Meet your Pastoral Council

For a parish to function effectively as a community of believers, each church in a diocese enlists the laity as advisors to assist the pastor in his leadership responsibilities. 

Your pastoral council looks forward to meeting you, listening to your feedback, and helping us grow as a parish community. 

Together, we can make Mother Teresa Parish an even better place to worship. You can email your feedback to our Pastoral Council Chair, Alan Fontaine. 

Alan Fontaine

Alan and his family have been members of the Mother Teresa Parish community since 2011, following a move to northwest Cary. Over the years, he's seen countless instances of people giving their time and effort to our church community, turning an auditorium and cafeteria into a worship and gathering space for so many. Others inspired Alan to activate his call to service by supporting various ministries.

Alan has worked as an engineer and project manager for I.T. companies in the area for 22 years. He enjoys playing soccer, watching any Boston sports team, and bringing out the pig cooker for any celebration.

greg duffy

Greg and his wife, Shelly, have two boys. They have lived in Cary and have been at Mother Teresa since 2010. They traveled around the U.S. and Europe during Greg's time as an Air Force officer. Since retiring from the military, Greg has worked at UNC Health. He enjoys flying and serving as a flight instructor when not working, spending time with family, or supporting church activities.

He says he's blessed to be part of a great, caring community that strives to follow in Mother Teresa's footsteps and help those in need. As a council member, Greg looks forward to serving our community and supporting our continued fellowship in our church home on Mother Teresa Drive. 

Chris falAto

Chris and his family have been proud parishioners of Mother Teresa Parish since moving to North Carolina ten years ago. The welcoming sense of community here resonated with Chris and his wife, Regina, and they knew they wanted to be part of it.

 Over the years, Chris has actively contributed to our parish as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, Mass coordinator, and usher. He also is co-leading the Altar Server ministry and loves to work with the kids and watch them grow in confidence while serving. 

Originally from New Jersey, Chris manages the pharmacy at UNC Children’s Hospital. While he’s a diehard fan of the Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Steelers, Texas Longhorns, and Carolina Hurricanes, these days, his primary sports focus is on his children. Andy plays baseball for West Raleigh and ice hockey for the Junior Canes, while Alyssa is an enthusiastic archer and a basketball player for St. Michael School. Chris looks forward to serving on the council and continuing to help our parish grow in faith and fellowship.

Anthony Hoover

Anthony Hoover and his wife Jane have been members of Mother Teresa Parish since 2019. They moved here from New Jersey and now live in Holly Springs.

He’s a retired doctor who has worked in the Caribbean, including Jamaica, Barbados, Anguilla, and the Bahamas. Anthony moved to the U.S. to join his wife, who retired as a science teacher in Brooklyn, N.Y. Jane also taught science overseas, in India, Jamaica, Anguilla, and the Bahamas. 

They’ve been married for 43 years and have two sons, Derrick and Edgard. He has a master's degree in emergency and disaster management. Anthony is an usher at the 10:30 Mass and is looking forward to participating in our new Safety and Security Ministry.

Ellen Kunkel

Ellen Kunkel is in her second year on the Pastoral Council. Although the Kunkels were members of St Michael Parish, they celebrated many Masses at Green Hope HS. They officially joined Mother Teresa when Fr. Daniel was assigned to be our leader.

Ellen worked for SAS for 18 years and loved every minute of it. Then she moved a mile east to teach at Cardinal Gibbons HS, then to the Diocese of Raleigh, and finally made St. Michael School her final (for now) career stop, teaching religion to middle schoolers. 

Ellen helps coordinate EMHC training, helps with the Safe Environment program, and is learning the ropes as a Mass coordinator. Ellen and Isaac have four adult children and one grandbaby. They count Mother Teresa Parish as one of their greatest blessings.

Steve Marshall

Steve and Melanie Marshall have participated in Mother Teresa Parish since the early days of Green Hope HS. Both served as parish council chairs for St. Michael before formally joining Mother Teresa.

Steve and Melanie recently co-facilitated with Father Daniel both the Eucharist and Catholicism video series produced by Bishop Robert Baron. Stephen is also a member of Mother Teresa’s music ministry. 

Steve and Melanie conduct pre-marital mentoring sessions and participate in a monthly small Christian community called “The Empty Nesters.” They have two daughters and two new granddaughters. Stephen is a North Carolina licensed business psychologist. 

He has led Marshall Leadership Consulting for the past 20 years, working with corporate boards and senior executives to build leadership and high-performing teamwork.

JoElla Marting

JoElla joined Mother Teresa parish in 2017. She got involved with helping to take down and cleanup Masses at the Green Hope HS. She joined the Support St. Matia Mulumba Board in 2020.

Originally from Louisiana, JoEllas has a bachelor’s degree in nursing, a master's in information science, and an oncology data specialist certification. The U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps veteran has most recently worked as an Oncology Research Study Coordinator for the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. 

JoElla and her husband Jim (a St. Louis native) are empty nesters and have one son, Matthew, an electrical/computer engineer currently living in California. She’s serving her first year on the pastoral council. JoElla has a heart for First Saturday Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Eucharistic Adoration.

Ed Simanskis

Ed has been a Mother Teresa Catholic Church member since 1998. He has served as Pastoral Council chair for a couple of terms, an extraordinary minister of holy Communion, a Mass coordinator, and an usher.

 Ed is a permanent presence on the Mother Teresa Parish campus. He’s usually the first to arrive and the last to leave on Sundays. 

Originally from Canada, he's an avid Carolina Hurricanes fan. Ed is a proud empty nester of twin 28-year-olds who gained notoriety on ABC TV's 20/20. Ed serves as a Mass coordinator at 10:30 Mass on Sundays.

Teresa Sonal

Teresa and her family have been in Cary since 2014 and have been part of Mother Teresa Parish since 2018. Teresa joined the pastoral council in 2023. She and her husband, Tom, continue to be inspired by Fr. Daniel's leadership and the supportive community to serve the greater good as God intends.

They have a daughter at UNC Chapel Hill and a son at St. Michael’s School. Teresa has volunteered at Mother Teresa, serving in various ministries such as new parishioner welcome and being an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion. Tom also helps with traffic control and anything else our faith family needs.

Siobhan Brown

Siobhan has been a St. Michael the Archangel and Mother Teresa parishioner for more than 20 years. Over that time, she’s been a catechist in the faith formation and CLOW and continues to serve as a lector. Interested in getting more involved in charity work, Siobhan joined the Mercy Ministry last year and looks forward to contributing more to parish life at Mother Teresa.

Siobhan has been a teacher at St. Michael for over eight years and enjoys seeing many of her former students at Mother Teresa. She has two adult sons and loves to travel home to Ireland as much as possible.