The Procedo Project

Prōcēdō:
to advance or move forward

The Procedo Project seeks to develop, implement and curate innovative models of Catholic education.  We partner to build capacity toward self-sustaining Catholic schools, serving as beacons for innovative academic and operational practice while continuing to be inspirational communities of faith.

The Procedo Project Guiding Principles:

We believe the schools of tomorrow are being born today; and, strong Catholic schools serve as evangelizing witnesses of faith in action.

We believe Catholic schools have the ability to be self-sustaining and financially viable through innovative practices in education, digital discipleship and community engagement.

We believe Catholic schools have a unique agility and community of support to enact meaningful and impactful change on a large scale, one teacher, one leader and one school at a time.

We believe that “business as usual” is unacceptable for today’s educational landscape and Catholic schools must step up to meet the challenges and opportunities through a lens of innovation.

We believe Catholic education thrives when schools, parishes, communities, stakeholders and partners work in cooperation and support one another.

We believe that tradition and Catholic identity are the driving force for excellence in Catholic education and innovation can enhance them.

We believe innovation is a mindset and a culture that needs to be cultivated and supported long term to create meaningful and sustainable change in Catholic education.

Alex Urrea

CEO, Founder

Alex is the son of Colombian immigrants who emigrated to the U.S. in 1966 and shortly became U.S. citizens, entrepreneurs and now grandparents to six grandchildren pursuing higher education. He credits his grandmother with grounding him in Catholic faith and still remembers his first day at American Martyrs School in Bayside, NY when she cried with joy at the sight of seeing him in his uniform for the first time. He is the product of 18 years of Catholic schools and universities. It is his lifelong appreciation and passion for Catholic education that compelled him to launch The Procedo Project.

Alex has founded two education companies and is currently the Managing Partner of Eduscape, a professional learning organization that has impacted nearly 800,000 educators in the U.S. and 23 other countries. At Eduscape, he leads a team of innovative, former classroom teachers who develop and deliver exemplary learning experiences for teachers across several disciplines, including EdTech integration, Early Education, STEM, SEL and Cultural Competency. He is also the founding President of his community’s educational foundation, Chair of the West Bergen Mental Health Foundation and Co-Founder of the Innovative Catholic Schools Network.

Marcie Hebert

Director, STREAM Education

Marcie has built a reputation as one of the most dynamic, nationally recognized educators to have taught in Catholic schools. She was one of the original 50 Google Innovative Educators in the world and has delivered professional development to thousands of teachers in the U.S., China and Singapore. Marcie is passionate about helping teachers develop their capacity to integrate technology and STREAM into their classrooms.

Joe Favorito

Director, Marketing and Public Relations

Joe Favorito is a product of 17 years of Catholic education; beginning at Our Lady Help of Christians Elementary and Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, and then Fordham University. He has over 34 years of strategic communications/ marketing, business development and public relations expertise in sports, entertainment, brand building, media training, television, athletic administration and business. The Brooklyn, New York native has managed the day-to-day activities in strategic communications for: two of the world’s hallmark sports and entertainment brands (the New York Knickerbockers and Philadelphia 76ers); the world’s largest professional sport for women (the WTA Tour); the world’s largest sports National Governing Body (the United States Tennis Association); and the world’s largest annual sporting event (the US Open). He also oversaw the strategic planning, investor relations, communications and digital business development of the International Fight League during its two-year run as a Mixed Martial Arts venture and a publicly traded company before the assets were sold to the UFC.

He was named one of Forbes’ “100 Sports Business Must Follows On Twitter” for 2015, their “50 Must Follows” for 2016 and 2017. The Huffington Post’s “Sports Media People To Follow” for 2017 and 2018, BroBible’s 2019 “Sports Business Must Follows,” and SI.com’s 2020 “Top 100 Follows in Sports Business,” as well as being the only sole proprietor selected as a finalist for the Cynopsis Sports PR Awards in 2015. In 2017 he was also selected as one of Sports Business Journal’s “Power Players” in media and communications, the only independent consultant to make the list of 20.

Sr. Elaine Poitras

Chair, Innovative Catholic Schools Network

Sister Elaine firmly believes in the prophetic mission of Catholic schools and has carried out her ministry as teacher, principal, associate superintendent, director of curriculum and testing, and as a Superintendent for two Diocese.  She has been a frequent presenter on varied topics for a variety of groups including NCEA.  While in her role as Executive Director of the Innovative Catholic School Network she has worked on several initiatives with DePaul University. She is currently and facilitating retreats for new Catholic school leaders in the Archdiocese of Chicago to prepare, encourage, and support them in their roles as the Faith and Spiritual Leaders of their school communities

Sister Elaine is a native of New Bedford, MA and currently lives in Merrimack, NH.  A product of Catholic schools, Sister entered the Sisters of Holy Cross drawn in great part by their mission of education.  She has served in the Dioceses of Norwich, Fall River, Manchester, Rochester, Wheeling-Charleston and the Archdiocese of Boston. Sister holds a BA from Notre Dame College, Manchester, NH, MA from Assumption College in Worcester, MA, CAES in Catholic School Leadership from Boston College, and Ph.D. in School Administration with a minor in pastoral ministry from Boston College.

Kenneth Willers

Ken was recently appointed the President of Notre Dame Academy in Duluth, GA, a Marist and IB World School. He most recently served as the Associate Superintendent of Leadership for Innovation and Growth for the Diocese of Oakland, after a 20-year career as one of the most decorated Catholic School Principals in the country.

He has received the following awards:

NAESP National Distinguished Principal, Washington, DC, 2017
NCEA Lead. Learn. Proclaim Award for Outstanding Leadership
2017 ISTE Administrator Award for Exemplary Leadership
2016 NCEA Lead. Learn. Proclaim Award for Outstanding Board Leadership
2016 NCEA Outstanding Board Award
2009 Certificate of Honor for Vision with Technology by SF Board of Supervisors
2004 Catholic School of the Tomorrow Award for Innovation with Technology

Ken has a B.A. in Philosophy from Don Bosco College, a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology and an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Catholic Diocesan Leadership from the Catholic University of America.