The Board of Directors

Gerald Laporte is a retired corporate lawyer, historian, and philanthropist living in Arlington, Virginia. He has been a regular donor to the Trust for over 20 years and is now a Bronze Custodian of America’s First Cathedral.

Mr. Laporte was born in Ontario, Canada, and raised in Detroit, Michigan, where he earned a B.A. in Philosophy from Sacred Heart Seminary College, Detroit, in 1968. He returned to Canada to continue his education, earning simultaneous B.Th. and S.T.B. degrees from the University of Ottawa and St. Paul University, respectively.  In 1971, Laporte completed his education in  Washington DC with an M.A. degree from Georgetown University and a J.D. degree The George Washington University in 1974 before settling in the area. Since then he has been dedicated to the governance and preservation of various institutions in the DMV area. 

For almost 40 years, Laporte has worked in corporate governance, nonprofit organization and administration, and historic preservation.  He maintains memberships in a number of organizations concerned with historic preservation, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians, the D.C. Preservation League, the White House Historical Society, the United States Capitol Historical Society, the Lincoln Group of the District of Columbia, and the Civil War Roundtable of the District of Columbia. 

Aside from his role on this Board, Laporte serves on the Arlington County Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board,  and on the Arlington Committee of 100. He is a member of Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish and serves as coordinator of the parish’s gun violence prevention ministry and as a volunteer in its food pantry ministry.

“I have long been interested in history, historic preservation, architecture, and, specifically, the history of the Catholic Church in the early United States. Preservation of America’s First Cathedral is important to help tell the story of the Catholic Church in the United States. John Carroll, America’s first bishop, led the effort to build the cathedral as well as the effort to organize the Catholic Church in the newly independent United States. He was a patriot sympathetic to the ideals of political freedom inherent in the American Revolution. He wanted to build a cathedral and organize a church consistent with those ideals and different from the Catholic churches of Europe. America’s First Cathedral is an awesome testament to that vision.”

Eric A. Gregory is a senior partner at Hefty, Wiley & Gore, based in Richmond, Virginia. For nearly a decade he has provided comprehensive legal services for the firm’s public and private clients, including the firm’s local and state government. These include services related to land use and zoning, contracts and procurement, human resources and employment, legislation and public policy, real estate transactions, compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, and other areas.

Gregory holds a B.A. in Spanish from the University of Richmond and a J.D. from its School of Law.  He is an active member of the Virginia Bar, and is a member of their Board of Governors, Local Government Section of the Virginia State Bar. Gregory previously served as county attorney for the Counties of King George and Powhatan. Prior to entering local government, he served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Commonwealth’s Office of the Attorney General from 2004 to 2011, ultimately serving on the Attorney General’s senior staff. Prior to entering public service, Gregory practiced law for a private firm in Richmond, focusing on civil litigation.

Sandy Murphy is a retired corporate vice president, investor, and Catholic philanthropist who makes her home in San Diego, California. The older sister of President Stephanie Clancy, Sandy was raised in Baltimore and received her bachelor’s in Business & Communications from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.

Sandy married Michael Murphy and moved to California in 1981 where she had a successful career in media and communications. She was the Former VP of Communications for Cox Communications and held various positions in the newspaper, radio, and cable television industries in California. After retirement, Sandy began a new career in nonprofit governance. She previously served as a board member for the Christian Youth Theater in El Cajon, the Union of Pan Asian Communities in San Diego, and on the Board of Regents and Board of Trustees of John Paul the Great Catholic University in Escondido.

Aside from her role on this board, Sandy is a member of the board of  Catholic In Recovery in San Diego and a member of the President’s Advancement Council for the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) in Denver, Colorado. She and her husband Michael Murphy dedicate time and treasure to several nonprofits across the nation, exemplifying the unifying mission of the faith.

“This beautiful Cathedral is America’s First Cathedral, and it was constructed following a time when the ability to practice the Catholic faith was prohibited.  It is truly a national and religious treasure and is a reminder of just how precious the right to freedom of religion is to all Catholic Americans.   All Americans should be told about this treasure and the important role it played in American and Church history.  The visionaries responsible for its construction were faithful and courageous and are models for all of us as we live out our faith according to our state in life.”– Sandy Murphy.

Mr. Malvin A. Pavik has and continues to serve the Basilica of the Assumption Historic Trust with honor and distinction. After retirement Pavik pivoted from businessman to philanthropist, lending his time and treasure to the Trust and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In his early years on the board, he acted as a trusted advisor to the late William Cardinal Keeler, especially during the renovation and restoration of America’s First Catholic Cathedral in 2006. When Father James Boric served as Rector of the Basilica, Pavik offered guidance and was instrumental in the creation and funding of the Source of All Hope Catholic Missionary Community that serves the Baltimore City. Pavik’s generosity also made possible the construction of the Perpetual Adoration Chapel at the Basilica.

Pavik currently splits his time between Maryland and Florida, and continues to support the Trust.

Mr. Shonaiya has over 28 years of experience in architecture, project management, and the leadership of professional teams delivering comprehensive planning and design services to clients who own, manage or develop real property. He has performed all the design and owner roles from inception to completion, in the planning, design, and construction process in multiple organizational settings giving him a unique and comprehensive perspective of his responsibilities as an agent of the property owner.

Mr. Shonaiya develops portfolio strategy and leads programming and feasibility studies for The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab’s new buildings. He has managed millions of dollars worth of office/lab buildings for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab including new buildings and plant modernization. His other project types include Elementary and High Schools for various School Districts and historic restorations for the US Postal Service. Mr. Shonaiya earned an M.Arch in architecture from Morgan State University and an MBA from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. He is a licensed architect in Maryland and a Project Management Professional (PMP).

Claire Landry Wickersham has an extensive background in public art and marketing and worked for many years in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. Early in her career she served as the first Administrator of the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places Program, the oldest ordinance-based program in Texas to mandate the inclusion of works of art in public construction projects. As a consultant, Claire guided several strategic planning efforts in the fields of public art and design for both government agencies and non-profit organizations. For the past twenty years, she has overseen the day-to-day administrative and financial management of Peter H. Wickersham, P.C., her husband Peter’s boutique health law firm in San Antonio, TX, while still providing much-needed assistance to their extended and
rapidly growing family. 

An active volunteer for a variety of Catholic organizations in San Antonio, over the years Claire organized numerous fundraising and community events for her children’s schools, co-chaired San Antonio’s oldest Catholic crisis pregnancy center’s annual gala, and has volunteered since 2018 as registration coordinator for the Catholic Bar Association’s Annual Conference and General Assembly. 

Claire received her B.A. in Political and Social Thought from the University of Virginia in 1983. Upon graduation, she was selected for the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs in San Francisco, a national non-profit that has prepared individuals for effective and ethical leadership in public affairs since 1942. Following the Coro Fellowship, Claire completed her graduate studies and received her M.A. in Public Policy Analysis from Claremont Graduate School in 1985.

A lifelong Roman Catholic and a proud 7 th generation Texan, Claire traces her Texas roots back to the early settlers of the DeWitt Colony. She and Peter, her husband of nearly forty years, are parishioners of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church in San Antonio. Claire and Peter are blessed that their two wonderful children and spouses have given them six beautiful grandchildren.

Geoffrey K Verhoff is a Senior Advisor at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in Arlington, Virginia. An experienced lobbyist, he advises on a wide range of legislative and regulatory matters at state, federal, and international levels. Geoff has successfully managed coalitions and large projects focused on advocacy, strategic communications, and grassroots development and outreach. His practice focuses on leveraging the intersection of politics and policy.

Geoff was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio.  He received a bachelor’s in Politics from the Catholic University of America and an M.P.P. from George Mason University. Geoff remained in the DMV when he began his career and quickly made a name for himself in the public sector. In 2015, he managed a coalition of key influencers to assist with the passage of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA). He led a similar effort that significantly contributed to the passage of the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA) legislation, which gave Puerto Rico the necessary tools to restructure its debt.

Geoff worked for Sen. William V. Roth Jr. (R-DE), who served as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, during the last three years of the Senator’s career. Following that, he joined the Republican National Convention’s finance team that supported President George W. Bush’s successful re-election campaign. He was extensively involved in the past five presidential campaigns as well as numerous House, Senate, and third-party efforts. In 2017 President Donald J Trump appointed Geoff to the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and he was recognized as a top lobbyist in The Hill that same year.  

Geoff lives with his wife and two sons in Arlington, Virginia. He currently only serves on this board.

Father Brendan Fitzgerald succeeded Father James Boric as Basilica Rector in July of 2022 and inherited his position as Secretary of this Board. He was ordained by Archbishop William E. Lori in 2020 and has been steadily strengthening his ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore ever since.

Father Brendan was born and raised in a devout Catholic family in northern Maryland. He followed in the footsteps of his father by attending both Calvert Hall and Loyola University Maryland, but took an unconventional path to a degree in philosophy, as he graduated from the former in 2002 and the latter in 2013. While earning a higher education, Father Brendan constantly felt pulled to serve and even considered learning a trade. After deep prayer he listened and heard a call to priesthood, enrolling in Mount St. Mary’s Seminary the year after he graduated.

During his time at the Mount Seminary, Father Brnedan’s sense of adventure and service sent him to Guatemala for Spanish immersion in the summer of 2016, and to Colombia in 2017 for the first half of his pastoral year. After his ordination, Father Brendan served with Sean Keller as a Deacon for the Basilica and helped lead the flock at Sacred Heart in Glyndon as an associate pastor. 

His past pastoral assignments also include:  St. Joseph, Fullerton; St. Michael the Archangel, Overlea; Antigua, Guatemala; Spanish studies in Bogotá, Colombia, and St. Martin’s Home for the Aged, Catonsville; St. Maria Goretti High School, Hagerstown; New All Saints, Liberty Heights; and  St. Peter’s, Libertytown.

Bishop Denis J. Madden was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese of Baltimore at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen on August 24, 2005.

Bishop Madden was born in Carbondale, Pennsylvania on March 8, 1940. He received his undergraduate degree from St. Benedict’s College in Atchison, Kansas, before his ordination to the priesthood on April 1, 1967. He received a master’s degree in psychology from Columbia University in New York and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Notre Dame. He is a licensed clinical psychologist in the State of Maryland and the District of Columbia. In 1973, Bishop Madden moved to Baltimore and took a position in the psychology program at the University of Maryland, while also working part-time as a marriage and family counselor for Associated Catholic Charities. In spite of his busy schedule, Father Madden frequently made time to celebrate Mass at St. Martin’s in West Baltimore and to provide long and short term counseling to many of the priests and religious sisters in the Archdiocese.

From 1996-2005, the future bishop served as Associate Secretary General of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, established by Pope Pius XI in 1926 to work on behalf of the Holy See in those lands in which from ancient times the majority of Christians belonged to various Eastern churches. The main activities of the CNEWA include assisting the Holy See, building religious institutions, facilitating priestly ministries, preparing church leadership, responding to urgent human needs, caring for needy children, building social service institutions, promoting social development and foster interfaith communication. From 1994-1996 Bishop Madden also served as the Director of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine office in Jerusalem.

Among his duties while with the CNEWA, Bishop Madden served as the chief negotiator among the three ecclesiastical authorities responsible for repairing the dome of the Church of the Resurrection in Jerusalem.

Bishop Madden has edited a book and written numerous journal articles and chapters in books in the field of psychology. Prior to assuming responsibilities at the offices of the Pontifical Mission for Palestine, Msgr. Madden was one of the co-founders of the Accord Foundation, a humanitarian organization that has worked since 1988 in the West Bank and Gaza.

In March of 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop William E. Lori of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Connecticut, the 16th Archbishop of Baltimore. Archbishop Lori succeeded Edwin Cardinal O’Brien and inherited his position as Chairman of this board. 

Archbishop Lori is chancellor and chairman of the board of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, chancellor of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary, and past chairman of the board of trustees of The Catholic University of America.

Archbishop Lori is the former chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine and the Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. He currently serves as a member of the Administrative Committee, the Priorities and Plans Committee, the Committee on Pro-Life Activities and the Promotion and Defense of Marriage Committee. He serves as a consultant to the Committee on Doctrine, the Ad Hoc Committee Against Racism and the Committee for Religious Liberty.

Last November Archbishop Lori was elected Vice President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. In addition to these roles, Archbishop Lori is chancellor and chairman of the board of St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore and chancellor of Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Maryland.

He also is currently the supreme chaplain of the Knights of Columbus.