Meet Our Faculty and Staff

Born to Frank and Rita Stec, Father Bob is the third of six children. He always felt a calling to serve the Lord throughout his years at St. Charles Borromeo Grade School and Padua Franciscan High School. He graduated as ‘Mr. Padua’ in 1979 and followed his calling to Borromeo Seminary.

He graduated from St. Mary Seminary in 1988 and was assigned to St. Gabriel and later St. Richard Parish.  He was appointed Vocation Director of the Diocese of Cleveland, a position he held for eleven years.  During this time, The FEST, an annual Catholic Family Festival, became a reality, and is now in its l9th year.

The FEST (www.TheFEST.us) began as a follow up to World Youth Day in Rome and had about 1,500 people in attendance its first year.   It has since grown into the highlight of the summer for thousands of people from across the region, attracting 45,000+ annually for a day of faith, family, fun and music – all for free!

In December 2005, Father Bob was appointed Pastor of St. Ambrose Parish in Brunswick.  In his first year at St. Ambrose, he created Mission Possible, a mission outreach program to the Dominican Republic  (www.MissionPossible.us).  Over 200 missionaries have since made the annual trip to Higuey, Dominican Republic to build homes, introduce others to Christ and change lives.  In addition to the homes, a Church, school, medical/dental clinic, community center, and job training center have all been built under the guidance of Father Bob.  In early 2019, a regulation baseball field was dedicated for the entire area.

His humanitarian efforts are also very visible in the Greater Cleveland area where a west side effort – Alpha Village – was established.  Residents, many of them refugee families, are helped with every day necessities and time is spent distributing winter clothing, food for the holidays and an annual spring clean up and home repair day.

With heroin use touching the lives of greater Clevelanders in epidemic proportion, he felt compelled to do something.   In 2016 he brought together parish leaders of all faiths, community leaders and law enforcement.  In this regard, the Greater than Heroin Campaign was launched.

In 2014 Saint Ambrose was nominated as one of the ‘top 12’ Catholic Parishes in North America at creating Disciples.  Under the leadership of Father Bob, St. Ambrose continues to grow in size and service to the Lord with over 5,500 families and 150+ parish ministry groups.

With the death of Father Thomas Dunphy, the Diocese of Cleveland appointed Father Bob Administrator of Saint Martin Parish, Valley City (2017-2018) in addition to his responsibilities at Saint Ambrose.  This concluded with the appointment of a new pastor in the fall of 2018.

At present, much of his energy is dedicated to the renovation of Saint Ambrose Church.  Construction is well underway and completion is expected in spring 2019.

As a well-known community leader, he has been the recipient of many prestigious awards…”Mr. Padua”- 1979; Knights of Columbus Catholic Man of the Year; Med-Wish International Humanitarian Award (2016); Medina County Distinguished Citizen Award (2012), Alpha Village Partner of the Year (2017), United Pastors in Mission – Pastor of the Year (2017), Catholic Charities Medina County WAM/Faithful Servant Award (2018),  National Catholic Education Leaders Award (2018)…he was also presented with the Key to the City of Brunswick.  In addition, he was selected as one of 12 priests in America for his innovation and motivating ways in delivering the message of Jesus Christ (especially to the youth of our area)…just to name a few!

With his hectic schedule, and community efforts, he still finds time, on occasion, to enjoy ATVing, snowmobiling, rock climbing, and even a great bonfire!

My beloved husband (deceased), Tim, and I have three amazing, faith-filled children, all graduates of Saint Patrick Catholic School in Bryan, Ohio and Bishop Dwenger High School in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Erin is a University of Akron graduate with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and doing great work at GM in Parma.  Ryan graduated from the University of Saint Francis with a Business Administration/ Sports Management degree.  He played football there all four years and helped USF win back to back NAIA National Championships. He is employed in Fort Wayne but working toward moving to this area.  Lauryn is a Junior majoring in Exercise Science at the University of Akron with her sights set on becoming a Physical Therapist.  She is a member of U of A’s Rifle Team and competed in the Junior Olympics at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

I love being with my kids and family any time we can, being outdoors in sunny, warm weather – bird watching, hiking, walking, bike riding.  I enjoy reading when I can.  I am energized by and am blessed to work with people of God, especially my family at Saint Ambrose School and Parish!

Strengths: Belief ~ Connectedness ~ Responsibility ~ Strategic ~ Relator

I am very happy to be here at Saint Ambrose School. I am a US Army veteran and a former police officer for the City of Parma. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in special education from Cleveland State University and my Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Concordia University. I am licensed as an Intervention Specialist (K-12) and hold a Principal License (also K-12). I have taught special education with Brunswick City Schools for the last 10 years at Huntington Elementary, Visintainer MS, Brunswick MS and the last two years at Brunswick High School.

I am married (31 years!) to my beautiful wife Sue and we live in Strongsville just down the road. We have two children Ellen and Zach. Ellen is married, lives in Brook Park, and is a graduate of the University of Toledo with a degree in nursing. Zach attended Benedictine HS and Bowling Green University. He has a degree in criminal justice and followed in my footsteps in law enforcement. He is a police officer and lives in Parma. We also have a 6 year old boxer dog named Nala.

In my free time I enjoy camping, traveling, and riding my motorcycle as much as I can. I am a diehard Cleveland Browns fan and I am also an OHSAA wrestling referee. My wife and I are very active members of Saint Ambrose Parish where I am a member of the Knights of Columbus and I also assist Fr. Bob with food distribution on the westside of Cleveland every month. My wife is a member of the choir and cantors nearly every Sunday with her beautiful voice.

I look forward to a great year at Saint Ambrose School working together with a great group of outstanding educators and extraordinary students. I hope to see you at church on Sunday!

Strengths: Achiever-Arranger-Relator-Responsibility-Context

Mrs. Catherine Mitchell has had the privilege of teaching in the diocese of Cleveland for 26 years. After graduating from Bowling Green State University with a degree in Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education, Catherine taught first and second grade at Saint John Bosco School before coming to Saint Ambrose to open Littlest Angels Preschool 17 years ago!

Catherine is the director of the preschool program as well as teaching three year old and four year old classes. Catherine and her husband Dennis are active parishioners of Saint Ambrose and have three children.

Strengths: Empathy ~ Learner ~ Discipline ~ Developer ~ Maximizer

“I am blessed to be able to teach our little ones our faith as well as giving them the skills they need to be successful in kindergarten. I enjoy being part of the parent’s journey to raising happy, healthy Christian children in a safe, loving and nurturing environment.”

Bio to come!

Strengths: Input ~ Relator ~ Achiever ~ Reponsibility ~ Developer

Bio Coming Soon!

Strengths: 

Bio to come!

Strengths: Intellection ~ Input ~ Connectedness ~ Learner ~ Responsibility