Meet Our Staff

Sr. Ardath Blake, HM currently serves as Spiritual Director, Coordinator of Directed Retreats and shares in hospitality ministry. She has received training and supervision in spiritual direction through the St. Bueno Spiritual Exercise Centre, Asaph, Wales UK, the Center for Spirituality and Lay Ministry of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT and at Loyola House in Guelph, Ontario. Ardath also has a MA in Theology, an MS in Education and experience as an elementary teacher and principal as well as in parish pastoral ministry.

Dorothy Bryer, presently shares her skills with VMESC as Hospitality & Physical Arrangements Associate. Dorothy has been employed by the Sisters of the Humility of Mary for 22 consecutive years in addition to the time she spent working with Villa Maria Community Center on the Villa Farm and in Nutrition Services during her teenage years.

Sr. Janet Burkhart, HM is an educator who has taught junior high students for over 36 years. She has a BS in Education from Youngtown State University, and an MA in Religious Studies from LaSalle College. Her love of teaching children has given her the opportunity to teach students from several different cultures, including several Native American cultures in Arizona as well as African Americans. She brings her love of learning, storytelling, ritual and music to VMESC, where she adapts her classroom and student skills to Environmental and Farm-Based Education.

Dominick Commisso, currently serves as the Hospitality Coordinator at VMESC. In the summer of 2020, He graduated from Youngstown State University with a bachelors in Gerontology. He has been at the Villa for 5 years. Dom loves playing the tuba and has been in prestigious ensembles including the Henry H Stambaugh Youth Concert Band, the OMEA District 5 Honors Band, the All-Ohio State Fair Band, and during his senior year of high school was chosen to be a part of the Macy’s Great American Band where only 250 members from across the country are chosen. Dom loves to also bowl, be outdoors, loves animals, and loves to spend time with his family and his girlfriend Ashley. Dom currently resides in Austintown.

Diana Geese, currently serves in Marketing at VMESC. She has an AS in Multimedia Communications from Community College of Allegheny County. Since employed in 2018, she has also worked as Switchboard Operator and Development Assistant. Her main hobby is card making, which has become her ministry.

Nancy Hoffman, currently serves as Assistant Registrar at VMESC and is currently re-inventing herself in the new computer age after being a secretary for 10 years and raising her daughter. Nancy’s favorite pastime is spending time with her granddaughter. Nancy also enjoys dabbling in other hobbies, as the spirit moves her.

Rebecca Mickler, MEd, currently serves as the President and CEO of Villa Maria Education and Spirituality Center. Prior to assuming this role, she served as VMESC’s Assistant Executive Director for four years. She has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, holding leadership positions at Florida Southern College, the University of South Florida, John Carroll University, Duquesne University, and West Virginia University. Her work has also included leading cross-cultural immersion experiences in New Orleans, West Virginia, and Tijuana, Mexico. A graduate of The Ohio State University, Rebecca earned her master’s degree in College Student Personnel from the University of South Florida and is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at Duquesne University. She lives in Lowellville with her husband, Mike, their two children, and the family’s Irish Doodle.

Barbara Torok-Crissman, currently serves as the Accountant for VMESC. She has been employed part-time by VMESC since 2015. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration majoring in Accounting from Youngstown State University. Barbara enjoys her semi-retirement spending time with her husband, daughter, son-in-law, stepsons and four wonderful granddaughters. In her spare time, she also does bookkeeping for her son-in-law’s business

Dana is a long-time staffer who began working with the Sisters of the Humility of Mary in September 2002 as an Office Associate with Villa Maria Education Center and now holds the position of VMESC Registrar. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters in their hometown of New Castle, PA.