School Advisory Council

Cheriese L. Edwards has a strong belief that only what you do for Christ will last. It is with this mindset that she approaches Catholic education. Currently the vice principal at Tampa Catholic High School, she coordinates the curriculum implementation process and professional development activities for faculty and staff. Cheriese has more than 14 years of secondary classroom experience in Catholic schools where she has served as a teacher, extracurricular moderator, dean of students and assistant principal for curriculum. In education and life, she has found that as you gain information, God provides revelation, and as we grow in our knowledge of Christ, we have an obligation to share that knowledge with others. Cheriese holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Florida A&M University, a master’s in social science education from the University of South Florida, and is currently enrolled in an education specialist program in education leadership at St. Leo University. Outside of the honor of sharing God’s love through education and in her career, Cheriese is the proud wife of Demond Edwards and together they have four children: Devaughn, Nicholas, Deidra and Tanisha.  

Sandra Johnson has been a Nativity parishioner for 15 years. During that time, Nativity has had a profound impact on her spiritual life. Sandra was married and baptized her children at Nativity. She is married to Marc, a Colonel in the U.S. Army, and she is a proud mother of two daughters who have attended Nativity since age 3. She has a bachelor's and master’s degree in education from the University of Central Florida. Sandra has taught in both public and private schools in the Brandon area during the past two decades. During her free time, Sandra enjoys volunteering with the Junior League of Tampa, traveling, running and spending time with her husband, daughters and dog.

Richard Kolhoff is the director of construction for the Diocese of St. Petersburg. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from The Ohio State University. He has extensive experience in school design and construction from early childhood to the university level, and from both a designer and an owner perspective. Some of Richard’s favorite projects at the Diocese include the Bethany Retreat Center, the renovation and remodeling of the Cathedral of St. Jude, St. Anne, St. Catherine, and St. Stephen Catholic churches, the dining hall replacement at Good Counsel Camp, and the remodeling and renovation of Nativity Catholic Church. He previously worked in the public school system in programming. Richard is currently a Eucharistic Minister for Espiritu Santo Parish in Safety Harbor, a volunteer for the Dunedin Public Library and a member of the Professional Selection Committee for the Pinellas County School District. He has been married to his wife Malla for more than 35 years and has a son and daughter who attended Catholic school. Richard is proud to bring his architectural expertise to the School Advisory Council to help Nativity with its facilities planning.   

Mr. McCarthy is the director of finance and operations for both Nativity Catholic Church and School. He has worked as a comptroller for several companies and served as the director of finance and operations for a Catholic parish on the east coast of Florida for more than 11 years.

Michele Montanez is the resource teacher at Nativity Catholic School. She has been teaching at Nativity for 17 years and began her career at Nativity teaching 3 and 4-year-olds in the pre-kindergarten program for four years. She then taught second grade for eight amazing years. The Lord then guided her in yet another direction at Nativity. She was again able to follow her heart by supporting students who struggle academically in her current role as a resource teacher. Before coming to Nativity, Michele taught children with learning disabilities in the Hillsborough County Public School system. She and her husband have two daughters who both graduated from Nativity. Michele enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, reading and going to the movies.

Donna is a certified public accountant (CPA) and owns a fractional CFO company in the Tampa Bay market. She and her husband Woody have four children who attended Nativity pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Donna has held many volunteer positions at Nativity during the 16 years her children attended. In her free time, Donna loves to cook, swim and work in her garden when she isn’t visiting her children living away from Tampa.

Louis and Kristin Ricca have been members of Nativity Catholic Church for more than 10 years. Kristin graduated from Nativity Catholic School (class of 1994), and their daughter is a Nativity student. Louis works for an environmental engineering consulting firm in Riverview, where he assists with marketing and business development support. He is an accredited business communicator (ABC) and has experience in internal and external communications for Fortune 500 companies in the Tampa Bay area. He holds a degree in public relations from the University of Florida and is currently a member of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Louis is the ministry leader for the Job Search & Preparation Ministry at Nativity. 

Kristin is an active volunteer at Nativity Catholic School . She has experience working in the marketing and communications departments for a hospitality resort and a large law firm in the Tampa Bay area. She has a degree in business administration and marketing. 

Louis and Kristin enjoy participating in strategic discussions and using their communications and marketing experience to strengthen the future of Nativity Catholic School.   

Fr. Mike Smith, is the pastor of Nativity Catholic Church, previously serving as the pastor of Corpus Christi Parish in Tampa for the last seven years.