1986 when he accompanied Fr. Tom Hagan, OSFS, on a Lafayette College volunteer mission. Soon after, Doug joined Fr. Tom in creating a Catholic lay mission outreach called Hands Together which serves the poorest of the poor in Haiti - particularly in Port-au-Prince's slums of Cite Soleil and the poor rural villages in the Diocese of Gonaives, Haiti.
Doug works alongside Fr. Tom Hagan to oversee many Catholic mission outreach programs for the very poor, including: free schools, medical clinics and nutrition programs that provide 25,000 daily school meals. Their work among the violence and savage poverty is founded upon the Catholic social teachings of the dignity of human life and a preferential option for the poor. Hands Together embraces a clear ethic of life based on God's infinite and absolute love for us. About one-third of Hands Together's mission work supports educational, health, charity, and developmental projects in the Diocese of Gonaives where more than 1 million live in abject poverty.
Most Reverend Donald J. Hying DD
5th Bishop of Madison, WI
Bishop Hying, a native of West Allis, Wisconsin, was ordained to the priesthood for the archdiocese of Milwaukee in 1989, where he served in numerous parishes, as well as La Sagrada Familia, the archdiocese’s parish in the Dominican Republic. He also served as dean of formation at Saint Francis de Sales Seminary where he was later appointed rector, serving there until Pope Benedict XVI named him auxiliary bishop of Milwaukee in 2011. On November 24, 2014, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Donald J. Hying as the fourth bishop of Gary. As of April 2019, Donald J. Hying has been appointed as the next bishop of Madison, WI. Bishop Hying brings his missionary experience and fluency in Spanish to his work in Wisconsin and to Hands Together.
Michael Monteleone
Secretary
Managing Partner, Point Lookout Capital Partners
New York, NY
Michael is a Managing Partner of Point Lookout Capital Partners where he oversees prospective investments, negotiates and executes transactions, and manages portfolio company and limited partner relationships. Michael is a member of the firm's Investment Committee and currently serves on the boards of Tri-Tech Forensics, Inc., F.N.B. Capital Corporation (Advisory Board) and Hands Together (Trustee). Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts from Lafayette College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Katherine Coleman
Chairperson
Chevy Chase, MD
Katherine first met Father Tom Hagan as a freshman at Princeton University, where he was the Catholic chaplain. She participated in a Hands Together Experiential Learning Trip in January 1993 with several other Princeton students, a life-changing trip for her. She learned Creole through four more trips while at Princeton, including leading a group of volunteers for a six-week summer immersion experience. Katherine graduated with a BA in French, and after a stint singing in her own rock band, she went on to receive a Master's in International Relations from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Beyond her continuous involvement with Hands Together, she has worked on projects in Haiti for the US Agency for International Development and the World Bank. Katherine now lives in Chevy Chase, MD, with her husband, John, and their three children.
Tom Beaudette
President, Beaudette Consulting Engineers
Missoula, MT
Tom is the founding member of Beaudette Consulting Engineers in Missoula, Montana. Tom has a reputation for extraordinary work ethic and engineering expertise with over 33 years of experience. Tom has work with Hands Together since the earthquake in 2010. He assessed and reported on all Hands Together schools and ancillary buildings and worked directly with HT construction personnel to renovate and stabilize the earthquake damaged schools. He worked on building the new turf field at St. Ann's school in Cite Soleil. Tom has been happily married to Debbie for 36 years. He has two sons and one grandson.
Holly Caruso
CFO, Whitecap Entertainment
Holly Caruso is CFO of Whitecap Entertainment from 1993-present. She is program director of the Los Angeles Chapter of Blessings in a Backpack from 2010-present. She has served as a founding member of the Spiritual Care Guild of Children’s Hospital, The Founders Circle of Kid’s Space Museum and was a 6 year board member of the Circle of Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California. Mrs. Caruso served on the OGLASA board as chair of the finance committee, which served 3 of the poorest schools in Los Angeles from 2014-2017. Holly Caruso currently serves as a member of Holy Family Parish Pastoral Council and Board of Regents for JSerra High School. She earned her Master in Education from Pepperdine University in 1991.
George McCrimlisk, CPA
Pasadena, CA
Monsignor James Kidder
Sacramento, CA
Monsignor Kidder was ordained in May 1967 in the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament as priest of the Sacramento Diocese. He served as Secretary to the Bishop, Diocesan Vocations Director and a member of the Diocesan Tribunal 12 years. In 1980 he was appointed Pastor of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament where he served until 1992 and then was appointed founding pastor of Holy Trinity Parish, El Dorado Hills. Msgr. Kidder holds a B. A. in philosophy and an M. Div. in theology from San Francisco Archdiocesan St. Joseph's College and St. Patrick's Seminary. Shortly after he retired from Holy Trinity last July, he joined the board of Hands Together.
Mary Mather Nally, RN, MSN, FNP
Pasadena, CA
Mary first became interested in Haiti through her parish in South Pasadena, California. In 2002, she was involved in the development of a mission reaching beyond their church community to the impoverished communities of Haiti. On the original board, Mary has continued to be involved with Mission Haiti working with Hands Together in cultivating awareness about the plight of the poor in our midst. Mary is a Family Nurse Practitioner currently working as a Clinical Instructor at the University of Southern California/Keck School of Medicine.
Peter Kovac
CEO of tk2 labs
Santa Monica, CA
Peter has worked with Hands Together since 1992. He is currently the CEO of tk2 labs, an educational software company, and was formerly the COO of Madison Tyler, a global electronic market-making firm.
Peter runs mathematics and literacy programs in his community of Santa Monica, CA, where he also coaches youth soccer. He serves on the advisory board of the Princeton University Press Club, and on the audit committee of the St. Joseph Center, a Los Angeles non-profit dedicated to serving and empowering the working poor and homeless.
Peter graduated from Princeton University’s engineering school, with a certificate from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and International Affairs.
Christopher J. Connolly
Marketing Executive - Walt Disney Parks & Resorts
Pasadena, CA
Chris offers more than 20 years of leadership experience as a consumer marketing champion for blue-chip companies such as The Walt Disney Company, Hasbro Toys, and H. J. Heinz.
He has supported various Haitian relief organizations for over 20 years and is honored to have recently be invited to join the Hands Together Board of Directors. Chris is very much looking forward to leveraging his marketing and fundraising skills to help Hands Together thrive and prosper in the coming years ahead.
Chris has been married to his wife Denise for over 30 years and they have two grown daughters, Olivia and Caroline. The family attends Holy Family Church in South Pasadena, CA where they were first introduced to Fr. Tom and Hands Together.