“The Chesterton Academy of St. James is an answered prayer! None of us on the Board had ever started or operated a high school, but we knew there was a need for faithful Catholic classical education in the Bay Area. It’s been an incredible exercise in trust, humility, God’s generosity and grace.“
Lyra holds a BA in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Ateneo de Manila University, an MA in Liberal Studies from Georgetown University, an MA in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy/Tufts University, a JD from UC-Berkeley, and a Health Care Ethics Certification from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.
She has served on the Board of Regents for Georgetown University, Board of Visitors for the Philosophy Department of the Catholic University of America, and on the boards of Philippine International Aid and Canyon Heights Academy. She currently serves as a Board member for the Zephyr Institute and St. Patrick’s Seminary. She is a member of the Order of Malta and a catechist for the Church of the Nativity in Menlo Park.
She brings this broad academic interest, passion for true Catholic education and a roll-up-your-sleeves work ethic as the inaugural Executive Director for the Chesterton Academy of St. James.
Mr. Billion is thrilled to return to the Bay Area to serve as the inaugural headmaster of the Chesterton Academy of St. James. For the past five years, he had the privilege of serving at Chesterton Academies in Minnesota, where he held the roles of founding faculty member and Academic Dean. In addition to teaching, Mr. Billion has worked extensively with the Chesterton Schools Network as a curriculum writer and consultant. Mr. Billion received a B.A. from the University of St. Thomas, where he majored in Philosophy, Catholic Studies, and Pre-med Studies. He then received an M.Ed. From the University of Notre Dame, serving for two years as Teaching Fellow with the Alliance for Catholic Education in Oakland, CA. He will complete a Master of Humanities at the University of Dallas this spring.
Dr. John Jolly earned his PhD through the Carolina-Duke Graduate Program for German Studies (2022). His doctoral study on the persistence of the analogy of being in modern poetry prepared him to contemplate the divine source of the literary, philosophical, and theological image with young learners. Drawing on his expertise in theological aesthetics, he aims to cultivate students’ innate desire to behold the true, the good, and the beautiful in both ancient and modern cultures. Dr. Jolly is the father of two young boys, Andrew and James, and husband of Dr. Caitlin Jolly. A late convert to Catholicism, his conversion story is a testament to the Father’s infinite mercy and desire for us.
Drawing and painting has been a life-long passion for Lisa Andrews. Her formal education took a more conventional route, graduating from UCLA with a BA in Economics and an MBA in Finance. While living and working in New York post graduation, she pursued her passion for art with independent study of fine traditional paintings at major museums. With the birth of her first child after moving to San Francisco, she left the corporate world to focus on raising her family and developing her artistic interests. She established a successful interior design and architectural consulting business, while simultaneously seeking more intensive training in art. She pursued classical drawing, painting and anatomy study with a number of master artists, and was invited to join a regular painting group of Academy of Art faculty. Private teaching and mentoring honed her skills in communicating artistic methods and concepts to her students. Her private commissions included narrative works in churches across the country, a process that required a creative and sophisticated interpretation of traditional texts in a more contemporary setting. When not pursuing her art, she relaxes with her husband Robert, who is a Permanent Deacon with the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Her two children are now married, and in addition to cooking, reading and taking long walks, she is thoroughly enjoying being a new grandmother.
Cameron Bick is over the moon to join the first Chesterton team in the Bay Area! A lifelong Bay Area native, Cameron has seen firsthand his hometown’s deep need for a return to authentic, faithfully Catholic education. He received his B.S at Santa Clara University with a major in economics, with minors in political science and classical studies, developing a special love for Latin and ancient history. In college, he was deeply moved by the wounds the hookup culture inflicted on his peers, and his heart was set on fire to show them that they were made for more. Cameron then received a call from the Lord to become a missionary for The Culture Project. After receiving intense spiritual formation, he spent the past two years out of college going to middle schools, high schools, parishes, and college campuses all around the country and speaking to young people about their inherent dignity and how to live a life of sexual integrity. After two years of mission, the Lord called Cameron to come back and use his training to build a culture of life in his home diocese. After much prayer and discernment, the Lord introduced Cameron to the Chesterton Academy, where his apostolic zeal and his love for classical education make a perfect fit. He is excited to get started and form the students into future saints!
With a lifetime of experience in Catholic education as both a student and teacher, Mr. Stebbins is thrilled to be joining the team at Chesterton Academy of St. James. Prior to arriving in Menlo Park, he had the privilege of serving the young men of Palma School in Salinas, CA, as both a teacher of Theology and a coach in a number of sports. Mr. Stebbins received a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, where he majored in Classical Civilizations to go with minors in Theological Studies and Archaeology. In addition to his studies at LMU, Mr. Stebbins competed for the Lions as a member of the Men's Track and Field Team. He then received an M.A. from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA in Biblical Languages and Studies. A long-time mentor of the youth, he is ecstatic to help educate and raise up the future of the Church.
Dr. Kelleher was a scientist from an early age, he set up a chemistry lab in his bedroom at the age of eight urged on by the question “Why?”: Why is grass green?; Why is blood red? Why is the sky blue? The in-depth answers to these questions came while studying chemistry at the University of Notre Dame and doing his Ph.D. research on Hemoglobin in Nigeria, Africa. He looks forward to fostering a “spirit of wonder” among the Chesterton students especially in the science classes.
While teaching and doing chemistry research in Nigeria for twenty-three years, he also developed programs for the university and high school students that trained them in virtue-leadership helping them see the value of working for the common good of society rather than merely one’s personal good.
In addition to chemistry he loves philosophy, poetry and chess. Intellectually, his favorite interest is the unity among the truths of science, philosophy and faith. For example, he tells his friends that he does not believe that God exists; rather, he knows that God exists. It is the workings of science, especially in the area of molecular biology, that have lead him to the conclusion that there is a Mind of the Universe.
He is not a fine artist (painter or sculptor) but he does write poetry and songs, and play the guitar. And last but not least, having inherited athletic genes from both parents, he plays numerous sports. In high school he quarterbacked the football team and was point guard for the basketball team. HIs parents taught him water-skiing, snow-skiing and golf. in Nigeria he learned the beautiful game of soccer. He looks forward to helping Chesterton developing some good sports programs especially basketball and soccer in the future.
Br. Scott is a cradle Catholic hailing from sunny Phoenix, Arizona. He studied economics at Rice University in Houston, Texas and worked in management consulting before entering the Dominicans (Order of Preachers) of the Western Province (Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus). As a Dominican, he has served in a diverse set of capacities: at a health clinic, in adult faith formation, in bible studies, and at several parishes. One of his favorite assignments was serving at the University of Washington Newman Center in campus ministry. There he developed a love for working with the young church. He hopes to instill in the young an appreciation for the breadth, depth, and beauty of our Catholic tradition. He holds masters degrees in Theology and Divinity from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology in Berkeley, California.
Inspired by the idea of the ‘Renaissance man,’ Br. Scott cultivates a broad set of interests—drawing, studies of anatomy, running, weight lifting, architecture, and tailoring. He remains avidly curious about almost any topic and seeks to continue the wonder that many have as children but lose as they become adults.