Alliance for Catholic Education
In October, several members of the ACE and IEI team traveled to Modesto, California to present the 2025 Notre Dame Award for Outstanding Contributions to Catholic Education to Joseph, Ofelia, and Mary Gallo. The celebration featured Mass in the home of Joe and Ofelia. Fr. David Murray, C.S.C. (ACE 20, Memphis), presided and preached. Joining the group for this special occasion honoring their parents and Aunt Mary were Ernest and Stephanie Gallo (ND ’94), who currently serves as a trustee and fellow of the University, and Sean Sharpe from the Notre Dame Office of Development.
Established in 2003 by the University of Notre Dame when the Alliance for Catholic Education marked its 10th anniversary, the Notre Dame Award for Outstanding Contributions to Catholic Education honors those who have made lifetime commitments to sustain and strengthen Catholic schools. It is the highest honor conferred by ACE and was awarded to the Gallo family, with the enthusiastic approval of Notre Dame president, Fr. Bob Dowd, C.S.C, in recognition of their commitment to Catholic schools locally, in the Diocese of Stockton, and nationally, through their steadfast and generous commitment to the mission of ACE.
For three decades, from the early years of ACE to the present, the Gallo family has provided critically important support that has enabled ACE to grow and flourish. In 2011, they made a signature gift to enable the Institute for Educational Initiatives to launch the Notre Dame Center for STEM Education, which has already formed over 200 teachers from 83 schools in evidence-based instructional practices and impacted nearly 20,000 students. Without the consistent and remarkably generous support of the Gallo family, the STEM Center would not exist, ACE would have had a much more limited growth trajectory, and hundreds of thousands of students would not have enjoyed the high-quality education they have received and continue to receive.
In his remarks upon presenting the award, John Staud, ACE Executive Director, expressed gratitude on behalf of all, noting “how fitting it that we present this award on the Feast of the Guardian Angels, for the Gallo family have been guardian angels for ACE and the Institute, always supporting without fanfare and public acclaim.”