Board of Trustees
Joe Keller, President/Chair
“My name is Joe Keller, and I am the new Aquinas Classical Academy Board of Trustees President. My wife Sarah and I have four children, ages 19 to 13. Our eldest graduated from ACA last spring, and we currently have a son in the 11th grade at Aquinas. Our youngest 2 are currently enrolled at Our Lady Star of the Sea School, with our 8th grader recently accepted to attend ACA in the fall. Our family has been attending Our Lady Star of the Sea parish and school since 2011, and we have volunteered with various ministries over the years, including Fratemus and Fidelis, American Heritage Girls, school Gala, and Mary’s Place, to name a few. ACA has been a huge blessing for the greater community, and I am honored to serve as board president. I would like to thank the original Board of Trustees for their vision and dedication to making the dream of having a catholic option for high school a reality here in Kitsap County.”
Rod Gray, Treasurer
Rod is a graduate of the University of Washington and has been a faithful parishioner at Star for over 21 years. He has been active in several parish organizations and ministries throughout the years, including Director of the Starlights Girls Choir, Finance Council, and most recently, Stephen Ministry. A retired Navy Supply Corps officer, he has continued to work for the Navy as a Financial Manager. For the past 12 years, he has held the position of Comptroller at Navy Region Northwest. Rod and his wife Maria have raised four daughters who were all active in the parish and especially in music ministry. Rod and Maria are thoroughly enjoying life as grandparents of ten grandchildren who keep them young.
Alma Santiago, Secretary
Raised in a Navy family with her sister, Alma Santiago, nee Balahadia, graduated from Olympic High School and magna cum laude from the University of Puget Sound before going on to work in college admissions and later for the insurance industry. She and her husband Patrick moved back to Bremerton and have been parishioners at Our Lady Star of the Sea for 19 years. Through God’s grace, they homeschooled their three daughters, fostering a love of our faith and the lives of the Saints and encouraging them to be servant leaders. She helped launch our American Heritage Girls troop in 2011 and has enjoyed mentoring young people through AHG, Fidelis and Vacation Bible school. She records sacraments received at the parish, is a real estate broker and volunteers with Ignite NW, which hosts an annual Catholic high school youth conference.
Sarah Carpenter
Sarah Carpenter has attended Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church since 2017. She’s served as a US Air Force Judge Advocate for 22 years. She’s also a US Supervisory Administrative Law Judge. Her educational experience includes teaching at the Air Force Academy and working as an Assistant Attorney General at Washington State University. She spends as much time as she can with her niece (17) and nephew (14) who live in Gig Harbor.
Deacon Patrick O’Toole
Deacon Patrick O’Toole is the oldest of six children and was born in Kansas City, Kansas. He is a product of the Catholic grade school, high school, and university system. He is married, and he and his wife, Daniele, moved to Bremerton a year ago with six of their fourteen children. In the fall of 2004, he walked away from a 25-year career in the restaurant industry to work full-time in parish ministry. In 2008, he completed his Masters Degree in Theological Studies at Quincy University, and in 2009 he was ordained to the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois. He has spent the last twenty years bringing his business experience to bear on the challenges the Church faces in the 21st Century while devoting himself to the goal of raising up disciples of Christ in this age of uncertainty.
Kristen Morga
Kristen Morga brings over two decades of experience in education and school leadership, and a commitment to the Catholic faith. She was baptized at and continues to be an active member of Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church. She and her husband of more than 30 years are blessed with seven children and twelve grandchildren. Mrs. Morga earned her AA from Olympic College, a BA in Business and Marketing from Washington State University, a BS in Education from Central Washington University, and an MA in Educational Leadership from Seattle University. She taught business education before serving as a principal in the Bremerton School District for 12 years. She currently serves as Principal of St. Nicholas Catholic School. She enjoys hiking, serving as a Pietra Fitness instructor, and spending time with her family.
Father Derek Lappe
Father Derek Lappe has been the pastor of Our Lady Star of the Sea since July 1, 2008. Born in 1972, the second of five children, Father Lappe spent most of his youth in Longview, Washington, and attended St. Rose de Viterbo parish. He discovered his vocation to the priesthood when he was a sophomore in high school. Through prayer and study, his love for Christ and the Church grew and helped him to say yes to God’s plan for his life. After high school, Father Lappe attended community college for a couple of years before being accepted as a seminarian for the Archdiocese of Seattle and entered Mount Angel Seminary. In 1996, Archbishop Murphy sent him to Rome to study Theology at the Pontifical North American College. On June 10, 2000, he was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Alexander Brunett. After his ordination, Father Lappe served as an associate pastor in Grays Harbor for one year, at St. Charles in Tacoma for one year, as pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas in Camas for six years, and is now at Our Lady Star of the Sea.
He loves his life as a priest and works hard to build a parish family centered on the Person of Jesus in the Eucharist and the teachings of the Gospels. In his free time, Fr. Lappe likes to go backpacking and hunting.