Four Mayfield community members honored for their faith, action and generosity
Jack Blumenthal. Heidi McNiff Johnson ’84. Brittany Barnes Reeser ’05. Jim Sarni.
These cherished members of our Mayfield community have been recognized for their exemplary and selfless work as Catholic leaders. Read why Archbishop José Gomez and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus find our Mayfield friends so inspiring.
These cherished members of our Mayfield community have been recognized for their exemplary and selfless work as Catholic leaders. Read why Archbishop José Gomez and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus find our Mayfield friends so inspiring.
Cardinal’s Awards Dinner Honorees
Archbishop José Gomez has selected five honorees for the 2018 Cardinal’s Awards Dinner, a gala established by Cardinal Roger Mahony in the late 1980s to celebrate the selfless and talented people whose contributions to the Los Angeles Archdiocese embody Catholic values.
This year Archbishop Gomez is honoring exemplary Catholics who have devoted much work to the youth of the archdiocese. Three of the honorees, Jack Blumenthal, Heidi McNiff Johnson ’84 and Jim Sarni, have longtime and strong ties to Mayfield Senior School and hold special places of gratitude in our hearts for their commitment and service in our school community and beyond.
Holy Child Awards Recipients
We are beaming with pride and gratitude that the Society of the Holy Child Jesus will honor Brittany Barnes Reeser ’05 and Jim Sarni at their 10th annual Holy Child Awards Dinner in March, held this year in Los Angeles.
Jim is the recipient of the Faith in Action Award and Brittany will be honored with the Holy Child Spirit Award. Our award recipients exemplify the mission of the Society “to help people believe that God lives and acts in them and in our world.” We are honored to call them our own!
The honorees:
Jack Blumenthal, Cardinal’s Award
Jack Blumenthal is among our Mayfield treasures—a teacher, mentor and tutor who for more than 20 years has helped hundreds of girls excel at math and empowered them to pursue careers in engineering, physics and math.
Jack, his wife, Susan, and son Tom have generously given to Catholic education projects throughout the archdiocese. He is a retired aerospace engineer at TRW and holds 16 patents. At Mayfield, Jack has served as a longtime volunteer math teacher and tutor and initiated the Mayfield Textbook Scholarship Fund. During his time at Mayfield he converted to Catholicism. After 40 years as an engineer he wanted to teach high school because it’s a formative time when students start considering their career choices.
Jack also is a former board chair at Marymount California University in Palos Verdes. He says he gets back more than he has given. When we see him tutoring at Mayfield, the wisdom and skills he imparts to our girls is a gift to us all.
Heidi McNiff Johnson ’84, Cardinal’s Award
The career and volunteer work of Heidi McNiff Johnson ’84—who we fondly refer to as a Mayfield “lifer” because she began her Holy Child education in kindergarten—embodies a passion for improving the lives of young people.
She is currently the executive director of the Association of Catholic Student Councils, a non-profit leadership organization for middle and high school students. She created the website Charity Matters that advocates for the work of small non-profit organizations and is among the founders of the Spiritual Care Guild of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
In 2011 Heidi received Mayfield’s highest alumnae honor, the Cornelian Award, for exemplifying Cornelia Connelly’s devotion to service. She is a past Mayfield Senior School Trustee and has served on the Verbum Dei High School board. She likes to say that “Mayfield is part of my DNA,” with five aunts who are Mayfield graduates, including Sr. Sheila McNiff ’56, SHCJ, a former principal of Mayfield Junior School.
Brittany Barnes Reeser ’05, Holy Child Spirit Award
Brittany Barnes Reeser ’05 is also a Mayfield “lifer.” After graduating from Loyola Marymount University in 2009 she devoted herself to teaching underserved children in Los Angeles. She is currently Director of Mathematics at STEM Prep, a Charter Organization of two schools.
She credits her Holy Child education for inspiring her drive to serve others and is committed in her teaching to helping students believe in themselves and all that they can achieve. She constantly goes above and beyond the duties of a classroom teacher, tutoring students after class and on weekends.
She has been recognized by the California Charter Schools Association and was also the recipient of the 2017 George Olmsted Jr. Class of 1924 Prize for Excellence in Secondary School Teaching at Williams College. He compassion, enthusiasm and care are making a difference in this world, a loving credit to her Holy Child education.
Jim Sarni, Cardinal’s Award and Holy Child Faith in Action Award
Jim Sarni, a Mayfield parent, past Board of Trustee member, is doubly blessed with honors this season from both Archbishop Gomez and the Society of the Holy Child Jesus.
The archdiocese called Jim a faith-filled man of exemplary Christian values. Through his work in the Order of Malta, he serves the poor with compassion and joy. He is also the chair of the Order of the Knights and Ladies of St. Gregory, the highest papal honor given to lay leaders. He works to support priests in the archdiocese through the House of Prayer and chairs the Pasadena City College Foundation Board.
The Society has honored him with its Faith in Action Award for exemplifying the characteristics of Cornelia Connelly and her awareness of the presence of God in others as well as her spirit of joy, generosity and courage.
Mr. Sarni is a Managing Principal at Payden & Rygel and a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and the Investment Policy Committee. He is generous with his expertise and is a member of the Society’s Mission Advancement Advisory Board.
His professional and charitable affiliations run deep and include service on the Mayfield Junior School Board of Trustees. Jim served as chair of our Faith in Our Future capital campaign, which transformed and modernized our school. Professionally, he is a member of the CFA Institute, which helps to lead the investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education and professional excellence.
He and his wife Becky have two daughters, Jessica ’15 and Angela ’18. Becky is an active and generous volunteer at Mayfield.
Jim’s devotion to his Catholic faith and Holy Child education embody the sentiments of Cornelia when she said “You must not hide the gifts God has given, but use them in his service.”
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Established in 1931, Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena, CA is a Catholic, independent, college preparatory school for young women grades 9-12. Noted for its rigorous academic program, which includes 28 Advanced Placement and Honors courses, Mayfield’s curriculum is underscored by a philosophy of educating the “whole child,” which also encourages commitment to and excellence in the arts, athletics, community service and spiritual growth. The nurturing environment at Mayfield Senior School allows each student to flourish in an atmosphere of personal attention.
