Meet Our Team of Volunteers
Dan Bell
Fr. John Gerritts
Steve Harrold
Maria Helgerson
Brian Hinz
Maureen Koranda
Steve Lorence
Larry Mitchell
Joe Studnicka
Paul Wenzel
Meet Our Team of Volunteers
Dan Bell
Fr. John Gerritts
Steve Harrold
Maria Helgerson
Brian Hinz
Maureen Koranda
Steve Lorence
Larry Mitchell
Joe Studnicka
Paul Wenzel
Paul Wenzel lives in rural Somerset and is a member of St. Anne Catholic Church. He served on the education committee at St. Anne School for many years and is now a trustee for the parish, participating in the pastoral & finance council meetings too. In addition, Paul is an usher and extraordinary minister. He and his wife, Cleo, serve as the mentor couple for all the engaged couples who marry at St. Anne’s, and they were co-chairs of the capital campaign for the recent church renovation. A retired teacher from St. Anne’s, Cleo is also a catechist for the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd faith formation program. They’ve been married for 46 years and raised 4 children who all graduated from St. Anne School. Recently retired, Paul owned St. Croix Machine Tool for 41 years and now spends more time with the couple’s 8 grandchildren and various volunteer jobs. Knowing the benefits of attending a Catholic school for 8 years in Stratford, WI, Paul is very supportive of building a Christ-centered Catholic high school in western WI.
Maureen Koranda resides in River Falls, Wisconsin, where she is an active member of St. Bridget’s Catholic Church. Alongside her husband, Chad, Maureen is raising two daughters who currently attend St. Bridget’s Parish School. She is deeply involved in the school and parish community, serving on the school’s Executive Board and Gala Committee, and the church’s Strategic Planning Committee.
Originally from Hastings, Minnesota, Maureen is a proud alumna of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, where she attended from Kindergarten through 8th grade. She went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Law from the University of St. Thomas, followed by a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law.
Maureen is a strong advocate for Catholic education and is passionate about its role in forming values-centered, faith-filled young people. Inspired by her own educational journey and her desire to provide a similar path for her children, Maureen feels called to help establish a Catholic high school, ensuring that families in her community have the opportunity to continue their children’s Catholic education beyond middle school.
Joe is a lifelong Catholic and active member of St. Anne Parish in Somerset. He has served on the parish Pastoral Council, and currently contributes his expertise on the Finance Council. A dedicated Knight of Columbus, Joe is Treasurer of the Somerset Council, following his term as Grand Knight. Together with his wife, Amy, he co-chaired St. Anne’s recent Capital Campaign, later overseeing construction for the successful historic renovation and restoration of the parish church.
Joe and Amy live in rural Somerset with their two sons, both of whom have attended St. Anne Catholic School. Originally from New Prague, Minnesota, Joe and his siblings attended St. Wenceslaus Catholic School through 8th grade. Growing up in a strong Catholic family, he experienced firsthand the values and lifelong impact of a Catholic education.
For nearly 20 years, Joe has been self-employed in the commercial construction industry. He feels called to support Catholic education by combining his professional experience with his deep commitment to the mission of Catholic schools.
Larry Mitchell has been a lifelong resident of Hudson as well as a lifelong parishioner at St. Patrick’s Church. He graduated from St. Patrick’s School in 1971. Over the last 10 years, Larry helped lead 2 highly successful capital campaigns at St. Patrick Church as well as numerous volunteer roles at both Church and School.
Larry and his wife, Rochelle, have been married 38 years. Rochelle attended Catholic grade school in Ellsworth, a retired nurse. They have 2 children that both graduated from St. Patrick School. McKenzie is married with 3 children and lives in Paris, France. Andy is engaged, is an Engineer and lives and works in Minneapolis.
Larry is a retired Retail Executive, Vice President of Merchandising/Analytics for Holiday Companies, overseeing 550 stores in 10 states, managing $1B in sales. He served on 7 Manufacturer Retail Boards as well as Marketing and Board Chair for St. Croix Valley YMCA in Hudson. He had done mission work at St. Patrick’s Sister Parish in Guatemala, visiting 3 times, doing projects, electrical work and leading a Rotary Stove Project. Larry also had done mission work in Tanzania, Africa for Partners 4 Hope Tanzania.
Steve is a parishioner at St. Patrick's Church in Hudson. Steve
and his wife, Janal, moved to Hudson in 2024 to be closer to their
family. They have a daughter who teaches 2nd grade at Saint
Patrick School in Hudson and their granddaughter is in 3rd grade
at Saint Patrick School.
Steve currently serves on the Saint Patrick Parish Finance Council. He is also involved in the effort to establish a Catholic High School in Saint Croix County.
Steve grew up in South Saint Paul, MN and attended Saint John Vianney’s Catholic School through 8th grade. Steve graduated from South Saint Paul High School and then attended the U.S. Naval Academy. He received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Hamline University and a master’s in Human Resources Management from Thomas Edison State College. He also did graduate work at the University of Minnesota in Industrial Relations.
Steve joined Energy Northwest in 2012 and retired in 2025. As a member of the executive team, he was responsible for all Corporate Support Services strategies, programs and policies in support of business objectives and compliance with regulatory requirements. He managed facility, commercial engineering, labor relations, employee relations, staffing, compensation, benefits, equal employment opportunity, affirmative action, occupational health, HR information systems and payroll for Energy Northwest. He was responsible for an annual budget of over $20 million.
Before joining Energy Northwest, Mr. Lorence was the Human Resources manager at Pacific Gas and Electric’s Diablo Canyon Power Plant. He has more than 46 years of experience in HR.
Brian Hinz lives in Hudson, Wisconsin, and is a parishioner at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. He and his wife, Laura, moved to Hudson in 2008 with their three children to be closer to his architectural practice. Since then, Brian has been an active volunteer for various church and school events and fundraisers, including founding St. Patrick’s Holy Smoke BBQ Festival.
Brian attended Holy Trinity and Saint John Vianney Catholic Schools through 8th grade alongside his seven siblings. Recognizing the profound impact Catholic education had on his life, he and Laura chose to share that experience with their three children, all of whom attended St. Patrick School from kindergarten through 8th grade.
He began working at Studio EA in 1999 while pursuing his graduate studies, earning a master's degree in architecture and becoming a Partner and co-owner in 2006. In this role, he leads design, planning, and programming for a wide range of project types—from residential and light industrial to religious buildings—continually challenging himself and the firm to grow across various sectors.
In the Hudson community, Brian currently serves as Vice President of the St. Croix Economic Development Corporation, has served on the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and is a past President of the Hudson Noon Rotary Club.
Maria (Mitchell) Helgerson lives in New Richmond and is a parishioner at St. Patrick's--Erin Prairie. She coordinates and co-facilitates the In Christ Women's Groups for the ICSP and St. Mary School Cluster, and is a passionate Theology of the Body Educator for middle and high school students.
Maria and her husband Erik have 7 kids who have, are or will attend St. Mary School in New Richmond. She coordinates Seven Students for St. Mary School Prayer Team, and is Co-Founder and Chair of the Annual St. Mary School Fundraiser Golf Tournament. She is a fourth generation 8th grade graduate of St. Mary School.
Maria feels called to the effort to establish a Catholic High School in St. Croix County because education and faith aren't meant to be separate. A Catholic High School provides students the opportunity to grow in knowledge AND faith as they discern God's will in ALL aspects of their lives. Wherever their paths lead, Christ-centered education prepares students in the most shaping years of their lives to intentionally discern their vocation and live and love according to God's design.
Steve Harrold lives in New Richmond. He is a parishioner at St. Patrick's--Erin Prairie. He serves on the St. Patrick's pastoral council. He has recently been involved with the St. Patrick's building addition project, serving on the capital campaign and building project committees.
Steve and his wife Kate met at a Catholic high school. Their four daughters all attended St. Mary School in New Richmond. Kate previously served on the St. Mary's school board, and started the St. Mary's Gala fundraiser. Their oldest daughter Colette is now a middle school teacher at St. Mary's.
Steve is a family physician at Hudson Physicians. He is the medical director of the New Richmond Medical Center. He does medical mission work in Haiti-- primarily serving students at St. Antoine's Catholic School.
Steve is engaged with building a Catholic high school in our area, because he has seen first-hand how Catholic high schools create faith-filled, successful, and joyful people.
Fr. John has served as the pastor of Saint Patrick Parish since 2012. He previously served parishes in Superior and Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Along with serving our parish, Fr. John serves as supervising pastor of twelve additional parishes in our Diocese. In this role and by serving on a variety of diocesan committees, he is strongly committed to helping the Church in Northern Wisconsin move to being missionary focused. He has always served at a parish with a Catholic School and continues to enjoy being a part of the life of our students and staff at Saint Patrick Catholic School. Leading discipleship groups of seventh grade and tenth grade boys helps him to stay young.
Dan Bell lives in North Hudson. He is a parishioner at Saint Patrick’s of Hudson. Dan serves the parish as the organist and a choir member.
Dan and his wife Carrie both grew up in Somerset and met in high school. Dan attended UWRF where he received his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and master’s degree is School Administration and Curriculum and Instruction.
Dan is in his 12th year as the Principal of Saint Patrick Catholic School of Hudson and the Chief Administrative Officer for Saint Patrick Parish of Hudson. Dan oversees the daily operations of the school and all human resources and payroll for the parish and school. Before coming to Hudson, he served as Principal at St. Pascal Baylon Catholic School on the east side of St. Paul, MN and at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School in Ashland, WI. He also was an elementary teacher in the Grantsburg Public Schools and served two terms on the Somerset Schools Board of Education.
As a Catholic School Principal, Dan sees the value of a Catholic Education on a daily basis and is excited to be a part of the effort to establish a Catholic High School in St. Croix County.