HOPE is served by an all volunteer Board of Directors and aided by advisors who appreciate HOPE’s mission and share its goals.
ANN BRAUER ANDRIACCO
Ann Brauer Andriacco, a retired teacher and director of religious education in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, I have been a member of the HOPE board since 2013 and president since 2017. Being a teacher myself, my heart belongs to my many friends who are teaching in the Latin Patriarchate Schools (LPS) in Jordan, Israel, and Palestine. I have hosted numerous teachers in my home and support the mission of HOPE to provide opportunities for teachers in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and those in the Holy Land to become friends, share our cultures, and have a positive impact on our students – tomorrow’s leaders. I have experienced two Pilgrimages, 2014, 2016, and 2023. I am a Dame of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a papal Order entrusted with the mission of preserving the Christian presence in the Holy Land.
PATRICK BELLMAN
Patrick Bellman is a 6th grade teacher at Our Lady of the Visitation. He graduated from Xavier University in 2017 and has spent his teaching career in Catholic education with the exception of a stint as a park ranger at Yosemite National Park. He enjoys exploring the natural word through hiking and traveling. Patrick became involved through the HOPE pilgrimage in June 2023, where he witnessed the difficulties faced by the Christians in the Holy Land. He hopes to build partnerships between teachers within the United States and the Holy Land, including in his own classroom, so that they can aid each other in their teaching ministry.
SHARON BOHLEN
Sharon Bohlen teaches English at Mount Notre Dame high school. She has been a HOPE board member since 2015. Sharon has traveled to the Holy Land with HOPE in 2014 and 2016, and maintains a close relationship with her partner teachers. Collaborative efforts with her partner teachers include creating and sharing student videos to showcase daily life and Facebook video calls between students while also sharing Arabic coffee. Sharon hosted her partner teacher in 2019 and looks forward to future exchanges. Sharon lives in Cincinnati with her husband Dan and they have 3 grown children.
WALEED S. FADAYEL
Waleed Sama’an Fadayel is a Knight Commander of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Born and raised in Jordan to two Palestinian parents born in Jerusalem and Nazareth. Waleed studied at Xavier University and the University of Dayton earning a master in Biology and a master of Health Administration. He is an active member at the Community of Good Shepherd, participating in various leadership positions and as lector and communion minister. Waleed was a member and president of various volunteer boards dealing with human services and career education and development. He remains active on the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor Ministries and the XU alumni association for the health administration program.
Waleed works at CareStar, a Cincinnati-based healthcare company that specializes in Home and Community-Based Services.
Waleed has been married to Gina Abbate Fadayel for 31 years. They have two children, Samuel, RN, MSN and Stephanie, DO. Gina, Samuel and Stephanie also graduated from the University of Dayton.
STEVE KROEGER
Steve Kroeger’s experience as a faculty member at University of Cincinnati includes developing cultural competence and critical thinking with preservice teachers to unleash the academic excellence of their students. Steve completed four visits to the West Bank, including four weeks of learning with the teachers and leaders of the Latin Patriarchate Schools in the West Bank, Israel, and Jordan. He is currently studying microteaching as an evidence-based professional development process. Steve does visual facilitation. He has been a HOPE Board member for two years.
GREGORY MALE
Greg has been a Board member since 2014 and acts as Secretary and Treasurer. Brought into the HOPE family by his wife Cindy, a HOPE teacher, he shares her deep interest in the program and in the teachers and children HOPE serves. Greg travelled to the Holy Land in 2016 and he and Cindy have hosted teachers from the Holy Land in their home on several occasions since 2013. He is a retired attorney and partner in the consulting firm of Schneider, Male & Strakowski. Cindy and Greg have five grown children and four grandchildren. Both Greg and Cindy are members of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
JUDY MALY
Judy has been on the HOPE board since 2015. She joined pilgrimages to the Holy Land with HOPE in 2010, 2012 and 20 14. She has hosted guests from the Holy Land in 2013 and 2015. An Archdiocese of Cincinnati Teacher for 17 years, Judy has a passion for sharing her skills and information with teachers in the Holy Land. Teacher to Teacher sharing is a blessing to The AOC and the Latin Patriarchate Schools. She states “ I am a better person because of my HOPE experience. I joined HOPE and visited the Holy Land to help share my knowledge of the classroom. However, HOPE has given me so much more: shared teacher knowledge to help our students’ learn, but also great friendships. We share our classrooms, lives and families with each other.” Her HOPE experience has been a big influence on her classroom curriculum.
DAVID MUELLER
Dave Mueller’s conviction about the value of international friendships began in 1980, when he participated in a month-long exchange program between YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly and the Tokyo YMCA, and has grown during his career in Catholic high school education as he has cultivated opportunities for students and educators from his schools and from partner schools in other countries to visit each other. He serves as the principal of McNicholas High School. Dave and his wife Barb have three adult children and four grandchildren.