Xavier College Prep ‘82

I attended St. Agnes Seminary in Brooklyn, New York, for elementary school.  It was a beautiful school built in the 1930s and run by the Sisters of St. Joseph.  After moving to Phoenix with my family in 1978, I began high school at Xavier College Prep.  I am married to Dr. Mitchell Giangobbe, MD, native of Phoenix and Brophy College Prep graduate, class of ’79.

As many Catholic educated parents do, we also sent our children to Catholic schools here in the Diocese of Phoenix.  Our daughter, Kaitlin, attended St. John Vianney School ‘16 and Bourgade Catholic High School ‘20.  Our son Ryan attended St. John Vianney Catholic School and graduated as the class Valedictorian. He will attend St. John Paul II Catholic High School in Avondale as a proud member of the class of 2025.

The Catholic education bug runs deep in our family.  It started with my mother who graduated from Fordham University and taught at St. Michael’s Catholic School.  My nephew and Godson Barry Hassett attends St. Thomas the Apostle and my niece Madeleine O’Mara and nephew Patrick O’Mara both graduated from The University of Notre Dame.  Madeline earned a BA in 2017 and Patrick earned a BA in 2020 and a MA in 2021.  Madeline is continuing her Catholic higher education as a student at Georgetown University.

In my family, we believe in the importance and value of Catholic education.  It has made all the difference in my life to educate not only the mind, but the heart and spirit as well.

I wear many hats and have gone by many titles–Wife, Mother, Educator, and Businesswoman., to name a few.  Currently, I am the proud Owner/Practice Manager of Veincare of Arizona in Sun City West.  Educational accomplishments include my BA from the U of A ‘86, my MBA from the Thunderbird School ’87, an MA from the University of Iowa ‘95, and Doctoral Studies in Education at Arizona State University (ABD).

I am a Board Member and Graduate of The Campaign School at Yale through Yale Law School.  I was invited in 2016 to the Board to replace Gabrielle Giffords as Arizona’s representative.

I support many philanthropic organizations and Catholic Education. My family created the St. John Vianney Murphy Scholarship at Xavier College Preparatory to support a West Valley SJV student to attend XCP.

My future plans include a trip to the Holy Land, to walk where Jesus walked, once the world is safe for travel again.