Faculty & Staff

Ms. Emma Barnes

Middle School Humanities

Ms. Emma Barnes was pursuing a DPhil in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at Oxford University when she discerned a call to teach in a Catholic middle school, returning to her roots in Connecticut. Ms. Barnes earned BAs in History and German from the University of Connecticut, and an MPhil with distinction in Judaism and Christianity in the Graeco-Roman World from Oxford. At UCONN, she spent one year abroad at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg and also began her study of ancient Greek and biblical Hebrew.

Mrs. Liliana Benischek

Economics

Mrs. Liliana Benischek is a practitioner with more than 20 years’ experience in diplomacy, policy formulation and program management at international and national levels, including working for the United Nations and the Government of Mexico. She has contributed to numerous articles and conferences in the areas of economic growth, international trade, sustainable development and United Nations reform. Mrs. Benischek holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Guadalajara.

Mr. Nicholas Botkins

Music | Latin

Mr. Nicholas Botkins is the Choirmaster and Organist at the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford. In his work leading youth choirs and advanced chant courses, Mr. Botkins has also developed the skill of teaching Latin to younger students. In addition to teaching Music classes and introductory Latin at Cardinal Kung Academy, Mr. Botkins also directs the schola cantorum, which began as an extracurricular activity for CKA’s young men and has become an audition-only music class for young men and women. The schola cantorum sings at weekly school Masses and special events.

Dr. Joseph DiProperzio

Latin 

Joseph DiProperzio received his Ph.D. in Classics at Fordham, where he has taught undergraduate courses in Latin language and Greek history. He studied abroad as an undergraduate at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome and as a graduate student at the American School for Classical Studies in Athens. He presents and publishes his research in Classical academic societies.

Mr. Michael DeFelice

Literature | Theology | Director of Admissions

Mr. DeFelice studied Philosophy and Classics at Georgetown University, where he received the Philosophy Department’s Ryan Medal. He is currently completing a Masters Degree in Theology from the Dominican House of Studies (Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception) in Washington, DC.

Mrs. Jennifer Docherty

Literature | Grammar & Rhetoric

Mrs. Docherty holds a BA and an MA degree in English literature from Mount Saint Mary’s University, Maryland and King’s College, University of London, respectively.  She is a veteran English and literature teacher, having taught in private schools in London, UK and in the U.S.

Mrs. Geraldine Galasso

MATHEMATICS

Mrs. Galasso holds a BA in Mathematics and Education from SUNY Old Westbury, an MBA from Adelphi University, and an MS in Education from the University of Bridgeport.  Before coming to CKA, Mrs. Galasso was a member of the faculty of Our Lady of Fatima in Wilton, CT, for twenty years.  There she specialized in teaching middle school mathematics, individualizing instruction for students of all ability levels.  She also started a student "Millionaire's Club," a finance-based after-school program for students to study and apply investment skills.  Mrs. Galasso is passionate about teaching in a Catholic school where she can share her faith and help her students see how the Catholic faith can help them navigate the academic and social challenges of middle school and high school.

Ms. Monica Haffey

Religion | History  

Ms. Haffey holds a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude in History and Music with a concentration in Classical Studies from Fairfield University. A recipient of multiple awards for her research in political music history, Ms. Haffey is a member of Phi Alpha Theta, the National Honors Society for History. She has also worked as an archivist in the Department of Musical Manuscripts and Rare Books at the New York Library for the Performing Arts.

In addition to her pursuits in academia, Ms. Haffey performs throughout the New York Metropolitan Area as a vocalist specializing in Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony. She has sung for the Sacra Liturgia Conference, The Green Mountain Project, TENET’s Behind Convent Walls, and appears regularly alongside the St. Mary Schola Cantorum in Norwalk, Conn.

Dr. Alexandra Kimball

Literature | History

Dr. Kimball earned a BA in Liberal Arts at St. John’s College, Annapolis, MD, and then a Ph.D. in Victorian Literature from Columbia University.  She left her life as an academic and university professor of Victorian literature to return to her roots as a general reader, writing for The Hudson Review (where she also serves also an Advisory Editor), The New Criterion, Barnes & Noble Review, and The Wall Street Journal. 

Mrs. Janet Lancaster

Business Manager

Mrs. Lancaster has a BS in Business and Economics from The King's College and an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

Mr. Richard Meloy 

economics | CiVICS

Mr. Meloy brings a wealth of experience in business and teaching to his Economics class, having worked for many years in finance and business for major corporations. Holding a BA in History from Trinity College and a Masters in Finance from University of Chicago, Mr. Meloy has taught Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Finance for the last decade at several local universities. Mr. Meloy also served as a Lieutenant in the US Navy.

Mr. Daniel Orazio

LATIN | ANCIENT LITERATURE

Mr. Orazio earned a BA in Classical Philology from the University of Dallas and an MA in Classics from Tufts University.  After seven years in Boston, six of them spent teaching Latin in the public high schools of Newton, Mass., where he apprenticed under master Latin teacher Alice Lanckton, Mr. Orazio moved to Italy to pursue a License in "Christian and Classical Literature" from the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome.  In August of 2023, he returned home to Fairfield County, excited to teach Latin and Ancient Literature at Cardinal Kung Academy.  During spare moments he may be found working on his thesis, a study of the Latinity of the letters and other documents pertaining to the Jesuit Mission of Marilandia (Maryland).

Mr. Jeffrey Padilla

MATHEMATICS | History | physics

Mr. Padilla earned a BA in English and in History from Williams College in Williamstown, MA.  He returns to his liberal arts background and to teaching after years in business finance and pharmacology.  

Mrs. Megan Powell

mathematics

Mrs. Powell earned a BS in Mathematics from Wake Forest University and a MA in Teaching from John Hopkins University.  She has wide and diverse experience teaching experience, varying from an inner-city public school in Baltimore to independent schools in Manhattan and Greenwich, CT. 

Mr. John Pendergast

Dean of formation | Theology

John Pendergast earned his AB magna cum laude as a U.S. History Major from Harvard College in 1982, and his MTS (Masters of Theological Studies) from Harvard Divinity School in 1987. After receiving his AB, John spent two years teaching and coaching at a Kingston, Jamaica boys’ school (St. George's College) as a member of the International Jesuit Volunteer Corps. John spent 33 years at Brunswick School in Greenwich where he taught history, coached football, hockey and lacrosse, directed Community Service and headed the Middle School. John also served as the Director of the Oxford Prep Program in Oxford, UK for eleven summers and in the religious education program at Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford for twenty years.

Mrs. Kristjana Underhill

History 

Mrs. Underhill holds a BA in Philosophy from Yale University and a MA in Social Studies from Columbia University.  She brings close to twenty years teaching experience in local high and private classical schools.