Finance Council

Fr. Mark Smith, Pastor

Paul Johnson (Vice-Chairman) has been a member of St. Bartholomew Church since 1983. He has served on the Finance Council over an extended period of time and is currently Chairman. He is also a Lector and an Aramithean who assists Priests with funerals. Paul has retired from Marriott International, where he most recently was President of Marriott Senior Living Services. In that capacity he developed and managed more than 150 communities serving the elderly. Previously he held various positions in Finance, Development, and Strategic Planning at Marriott International and Pepsico, Inc. Paul currently is Chairman of Victory Housing, Inc., an Archdiocese of Washington Corporate Affiliate which owns and operates 32 communities for low and moderate-income seniors. He previously served on the Board of Directors of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, serving on the Finance and Audit Committees.  He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts (BBA) and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (MS). He and his wife, Margaret, are residents of Bethesda and he has two married daughters and two grandchildren.

Bob Kiernan Bob is a financial executive with more than 30 years of successful experience in financial accounting, reporting, and management.  Currently, he is the Chief Financial Officer at Global Medical REIT, a net-lease medical office real estate investment trust (REIT) that acquires purpose-built healthcare facilities and leases those facilities to strong healthcare systems and physician groups with leading market share.  His management and accounting experience has focused on the financial services industry, including broker dealers, mortgage REITs, and investment funds.  Prior to Global Medical REIT, Bob served as Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of FBR & Co. as well as Arlington Asset Investment Corp.  Prior to joining Arlington Asset, Bob was a Senior Manager in the assurance practice at Ernst & Young.  He holds a BS in Accounting from Mount St. Mary's University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  Bob and his wife Sue have been parishioners of St. Bart's since 2003 and are the parents of two boys, Ryan and Kevin, a 2018 graduate of St. Bartholomew School. 

John A. Martino, CPA, CFP® is an independent financial advisor with Financial Advantage Associates in Rockville. He has been in the financial services industry since 1987, beginning at Morgan Stanley where he rose to Vice President, Investments. Afterward, John served as a Financial Advisor in the Credit Union Community for several years. A lifelong resident of Montgomery County and a Walt Whitman graduate, John earned his BS in Business and Accounting at the University of Maryland, College Park. John has been a member of St. Bart’s for over 40 years and has been a singer in the choir since he arrived. He is a cantor in our parish and has served on the parish council numerous times, starting as the first youth member and eventually as president. He has also been a member of the Finance Council for nearly 30 years. John’s wife, Carole Wysocki, is the parish Director of Music. He is the proud father of Adrian, a sophomore at Wake Forest University, and Evan, a Harvard graduate.

Julie Panaro is responsible for setting the Finance Committee Agenda and writing the Minutes following each meeting. She earned her B.A. from Boston College in 1973 and was awarded a M.B.A. from American University, Washington, D.C. in 1976. She began her federal government service in 1974 at the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Exim). She was a financial analyst in trade finance, Deputy Vice President of Latin America, and VP of Aircraft Finance. Her final Senior Executive Service position at Exim before retiring in 2002 was Director of the Caspian Finance Center in Ankara, Turkey. The Center coordinated the Baku-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline Project from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea. Julie is also a member of the Women’s Prayer and Book Discussion Group, and is a participant in the Ignatian Volunteer Corp. Depending on the course, the number of students, and schedule, she volunteers as an English language teacher for the Introductory Craft Skills curriculum offered at the Spanish Catholic Center in Washington, D.C.  Julie and her husband, Jerry, have been parishioners since 1987. He is a practicing attorney with Howe & Hutton in D.C. They have two grown children, son Matt and daughter Ryan who reside, respectively, in Atlanta, GA and Boston, MA.

Tom Serena has been a long-serving member of the Finance Council. He is currently the Executive Vice President of the American Gastroenterological Association in Bethesda. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.A. in accounting in 1983 and he earned an M.B.A. from Pitt in 1984. In addition to Tom’s responsibilities on the Finance Council, he helps with the CYO.  Tom has been a member of St. Bart's since 1993 while his wife, Vilma, (Medina), has been a member since 1972.  Their two children, Nick (2005) and Kaelynn (2008) are both graduates of St. Bartholomew School.