The Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) serves as an advisory body to the Pastor. We try to maintain a membership which is in alignment with the demographics of the parish population. The PPC was where town hall meetings, parish surveys, additional ministries, fundraising ideas, parish events, Renew Visitation were initially discussed and/or implemented. We meet regularly throughout the year with Fr. Matt and Chris Watson being included in the meetings. The current members of the PPC are:
CURTIS ABAJIAN: Curt and his family have been parishioners for 35+ years at Visitation. He has been on the council since 2014. He has been an usher at the 8am mass for 24+ years. He volunteered at the St. Margaret’s Center (until the lifting caused me to have another kidney surgery). He was a member of the “lunch crew” that made sack lunches every week for St. Margaret’s for years. He was very involved in the events that “Children on a Journey” put on in the past to help feed the nations hungry children through Share Our Strength. One of the things he likes best about Viz is the closeness of the members of the parish and the welcoming attitude we exemplify.
Curt can be reached by cell phone: 310-351-1324
CASEY & CRYSTAL BAKER: Casey has been a parishioner at Visitation since 1990 or close to that :). Crystal (Lebouf) and Casey both attended Visitation School and graduated in 1996 together. They have always been a part of the Visitation Parish and School even during high school/college times. From 2006 – 2008 Crystal served as a young adult member of the PPC. She also served as an Eucharistic Minister for 8 years, which she will likely return to in the future. In 2019, they were on the baptismal welcoming committee for a short time. Now our 7-year-old, Logan, is a student at Visitation (going into 2nd grade) and our youngest, Nolan, will start there in September of 2023. In the summer of 2020, Casey was a docent at the church when the remodel was done, giving guided tours to parishioners and their family members. They are both very involved with PTO and handle the monthly restaurant fundraisers among many other things! They have also wanted to involve themselves a bit more on the Church side of things. They feel the PPC is a great way for them to accomplish that and to give back as much as they can as new PPC members in 2022.
Casey can be reached via email here.
Crystal can be reached via email here.
GUYLAINE BROSMER: The Brosmer family joined Visitation in 1992. Their daughter and son were enrolled in preschool “CCD” (now called PREP) until they attended Visitation school for a few years, after which they returned to the Religious Ed program. During that time, she and her husband Mark became part of the Carnival and Vegas Night Committees, plus Guylaine served as the PTO secretary for one year. Msgr. O’Connell recruited them to the PPC in 2003 and not too long afterwards they became co-Chairs. Eventually, Mark stepped down and Guylaine has remained in this role. She has been an EM for over 20 years, is a lector, in addition to being part of Women’s Cornerstone, the Welcome Wagon committee, the Parish 75th Anniversary committee and an active participant in many parish and school events and activities.
Guylaine can be reached via email here.
AMY FAN: Amy officially became a member of the PPC in 2009 after spending a year or more using her legal background to help re-write the bylaws. Prior to that, Amy completed our RCIA program and has been a faithful parishioner since. She and her husband were school parents when they enrolled their daughter at Visitation school a couple of years later. She and her family have actively supported the parish and school activities. She loves the welcoming, small community nature of our parish.
Amy can be reached via email here.
ANA MARIA SANCHO-FIERRO: Ana Maria joined Visitation Parish in 1999 and became a member of the PPC in 2009. Her two children attended Visitation School K-8th and as a parent she served on PTO during all those years, as well as chaired or was part of the organizing committees of many School and Parish events, her favorite always being Carnival. She is a certified catechist and taught in the Parish Religious Ed program for over 5 years. Currently she serves as a Eucharist Minister.
Ana Maria can be reached via email here.
PAUL FINDLEY: Paul is a dedicated non-profit accountant working for organizations both internationally and here in Los Angeles. Paul holds a degree from Loyola Marymount University and has been a member of the parish for 25 years. He joined the PPC in 2013 after expressing an interest in this ministry. Both of his children are “Viz kids” and he has actively supported and been on the Carnival committee for many years.
Paul can be contacted via email here.
COURTNEY O’DONOGHUE: Courtney grew up at Visitation and graduated in 1991. She continued to serve the church as an altar server and in youth programs. She became a parishioner in her 20's and was married in 2008 at Visitation. Two of her children currently attend the school and the youngest participates in the Sunday PREP program. She joined the PPC in 2018 when she was leading the Renew Visitation Campaign. She is also a part of Women’s Cornerstone, is an EM to the Sick and now a staff member. Where you find fun in the parish you usually find Courtney. Her passion is to grow our parish in members, in beauty and in faith.
Courtney can be reached via email here.
MARY ROTOLO: Mary and her husband Mike were married at Visitation in 1993. They moved to St Anthony’s Parish in 2001 while raising their two children in El Segundo and returned to Visitation parish in 2015. Mary has led the Visitation Women’s Cornerstone Retreat formation, and served as a Eucharistic Minister, Parish Retreat Captain for Mater Dolorosa Retreats, is a St Margaret’s Food Pantry Volunteer, and Welcome Wagon Committee member. Mary was recruited to the PPC in 2016 and enjoys the welcoming community of our parish. She is amazed at the growth of our parish, and vitality of our priests to adapt and draw us into a closer community during these trying times. Mary can be reached via email here.
JOAVAN TSENG: Joavan is a new PPC member in 2022. He has been a resident in Westchester since 1977 when he was a freshman at LMU. He married in 1984 and bought their first home in Westport Heights in 1985. He was a member of St. Jerome’s for many years as both his son and daughter spent their first 8 years of schooling there. He was active in what was called Detention Ministry at the time. Celebrating mass with incarcerated youths in central juvenile hall each Sunday morning. In 2002, they moved to North Kentwood area and began to attend services at Visitation around 2005. In addition to the Men’s Cornerstone ministry, I served as a greeter at the outdoor 8am masses during COVID times. I am an active member of the local Knights of Columbus council #3744, serving on the scholarship committee.
Why did he want to join the PPC? He thought maybe a fresh set of eyes and ears could be of some benefit. As Fr. Jim stated one day, trying to "live more in the presence of the Holy Spirit".
Joavan can be reached via email here.
ANNE VALENZUELA SMITH has been a member of Visitation Parish for 6 years, and has been a Parish Pastoral Council member for 6 years. She’s been active in Catholic Parish life for over 40 years in various parishes in Los Angeles, as a Music Director, Finance Council Member, Liturgy Committee Member. Anne brings many years of work experience in non-profit management, strategic planning, coaching, and training, to her work with the PPC.
Anne can be reached via email here.