FSPA Leadership Team

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Sue Ernster

Sister Sue Ernster, who serves FSPA as president, ministered as the congregation’s vice president from 2018 to 2022 and treasurer from 2013 to 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting, a Master of Arts in pastoral ministry and has served in campus ministry, parish administration and faith formation. Sister Sue represents FSPA as a board member of various local, national and international organizations including the Economy of Francesco, a global movement inspired by St. Francis and convened by Pope Francis that calls us to engage in an economy rooted in justice, stewardship and inclusivity. She is also committed to FSPA engagement in impact investing, putting investor support to work with responsibility for all of creation.

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Georgia Christensen

With a Master of Educational Administration and Ph.D. in educational administration and concentration in organizational theory, Sister Georgia Christensen ministered as a teacher, principal and assistant superintendent in Iowa, Wisconsin, Washington and California, staff development officer/collegiate educator in Zimbabwe and consultant in Cameroon. At Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Sister Georgia served as institution research and assessment director, religion/servant leadership associate professor and graduate, professional and adult education dean. She also served the National Center for Accelerated Schools and High Learning Commission as a consultant/evaluator and team chair. Leading into her current role as FSPA vice president, Sister Georgia served as FSPA’s congregational secretary for 10 years, and shares “With this ministry, I will support the work of the congregation and the sisters for the good of God’s kingdom in the various ways I am called to.”

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Julie Tydrich

A Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration since 1973, FSPA Mission Councilor Sister Julie Tydrich has served the congregation in a number of positions: 21 years as FSPA treasurer, a previous four-year term as mission councilor and, currently, as administrator of Villa St. Joseph. With a Bachelor of Medical Record Science, a Master of Health Administration and completion of the Sponsor Formation Program for Catholic Health Care, Sister Julie previously ministered in health care in various hospitals in Wisconsin from 1973 to 1991. Sister Julie serves as executive director of Wisconsin Religious Collaborative and says of her ministry as a mission councilor, “I hope to accomplish the work of the community designated by the FSPA General Assembly and continue to grow our FSPA sisterhood as we contribute to religious life for vowed Franciscan women around the world.”

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Marie DesJarlais

Sister Marie DesJarlais is a native of Wisconsin. With a Bachelor of Arts in music education and a Master of Arts in theology/liturgy, she ministered as an educator and diocesan liturgist in Ohio and Wisconsin, including assistant director for the Diocese of Green Bay’s Office of Worship and liturgy coordinator at St. Rose Convent in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Sister Marie was co-director of the FSPA-sponsored ministry Global Awareness Through Experience and later worked to establish the GATE Charitable Giving, a program that provides funding for safe water sourcing, LPN training and scholarships, youth leadership programs and agricultural projects in Latin America. Sister Marie continues her ministry as GATE director and GATE Charitable Giving coordinator. Today she serves FSPA as a mission councilor and shares “I am grateful to be an FSPA and look forward to continued ministry in the church and the world.”

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Paulynn Instenes

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Paulynn Instenes is a native of La Crosse, Wisconsin. She received her baccalaureate in teaching from Viterbo University in La Crosse, a Master in Educational Administration from St. Thomas University and a Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Her ministry of education as a principal and a teacher of science and mathematics in both junior high school and at the college level spans 39 years and includes schools in La Crosse, Boscobel and Plain, Wisconsin; Guam; Canton and Camden, Mississippi; and Masvingo, Zimbabwe. Sister Paulynn’s service in FSPA leadership includes vice president from 2006 to 2010 and mission councilor from 2010 to 2014. She then undertook the ministry of volunteerism: in La Crosse as a teacher’s aide and instructor to those incarcerated; and in St. John, Kansas; at the 2nd Chance Thrift Store, in religious education program and with St. John’s Ministerial Alliance, a program providing social services to those in need. Sister Paulynn was again elected FSPA mission councilor in November of 2024.

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Laura Nettles

Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Laura Nettles is the Executive Director of Mission and Social Justice as well as an associate professor in Religious Studies and Theology at Viterbo University in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Currently she is a Ph.D. candidate (ABD) in Moral and Systematic Theology at the Chicago Theological Seminary, researching topics within the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition, Catholic Social Teaching and the inter-textual connections between Medieval Franciscans, Jews and Muslims. Most recently, Sister Laura has been exploring the connection between Christianity, Catholicism and racism. She regularly teaches courses in introductory Christian theology, World Religions, Franciscan theology, Catholic Social Teaching and Womanist, Mujerista and Asian feminist theologies. Sister Laura is also the author of multiple articles and book chapters and speaker of topics like Franciscan theology and spirituality.

In addition to her ministry of education, Sister Laura serves the congregation in the ministry of justice and peace, primarily as a member of the FSPA Anti-Racism Team, missioned to authenticate unity in diversity by fostering the growth of FSPA into an anti-racist community and organization that dismantles racism through prayer, witness, study and action. Sister Laura also serves as co-chair of the La Crosse Interfaith Shoulder to Shoulder Network, a group dedicated to the eradication of islamophobia.