President and CEO, Mark Ackermann Associates
Mark is the president and CEO of Mark Ackermann Associates. He is a not-for-profit executive who has served as the first president and CEO of the Catholic Foundation of Long Island, with responsibility for inaugurating the operations of this new Catholic Foundation and establishing fundraising, investment and distribution of its philanthropic resources for programmes of the healthcare, education and Catholic Charities ministries. Mark holds a BA from the Catholic University of America and a MS degree in not-for-profit management from New York University. He currently serves on a number of not-for-profit boards including the board of directors of the Foundation for Justice and Peace in the Vatican and is a special adviser to the Path to Peace Foundation at the Holy See’s Mission to the United Nations.
Founder, Napa Institute
Orange County resident Tim Busch, a Legatus member, is the founder of the Busch Firm, a financial services company. In 2011, he paired up with Fr Robert Spitzer to found the Magis Institute, which examines the intersection of faith and reason. He and Spitzer also founded the Napa Institute to help Catholics in authority defend the faith. Busch’s Napa Institute conferences have broken the mould, attracting leading Catholic influencers, both lay and religious. In 2016 the Busch Family Foundation donated $15 million to the Catholic University of America.
International educator and diplomat
Dr Paul Beresford-Hill CBE is the ambassador and permanent observer of the Sovereign Order of Malta’s Mission at the United Nations in New York. His responsibilities include liaison between the United Nations, its member states and affiliate organisations, and the Order of Malta’s extensive global outreach. The Sovereign Order works closely with the Holy See Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations in promoting Catholic social teaching, particularly in the area of humanitarian aid to the sick, the poor and to those who are left behind. In addition, he is also a knight grand cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre and is a knight of justice in the US Priory of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem.
Founder, Anglosphere Society
Amanda is the founder of the Anglosphere Society, an independent, non-profit, membership organisation whose mission is to reinforce the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom. Educated at Cambridge, Bowman was formerly with the Economist in New York, and then with Christie’s in New York before becoming the New York director of the Center for Security Policy and subsequently US director of the Atlantic Bridge. She serves on the executive committee of the board of American Humane, the leading national animal welfare organisation. She is also a US advisory board member of the Catholic Herald, a philanthropist, and serves on the board of the Sheen Center in NYC.
President, Loyola Foundation
Andrea Hattler Bramson spent many of her formative years living in Puerto Rico attending Sacred Heart schools. She has been the president of the Loyola Foundation for ten years, and has been a trustee for over 30. The Loyola Foundation is a charitable organisation that is primarily dedicated to supporting Catholic mission activities in less developed countries. She has served on the boards of FADICA, NCEA, and was the president of the pastoral council of her parish in Virginia. She is married and the mother of three.
Co-founder, National Organization for Marriage
Brian S Brown, 48, is theco-founder of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). He has served as its president since 2010. NOM is a non-profit political organisation established in 2007 to work against the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the United States. Before this, Brown was founder and executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, during which time he evolved it into one of the largest pro-family organisations in Northeast America. Brown and his wife Susan have five children.
President, CatholicVote
Brian Burch is the president and co-founder of CatholicVote, a conservative, non-profit political advocacy group based in the United States. While the organisation acknowledges the authority of the Magisterium, it is independent of the Catholic Church. Burch is married and has nine children. In 2018, he was named the Legatus “Defender of the Faith” for his work serving the Church.
CEO, Catholic Leadership Institute
Daniel J Cellucci is CEO of Catholic Leadership Institute, an apostolate providing leadership training and consulting to more than 290 bishops, 2,700 priests and over 33,000 deacons, religious and lay leaders in more than 100 dioceses. Celluci was recently nominated to serve as a member of the National Advisory Council for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He oversees research on the Disciple Maker Index, a parish survey tool that helps church leaders focus their efforts toward evangelisation. Celluci lives in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia with his wife Tricia and their four children.
Chairman, Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia
Richard T Clark is the chairman of the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia. He is retired chairman and chief executive officer of Merck & Co, a global leader in the pharmaceutical industry. He joined Merck in 1972 and held a broad range of senior management positions. In 2016, Pope Francis named Clark and his wife a knight and dame in the Order of St Gregory the Great for their dedication and exceptional service to the World Meeting of Families Philadelphia and the pastoral visit of the Holy Father to Philadelphia.
Justice and peace coordinator, Catholic Charities of Archdiocese of New York
New York resident Tom Dobbins is the justice and peace coordinator in the Department of Social and Community Development of the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. This department is responsible for working with the 300-plus parishes in the ten counties of the archdiocese to promote the social mission of the Roman Catholic Church. Dobbins is also the producer of a national radio programme on Sirius/XM’s Catholic Channel called JustLove, a show highlighting “the work of the Church in the world”. He currently serves on two national boards: the Roundtable Association of Catholic Diocesan Social Action Directors and Good Shepherd Volunteers.
Mary J Donnelly Foundation
Elizabeth A Donnelly is a frequent speaker and writer on Catholic affairs. As a trustee of a Catholic family foundation, she is part of a group of female foundation leaders who have engaged in dialogue with top Vatican officials on the role of women in the Church. She has served on several boards, including those of Jesuit Volunteers International, Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Ignatian Solidarity Network. She and her husband have three daughters.
Lieutenant, Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Vicki Downey has been a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre since 2004 and has served as a lieutenant since 2016. She previously held several senior positions with the Daughters of the British Empire and served as the Chief of Staff for the Mountbatten Institute from 2012 to 2015. She works with the Halo Trust, helping to clear landmines from the Holy Land, and serves on the executive board of America Media. Downey received the Order of Chivalry from the Order of Savoy in 2017 and was invested into the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George as dame merit with silver star.
COO, Magnificat
Axel d’Epinay, based in New York, is chief operating officer at the Magnificat publishing firm and Aleteia USA. Under his leadership, the pocket-sized Magnificat has grown to over 330,000 subscribers in the US. It is now a world-leading weekly spiritual guide in multiple languages which partners in the UK with the Herald, and is a regular light at the back of American churches. It includes daily and Sunday readings, all Feast Days and daily reflections on the Gospel.
Assistant professor, Weill Cornell Medical College
Michael Espiritu MD is an assistant professor of clinical paediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College and attending neonatologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell Medical Center. He is a knight of magistral grace in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, for which he serves as counsellor at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the UN. In addition, he is a knight commander of the Holy Sepulchre and knight of merit of the Constantinian Order of St George.
CEO, FADICA
As CEO of FADICA – Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities – and a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Kelley oversees a leading philanthropic members’ peer network that promotes the growth and effectiveness of US Catholic philanthropy. FADICA supports Catholic education, exchange, fellowship and faith, research and interaction with Catholic leadership. Kelley served for ten years at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She also served as the deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She co-wrote A Nation for All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division. She lives in Washington DC with her husband.
President, American Association of the Order of Malta
Peter Kelly is the president of the American Association of the Order of Malta. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and received his medical degree from Georgetown University. A member of the Order of Malta for almost 20 years, he was elected to the board of councillors in 2009. Kelly has participated in ten Lourdes pilgrimages as a member of the medical committee. He devotes a significant amount of time to international medical mission work. Since 1993, he has been travelling to Haiti where he performs free care and surgery at Hôpital Sacré Coeur, a Catholic hospital operated by CRUDEM.
Lieutenant of the Grand Master and head, Order of Malta
Fra’ John Timothy Dunlap, 65, has been the lieutenant of the Grand Master and head of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta since June 2022. Since 1997, he has been a legal adviser to the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations. Fra’ John sees his duty as continuing to support and promote the charitable and religious endeavours of the Order of Malta. He is a board member of ArchCare and serves as secretary and director of the board of the Path to Peace Foundation, which was established by the Catholic Church’s delegation to the United Nations.
Founder, Catholic Leadership Institute
Timothy C Flanagan founded the Catholic Leadership Institute in 1989. Under his leadership, the CLI has reached national prominence, providing first-class leadership formation and consulting to clergy and lay leaders across the US and around the world. In 2008 he was installed as a knight of the Holy Sepulchre; in 2019, Pope Francis named him a knight of St Sylvester in recognition of his service to the Church and her people. He has been married to Terese for 55 years and they have five children.
Senior director, American Philanthropic
Jack Fowler is the senior director of American Philanthropic. Before joining American Philanthropic, Jack worked for 31 years at National Review in various capacities, including as publisher, where he oversaw fundraising and development operations. He remains a contributing editor. He has served on numerous boards, including the American Mental Health Foundation, Human Life Foundation, Frontier Center and Gatestone Institute. The Bronx native graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He and his wife Sharon have five children and reside in Milford, Connecticut.
Director of philanthropy, Adams Family Foundation
Nannette Hendel serves as the director of philanthropy for the Adams Family Foundation. She has dedicated much of her time and attention to various non-profit organisations around the world. Hendel graduated from St John’s University with a degree in psychology. She went on to work at Dreyfus Service Corporation before moving to Connecticut where she concentrated her efforts on raising her family, volunteering and fundraising for various non-profit organisations there and in the greater New York area.
Supreme knight, Knights of Columbus
Patrick E Kelly is the 14th and current supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. He received a MA in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America, and a law degree from Marquette University Law School in 1993. He was the founding executive director of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington DC. He was also the senior adviser to the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom at the state department and, in this position, he was the state department’s primary contact with the Holy See and other nations on matters of religious freedom. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and three daughters.
President, Catholic Charities USA
Sister Donna Markham, president and CEO of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) is the first woman and tenth president to hold this position in the organisation’s more than 100-year history. An Adrian Dominican sister with a doctorate in clinical psychology, Sister Donna served on CCUSA’s board of trustees for eight years, including two as board chair. In addition, she has served in leadership positions in behavioural health care both in Canada and the United States and is an internationally recognised author and speaker in areas pertaining to transformational leadership, organisational change management and the effective treatment of those struggling with mental illness.
President, Ancient Order of Hibernians
Daniel J O’Connell is the national president of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Founded in 1836, the Ancient Order of Hibernians is America’s oldest Irish Catholic fraternal organisation. It is at the forefront for issues concerning Irish Catholics, such as the Right to Life.
Chancellor, American Association of Order of Malta
Thomas J Reedy is the former head of Reedy Enterprises, which is based in Chicago. Reedy has been a member of the American Association of the Order of Malta since 2002 and served as the Illinois area chair from 2007 to 2013. In 2012, he was elected hospitaller of the American Association. In addition to his work with the Order of Malta, Reedy has served on the Catholic Charities board of advisors. He is also a member of Legatus and served as president of the Chicago chapter from 2005 to 2008.
Disability rights activist
Maryland resident Tim Shriver, 63, leads the Special Olympics international board of directors. He previously helped produce four films including The Ringer and Amistad. Shriver also serves as president of the Joseph P Kennedy Jr Foundation, and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. In 2011, he wrote the book Fully Alive: Discerning what Matters Most. Shriver is a member of the Kennedy family through his mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of John F Kennedy, and is a brother of Maria Shriver. As such, Shriver was raised Catholic and received his master’s from the Catholic University of America.
Advocacy officer, Aid to the Church in Need
Marcela Szymanski lives in Brussels. Since 2011 she is the EU and UN advocacy officer for the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need, which helps the voice of the persecuted Church to be heard among policy-makers. She conducts high-level public diplomacy relations on behalf of persecuted Christians, including kidnapped priests as well as entire communities under duress by the Islamic State. She often appears on TV shows defending the importance of maintaining the integrity of Article 18, promoting and protecting the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and opposing attempts to separate its basic elements.
Child advocacy attorney
The founder of Yore Children, Elizabeth Yore is a child advocacy attorney who deals with legal issues relating to the exploitation of children. She served as special counsel to Oprah Winfrey as her child advocate, both at Harpo and at the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. In addition, Yore served as general counsel at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.
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