Councilor
Elected to a second four-year term, Sister Sheila Brosnan, SC, returns to the Leadership Team as a Councilor. Before her election in 2015, she served as VP for Mission Integration at Archcare for five years. She previously served as Regional Coordinator for the Congregation from 1995 to 2003.
Education was Sister Sheila’s first ministry. She taught at three schools: St. Charles Borromeo in Brooklyn, Our Lady of Mercy in Port Chester, and St. Joseph By-the-Sea in Staten Island.
Her first foreign mission came in 1971 when she served as a pastoral worker in Santiago, Chile until 1974. Her return to the states brought her back to the education ministry for one year before returning to school to study nursing.
After her training, Sister Sheila served in Novillero, Guatemala, both as a nurse and a missionary from 1978 until 1985. During her time in Guatemala, she not only utilized her Spanish speaking skills, she learned Quiché, one of the indigenous languages of the region.
Upon her return to the States, Sister Sheila served as a nursing supervisor at Little Sisters of Assumption from 1985 to 1987, and St. Vincent’s Hospital and Medical Centers from 1987 to 1990, both in Manhattan. She then served as Pastoral Associate at St. Francis Xavier Church in Manhattan until elected to Sisters of Charity Leadership in 1995.
After two terms in Leadership, Sister Sheila served as Senior Vice President for Mission at St. Vincent Catholic Medical Center in Staten Island until 2007, then studied at the Jesuit School of Theology before serving in the same role for the next two years at St. Vincent’s in Manhattan.
Sister Sheila enjoys swimming, and whenever possible, she can be found at the local pool every Saturday morning.
A native Staten Islander, Sister Sheila attended Our Lady Help of Christians and St. Peter High School in that borough. She earned a BA in Spanish from the College of Mount Saint Vincent, an MA in Spanish from Hunter College, a BSN in Nursing from the State University of New York, and an MA in Religious Studies from Fordham University.
Sister Sheila entered the Sisters of Charity in 1959; her religious name was Sister Denis Marie.