Meet Our Staff

 directorofadministration@princeofpeacetaylors.org

864.331.3908 office

864.420.4888 cell

Phil Head, Jr. is the Director of Administration at Prince of Peace Catholic Church and is responsible for daily operations at the church and school since July 2017.  He and his wife, Linda, have been parishioners since 1998.  Phil was raised in the Methodist faith tradition and converted to Catholicism in 1977.  Phil remains active in the local community and has served as past Chairman and past Secretary for the Parish Finance Council at Prince of Peace.  Phil and Linda have celebrated over 45 years of marriage and currently reside in Greer and are the proud parents of three adult children, eleven grandchildren and one great grandchild who all live in South Carolina.

Phil’s background before working at PoP was as a corporate finance executive with 38 years of experience focused on improving profitability, margins and cash flow.  He has worked in the aerospace / defense and commercial / industrial sectors providing leadership in CFO, Merger & Acquisitions, controllership, and Financial Planning & Analysis key positions.  Phil began his corporate career during the early years of the Reagan administration with what today is Lockheed Martin Corporation.  He has also worked for Martin Marietta Materials, DynCorp International and Ranger Aerospace.

Phil is a Lexington, North Carolina native and earned an AB degree in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management at Wake Forest University.  In addition, Phil completed coursework in mergers and acquisitions from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.

bookkeeper@princeofpeacetaylors.org

864.331.3907

With extensive experience in parish and school financial management, Justin has served in leadership roles across Catholic institutions in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Australia. His background spans parish and school finances, budgeting, human resources, and facilities operations. Most recently, he served as Business Administrator at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in St. Paul, MN.

Justin is the Finance & Accounting Manager at Prince of Peace Catholic Church & School. He holds a Bachelor of Business degree in Accounting from Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia. Born and raised in Australia, Justin became a U.S. citizen in 2022. He and his wife, Gretchen, have six children and are proud to call the Greenville area home.

maria.rauch@princeofpeacetaylors.org

864.331.3901

Maria worked for 5 years in Prince of Peace school and 4 years in the Church before moving into the receptionist position in October 2013 and Parish Secretary in Jan. 2015. She studied Business Law, Psychology and Food Management through Cornell University. She was born in Charlotte, NC and moved to Greenville from Orlando, Florida in 1995. She was married for 37 years and has 4 children and 4 adopted grandchildren. Maria enjoys party planning, decorating, painting, drawing, making jewelry and rosaries, decorating cakes and just about anything she can create with her hands.

cyo@princeofpeacetaylors.org

Stephanie Lasitter is from Simpsonville, South Carolina and has served on staff at Prince of Peace Catholic Church since the summer of 2011. She graduated from Belmont Abbey College with a Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Theology with concentrations in both Youth Ministry and the Pro-Life Movement.  She has been a part of many endeavors in youth ministry from working as summer camp counselor at Kahdalea to serving on Diocesan staff for various state-wide events.  She is passionate about raising children to love and live their faith and helping families learn how to cultivate a domestic church. Stephanie is happily married to her husband, John, and they have 4 children: Clara, Amelie, Kolbe, and Jem.

maria.barontini@princeofpeacetaylors.org

864.331.3919

Maria Barontini is originally from Pennsylvania and moved to Greenville in 2014. She graduated from West Virginia Wesleyan College with a B.A. in Christian Education and with minors in Religion and Theatre Arts. She then went to Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and received an M.A. in Religious Education. Maria worked as a  camp counselor, a youth director, and a Director of Children’s Ministries prior to becoming a stay-at-home-mom in 2008. Maria joined the Catholic Church in 2014 at St. Alphonsus parish in Wexford, PA. Maria is married to Nathan and they have three children.  She is responsible for children’s catechesis, including sacramental preparation for First Holy Communion and Confirmation. 

spiritualdirection@princeofpeacetaylors.org

Lisa has been married to Tom since 1981, and they have 4 grown children, and one grand-child.  A member of Prince of Peace since 2014, Lisa serves as a Spiritual Director, head of the Guild of St. Thomas Aquinas Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration ministry, and is involved in various other ministries.  Outside of the parish, Lisa is Director of the local Community of Marian Servants of Divine Providence, a public association of the Christian Faithful.  Before coming to Prince of Peace, Lisa served as Prayer Coordinator in the Rachel’s Vineyard Ministry of the Palm Beach Diocese, maintained Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at her parish, was employed as Director of Client Services at Pregnancy Care Center where she counseled women in crisis pregnancies, and owned an aerobics business.  Lisa holds a Degree in Human Services Technology, specializing in social work and counseling. She received her Spiritual Direction Certification from The Cenacle of Our Lady of Divine Providence, School of Spirituality, in association with Franciscan University of Steubenville.   Study includes, but is not limited to, the Discernment of Spirits, the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit, Living Christian Virtue, and Healing prayer.    

principal@popcatholicschool.org

Mr. Nathan Barontini has been a member of the faculty and administration of Prince of Peace Catholic School since 2017, becoming principal in 2023. He completed the Certificate in School Management and Leadership (CSML) jointly offered through the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Business School Online, a program designed to equip school leaders with advanced skills in organizational leadership, academic excellence, and strategic management.

Shortly after Mr. Barontini assumed leadership of the school, Prince of Peace Catholic School was named Best Preschool and Best Private School in the Upstate by Greenville News. Among the proudest moments of his tenure is leading the school to become a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, recognized by the Council for American Private Education, and to be honored with the South Carolina Blue Ribbon for Exemplary High Performing Schools, awarded by the Governor at the State House. These recognitions place Prince of Peace among a select group of elite schools nationwide that meet rigorous academic benchmarks and exemplify excellence in education.

Mr. Barontini also serves the Diocese of Charleston as the Academic Excellence Chairman for the Catholic Schools Office, where he supports diocesan initiatives in curriculum alignment, instructional quality, and student assessment. In this role, he collaborates with school leaders across the diocese to promote high academic standards and advance best practices in Catholic education.

Originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Mr. Barontini and his family relocated to Greenville after a visit that included attending Mass at Prince of Peace. The warmth and responsiveness of the parish—especially through communications with Father Tomlinson and Canon Smith—confirmed for them that this would be their spiritual home. The Barontini family moved to Greenville in 2014 and have remained deeply engaged in parish and school life ever since. Their children have attended Prince of Peace Catholic School beginning in K4, and their continued positive experiences have deepened the family’s commitment to the school community.

Some of Mr. Barontini’s primary intellectual influences include Dante Alighieri, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine of Hippo, Plato, Aristotle, Pope Benedict XVI, and C.S. Lewis.

Mr. Barontini graduated cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh, where he studied history and classics and earned a master’s degree in teaching. He is a member of the Dante Society of America, the Knights of Columbus, and several honor societies including Pi Lambda Theta, Phi Eta Sigma, and Phi Alpha Theta.

As principal, Mr. Barontini is committed to forming Saints and Scholars through Catholic Culture and Academic Excellence.

At Prince of Peace Catholic School, the principal reports directly to the pastor and serves as the director and manager of the school’s daily operations, upholding the Catholic mission of the school by shaping policies, guiding programs, and providing leadership to faculty and staff.

michael.sandifer@princeofpeacetaylors.org

philip.reed@princeofpeacetaylors.org

864.331.3904

A conductor, singer, composer, and musicologist born and raised in Greenville, SC, Philip has had a role in music at Prince of Peace in various capacities since 2009 and has served as Director of Music since 2021.

Philip received his bachelor’s degree in music composition and philosophy from Furman University. He went on to complete a master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Georgia under the instruction of Dan Bara and J.D. Burnett.

Following his first master’s, Philip moved to Taiwan, where he met his wife Annabelle, and then to Japan, where he completed a second master’s degree pursuing ethnomusicological research at International Christian University in Tokyo, using the knowledge of Gregorian chant he gained at Prince of Peace to conduct comparative research on Japanese Buddhist chant notation.

Philip is also the artistic director of Chicora Voices, a professional choral ensemble based in Greenville. The choir held its inaugural performance at Prince of Peace in 2022, and continues to actively perform a diverse repertoire of esteemed vocal music in the Upstate and beyond.

elizabeth.wilson@princeofpeacetaylors.org

864.331.3906

As a devoted church musician, Elizabeth has previously held positions at Holy Cross and St. Madeleine Sophie churches in Philadelphia, PA, Lawrencefield Parish in Wheeling, WV and St. John the Baptist Church in New Baltimore, PA.

She is committed to educating children in singing and sacred music and has completed the Director of Young Singers Certification through the Choristers Guild Institute and training in year one of the Ward method of music education.

A successful organ competitor, Elizabeth won several competitions including the Joan Lippincott Competition for Excellence in Organ Performance and the AGO competition for young organists. She received her bachelor’s degree in sacred music from Franciscan University of Steubenville and a Masters degree in Organ Performance from Westminster Choir College. Her organ teachers have included Paul M. Weber and Matthew Lewis. In 2019, she married Thomas Wilson, a chemistry and algebra teacher at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and they have been blessed with three children.

jeanie.reed@princeofpeacetaylors.org

864.331.3906

Jeanie Reed has been teaching music for over forty years. She was the music specialist at Stone Academy for Communications Arts in Greenville for twenty-four years, where she was selected Teacher of the Year as well as Greenville County School District Teacher of the Year. She went on to be selected as an Honor Roll Teacher for the State of South Carolina. Jeanie received her Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Arts in Education from Furman University with additional study at Westminster Choir College. She is active as a clinician for children and youth choirs throughout the nation both in school and church music settings.

Jeanie was founding director of the Furman Children’s Chorus and associate conductor of the Boy Choir of the Carolinas, until the two choirs merged to become Chicora Voices, which thrived as community choir for young singers from 2005-2021. Jeanie is now proud to be a board member of Chicora Voices in its new form as a professional choral ensemble based in Greenville.

communications@princeofpeacetaylors.org

Kylee Heap has served as the Communications Director for Prince of Peace Catholic Church & School since 2017. Originally from Midlothian, Virginia, she graduated from Converse College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Marketing before beginning a career in global pharmaceutical research, where she co-authored more than thirty peer-reviewed medical journal articles.

Invited by Father Smith to strengthen the parish’s social media presence, Kylee’s role soon expanded into developing a unified communications strategy for both the parish and school. She helped modernize internal communications, streamline information systems, and redesign the parish bulletin and school newsletter to ensure clarity and consistency for parishioners and families.

Kylee introduced a renewed emphasis on visual storytelling, learning photography to better capture the beauty of the liturgy and the daily life of the community. Her work has contributed to Prince of Peace’s repeated recognition in local awards for excellence in worship and education. She also oversees the parish’s digital outreach, focusing on clear communication, beautiful imagery, and accessible evangelizing content. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she developed the parish’s livestreaming ministry, which continues to serve the homebound and those unable to be present in person.

In addition to her work at Prince of Peace, Kylee serves as the Executive Director of Support After Abortion, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing mental-health support for women and men impacted by abortion. She is also a Certified Grief Educator and leads a communications consulting firm that supports faith-based, nonprofit, and healthcare organizations.

Kylee is grateful for the privilege of supporting the mission of Prince of Peace and for helping share the story of a parish where clarity, beauty, and authentic Catholic life remain at the heart of its identity.