Our Faculty Bios

Following his graduation, Fr. McFarland attended the University of Maryland where he got a degree in history. Even at this time, he had no serious thought of a vocation; that started coming in September 2004 when he attended his first Latin Mass. 
He was ordained in 2012, and was assigned to St. Mary's Academy in Kansas, where he has spent 5 years in the Academy teaching and assisting with parish duties. Fr. McFarland is currently the Rector and Prior at Our Lady of Sorrows. He is also the chaplain for the men's Holy Name Society. 

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Mr. Diego Moncada is a graduate of Dartmouth College, where he obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Originally from California, he is proud to call Phoenix his home for the past 12 years. Mr. Moncada has been teaching at Our Lady of Sorrows Academy since 2022 and became the Vice Principal in 2024.

Miss Gabrielle Saurette was born in Canada. She moved to North Idaho and attended St. Dominic School in Post Falls before pursuing a B.S. Ed. in Literature from the University of Idaho and an M.A. in English Literature from the University of Alberta. She taught for several years at charter schools in Idaho and Arizona. In 2022, she earned an M.A. in Education Policy (ASU) and joined the OLOSA staff.

Miss Jennifer Castañeda is originally from Mexico and has called Phoenix home for many years. A native Spanish speaker, Miss Castañeda brings her wide-ranging experience in secretarial work to the Academy as well as her love of languages and literature.

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Mrs. Young attended St. Elizabeth’s Nursing School in Utica, NY. She passed the NY Board of Exams for Registered Nurse in 1992. Mrs. Young has taught several years at St. Therese Academy in Nicholville, NY, St. Dominic School in Post Falls, ID and, most recently, at Our Lady of Sorrows Academy.

Miss Avila was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ. She graduated from Our Lady of Sorrows Academy in 2018 and graduated from Phoenix College in 2020 with an Associates Degree in Applied Science. She brings her experience in education to both the teaching faculty and administrative staff. 

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Mrs. Wantland is an Arizona native. She attended ASU to achieve a B.S in Family and Human / Early Child Development. She then pursued an Associate Certificate from Southwest Institute of Montessori Studies. After visiting a Montessori classroom, she knew the education of little ones was where God was calling her. 

Miss Wantland was born and raised in Arizona and is the fourth of seven children. After finishing high school, she pursued her passion for filmmaking at Mesa Community College where she graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in 2018. After working in retail management for several years, she began a new chapter of her career as the kindergarten teaching assistant for Our Lady of Sorrows Academy.

Rebecca Fabula was born in Maryland, the seventh of eight children. Graduated in 2021 from Our Lady of Victory homeschool program. The last three years she has been working in the dog training field. Working with the owners to successfully avoid or overcome behavioral problems.
Rebecca is excited for this new chapter! The 2025-26 school year will be her first time as a TA. Rebecca enjoys cross country skiing and working with dogs.

Miss Catherine Evans was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and was one of the eight students present when Our Lady of Sorrows Academy first opened its doors. After her high school graduation Miss Evans devoted the following year at the academy as a teacher’s assistant before entering the congregation of the Sisters of the Society Saint Pius X. After ten fruitful years of apostolate and prayer dedicated to our priests and the youth, it was God’s Will that she returned
home at the completion of her temporary vows. Home again at her “Alma Mater”, Miss Evans is eager to pass on what she has received!

Sarah Delmanowski is a native to Phoenix, Arizona. She is the second to youngest of 5 children. After graduating from Our Lady of Sorrows Academy in 2014 she continued her studies at St. Mary's College and graduated in 2016 with an associate degree in the Liberal Arts. She has taught in both Louisiana, MO and Richfield, OH. She returned to teach the third grade at Our Lady of Sorrows in 2021.

Mrs. Murphy, while a native of California, also learned to call Arizona home as a child during summer vacations while visiting family. As an adult, she is thrilled to be back in Phoenix with her own family as of early 2023. The majority of her professional career has been based in education as a teacher, tutor and front-office secretary since 1997. As a 1995 B.A. graduate with a History major from Christendom College, she has applied her learning of a wide array of subjects in her elementary and high school classrooms, and to the education of her own children as a homeschooling mother. A parishioner of Our Lady of Sorrows, she is looking forward to spending the next year enjoying her 4th graders as their teacher.

Lauren Dowd was born and raised in St. Mary's, Kansas, where she grew up reading and ice skating with her nine siblings. She attended St. Mary's College and earned her Associates degree in Liberal Arts in 2023. That year she moved 3,500 miles to Anchorage, Alaska to TA at a K-12 school. She looks forward to another year at Our Lady of Sorrows. 

Miss Hable was born and raised in the metro Detroit area of Michigan. She attended two SSPX schools, St. Joseph's Academy in Armada, MI from kindergarten through 8th grade and Mater Dei Academy in Warners, NY for high school. She earned a B.A. in History from Oakland University.
For the past three years, she has been teaching middle school history at a Classical Christian School in Michigan and is excited to share her love of history at Our Lady of Sorrows Academy.

Margaret Schermann is a native of Arizona and a graduate of Our Lady of Sorrows Academy. She attended St. Mary’s College where she received an Associate of Arts Degree in 2013, and completed an additional year of the Humanities Extension Program. Margaret has spent time in Germany volunteering at a Society boarding school, and has worked in the ophthalmology field as an assistant technician before pursuing her career in teaching.

Heidi Dvorak grew up in St. Cloud, Minnesota, the 10th of 16 children. She received her Associate's in Liberal Arts from St. Mary's College in St. Mary's, Kansas, but wishing to be close to family, returned to the school she graduated from in St. Cloud and taught 3rd grade for two
years.  Deciding she wanted more sun, she made the road trip down to Phoenix. Miss Dvorak has a passion for music and sings and plays the violin and piano, and is excited to share her love of music with the students of OLOSA. In addition to teaching, Miss Dvorak will also be
going to college for a Bachelor's in Special Education and Elementary Education.

Mr. Adam Wilkerson is the Upper Academy boys PE instructor. He moved from Fontana, California to Phoenix in 2016 to attend Our Lady of Sorrows and graduated in 2020. He acquired his AA in Liberal Arts from St Mary's College in 2022. He is happy to be back at OLOSA to help form the Catholic young men of the school.

Mr. Lubert was born in Brighton, England and moved to California as a teenager with his family.
He received a BA in Classics from Pomona College and is currently pursuing a Master's in Latin
at the University of Florida. He taught Latin and Greek at a Classical school in Scottsdale for four years before coming to teach at OLOSA.

Miss Paulina Murga comes to Our Lady of Sorrows with a degree in Sustainability from Arizona State University. She previously taught at a Montessori school for seven years and is delighted to continue influencing young minds, now in a Catholic environment. In her free time she enjoys gardening and caring for her pet chickens and dogs. 

Amanda Palmeri was born and raised in St. Mary's, KS, the tenth of eighteen children. She received her primary education from St. Mary's Academy, from which she graduated in 2019. She furthered her studies at St. Mary's College and graduated in 2021 with a Liberal Arts Degree. She is excited to continue her work with Our Lady of Sorrows Academy.

Miss Pecora is overjoyed by the opportunity to share her enthusiasm for Art with upper Academy students. She obtained the Master of Fine Arts degree from School of the Art Institute of Chicago and spent undergraduate studies at Skidmore College in upstate New York and Paris. She began teaching at her alma maters and
managed an arts-mentoring program for at-risk youth in the boroughs of New York City. Miss Pecora spent several years at The Cooper Union and New York University

before relocating to Phoenix in 2005 to join residential faculty of Paradise Valley Community College where she continues to teach Art. In 2017, she was a resident scholar at the School of Criticism and Theory at Cornell University. Among professional honors is a grant from the Contemporary Forum of the Phoenix Art Museum. Her art is represented in the collection of Scottsdale Museum of
Contemporary Art. Miss Pecora is a tertiary Carmelite (discalced) of the SSPX and has been a parishioner at Our Lady of Sorrows since 2023.