Our Boards
Los Olivos CIS Board of Directors
Marie Jordan (Mimi)
Chairperson, board member since 2006. Sr. Asst. Gen. Counsel, Millennium Trust Company.
Mimi has been with the board of directors since its founding in 2006.
She first participated in a CIS delegation for the Anniversary of St. Romero with Chicago Religious Leadership Network and has visited and served multiple times as an international election observer.
Mimi has been instrumental in the legal documents and oversight of LOS OLIVOS CIS.
Gary Ellis
Associate Director and Board Member since 2006. Retired as Executive Director at Riverton Community Housing in Minneapolis, Minnesota 2020.
Gary was a founding member of the Board in 2006 and came to El Salvador and CIS as a member of Vets for Peace, as an international election observer.
He has participated in multiple delegations and observer missions. Gary brings his non-profit experience and oversees the accounting and banking of LOS OLIVOS CIS.
Robyn Smith
Secretary and board member since 2016. Senior Attorney, Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles and Of Counsel, National Consumer Law Center.
Robyn has served as an election observer and participated in many CIS delegations since 2005.
She was a founding member of the community in Southern California that supports scholarships in solidarity with the community of San Pablo Tacachico. Robyn works with CIS to support the women in prison who were convicted of murder after experiencing miscarriages.
Mike Tork
Treasurer and Board member since 2011. Retired NOAA Fisheries Biologist.
Mike connected to CIS through Veterans for Peace and participation in numerous International Election Observer Missions.
He serves as logistics, sound systems and airport pickups for every mission. He has participated in CIS construction brigades including building a school in La Loma, Comasagua and building homes in Romero Community. Mike has also served as a liaison with CIS and the SOA Watch.
Mary Frances Ross
Board member since 2008. Professor Emeritus for Clinical Pharmacy Practice, Ferris State Univ. College of Pharmacy.
Mary Frances first studied Spanish at the CIS and has connected through her sister parish relationship with Maria Madre de Los Pobres in San Salvador.
She has led numerous delegations to El Salvador and participated as a CIS International Election Observer many times, as well as helping to coordinate the Election Delegation in 2019.
Sara Mulrooney
Board Member since 2008.
School teacher at Arlington Public Schools.
Sara studied Spanish at the CIS and has connected through her parish relationship with Maria Madre de Los Pobres in San Salvador.
She has been on numerous delegations to El Salvador and participated as a CIS International Election Observer.
Rosemary Biggins
Board Member since 2009. LTC & Disability Program Manager, State of Washington, Aging and Disability Service Administration.
Rosemary has worked in solidarity with the people of El Salvador since the 1980s.
She has served numerous times as a CIS international Election Observer and leveraged funding for grassroots organizing programs
Susan Mull
Board Member since 2013. Practicing psychoanalyst in the Los Angeles area, senior faculty member and training supervisor at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis with a specialty in trauma.
Susan works regularly with Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services in El Paso, TX to assist asylum seekers and is pursuing an advanced certificate in the Studies of Refugee Protection and Displaced Peoples.She has served as an international election observer and participated in over six CIS delegations since 2005.
Susan is also a founding member of the community in Southern California that supports scholarships in solidarity with the community of San Pablo Tacachico and works to assist leadership development among women and youth.
Ed Osowski
Board Member since 2015. Attorney at Law.
Ed connected to CIS and El Salvador with delegations honoring St. Romero’s struggle for social and economic justice with the Chicago Religious Leadership Network.
Ed advises LOS OLIVOS CIS on legal issues including travel waivers, board insurance and measures to protect the organization.
Kerm Fendler
Board Member since 2019. Retired business executive.
Kerm Fendler is the founder of the St. Elizabeth sister parish relationship with Romero Community in El Salvador which has supported leadership development and scholarships to Romero Community and its surrounding neighbors since 2012.
He has organized visits of young scholarship leaders to visit the United States and further promote solidarity with St. Elizabeth’s and other parishes in Kansas City. He was instrumental in fundraising for building dignified homes in Romero Community in 2015/16 and served as a liaison with Homes for the Heart to help raise funds for dignified homes in Paso Puente Community in 2019/20.
