February 17, 2026

While in Los Angeles, Executive Director Scarlett Vanyi was delighted to be able to see firsthand the incredible resilience of St. Matthew's Parish School in the wake of the devastating January 2025 wildfires. Director of Finance Trevor Mutch, Director of Human Resources Juana Ochoa, and Chief Operations Officer Cat Cecere invited Scarlett to tour the temporary facility they and the St. Matthew’s team assembled just 3 weeks after the outbreak of the Palisades fires.

The Water Gardens Campus offers St. Matthew’s students, faculty, and staff a true home-away-from-home complete with basketball courts, an outdoor playground, quaint spaces where students and faculty can gather, a band room, an art room, and a maker' space. The way they transformed an office park into a school campus is impressive. While school has been held at two temporary campuses for the past year, their Palisades Campus has undergone extensive cleanup and renovations that will allow a return this fall. We celebrate these heroic efforts to support and uplift the St. Matthew’s Parish School community and all schools affected by wildfires and other disasters, as they honor our shared commitment to students!

Below (left): Scarlett Vanyi and Chief Operations Officer Cat Cecere. Below (right): Director of Finance Trevor Mutch, Director of Human Resources Juana Ochoa, and Scarlett Vanyi. 

Below: An art sign and a hallway at St. Matthew's Parish School's temporary campus.