Prōcēdō:
to advance or move forward
Meet Our Team
Andrea D. Chavez-Kopp
Chief Innovation Officer
Andrea brings 20 years of experience to The Procedo Project as a nationally recognized expert and thought leader in the field of Catholic education, particularly in the area of digital transformation. Andrea began her teaching career in 2000 as a high school social studies teacher at St. John Neumann Catholic High School in Naples, FL. Andrea also served as Confirmation Coordinator and High School Youth Minister for the St. Paul Catholic Community in Pensacola, FL and later as Middle School Lead Teacher, 6-8 STEM Co-Teacher, Faculty Technology Mentor, iPad Coordinator and G-Suite Administrator as well as Youth Minister for St. John the Evangelist School in Panama City, FL.
In her five years at NCEA, Andrea gained national recognition as a leader, innovator, writer and speaker. She vastly improved and expanded the digital professional development offerings available to members and led the charge in content creation and strategic partnerships. She has served on multiple national committees contributing to the work not only of NCEA but of NCCL, NFCYM, the USCCB and many others. She recently earned the distinction of being an ISTE certified educator and works as a consultant and author for several Catholic publishers.
Andrea has a B.A. in secondary education and history as well as an M.Ed. in Instructional Leadership, both from St. Leo University and is currently pursuing an MBA.. She resides in Northern VA with her two teenage sons. You can connect with her on any social media platform @adkopp76 or find her on Saturday mornings via the #CatholicEdChat PLN on Twitter.
Dr. Elise Matson-Dite
Director, Leadership Programs
Elise has been a Principal and Central Office Administrator. At Eduscape, she is in charge of our leadership development and teacher improvement practices. Most recently, she served as Director of Leadership Formation for the Office of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago where she oversaw various programs that pertain to the principal recruitment and hiring processes. In her position as Director of Leadership Formation, she was also responsible for principal onboarding and retention, and she was the lead organizer for principal leadership days. Elise is also Chief Learning Officer for The Procedo Project, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing innovation to Catholic schools.
Elise has a Doctorate in K-12 Education Leadership from Seton Hall University, a Master’s degree in Education with a principal endorsement from Dominican University, a Master’s degree in English from DePaul University, and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Concordia University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude.
Alex Urrea
CEO, Founder
Alex is the son of Colombian immigrants who emigrated to the U.S. in 1966 and shortly became U.S. citizens, entrepreneurs and now grandparents to six grandchildren pursuing higher education. He credits his grandmother with grounding him in Catholic faith and still remembers his first day at American Martyrs School in Bayside, NY when she cried with joy at the sight of seeing him in his uniform for the first time. He is the product of 18 years of Catholic schools and universities. It is his lifelong appreciation and passion for Catholic education that compelled him to launch The Procedo Project.
Alex has founded two education companies and is currently the Managing Partner of Eduscape, a professional learning organization that has impacted nearly 800,000 educators in the U.S. and 23 other countries. At Eduscape, he leads a team of innovative, former classroom teachers who develop and deliver exemplary learning experiences for teachers across several disciplines, including EdTech integration, Early Education, STEM, SEL and Cultural Competency. He is also the founding President of his community’s educational foundation, Chair of the West Bergen Mental Health Foundation and Co-Founder of the Innovative Catholic Schools Network.
Amy Kawaguchi
Director, Government Programs
Amy is an experienced educational professional with a demonstrated history of working in public and private education management industry. Skilled in K-12 Education, Coaching, Educational Consulting, and Strategic Planning.
Marcie Hebert
Director, STREAM Education
Marcie has built a reputation as one of the most dynamic, nationally recognized educators to have taught in Catholic schools. She was one of the original 50 Google Innovative Educators in the world and has delivered professional development to thousands of teachers in the U.S., China and Singapore. Marcie is passionate about helping teachers develop their capacity to integrate technology and STREAM into their classrooms.
She is a Google for Education Certified Trainer, Educator Level 2, and Innovator. Marcie is a co-founder and co-moderator of Louisiana’s monthly Twitter chat, #LAedchat. She is a member of the planning committee for EdCamp NOLA and is a GEG (Google Educator Group) Louisiana Leader. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education in first through eighth grades from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
Joe Favorito
Director, Marketing and Public Relations
Joe Favorito is a product of 17 years of Catholic education; beginning at Our Lady Help of Christians Elementary and Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, and then Fordham University. He has over 34 years of strategic communications/marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. The Brooklyn, New York native has managed the day-to-day activities in strategic communications for: two of the world’s hallmark sports and entertainment brands (the New York Knickerbockers and Philadelphia 76ers); the world’s largest professional sport for women (the WTA Tour); the world’s largest sports National Governing Body (the United States Tennis Association); and the world’s largest annual sporting event (the US Open). He also oversaw the strategic planning, investor relations, communications and digital business development of the International Fight League during its two-year run as a Mixed Martial Arts venture and a publicly traded company before the assets were sold to the UFC.
He was named one of Forbes’ “100 Sports Business Must Follows On Twitter” for 2015, their “50 Must Follows” for 2016 and 2017. The Huffington Post’s “Sports Media People To Follow” for 2017 and 2018, BroBible’s 2019 “Sports Business Must Follows,” and SI.com’s 2020 “Top 100 Follows in Sports Business,” as well as being the only sole proprietor selected as a finalist for the Cynopsis Sports PR Awards in 2015. In 2017 he was also selected as one of Sports Business Journal’s “Power Players” in media and communications, the only independent consultant to make the list of 20.
Sr. Elaine Poitras
Chair, Innovative Catholic Schools Network
Sister Elaine firmly believes in the prophetic mission of Catholic schools and has carried out her ministry as teacher, principal, associate superintendent, director of curriculum and testing, and as a Superintendent for two Diocese. She has been a frequent presenter on varied topics for a variety of groups including NCEA. While in her role as Executive Director of the Innovative Catholic School Network she has worked on several initiatives with DePaul University. She is currently and facilitating retreats for new Catholic school leaders in the Archdiocese of Chicago to prepare, encourage, and support them in their roles as the Faith and Spiritual Leaders of their school communities
Sister Elaine is a native of New Bedford, MA and currently lives in Merrimack, NH. A product of Catholic schools, Sister entered the Sisters of Holy Cross drawn in great part by their mission of education. She has served in the Dioceses of Norwich, Fall River, Manchester, Rochester, Wheeling-Charleston and the Archdiocese of Boston. Sister holds a BA from Notre Dame College, Manchester, NH, MA from Assumption College in Worcester, MA, CAES in Catholic School Leadership from Boston College, and Ph.D. in School Administration with a minor in pastoral ministry from Boston College.
Jennette Rowan
EventED Support Staff
Jennette Rowan is Marketing Associate for Eduscape. She develops brand marketing strategies for Eduscape and its partners, including social media planning, email marketing and event planning. She is one of the lead event developers for Eduscape’s EventED platform, helping to create, set up, support and implement virtual events.
Brian Mahoney
EventED Support Staff
Brian serves as the Marketing Coordinator for Eduscape in addition to providing event planning and support to The Procedo Project. He is a Rowan University graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications. Radio/Television/Film major with a specialization in production with minors in Marketing and Journalism as well as a concentration in New Media Communications.
Our Advisory Board
Kenneth Willers
Ken was recently appointed the President of Notre Dame Academy in Duluth, GA, a Marist and IB World School. He most recently served as the Associate Superintendent of Leadership for Innovation and Growth for the Diocese of Oakland, after a 20-year career as one of the most decorated Catholic School Principals in the country.
He has received the following awards:
NAESP National Distinguished Principal, Washington, DC, 2017
NCEA Lead. Learn. Proclaim Award for Outstanding Leadership
2017 ISTE Administrator Award for Exemplary Leadership
2016 NCEA Lead. Learn. Proclaim Award for Outstanding Board Leadership
2016 NCEA Outstanding Board Award
2009 Certificate of Honor for Vision with Technology by SF Board of Supervisors
2004 Catholic School of the Tomorrow Award for Innovation with Technology
Ken has a B.A. in Philosophy from Don Bosco College, a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Catholic Diocesan Leadership from the Catholic University of America.
Matt Russell
Charles Matthew Russell currently serves an executive at several education technology companies where he brings over 25 years of experience serving schools and educational leaders. Matt is a true veteran, he has served at every level of education including teacher, coach, principal, associate superintendent and as a Chief Executive at the national level. He has an intense focus on bringing technology driven education and education management solutions to our nation’s private schools, delivering outstanding client services and developing robust business partnerships.
Matt is a nationally recognized expert and speaker on subjects related to leadership, innovation, school operations and management and institutional advancement. Prior to his current roles, he served the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) as the Chief Advancement and Business Development Officer. In that role he was responsible for all business development, partnership, events, and fundraising activities for the association. Additionally, he served as the Executive Director of the Secondary Schools Department for NCEA.
Before his time at NCEA, he worked in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where he was the Director of Secondary Education and Financial Aid. While there he worked closely with high schools in the areas of enrollment management, financial aid, and program implementation. Matt has also served as a principal, vice principal, and teacher in K-8 schools within the Archdiocese of Washington.
Matt holds degrees in political science, business and educational leadership and administration from the George Washington University and St. John’s University.
Contact Us Today & Get Started
Procedo is ready to move your Catholic school forward.
The Procedo Project
28 W Grand Ave #5
Montvale, NJ 07645
(201) 351-0595