Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School Installs Its First School President, 19th Principal, and Breaks Ground on Phase One of its Athletic Enhancements Initiative

Former PwC partner and Gwynedd alumna, Denise Corkery Marbach ’72, P’05, ‘09 will be installed as Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School’s first president and Mary Kirby as its 19th principal, during a Community Mass on Sunday, October 22.

Starting with her undergraduate degree from Gwynedd Mercy University, a M.S. Educational Leadership and Summa Cum Laude from St. Joe’s University, and continuing education credits from The University of Pennsylvania, St. Charles Seminary and Drexel University, Ms. Kirby comes to Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School with a deep measure of education and experience.  She has been a principal for the last 10 years, with her most recent position as principal with Bishop McDevitt High School in Wyncote, Pa.

Mrs. Denise Corkery Marbach will serve as the first President of Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School.  She has a nearly 50-year history with Gwynedd, as a student, alumna, parent of two Gwynedd graduates, and Board of Trustees member.  In addition to being a certified public accountant, she worked in the higher education, healthcare and nonprofit industries , and was a partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) for 38 years, was the first woman partner at Coopers & Lybrand in Philadelphia, and when Price Waterhouse and Coopers & Lybrand later merged, she was integral in growing several new practices in many major U.S cities before retiring from the firm in 2015.  She will oversee marketing, advancement, admissions and finance, key areas that contribute greatly to the school’s financial health.

Following a Mass and a luncheon, the private, all-girls Catholic Academy will also celebrate the groundbreaking of its first phase athletics enhancement initiative which will include a turf field, new track and an enhanced grass field complex. More than 400 guests are anticipated for the event, including esteemed members of the Sisters of Mercy, who founded and have shepherded the school since its founding in 1861.