STA da la bienvenida a los nuevos miembros del Consejo

New members of the STA Board of Directors effective July 2023 (l to r): Sister Patricia Clune, CSJ; Katheigh Degen; and Nikki Newton

June 28, 2023

St. Teresa’s Academy is honored to welcome the following leaders from the Kansas City community to the STA Board of Directors. Their appointments are effective July 1.  

Sister Patricia (Patty) Clune, CSJ (’62), entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1962 and was received into the novitiate in 1963 as Sister Peter Mary.

Sister Patty graduated from St. Teresa’s Academy in 1962. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College in 1967; a master’s degree in reading from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1974; a specialist degree in educational administration from Georgia State University in 1989; and a doctorate degree in educational administration and supervision from Georgia State University in 1994. She has served in education and administration in Georgia, Delaware, St. Louis, and Kansas City, Missouri. The majority of Sister Patty’s nearly 50-year career in education was in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. She taught at St. Joseph’s in Marietta, was principal at St. Anthony’s, and was the founding principal at Queen of Angels in Roswell. She also served as the assistant superintendent of schools in the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware, and as the associate and interim superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Missouri.

Sister Patty brought her vast experience to the CSJ community by serving in leadership for the St. Louis Province from 2008 to 2014. Following a sabbatical, Sister Patty spent the next four years alternating ministries among Gulu, Uganda, Kansas City, and Brunswick, Georgia. In 2019, Sister Patty returned to St. Louis where she spends time visiting our sisters at Nazareth and also continues her relationship with Journey House in Kansas City. Sister Patty serves on Fontbonne University’s Board of Trustees and is a member of their Centennial Planning Committee.

Katheigh Degen is Principal & Business Financial Solutions President at Twin Financial, a financial advisory firm she founded in partnership with her twin sister, Raleigh, in 1988. In her role, she leads the Business Solutions Division and Complex Individual Case Division. She has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and has earned numerous awards including the KC Chamber Small Business Superstar in 2022.

Degen is active in the Catholic nonprofit community, having served in the FIRE Foundation for more than 10 years, including as a founding board member. The organization’s mission is to provide children with special needs the opportunity for an inclusive Catholic education in their home parish schools. She has served on the foundation’s endowment and finance committees, and has significantly grown the endowment to support the organization’s mission. She also has served on the Heartstrings Community Foundation as a founding member. Heartstrings provides unique employment opportunities for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities within the local business community.

Degen graduated from the University of Kansas in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and has been a career agent with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) since that time. She and her husband John live in Kansas City, Missouri, and have three sons. She is a member of Saint Peter’s Catholic Church and has served on its finance committee.

Nikki Newton is the President of Private Wealth Management at UMB Bank, a financial services company headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to UMB, Newton served in senior executive positions at Waddell & Reed, an asset management and financial planning company. His financial leadership in investment management spans more than 20 years.

Newton is active in the philanthropic community. Currently, he serves on the Saint Luke’s Health System Board of Directors, as secretary on the University of Central Arkansas Foundation Board, and also is on the board of the Health Forward Foundation, a Kansas City organization dedicated to supporting and building inclusive, powerful and healthy communities characterized by racial equity and economically just systems. He also has served on the boards of Community LINC, Kansas City Zoo, American Jazz Museum, Benjamin Banneker Charter Academy, UMKC School Conservatory of Music and Dance, Kansas City Board of American Red Cross, and Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority.

Newton attributes his success in leadership to his service in the Army where he was a nuclear and biological chemical warfare specialist. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Finance at the University of Central Arkansas and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. Newton and his wife Kim reside in Kansas City, Missouri. They are the parents of Piper, a student in the St. Teresa’s Academy Class of 2024.