WHITE PLAINS — Thirteen years ago, Stepinac High School’s inaugural Board of Trustees led the renowned all-boys Catholic high school to begin its new chapter as an independent school within the Archdiocese of New York. The members of that distinguished group of leaders were honored at Stepinac’s Gala Celebrating 75 Years of Excellence in Education, held May 5 at the historic Westchester Country Club in Rye.

The sold-out gathering of guests included distinguished alumni and their families, members of Stepinac’s administration and faculty, community leaders, partners, and other supporters.

“As we celebrate 75 years of excellence in education, it is fitting that we recognize the significant contributions the inaugural board of trustees made in laying the foundation for Stepinac as a highly successful self-governing school, one that we have subsequently built on to become a pioneer in secondary education,” said Fr. Thomas Collins (’79), who was named Stepinac’s President in 2011, said, adding: “The entire Stepinac family is very proud to honor these accomplished individuals for their vision, dedication and hard work at a pivotal moment in Stepinac’s history.  Thanks to their exemplary efforts, Stepinac’s legacy of preparing young men for post-secondary success has thrived.”

Fr. Collins presented special plaques and congratulated the honorees and their family members.  It was also announced that a major goal of the 75^th Gala had been achieved—raising funds to create a state-of-the-art Active Learning Center—modeled after Columbia University’s classrooms—that will be dedicated as a lasting tribute to the Board of Trustees. They are:

• William F. Plunkett, Jr. of Tarrytown (Class of ’58), who served as chair. A prominent attorney, Plunkett was a founding partner of the Plunkett & Jaffe law firm that in 2006 merged to become the Plunkett & Jaffe Group in the law firm of McKenna, Long & Aldridge. Plunkett was well known for his work with numerous government and not-for-profit agencies and groups. He has been honored by many organizations including the National Conference of Christians and Jews and was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Plunkett, who passed away on April 16, 2023, was posthumously honored and represented by his brother, Kevin Plunkett, another distinguished alumnus (Class of ’67).

• Thomas B. Martin of Scarsdale (Class of ’65), who served as vice chair. A registered Investment Advisor, Martin has been the owner, president, and CEO of Circle Advisers, a leading diversified wealth advisory and financial service firm. He has provided clients with expertise in executive compensation planning and employment contract negotiations.

• Jim Scully of White Plains (Class of ’80), who served as secretary. Scully is a partner of Scully Construction LLC, a leading provider of general contracting services in the tri-state area. In addition to helping Stepinac undertake several new facilities improvements, he has long been active in supporting organizations and has been a member of Stepinac’s Alumni Association.

• Kevin J. Keane of White Plains (Class of ’74), who served as treasurer and subsequently followed Plunkett as chair. Keane is Managing Partner of O’Connor, Davies, Munns & Dobbins LLP, a leading accounting firm in the New York metro area.  A certified public accountant with extensive experience in accounting and tax planning services, Keane specializes in dealing with closely held businesses and their owners. He is active in numerous business and community organizations.

• Maggie Kolman-Mandle of Briarcliff Manor, who was a partner in The Research Firm, a full-service market research company serving Fortune 500 companies. Her two sons and brother are Stepinac alumni.  She served as President of the Lady Crusaders comprising mothers of Stepinac students and has served as a member of the PR Committee that was established after the school became independent.

• Sister Lucille Coldrick, a member of the Sisters of the Divine Compassion for more than 60 years. Both a teacher and administrator, she taught at The Academy of Our Lady of Good Counsel in White Plains and served as principal of Preston High School in the Bronx.

• George Kehayas, who passed away in 2010, was Senior Trial Attorney for the law firm of Garbarini & Scher PC specializing in medical, hospital, and product liability and employment discrimination, and was an adjunct lecturer on health and law at the New York Medical College School of Public Health. Five of his sons graduated from Stepinac.

Since Stepinac’s charter as an independent high school and its board were approved by the New York State Board of Regents 13 years ago, Stepinac has undertaken an uninterrupted series of significant initiatives, several of which have been unique to the region. Among them have been the nation’s first-of-its-kind, all-digital textbook library, and blended learning platform; the 21-century learning spaces modeled after Columbia’s classrooms; the Susan and Daniel P. Mahoney Honors Academy; real-world learning technologies including the new STEAM Center, Finance Center equipped with Bloomberg Terminals; state-of-the-art turf athletic field, among others.

Stepinac has also earned the reputation as the standard bearer of curriculum innovation and a leader in providing young men with the skills they need to be globally competitive at college and in their careers. 

One of the 75^th Gala entertainment highlights included performances by the four lead actors of Stepinac Theatre’s National High School premiere of the hit Broadway musical, Jersey Boys. Performing musical numbers from that production were Calvin Lindo (Class of ’24) of Yonkers as Frankie Valli; Noah Collazo(Class of ’23) of Yonkers as Bob Gaudio; Ryan Diaz (Class of ’24) of New York City as Tommy DeVito and Jordan Prado (Class of ’24) of Yonkers as Nick Massi.

Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, kicked off Stepinac’s Diamond Anniversary celebration on September 19 when he visited the school to celebrate the Mass of the Holy Spirit on the front terrace with the entire Stepinac family.  At the conclusion of the Mass, he blessed the front doors of the school, just as Francis Cardinal Spellman did 75 years ago when the school opened.

The mission of Archbishop Stepinac High School is to offer young men of the Archdiocese of New York a highly competitive academic and extracurricular program that will prepare them for college and leadership roles. The faculty and staff accomplish these objectives by pursuing excellence and creating a supportive, disciplined atmosphere with a strong sense of camaraderie and Christian values that is unique to the Stepinac experience. For more information, visit www.Stepinac.org.