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Speaker bios

Most Reverend Blase Cupich – is bishop of the diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota since 1998. He currently serves on the USCCB Ad Hoc Committee on Scripture Translation, an at-large representative of the USCCB Task Force on Priestly and Religious Vocations, and he is Chair-elect of the USCCB Committee on Protection of Children and Young People. He was the Episcopal advisor for the recent Emerging Models of Leadership project funded by the Lilly Foundation. He has published several articles, most recently An Unconditional Right to Life in America, January 29, 2007 and

The Emerging Models of Pastoral Leadership Project:  The Theological, Sacramental and Ecclesial Context in Origins, May 15, 2008. He serves on the Board of the National Pastoral Life Center.

Rev. Frank DeSiano, CSP – is the former Paulist President and national leader in Catholic Evangelization. Fr. DeSiano developed a Parish Based Evangelization Program and worked for six years in a variety of parishes in Washington, DC. Having served as a consultant to the USCCB Committee on Evangelization, he was the principle writer for Go and Make Disciples, A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States. Fr. DeSiano is the former President of the Paulists and served as pastor of the St. Paul the Apostle Church in New York City and Old St. Mary’s Church in Chicago.

Ms. Carol Fowler – Carol Fowler is the Director of the Department of Personnel Services for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Formerly, she was the Director of Ministry in Higher Education for the Archdiocese of Chicago. Ms. Fowler was the President of the National Association of Church Personnel Administrators and served on that board for nine years. She serves as a member of the Board of the National Leadership Roundtable on Church Management, is Vice-Chair of the National Advisory Board of the Center for the Study of Church Management at Villanova University and was on the Bishops’ United States Catholic Conference Committee on Education. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management. Ms. Fowler holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, a Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from the Adler School of Professional Psychology, and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.

Rev. J. Glenn Murray - is a parochial vicar at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church in Washington, D.C. and has been a member of the Maryland Province of Jesuits for the last 36 years. Father Murray holds a M. Div. with a concentration in Liturgy from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and has pursued studies in preaching at the Aquinas Institute in Saint Louis (1992-1993) and is currently completing his Doctor of Ministry degree with a concentration in Liturgy at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago. Since 1989 he has worked in the Diocese of Cleveland in the Office of Pastoral Liturgy. He teaches frequently at the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley and at Saint Mary’s Seminary and University in Cleveland, Ohio. He lectures widely in the areas of Liturgy and Culture, as well as conducting parish missions and priests’ retreats.

Rev. John Hurley, CSP – Executive Director, National Pastoral Life Center

He is the former Executive Director of the USCCB Secretariat for Evangelization and founding Director of the Paulist North American Office for Reconciliation. Fr. Hurley was pastor of historic Old Saint Mary’s Cathedral in San Francisco.

Mark Mogilka – Director of Stewardship and Pastoral Services, Diocese of Green Bay

He is a national speaker, workshop presenter, organizational consultant and writer in the areas of pastoral planning, multiple parish pasturing, parish life and future directors of ministry in the Church.

Sr. Rosa Monique Peña, OP – Born in the Dominican Republic, Rosa Monique Peña, OP is currently serving the Adrian Dominican Sisters as Vicaress/General Councilor. Formerly she served as Director of the Department of Religious Education, the Catechist Certification Program and the Catechumenate Process of the Archdiocese of Miami, Florida.

Sr. Mary Angela Shaughnessy, SCN – is a Sister of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky who has served at all levels of Catholic education for over 35 years. She holds a Ph.D. in supervision and administration and a J.D. in law. Sister recently left Spalding University after 21 years of service as professor, administrator, and legal counsel. An attorney in private practice, she is now the Executive Director of the Education Law Institute at St. Catharine's College in Springfield, Kentucky. She has served as an adjunct professor in colleges and universities across the country. She is a consultant to religious communities and dioceses, as well as an expert witness in litigation.

Br. Loughlan Sofield, ST - is the Director of the Missionary Servant Center for Collaborative Ministry; Director of the Washington Archdiocesan Consultation and Counseling Center; and Assistant Director of the Center for Religion and Psychiatry, Washington, D.C. Brother Loughlan has worked in over 200 dioceses in five continents and served on the faculty of or lectured at many colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. Brother Loughlan is Senior Editor of Human Development magazine, published numerous articles on ministry, and co-author of a number of books. His most recent are: Facing Forgiveness; Collaboration: Uniting Our Gifts in Ministry; and Building Community: Christian, Caring, Vital. His most recent awards include: Lumen Gentium conferred by the Conference for Pastoral Planning and Council Development on an individual "who has implemented the direction and goals of the Second Vatican Council in an extraordinary manner” and the National Association of Lay Ministry's Gaudium et Spes award presented who has "evidence to the vision of Church articulated in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and who in a special way has advocated and fostered the enhanced role of laity."

Msgr. John Strynkowski – is Rector of St. James Cathedral Basilica in Brooklyn.

He is also Vicar for Higher Education and has served as a parish priest, official of the Congregation for Bishops, Rector of Immaculate Conception Seminary (Huntington, NY), and USCCB Executive Director of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices. He is also a member of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative Committee.

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