Paying It Forward Deepens Connection to SI

For James Evangelista '94, the process of healing and helping others — including naming SI as a beneficiary of his IRA — has guided his trajectory from his high school days to his work today as CFO of a venture capital firm focused on building companies targeting novel breakthrough cures for cancers and other significant diseases.

When his parents divorced in his freshman year at SI, his mother returned to the Philippines, and he remained in the Bay Area with his father as he had just started high school.

He played JV football in his sophomore year and earned a spot on the varsity team in his junior year as both linebacker and running back. His senior year career was sidelined after he broke his wrist so badly that he needed surgery and had to sit out his final season.

That's when he found mentors in coaches Joe Vollert '84 and Steve Bluford '84 and in John Murphy, S.J. '59, his philosophy teacher and team chaplain.

"Fr. Murphy knew how much I was hurting not being able to play, and we spent a lot of time on the sidelines talking. He was great at cheering me up and helping me see the big picture."

SI, he added, "is where I built my foundation of being a man for and with others and where I learned the value of service. My wife, Aimee, and I now raise our children to have that same spirit."

Evangelista first met his wife-to-be in a class at U.C. Davis. Four years after he received his bachelor's degree in economics, the two reconnected at a wedding and married in 2006. A year later, their daughter, Maddie, was born, and she will enroll at SI this fall as a member of the class of 2025. Both James and Aimee hope their two sons, Jack (12) and Mason (9), will follow in her footsteps after they graduate from St. Matthew's Episcopal Day School in San Mateo.

SI also played a large role in Evangelista's career path. "After college, I got call-backs for job interviews from other alums just because I had graduated from SI — even for jobs I wasn't qualified for. Also, because of the values instilled in me at SI, I found myself working for venture capital firms interested in making the world a better place."

Those firms looked to fast-track the development of new medical devices and health care services. Now, as CFO of The Column Group, he is helping fund companies looking to develop breakthrough therapeutics to cure serious ailments such cancer, metabolic disorders and neurological diseases. "The work is both cutting edge and fast paced, as I get to work with colleagues who are world-class scientific experts in drug discovery. I have the luxury of sitting in on meetings where I learn about medications that aren't yet on the market and that hold great promise. I'm also able to watch companies develop novel drugs from inception through clinical trials and then finally make these drugs available to people in desperate need of help and healing."

Despite his busy job, Evangelista takes time to help those just starting their careers. "As a CFO in a position to help others, I try to pay it forward. I'll get calls from young people just wanting to pick my brain. I'll always take those calls, especially if they are from SI grads. I feel a kinship with them. I'm not sure if that's how it works with other high schools, but there's definitely a bond with SI grads. I find myself pitching the school all the time."

As another way of paying it forward, the Evangelistas decided to include SI in their estate plan this year. "We had created a revocable trust after Maddie was born, and we review it every few years. Last year, we received information from Annie Reilly, SI's planned giving coordinator, and after I reached out to her, we had a great conversation. I told her this was an opportune time, as we were just updating our trust."

Adding SI as a beneficiary of James' IRA proved a quick and easy process. "I called my IRA's asset manager (Brian Murphy '94), and he sent the paperwork to me. My wife and I signed it and mailed it back. It was that easy. Down the road, we'll review it again to see if we are in a position to add more, especially as our assets grow. It's great knowing that the money in our IRA, after I'm no longer here, will help young people attend a great school. I just wish I could do more, as I feel I owe SI so much."

If you are interested in joining SI's Father Carlin Heritage Society and following Neil's example of generosity, call Annie Reilly, SI's planned giving coordinator, at (415) 731-7500, ext. 5122 or at areilly@siprep.org.