Advisory Council

Sant Perez '77, Chair

Santiago “Sant” Perez graduated from St. Pius X in 1977. His daughters, Katie ’07 and Mary Rose ’10, are also St. Pius X graduates. He served as both a member and President of the St. Pius X Athletic Association, and has been an active member of the Advisory Council for 12 years, most recently serving as Chair. He is also on the board of The Catholic Foundation of North Georgia. Sant graduated from Georgia State University and is now retired after 42 years in broadcasting. His wife, Shawn, is a realtor with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty. They are both active members of the Cathedral of Christ the King where they serve as Extraordinary Ministers. Shawn has also served as a Stephen Minister and a member of the Christ the King School Board. They have two beautiful granddaughters and another one on the way.

Pat Esser

Pat Esser is the recently retired President and CEO of Cox Communications, Inc. He holds a BA and MA in Communications Media from the University of Northern Iowa. Pat and his wife, Connie, are parishioners of the Cathedral of Christ the King. They have been active participants at St. Pius X for over 20 years. They have three adult daughters who graduated from Pius: Rachelle ’04, Natalie ’08, and Sarah ’11. Pat is a strong believer in Catholic education, as he grew up attending a parochial school in Iowa. Pat and Connie’s first grandchild is now enrolled at Christ the King School.

James Flanagan '01

James Flanagan graduated from St. Pius X in 2001. He left the Army in the fall of 2017 after nearly nine years of service. During that time, he had the honor of leading a number of successful teams in war zones and across the world, including in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, South Korea, and Turkey. After the military, James moved back to Georgia and is currently working in corporate communications with an emphasis on corporate social responsibility. He is proud to support groups dedicated to bettering the Metro Atlanta community, including St. Pius X Catholic High School, Catholic Charities Atlanta, the Knights of Columbus, VETLANTA, Bunker Labs Atlanta, and local political organizations. James has been lucky to be a Big Brother for almost five years, and he is very proud of how his Little Brother is growing up to be a strong man with a sense of duty. James is married to Dr. Elaine Flanagan, a pediatrician at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. They have two daughters: Rose, age two, and Grace, age one.

Andrew Leipold '09

Andrew Leipold graduated from St. Pius X in 2009. He works in the Office of Ethics and Compliance at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a graduate of Clemson University and the University of Georgia School of Law. Following law school, Andrew was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army. While in the Army, Andrew served as a judge advocate at Fort Hood and deployed to the Middle East. After completing his time on active duty, Andrew worked alongside his father at a law firm in Decatur.

Dev Maguire '74

Dev Maguire graduated from St. Pius X in 1974, and his two sons graduated from Pius in 2010 and 2014. He is a graduate of Georgia State University, and is a retired Managing Director from Truist Financial. Dev and his wife, Beth, are members of Cathedral of Christ the King. They have two granddaughters. Dev has been a member of the Advisory Council and Finance Committee since 2007.

Maria Rodriguez Miller '87

Maria Rodriguez Miller graduated from St. Pius X in 1987, and her two children, Ashley (“Ash”) ’09 and Hailey ’20, are Pius graduates. Maria has a bachelor’s and master’s in Early Childhood Education and an Educational Specialist Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. She has completed all of her educational doctoral coursework and the first three chapters of her dissertation in Multicultural Education. Maria has worked as an educator in Gwinnett County Public Schools since 1995. She was an active parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary until 2014, and she is now a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church, where she is part of the Theater Ministry. She has been on the Alumni Board at St. Pius X for many years. She and her husband, Ashley Sr., served on the SPAS Board from 2005-2009 and were honored to be SPAS volunteers of the year in 2009. She served on the SPAS Board again from 2016-2020 when Hailey graduated. Maria says, “We support St. Pius with our time, talent, and treasure to the fullest of our abilities because we value a faith-based education, and it has made us the family we are today. We love St. Pius very much!”

Sam Noyd '03

Sam Noyd graduated from St. Pius X in 2003. As a Senior Account Executive at Google, Sam has the privilege of partnering with executive clients to build and implement innovative and elegant solutions to a variety of business challenges. In prior roles at Google, Sam served as a Principal Analytical Lead focused on strategy and analytics for top clients. Before joining Google, Sam worked in both management & IT consulting and mechanical engineering. His experience spans across industries, including communications, real estate, financial services, automotive, hospitality, health care, and manufacturing. He is an Eagle Scout and attended Northwestern University, where he earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He and his wife, Carolyn, and their three sons are members of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Brookhaven.

Michelle Schlueter

Michelle Schlueter graduated from UMASS with an education degree and taught in a Catholic school called St. Barnabas in the Bronx, NY. She currently runs the finance department at a law firm. She has been a St. Pius X parent for ten years, and she loves the Pius community. Her children, Austin ’16, Julia ’19, and Michael ’22, are all St. Pius X graduates. Michelle is a parishioner at the Our Lady of the Assumption in Atlanta and Christ Our King and Savior in Lake Oconee. She lives in Brookhaven with her husband, Richard, and their dog, Irish.

Richard Whitcomb

Richard Whitcomb attended Wake Forest University and Georgia Tech. He worked in IT for 21 years for Gypsum Management and Supply in Tucker. Richard now works in a family business in management, working with a wide variety of small businesses. Richard has been a St. Pius X parent since 2015, and his youngest child will graduate in 2023. He grew up as a parishioner of Immaculate Heart of Mary, and his family has been parishioners at St. Thomas More since 1994. Richard is interested in the three, five, and ten-year strategic plans for St. Pius X, and he’s fascinated by the establishment and perpetuation of a healthy culture from the top, through the student body, and through the current parents.

Sonya Williams

Dr. Sonya Goodwin Williams serves as an Executive Oncology Sales professional at Eli Lilly & Company. A multi-award-winning sales professional and veteran in her field, Sonya works hard daily to promote life-extending medications for people diagnosed with cancer. She holds a BS in Chemistry from Alabama State University and a doctorate in Inorganic Chemistry from the University of Georgia. A member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., she also serves on several community boards where she fundraises for scholarships, supports her community, and volunteers for school functions. Most recently, she co-authored “My Scars,” an anthology of inspirational stories, where she shares her journey of perseverance. Sonya’s hobbies include tennis, cooking, and spending time with family. Her husband, Keith, and daughter, Hailey ’24, are the cornerstone of her existence. They are members of New Life Community Church in Waverly Hall, Georgia.