Board of Directors

Dr. Tom Ruffolo has been a practicing physician in Greenville and Washington since 1991. He was a founding member and has been a board advisor to JPII since its inception. He has also chaired the school’s largest fundraiser, March with the Saints, and coached women’s basketball. Ruffolo is a former board chair for Saint Peter Catholic School and a former parish council member at Saint Peter Catholic Church. He holds a bachelor of science in psychology from the University of Dayton and a doctorate in medicine from Ohio State University. He and his wife have four adult children; the youngest is a member of the first class who graduated from JPII in 2014.

Dr. Kimberly Alford is an emergency physician for ECU Physicians (working at Vidant Medical Center) and serves as the clerkship director for Emergency Medicine (medical student education). Alford grew up in the northern Kentucky/Cincinnati, Ohio area, graduating from Notre Dame Academy after attending Catholic school through grade 12. She received a bachelor of science in biology from the University of Kentucky and attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati. In 2006, Alford moved to Greenville, and shortly thereafter she met and married her husband Charles who is a CFP at two regional Vidant Health Hospitals. They have two girls who both attend Saint Peter Catholic School.

Dr. Patricia (Tricia) Anderson is a professor and chairperson in the Department of Elementary and Middle Grades Education at East Carolina University. She began her career at ECU in 1982, after earning her degrees from Delta State University and University of Georgia. Anderson served previously as both chair and vice-chair of the faculty for the university, parliamentarian for the Faculty Senate for 11 years, and most recently leading the successful approval of the proposed College of Education Code of Operations. Dr. Anderson has received teaching and Scholar-Teacher awards and has been an advocate of shared governance throughout her career.

Caroline Blick is an active volunteer in Pitt County with multiple organizations that impact young people. Recently she has been a member of the Pitt County Young Life Committee and served in various capacities at Saint Peter Catholic Church including the core team for high school youth ministry, traveling on mission trips and retreats, organizing Bible studies, and helping with Vacation Bible School. She has also been a member of the JPII March with the Saints committee.

Blick is a former marketing manager for Qbase where she developed marketing strategy and built brand awareness for products and services in multiple business sectors. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington with a bachelor of science in business administration with an emphasis in marketing and international business. She and her husband Jeff have four children; the three oldest all attend Saint Peter Catholic School.

Mayor P.J. Connelly is a public leader dedicated to seeing Greenville flourish and committed to acting as a responsible steward of the public’s trust. Mayor Connelly first joined the Greenville community in 2004 as a standout member of East Carolina University’s baseball team. He graduated in 2005 with a finance degree and went on to play professional baseball with the Los Angeles Angels for a period before returning to Greenville in 2007 to open his own real estate business and start a family, marrying Jaclyn Connelly in 2009 and going on to become a father to Mary Kate and Caroline (who attend Saint Peter Catholic School). In 2015, he was elected to the City Council to represent the citizens of District 5, and successfully ran for the office of Mayor to represent the community as a whole in 2017.

Terrance Copper is the owner and operator of The Premier Sports Academy in Winterville. He has played football at the high school, college, and NFL levels. He finished his high school career in 2000 as Washington High School’s career leading receiver. As a senior at ECU, he led the conference in receptions and finished his career with the 3rd most receptions and 5th most receiving yards in ECU history at the time. Copper entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Dallas Cowboys and went on to play nine-and-a-half years as a professional, earning team captain two years in a row for the Kansas City Chiefs.

Dr. Mark Dellasega is a retired physician who graduated from Kansas University Medical School and specialized in internal medicine and gastroenterology at Duke University. Dellasega and his wife Margie are both products of Catholic education and long-term members of Saint Peter Catholic Church. They have two children and five grandchildren who all attend Catholic schools (one is a rising junior at JPII).

Amy Gross McMillan, Ph.D., PT, is the chair of the Department of Physical Therapy at East Carolina University where she has been a faculty member since 2004. She also serves as the program director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at ECU, and in this capacity is responsible for maintaining all aspects of professional accreditation for the DPT program. In her current role, she routinely counsels students (high school through undergraduate) interested in careers in physical therapy, guiding them through a very competitive admissions process.

McMillan holds a bachelor of science degree in physical therapy, a PhD in neuroscience from the University of Delaware, and a master of science degree in neuromuscular studies and infant studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is an active member of St. Peter Catholic Parish, having served on the Pastoral Council and in multiple women’s and children’s ministries. She and her husband Joe have three children; Luke and Ian who are 1stLt in the U.S. Marine Corps and Anna who attends ECU and graduated from JPII in 2019.