School Board
Below are the names and bios of the individuals serving on the Visitation School Board.
Fr, Francis Kim, Pastor / Church Administrator
Fr. Francis Kim was ordained a priest on June 5, 2021, and started his assignment at Visitation Parish on July 1, 2024. On his free time, he enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, jogging, weightlifting, and spending quality time with family and friends. Some of Fr. Francis' modern heroes are Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen, John Main, Thomas Keating, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, and Thich Naht Hahn. If he could be half the people they were, he'd consider that a well-lived life.
Christopher Watson, Principal
Mr. Watson came to Visitation Catholic School in 2009 from Our Lady of Peace in North Hills where he served as the Principal. Prior to working in a leadership role, Mr. Watson started out at St. Bernardine of Siena School in Woodland Hills as the P.E. Teacher. From there, he moved to Our Lady of Lourdes in Northridge where he taught 3rd grade.
Mr. Watson holds multiple degrees - a Bachelor of Arts in History, Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Cal State Northridge, and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from Loyola Marymount University. Additionally, Mr. Watson possesses two credentials, one in Elementary Teaching and a second in Educational Administration.
Additional background and philosophy can be found on the Visitation School website here.
Mark Brosmer, Co-Chair
Mark Brosmer has been a parishioner since 1993. He and his wife have two children who attended Visitation School for a short period. He previously served as Co-Chair of the Parish Pastoral Council and was a long-time member of the Carnival and Vegas Night Committees. He is currently a Eucharistic Minister, Lecture, and adjunct member of the Welcome Wagon.
Mark retired from The Aerospace Corporation as a General Manager in 2021. He earned BS and MS degrees in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and a PhD from the University of California at Berkeley.
Colleen Tiedemann, Co-Chair
Colleen Tiedemann is a parishioner and parent of a recent Visitation graduate. She served as the Co-Chair of the PTO, Chair of the Parent Advisory Council, and Chair of the School Board Strategic Planning Committee.
Mary Rose Batungbacal
Mary Rose is an active parishioner and mother of two boys who currently attend Visitation School. She is a product of over 20 years of Catholic education as an alumna of St. Dominic Elementary, La Salle High School, and Loyola Marymount University, where she earned her B.S. in Biology, a Master’s in Secondary Education with a Credential in Math, and a Catholic School Administrative Certification.
Mary Rose also brings more than 14 years of experience serving in Catholic schools as a High School STEM teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, and currently as the Director of High School Academic Excellence for the Archdiocese of LA. In her role on the Visitation School Board, she looks forward to blending her love for God, her children, and Catholic education.
Monsignor James Forsen
Monsignor James Forsen is the Pastor Emeritus of Visitation Church. He has been a priest for 43 years, having served the Archdiocese as an associate pastor in three parishes for 11 years, as a pastor at Saint John the Baptist Baldwin Park for 12 years, as a Vocation Director for the Archdiocese for 10 years, and as pastor of Visitation for 7 1/2 years. He currently resides at Visitation parish as a retired priest, assisting with masses and confessions and various sacramental and pastoral duties.
Emilie Leigh
Emilie Leigh is currently a parishioner and has two daughters who graduated from Visitation. In addition, she served as room parent, member of the PTO, carnival committee and co-chaired the Gala.
Professionally, has worked in education for 24 years as a teacher, intervention specialist, assistant principal, and currently principal at Will Rogers Middle School.
She also is a part time adjunct faculty member for the LMU School of Education.
Emilie is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University (LMU), and earned both her undergraduate degree and Masters in School Counseling.
She also has a reading certificate from LMU as well as an administrative credential from Cal State Dominguez.
She is also a Member of The Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).
Blake Mayer
Blake Mayer graduated from Visitation School, attended St. Monica Catholic High School (Saint Monica Preparatory), and earned a B.A. and M.S. in Recreation Management from California State University, Northridge. He served as Director of Activities and Campus Ministry at Saint Monica Preparatory, leading student programs that fostered community engagement, service, experiential learning, and personal growth. Blake later earned an M.A. in Counseling and a PPS Credential from Loyola Marymount University.
Currently a counselor at Loyola High School, Blake provides personal, academic, and college counseling support to students and families in grades 9-12. He is excited to contribute to the Visitation community as a School Board member. Blake and his wife, Jen, are active parishioners at Visitation, and their two daughters attend Visitation School.
Ed Stokx
Ed Stokx is a parishioner of Visitation Parish and has two daughters that both graduated from Visitation School.
He is chief financial & administrative officer of MBK Real Estate, with extensive experience in executive management…
He graduated from Loyola Marymount University, College of Business Administration and is a certified public accountant.
Betsy Ward
Betsy Ward is a graduate of Visitation Elementary School. She currently works at Notre Dame Academy for Girls as the Director of Mission and Ministry. She has served Catholic schools in Los Angeles for 37 years, including 25 years at Notre Dame Academy, 5 years at St. Matthias High School, and 2 years at Immaculate Heart Middle School.
She is excited to be part of Visitation Board
Madison Weber
Madison Weber is a mom of four, with her oldest two children students at Visitation School. She has been an active parent at Visitation School since 2020. She serves on the golf tournament committee and manages the school’s and church’s Gives Mart websites. Madison and her husband, Joe, have been parishioners at Church of the Visitation since moving to Westchester in 2017.
Madison is a licensed geotechnical engineer and works in the construction industry. She earned a B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University.
Casey Yeazel
Bio coming soon.