Meet the Peacemakers

OUR TEAM

Meet the people who make Franciscan Peacemakers such a special organization!

Megan O'Halloran

Executive Director

Megan O'Halloran grew up in the Milwaukee area and has called Milwaukee’s south side home for over 20 years. O’Halloran graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Arts in History & Spanish and a Master’s in Business Administration.

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Mary Leach-Sumlin

Associate Director

Mary is a lifelong Milwaukee resident having attended and graduated from MPS schools to include a concentration in Chemistry at Milwaukee Trade and Technical High School, now Bradley Tech. Mary worked in various positions in the health insurance industry while earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University.

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Katie B. Coffey

Director of Social Enterprise

Katie B. Coffey was born-and-raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As a Sherman Park and Washington Heights native, she grew up alongside the soap shop at 34th & Lisbon where her mother started a non-profit. Katie went to John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. At JCU she was a part of the Arrupe Scholars program—a scholarship cohort for emerging social Justice leaders—and graduated with a business management degree.

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Cynthia Perkins

Outreach and Recovery Assistance Specialist

Cynthia Perkins is originally from a small city in Pennsylvania. After completing her high school studies, she joined the PA Army National Guard where she studied Missile Maintenance. While serving in the National Guard, she met her now former husband. They share three adult children and 2 beautiful granddaughters.

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Shinichi Hamilton

Production Manager

Shinichi was born in Memphis, Tennessee and moved to Milwaukee with her family when she was only 2 years old. She understandably calls Milwaukee home. She graduated from South Division High School and headed south to attend Grambling State University in Louisiana.

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Darlene Dyson

Advocate and Case Manager

Darlene Dyson is a lifelong resident of Milwaukee and a graduate of John Marshall High School. In 2003, she earned a Human Services degree from MATC. Throughout her 20 year career in Human Services, she has been trained in topics important for working with the at-risk population such as deescalation, trauma-informed care, and sexual assault advocacy.

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Phyllis Diggins

Retail and Warehouse Manager

Phyllis was born in North Little Rock, Arkansas and moved to Milwaukee Wisconsin at the age of 6 years.  Milwaukee has become her home.

She is the mother of four beautiful children and received her High School Equivalency Diploma in the year of 2000. Phyllis struggled with drugs and alcohol for a period of time was introduced to Narcotic Anonymous in 2006.

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Steve Przedpelski

Executive Director Emeritus

Deacon Steve Przedpelski grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and lives in West Bend, the city that Deacon Steve and his wife Debbie have called home for nearly 40 years. While working as a manufacturing manager, Deacon Steve entered diaconate formation at St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee and was ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee in 1994.

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