Board of Trustees

Mr. Birnesser is a CPA with a background in real estate development, investment, and construction. Mr. Birnesser joined the Board in 2010 and served as Treasurer for ten years prior to becoming the Chair. As Treasurer, Mr. Birnesser worked closely with the Executive Director and the Board to bring financial stability to the Mission and to retire its debt. Mr. Birnesser lives in Lakewood, Colorado with his wife of over 20 years, their son and daughter, and their two dogs. Mr. Birnesser is an avid snowboarder and adult ice hockey player.

Prefers to be called Bob – married to Della for 57 years and they have 4 children and 3 grandchildren.

Bob attended college at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Westmont, Illinois. After college, Bob was employed with various organizations and businesses and also had a small stint in the U.S. Army.

During the past 15 years, Bob has led over 20 church mission teams to Guatemala, Ecuador, Waveland, Mississippi after hurricane Katrina, Gallup, N.M., Keams Canyon, Arizona & Thoreau, N.M. For the last 10 years, Bob has led an annual mission team to provide outreach work at St. Bonaventure Indian Mission.

Mr. Leche is an attorney who has served on a variety of local and national boards and has advised numerous charities. He helped found a Catholic lawyers group in Austin. He is Special Counsel for Appeals for the Texas Health & Human Services Commission and serves on the board of Austin’s classical music station, KMFA

Originally from Indianapolis, IN, Diane graduated from Indiana University – Kelley School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business (Marketing & Management). She has been employed by Aldi Inc. for over 30 years in various capacities, including District Manager, Director of Administration, and Director of Purchasing & Administration. Currently, Diane is the company’s Director of Warehouse Operations. Married for over 20 years, Diane is mother to two adult children. Residing in Mt. Juliet, TN, her work with St. Bonaventure Indian Mission & School began in 2016 as a summer volunteer. For many years, Diane’s husband and kids have also enjoyed participating in various trips organized by the mission with the aim of helping the Navajo communities.

After a 30 year career at the state and federal level, serving Texas and individuals with health and human service needs, Tom joined Texas Insight in October of 2012. He began his career as a special education teacher, teaching deaf-blind, severely disabled children. With the passage of federal legislation guaranteeing free appropriate education for all students, Tom joined the Texas Education agency where he assisted local school districts to develop the capability of serving all their children as required by the new federal law.

Having an interest in performance evaluation and budgeting, Tom joined the staff of the Legislative Budget Board where he served for 13 years as the Senior Analyst for Health and Human Services. In that time Tom recommended significant changes to state law and agency operations that would enhance the lives of the people served through Health and Human Service programs in Texas.

In 2003, until retiring from state service, Mr. Valentine returned to Texas as the Senior Policy Advisor for Health and Behavioral Health at the Health and Human Services Commission.

Erin is a certified public accountant who specializes in tax work for individuals and small businesses. She is currently with the accounting firm Safstrom & Company in Seattle, Washington. She is a graduate of the University of Washington and formerly worked in the tax departments at Frank Russell Company and Arthur Andersen LLP. She previously served as a board member for the CRIS Foundation and on the finance committee of Assumption-St. Bridget School. In her free time, Erin likes to cook, ski and travel with her husband and two teenagers.

Denise was born and raised in Adirondack Mountains of northern New York State. Married to Gerald Whelan. Obtained a B.A. in Elementary and Special Education from Trinity College Burlington, VT. Moved to Thoreau, NM in 2000 to teach Grade One at St. Bonaventure School. Since 2003, Denise has been the Kindergarten teacher. In April 2018, she accepted the added responsibilities of becoming the Assistant Principal. In addition to these responsibilities, she is also the coordinator for the St. Bonaventure Summer School program.

As its Executive Director, Chris has been leading St. Bonaventure Indian Mission & School for almost 20 years. His work has propelled the mission to new heights, making it one of the most reputable non-profit organizations in the United States. Under his leadership, St. Bonaventure has dramatically expanded in many other critical areas, beyond its school system.
Chris’s four decades of experience span a wide range of cross-cultural settings, including the United States, Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

Chris graduated from the University of Washington in 1991. His continued interest in learning has made Chris an avid lifelong learner. He has enrolled in studies at Harvard Extension School (2023) and the University for Peace (2025). He is also a certified mediator from the Harvard Program in Negotiation.