MPA Board of Directors
J. Tyler Blickhan
Tim Bubenik
Julie Shearburn
Christina Anderson
Toni Temporiti, CPPS
Antoinette “Toni” Temporiti was born and raised on The Hill in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1975, she joined the Sisters of the Most Precious Blood in O’Fallon.
In 2003, Sr. Toni Temporiti took a sabbatical, camping overland over 8 months from Cairo to Cape Town to Africa. On this trip, Sr. Toni met local women who asked where would they get food for their families; would their children be able to go to school; and what if they or their children got sick?
Upon her return to St. Louis, while eating at a restaurant in Clayton, Sr. Toni realized that for the cost of her lunch, a woman in Africa could get a small loan (microfinancing) to help her business, and have an answer to those questions.
In November 2006, Sr. Toni attended a microcredit summit in Nova Scotia and met Ingrid Munro, founder of Jamii Bora Trust, and Mohammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, both of whom filled her with ideas. With the help of friends and colleagues, MicroFinancing Partners in Africa was founded and received 501c3 certification in December 2006.
Dick Arnoldy
Ryan Brennell
Julie Gundlach
In her capacity as Development Coordinator, Julie holds the leadership of the Gala Committee and works to develop new relationships of possible partners from her current and prospective contacts.
Julie has been involved with MPA since 2012, when she traveled to Africa with us and fell in love with our partners. She has worked in the past in sales, hospitality, and education.
Linda Hall
As the Director of the Tiffany & Company – St. Louis store located in Plaza Frontenac, St. Louis’ premier retail shopping mall, Linda has been serving on the board with an interest in the challenges and potential of the beautiful people of Africa and how microfinance can aid their communities. Along with her husband Ed Hall, Linda currently lives in University City.
Fr. Brad Modde
Fr. Brad was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Saint Louis in 1997. He worked with Heather Cammarata (who happens to be a parishioner from his parish) and Sr. Toni to host Bishop Kaggwa from Uganda in the spring of 2016 at St. Simon the Apostle parish. Fr. Brad came to a deeper understanding of “the Church spread throughout the world;” he also learned about the cow project that his parish had participated in previously, and the many other efforts of MPA. So, when Sr. Toni called and asked him to join the board of directors, how could he say no? 😎
Kristi Vrtiska
As a Registered Nurse and Chief Clinical Officer for Kindred Hospital – St. Louis – Central West End, Kristi has been involved with MPA since 2019 with a special interest in aiding the Safe Birth Program. In conjunction to her role on the board, she also serves on the Partner’s Committee. Kristi has lived in the St. Louis area for 1 1/2 years and is originally from the Wichita, Kansas area.
Sherry Teefey, M.D.
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