Board of directors

Mr. Javier Valenzuela

Director of Oak International Academies

Based in Atlanta, US

Born in Mexico City, Javier holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Anahuac University and a Master’s degree in School Counseling from the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater.

He worked as a High School Catholic Formation teacher at the Cumbres Institute in Mexico in the 1991-1992 school year.

He then started working as financial analyst and private banker.  After 5 years in the financial sector, he arrived to Oaklawn Academy in Edgerton, Wisconsin in 1998 where he served as principal for almost 17 years.

Since August 2015 he has been appointed Executive Director of Oak International Academies.

He enjoys music as well as playing and watching soccer.  He now lives in Atlanta Ga.

Ms. Jacinta Curran

Territorial Director of the Consecrated

Based in Düsseldorf, Germany

Born in Dublin, Ireland During her secondary school years in Mount Anville Convent School she got to know Regnum Christi.  After obtaining a degree in Psychology from University College Dublin in 1981 she initiated her formation as a consecrated member in Rome, Italy.

In 1984 she founded Overbook academy in Orange, Connecticut where she spent almost 6 years.  She then spent a year studying a course on Marriage and Family at the Lateran University in Rome and then served as principal of the Irish Institute in Mexico City for 8 years before returning to Europe.  She worked in a school in Vienna, Austria for some years and travelled helping to coordinate the work of consecrated women in Central and Eastern Europe.  She spent 10 years in Seville, Spain, 9 of them as principal of the Highlands School.

Since March 2014 she has served as territorial director of the consecrated of Regnum Christi for the Central and Western European territory.

Fr. Valentin Gögele, LC

Territorial Director of the Legionaries of Christ and the Regnum Christi

Based in Düsseldorf, Germany

Fr. Valentin was born in Meran, South Tyrol, a German-speaking region in the north of Italy, in 1979. He joined the Legion of Christ in the year 2000, after a period of studies in Viena, Austria. He was ordained priest in December 2010 at the same time as his two-years-older brother Thomas who followed him to be a Legionary in 2001.

After passing several periods of internship during his formation, he came to the Apostolic School in Bad Münstereifel (Germany) and became its director from 2011 until 2018. In August 2018 he replaced Fr. Andreas Schöggl as Territorial Director of Western and Central Europe.

His passion is to see how young people find their place in the world starched by an authentic and deep relationship to Jesus Christ and become his dedicated apostles.

Ms. Cecilia Azcúnaga

Director of Woodlands Academy

Based in Dublin, Ireland

Cecilia Azcunaga is the Director of Woodlands Academy, our sister school in Ireland.

Cecilia was born in Monterrey, N.L., México and consecrated her life to God in 1998 in Regnum Christi. Cecilia holds a bachelor in Education and Development from the Anahuac University and a bachelor in Religious Sciences from the Pontifical University Regina Apostolorum in Rome. She started her apostolic work in 2002 as the Vice-Director at Immaculate Conception Academy in Rhode Island, USA, where she also obtained a specialization in Adolescent Psychology from the Institute of Psychological Sciences in Washington, DC. Cecilia continued working with teenagers and families in Atlanta, GA (2004-2007), Chicago (2007-2010) and Washington DC (2010-2011) From 2011 to 2015, Cecilia served as the Vice-President and Director of Student Affairs at the Mater Ecclesiae College in Greenville, RI.

She arrived at Woodlands in 2015 and became the director since then. She is passionate about helping young people develop their personalities and seeing each generation of Woodlands girls become better persons through their experience in Ireland.

Mr. Victor Prieto

Financial Consultant

Based in New Hampshire, USA

Victor was born in Mexico City.  He learned English in Ireland as a student of Dublin Oak in 1981-82.

He holds a Bachelor in Business Administration from Universidad Anahuac and an MBA from Georgetown University.

He worked in corporate banking for Bank of Montreal in Toronto, New York City and Chicago.

After 6 years in banking Victor took the position of Director of Finance for the Legion of Christ in North America.  A position he held until 2016 when he started his own financial consulting business serving Catholic organizations in the United States.

He lives with his wife and four children in New Hampshire.

Fr. Georg Hülsenbeck, LC

Territorial Administrator

Based in Düsseldorf, Germany

Fr. Georg was born in Aachen, Germany.  After his PhD in Physics at the University of Dortmund, Germany, he entered in 1994 the Novitiate of the Legionaries of Christ.  He was ordained priest in December 2002.

He obtained a baccalaureate in Philosophy and a licentiate in Theology at the Pontificial Atheneum Regina Apostolorum.  He also holds a black belt in Judo (2nd Dan)

In 2005 after his studies in Rome he started his priestly and apostolic work in Germany.  In 2007 he was assigned to the adult section of the Regnum Christi Movement in Düsseldorf.

From January 2010 on he acted as Territorial Administrator of the Territory of Germany and in 2011 he was nominated Territorial Administrator of the new created Territory of Western and Central Europe.

Mr. Thomas Ryan

Vice Principal Oaklawn Academy

Based in Michigan, USA

Tom was born in Limerick Ireland.  He has a license in Theoretical Philosophy from the Pontifical Gregorian University.

He entered the Novitiate in 1976 in Dublin, Ireland.  He finished novitiate and went to Rome to study philosophy.  He worked as dean in the Institute Cumbres middle school in Vista Hermosa, Mexico City from 1983 – 1987.

He started working at Oaklawn Academy in 1987, where he is presently working.

He has worked as a Dean of Section, Head Dean and for the last 17 years, Assistant Principal.  Some of his responsibilities at the academy are: Facilitator for Virtus, Representative for the school with Praesidium and being vigilant that all employees follow the safe environment protocol.  Tom also enjoys fishing.