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Paul Bernabei ’69
Paul Bernabei ’69 is working to transform the way America teaches and learns. Bernabei followed his 40-year career as a Twin Cities teacher and coach by founding Top 20 Training with the ambitious mission of revolutionizing American education. He travels the country presenting Top 20 seminars to help students, teachers and parents learn how to benefit from what he calls “thinking, rebalanced.” Top 20’s goal is to help people reach their potential and improve their lives by becoming more aware of their thinking and harnessing positivity. Bernabei has written five books focused on Top 20’s philosophy, and he and his team have trained more than 900,000 teachers in the U.S., Canada and Africa. Bernabei is equally committed to the church and has volunteered for several parishes and programs, including serving 17 years as director of Nativity Church’s Share-a-Life program for pregnant women in crisis.
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Jim Scheibel ’69
Jim Scheibel ’69 has blended his distinguished career in politics and public service with a commitment to social justice that resonates at the local, state and national levels and reflects his deep Catholic faith. Scheibel served as St. Paul’s mayor from 1990 to 1994 after eight years on the St. Paul City Council, focusing attention on homelessness, initiating one of the country’s first municipal food policies and bringing together community leaders to address poverty in Minnesota. As President Bill Clinton’s director of AmeriCorps VISTA and the Senior Corps, he developed and administered national community service volunteer programs and created a senior volunteer program. His dedication to community is evidenced by his service on more than 50 nonprofit boards. Scheibel is helping prepare a new generation of civic leaders in his current role as a professor in Hamline University's Nonprofit Management and Public Administration programs.
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Steve Felton ’74
Steve Felton ’74 has dedicated his life to contributing to the common good by teaching students with unique needs as a professional and counseling young couples as a parishioner. Felton worked for the Rochester School District for 40 years, first as a special education teacher and then as principal of the school in Olmsted County’s juvenile detention center, with a commitment to ensuring all students received an education despite their challenges. He now shares his expertise by mentoring special education teachers and teaching a class at Augsburg University’s Rochester campus. He and his wife, Ann, have been providing marriage preparation counseling to couples in Rochester-area parishes for 25 years in addition to other service to the church. As one nominator wrote, Felton is committed “to helping others reach their full potential and build fulfilling lives in the world and in their faith.”
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John Phelps '79
John Phelps ’79 epitomizes a life of intellectual inquiry and work toward the common good. Phelps’s extraordinary career in public service includes positions as chief of staff for the United States General Services Administration under President George W. Bush, chief operating officer for the American Red Cross in Phoenix and Homeland Security deputy director for the Office of the Governor in Arizona. He culminated his 25 years in the military as chief operating officer and chief of staff for the United States Army Legal Services Agency, the Defense Department’s largest legal organization, and retired a colonel. Phelps does consulting for nonprofits and government organizations after his recent retirement as CEO of the State Bar of Arizona. He also contributes to his community by fundraising for his church parish, working with the Wills for Heroes program and providing pro bono legal counsel to veterans and people with low income.
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Paul Williams '84
Paul Williams ’84 is recognized for outstanding leadership and community building with a dedication to supporting underserved populations. Since 2014, Williams has served as president and CEO for Twin Cities nonprofit Project for Pride in Living. He oversaw the City of St. Paul’s daily operations as deputy mayor from 2011 to 2014 and led the Local Initiatives Support Corporation in the Twin Cities and nationally. His philanthropic experience includes creating the Diversity Endowment Funds at the Saint Paul Foundation and designing the Building Better Futures Initiative at the Minneapolis Foundation to help reduce child poverty. He has served on a wide variety of community boards and in 2018 was appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton to the Destination Medical Center Corporation Board. The University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, where Williams earned his master’s degree, honored him with its 2017 Outstanding Achievement Award.
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Bryan Olson '89
Bryan Olson ’89 embodies the dedication to work, worship and service central to a Benedictine-influenced life. He is admired for his willingness to listen to friends and support them in personal, professional and spiritual conversation. Olson has been described as the glue that holds the Class of ’89 together. His career achievements are impressive – he became one of American Express’ top-ranked healthcare salespersons after just two years and is now developing new business at Global Healthcare Exchange – and his focus is fixed on faith and family. He and his wife Jodi (Fogelman) Olson CSB ’89 made the commitment to provide their children a first-rate Catholic education. Bryan volunteers for everything, sings in the choir, serves on boards and is continuously fundraising for worthy causes. As one nominator put it, “He is someone that you can be confident will always do the right thing, even when no one is looking.”
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Bill Vance '94
High School religion teacher and soccer coach Bill Vance’s name is synonymous with success in Minnesota high school soccer, and for good reason. Vance ’94 was inducted into the Minnesota State High School League Soccer Coaches Hall of Fame in 2018 on top of being named the Minnesota soccer coach of the Year in 2002, 2004, 2009, and 2017, coaching teams to three state championships. He is known for his competitive yet compassionate leadership, instilling discipline and respect in his players and fostering positive parent-coach relationships. Vance’s dedication to young people extends well beyond the soccer pitch. In addition to teaching and mentoring his religion students, he participates in numerous local and national service experiences and is involved in his South Minneapolis church, St. Thomas the Apostle.
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Eric LeCompte ’99
Eric LeCompte ’99 has built his influential career around addressing inequality and injustice by working with organizations that fight poverty and promote human rights. LeCompte is the executive director of Jubilee USA, a network of more than 650 religious groups and U.S. organizations working to reduce global poverty. A respected commentator on finance, religion and politics, he regularly contributes his views to national media outlets and provided influential Congressional testimony regarding Puerto Rico’s financial crisis. LeCompte is a member of the executive board of the Financial Accountability & Corporate Transparency Coalition and serves on expert working groups to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and Human Rights Office. As one nomination read, LeCompte “truly cares about what he does and brings these serious issues to light in the hopes that the rest of the world will follow his lead.”
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