SBP
30 Jan, 2026
SBP Honors Sister Regina Marie at Farewell Community Celebration
SBP hosted a farewell celebration on June 18 to honor Sister Regina Marie Fronmuller, a beloved longtime community volunteer, fundraiser, and advocate who has been instrumental in supporting disaster recovery efforts in New Orleans and beyond. Sister Regina Marie will be relocating to St. Louis at the end of the month after nearly two decades of service in the region.
“Sister Regina Marie is a cornerstone of our volunteer community,” said SBP CEO Carol Markowitz. “Her energy, vision, and compassion have made a lasting impact not only on SBP but also on the New Orleans communities she has helped repair and rebuild.”
Best known for founding Nuns Build, an annual service initiative that brought together Catholic sisters from across the country to help rebuild homes in New Orleans, Sister Regina Marie has been a driving force behind SBP’s volunteer engagement and community partnerships in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina.
“Sister Regina Marie is a cornerstone of our volunteer community. Her energy, vision, and compassion have made a lasting impact not only on SBP but also on the New Orleans communities she has helped repair and rebuild.”
— SBP CEO Carol Markowitz
A lifelong educator and Ursuline nun, Sister Regina Marie earned degrees in art and art education from Webster University and the College of New Rochelle, respectively, and taught at both the high school and collegiate levels, including at Ursuline Academy in New Orleans.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2006, Sister Regina Marie connected with SBP (then known as the St. Bernard Project), helping to raise funds and awareness in the nonprofit’s early years. In 2008, she founded Nuns Build, which each year welcomed 30 to 50 religious sisters and lay supporters for a week of hands-on rebuilding work and fellowship. Participants not only helped repair storm-damaged homes but also contributed financially and built deep connections with the families they served.
That same year, Sister Regina Marie helped launch a partnership between SBP and the Ursuline network, bringing student volunteers from schools in St. Louis, New Orleans, and even London to aid in SBP’s recovery work. This tradition continues to this day. Since then, she has inspired over 460 volunteers to help SBP rebuild more than 110 storm-damaged homes and has raised over $450,000 to further SBP’s mission.
In addition to her efforts with SBP, Sister Regina Marie has served on the board of Ursuline Academy in New Orleans and remains an active voice in the Ursuline Mission Integration Committee, mentoring and engaging with students across generations.
A Sister’s Story Through Hurricane Ida
When Hurricane Ida damaged Sister Regina Marie’s home, the SBP community she had long supported rallied around her. After years of bringing others hope, it was finally her turn to receive it.