Leadership Team

Founding President, 

Stephen Holte

Mr. Stephen Holte, founding President, Cristo Rey Orange County High School, has spent the past 15 years in Catholic education serving organizations committed to being engines of opportunity for students from under-resourced communities. Throughout his career, Mr. Holte has built a reputation as a mission-driven leader focused on providing educational access to students of limited means and empowering them to succeed beyond their wildest dreams. 

Mr. Holte began his career as a 4th grade teacher at St. Paul Catholic School in San Antonio, TX as a part of the University of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Service Through Teaching Fellows Program. After ACE, Mr. Holte became the Director of Holy Cross Associates, a post-graduate service program which offers participants an opportunity to integrate their Catholic faith through Service, Community Living, Prayer, and a Simple Lifestyle.

In 2009, Mr. Holte joined Christ the King Jesuit College Prep’s advancement team in its first year of operations. He would spend nearly a decade with the 20th school in the Cristo Rey Network, rising from Development Officer to Vice President of Advancement. During his tenure at Christ the King, Mr. Holte raised over $50M in philanthropic support for operations, endowment, and capital needs, helping to grow the school from an abandoned Catholic elementary school to a 100,000 square foot, $30M campus. Working closely alongside the President, Principal, and Director of Corporate Work Study, Mr. Holte was a critical member of the school’s leadership team.

Most recently, Mr. Holte was the Assistant Dean for Advancement at Arrupe College of Loyola University Chicago, the first-of-its-kind associate’s degree program offers a rigorous liberal arts education to a diverse population at an affordable cost. During his three years as Assistant Dean, Mr. Holte collaborated to secure over $17M in support for the college and its alumni. He was a member of the Dean’s Leadership Group as well as Loyola University’s Advancement Division Leadership Team.

Mr. Holte sits on the Ignatian Spirituality Project’s Board of Directors and Christ the King Jesuit College Prep’s Advisory Board. He is also a member of ACE Advocates for Catholic Education. Mr. Holte holds a B.B.A in Finance and Business Economics and an M.Ed in Curriculum, both from the University of Notre Dame. He has also participated in multiple professional development programs including the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management nonprofit management program.

Mr. Holte’s education as well as his work experience uniquely prepares him for leading Cristo Rey Orange County as the founding President.

Founding Principal,
Karelyn Roberts

Mrs. Karelyn Roberts is an accomplished and results-driven leader, with a proven background in developing and delivering differentiated and measurable high-quality professional learning, project management, leadership coaching and development, employee relations, systems design, and program evaluation.  A Southern California native, she has spent fourteen years in Texas prior to joining Cristo Rey Orange County, serving as a principal in Castleberry Independent School District and a principal, assistant principal, and teacher Fort Worth ISD.  Prior to her time in Texas, Mrs. Roberts worked as a teacher’s assistant and long-term substitute at Juvenile Court and Community Schools in San Diego, CA.   

Mrs. Roberts graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science for Single-Subject Teaching and earned a California Teaching Credential.  In continuing her education, she received a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Texas at Arlington.  

 

As Founding Principal, Mrs. Roberts looks forward to ensuring that not only will each student receive a high-quality education grounded in research-based instruction, but that every student is also anchored in a faith-filled and nurturing environment aligned with the best traditions of Catholic education. 

Mrs. Roberts enjoys spending time with her husband, Anthony Roberts, and two children, Addisen and Joseph.  They have a dog named Charlie who keeps the family very entertained.  In her free time, Mrs. Roberts enjoys spending time playing soccer, being outdoors, traveling, and reading. 

Founding Vice President, Corporate Work Study, Susan McKeever

Mrs. Susan McKeever, Founding Vice President, Corporate Work Study Program is a passionate and innovative leader who has over 20 years of Learning and Development experience partnering with organizations to build strong cultures and develop future leaders. In her new role she will continue to develop future leaders by using her experience to partner with Orange County corporations to secure meaningful jobs and learning opportunities for students.

 

Prior to joining Cristo Rey, Mrs. McKeever had her own consulting firm specializing in senior healthcare and housing serving clients including Silverado, MBK Senior Living, Geiss Med, Optum Health, and Clearwater Living. As part of her practice, she developed and facilitated programs and processes to align culture with business goals to develop, engage, and retain talent. She also developed sales training, an Executive Director in Training Program which increased internal promotions by 90%, as well as facilitated teambuilding workshops, and appeared as a guest speaker for client leadership retreats.

Mrs. McKeever has served in a variety of industries both domestic and international, including retail, engineering, construction, transportation, and healthcare. During her tenure at Fluor Corporation, she collaborated with a team to develop and facilitate an annual Global Leadership Forum, bringing leaders from around the world to focus on leadership and operational excellence. She also received highest recognition for developing and implementing a performance management system which was utilized globally to provide performance feedback and align associate and organizational goals.

 

Mrs. McKeever is an experienced facilitator, and leads programs such as DiSC, The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Productive Conflict, and EQ for Leaders. She holds a BS in Management and Human Resources from California Polytechnic University, Pomona, and an MBA from Pepperdine University. She and her husband Marty live in Yorba Linda and are active parishioners at St. Martin De Porres. Together they have three children, all recipients of a Catholic high school education.

Founding Chief Finance Officer,

Linda Ramirez

Ms. Linda Ramirez, Chief Financial Officer, is an experienced Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with over 20 years of experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors.  The first in her family to attend college, she highly values the importance of education.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting from California State University, Fullerton.

Ms. Ramirez began her career in public accounting at SingerLewak LLP where she conducted financial statement audits and provided assurance and advisory services across various industries, including distribution, service providers, and non-profits.  She later gained private sector experience at Capital Group, contributing to the review of accounting activities for the daily pricing of the American Funds mutual funds product line.  

Prior to joining Cristo Rey, Ms. Ramirez transitioned to the non-profit sector spending eight years as Finance Manager at St. Edward the Confessor Parish and School in Dana Point.  The role ignited her passion for serving others through Catholic education and gave meaningful purpose to her technical accounting work.  

Ms. Ramirez enjoys the outdoors, exploring new hiking trails, cooking, and spending time with family and friends.  In 2017, she spent two weeks exploring the Camino de Santigo de Compostela in Spain and aspires to return one day to complete the full trek.  She is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to making Catholic education accessible to all. 

Vice President of Admissions,

Cristina Cuellar