I am the founding executive director of Catholic Climate Covenant. it is a privilege to work every day with our partners and sympathizers to share the good news of Catholic teaching in regards to creation. Prior to this work, I spent 11 years in the Department of Justice, Peace and human development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and three years in the Office of Social Action of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. After graduating from Xavier University in Cincinnati, I joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, where I met my wife Susie (also a volunteer). I got a M. A in Franciscan Theology in Berkeley, CA in 1989. Susie and I have three children: Benjamin, Anna and Zachary.
Associate Director
I feel blessed to participate in the Covenant's mission to advance the Catholic Church's call for us to love and care for God's creation, especially for our most vulnerable neighbors. I try to affirm the moral, spiritual and non-partisan foundations of this appeal, so that we can build bridges through divisions and generate lasting, compassionate and cooperative solutions for the climate crisis.
Before the Covenant, I was blessed to serve with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the National Congress of American Indians, EPA's American Indian Environmental Office, and the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army. I am a graduate of Brown University and Villanova Law School, and my family and I are long-term parishioners at St. Mary's Basilica in Alexandria, Virginia.
Director of Communications
I come to the Catholic Climate Covenant as a communicator who has focused on issues of equity and representation. As a Catholic and mother, I care deeply about what planet we are leaving behind for the next generation, most especially the communities that are being and will continue to be the most affected by climate change. It’s an honor to work alongside our expert staff and partners and continue learning more about God’s love for creation. Prior to this work, I was a newspaper reporter, followed by communication roles at nonprofits and government agencies, including UnidosUS, the Center for American Progress, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. My husband Keith and I have two energetic daughters, Maya and Fabi, and we attend St. Augustine in Washington, DC.
Director of Youth and Young Adult Mobilization
I was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee and, since graduating from high school, I've called many places home, including Cincinnati, Central America, West Virginia, Boston, and Seattle. I have a Master's of Theological Studies from the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry and a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Xavier University in Ohio. Prior to working at the Catholic Climate Covenant, I worked as Campus Minister for Retreats at Seattle University, supported families of women experiencing incarceration, conducted research on collective memory in El Salvador, and coordinated international immersions at the intersection of faith and justice in Latin America. I'm passionate about supporting the emergence of the widespread ecological conversion of hearts called for by Pope Francis in Laudato Si’. In my free time, I enjoy playing music, getting outside, and writing.
Director of Development
Throughout my fund-raising career of 30 years, I have helped to enhance the quality of life for underserved individuals and communities regarding healthcare, fair housing and civil rights. I believe our climate crisis threads its way through each of these issues and I am honored to be a team member of the Catholic Climate Covenant.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, I am a graduate of Wagner College, an avid gardener who also enjoys the opera and travel, in addition to volunteering for various organizations including the House of Ruth and the YWCA.
Program Manager
I have a deep passion for justice and for the protection of God's creation, and I have been blessed with the opportunity to work for over 25 years on environmental and human rights issues within the faith community. Originally from Chile, I see myself as a "citizen of the world" with a strong commitment to global and sustainable development. I have a BA in International relations from George Washington University, a master's degree in international development from American University, and completed the course of work for a master's degree in community and regional planning from the University of British Columbia.
My husband and I have three adult children and a couch-potato pup who is king of the household. In early September 2020, we welcomed with much joy our first grandchild.
Social Media Manager
I recently graduated with my B.S. from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. I double-majored in Sociology and Justice & Society and triple minored in Graphic Design, Sustainability, and Theology. In my time at Creighton I helped to organize a successful fossil fuel divestment student movement grounded in Catholic and Jesuit values. I was also involved in an interdisciplinary research project that assessed the response of the U.S. Catholic bishops to climate change in the years around the publication of Laudato Si'.
I am now a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the joint Sociology and Community and Environmental Sociology program. My research is focused on environmental social movements and the phenomena of climate change denial.
I am excited about my role as Catholic Climate Covenant’s Social Media Manager as I find social media to be a great tool to facilitate education and communication about the climate crisis. As a young adult, climate change is at the forefront of my priorities and anxieties. I look forward to energizing people of all ages to care for our common home!
Office Manager
After running a bookkeeping service, raising 6 children and actively engaging in St. Catherine Laboure parish, my husband and I spent three years as missionaries at St. Augustine Indian Mission in Winnebago, Nebraska. This amazing adventure left me hungering for more ways to serve the church and her people. I now share leadership of our parish's Stephen Ministry with my husband, Jeff. I am excited to begin another adventure by joining Catholic Climate Covenant.
Consultant
I have served as a consultant for the Catholic Climate Covenant since 2009. During that time, I contributed to the public testimony of the Covenant and to the promotion, the scope of the media, and communications. In 2017, I became assistant professor and director of the Program of Justice Studies and Peace at Creighton University. My research focuses on Catholic social teaching and climate change, and I am the editor of all creation is connected: Voices in response to Pope Francis's encyclical on ecology (Anselm Academic, 2018).
Public Health Volunteer
It has been a pleasure for me to help the Catholic Climate Covenant with the development of educational literature that documents the impact of climate change on the health of humanity. I have advanced degrees in public health with a DrPH from George Washington University and an MPH from Columbia University.. I have worked in the field of public health for over 35 years and am very happy to use my education and experience to support the mission of the Covenant. I am a long-term parishioner of St. Matthew's Cathedral in Washington, D.C., and serve as a member of their creation care team.