Daniela Alulema
Administrative Coordinator
Center for Migration Studies

Originally from Quito, Ecuador, Daniela Alulema came to the United States at the age of 14 with her family. She has lived in Queens, New York since then. Ms. Alulema learned about the Dream Act in 2006 when she was in her junior year of college. She became a core member of the New York State Youth Leadership Council, an undocumented youth-led organization that seeks equal access to higher education for all youth regardless of their immigration status. Ms. Alulema served as media, outreach, and budgeting coordinator while advocating and organizing for the Dream Act and New York Dream Act. After becoming a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, she joined the staff of the Center for Migration Studies in 2014. Ms. Alulema holds a master’s degree in urban policy analysis from The New School and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Baruch College, City University of New York (CUNY).

Kevin Appleby
Senior Director of International Migration Policy
Center for Migration Studies

Kevin Appleby is the senior director of international migration policy for the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS) and the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN). Prior to joining CMS and SIMN, Mr. Appleby served as the director of migration policy and public affairs for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for more than 16 years. He has also worked as deputy director of the Maryland Catholic Conference in Annapolis, Maryland. Mr. Appleby has testified before Congress on immigration issues and represented the US Catholic bishops on these issues at public events and with the media. He is co-editor of the volume, On Strangers No Longer: Perspectives on the US-Mexican Catholic Bishop’s Pastoral Letter on Migration. Mr. Appleby worked for Senator Russell Long of Louisiana and select committees of the US Senate, including the Senate Select Committee on the Iran-Contra Affair. He received his BA from the University of Notre Dame, an MA in international affairs from George Washington University, and a law degree from the University of Maryland.

Jeanne Atkinson
Executive Director
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Jeanne M. Atkinson is the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). Since joining CLINIC, Ms. Atkinson participated in a delegation to southern Mexico and Central America to examine the “push factors” that lead people from the region to migrate north. She also oversaw the development of the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Representation Project to provide volunteer legal representation and advocacy on behalf of mothers and children held in Dilley and Karnes City, Texas. Ms. Atkinson founded and co-chairs the Committee for Immigration Reform Implementation and speaks nationally on topics including family detention and implementation of immigration reform. Prior to joining CLINIC, Ms. Atkinson served as the director of Catholic Charities’ Immigration Legal Services program and the Refugee Center for the Archdiocese of Washington. She serves on the Board of Advisors of Catholics for Family Peace.

Deacon Jeffrey Burns
Director of the Frances G. Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture
University of San Diego

Jeffrey Burns is director of the Harpst Center for Catholic Thought and Culture at the University of San Diego. Ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Oakland in 2003, Deacon Burns served as archivist for the Archdiocese of San Francisco for 31 years and taught at St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park. He and his wife moved to San Diego in 2014.

Deacon Burns also currently teaches at the Franciscan School of Theology, located in Oceanside at Mission San Luis Rey. He teaches courses in US Catholic history, immigration, poverty, and social justice. In addition, Deacon Burns serves as director of the Academy of American Franciscan History, a research institute dedicated to the study of Franciscans in the Americas. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Riverside and his PhD in US history from the University of Notre Dame.

Stephanie Canizales
PhD Candidate
University of Southern California

Stephanie Canizales earned her BA in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in June 2011 with a focus on race, ethnicity, and politics, and minors in global studies and Latin American studies. At UCLA, Ms. Canizales was a McNair Scholar and Undergraduate Research Fellow. She has worked as a community researcher and grant writer for the Orange County Children’s Therapeutic ARTS Center (June 2008 – August 2011) and as an English and math instructor for the Central American Resource Center’s Academic Enrichment Program (Summer 2012).

Ms. Canizales entered the University of Southern California Department of Sociology doctoral program as a Dornsife Fellow in fall 2011. She specializes in Central American migration, unaccompanied minors, immigrant integration, and the 1.5 and second generations. Ms. Canizales’ dissertation research examines the unaccompanied migration and incorporation trajectories of unauthorized Central American and Mexican youth as they grow up in Los Angeles, California without their parents. She was named one of Pacific Standard Magazine’s “Thirty Top Thinkers Under 30” for 2016. 

Dylan Corbett
Executive Director
Hope Border Institute

Dylan Corbett is the founding director of the Hope Border Institute. Mr. Corbett formerly worked as a staffer to the bishops of the United States at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development as well as with the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the national anti-poverty and social justice program of the USCCB. He has worked in the international development and nonprofit sectors in Washington, DC, Central America and South Asia, and has studied at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy.

Rabbi Laurie Coskey, EdD
President and CEO
United Way of San Diego County

Rabbi Laurie Coskey is a community leader with more than 25 years of experience building collaborative, community coalitions of leaders and people who work to improve the lives and the future possibilities of San Diego County residents. She is the newly appointed president and chief executive officer of United Way of San Diego County. From 2001 to 2016, Rabbi Coskey served as the executive director of the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice lifting up the issues of mostly immigrant working families through activism and advocacy. Deeply committed to public education, she is chairperson of the San Diego Community College District Trustee Advisory Board. As a civic leader, Rabbi Coskey is the chairperson of the San Diego Convention Center Corporation Board of Directors. As an expert in multi-faith relationships, she is rabbi-in-residence at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral. In 2014, Rabbi Coskey delivered a 2014 TEDxSanDiego talk on the challenges of creating dialogue among difficult partners. She has been honored for her contributions through numerous awards, most recently in 2015 as a Woman Who Means Business by the San Diego Business Journal. Laurie completed her undergraduate studies at Stanford University, was ordained at Hebrew Union College, and earned her doctorate in leadership studies at the University of San Diego.

Antonio Cube
National Manager, Justice for Immigrants
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

Antonio Cube is the National Manager for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB’s) Justice for Immigrants campaign. Prior to joining the USCCB in 2008, Mr. Cube was the legislative director for the Washington State Catholic Conference, and he has extensive experience as a public affairs consultant and in community outreach programs. His past work includes serving five years as a legislative assistant to a United States Senator, and policy analysis and advocacy on anti-poverty, social justice and immigration issues. Mr. Cube has also served as a public affairs, communications and community relations consultant to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Mr. Cube is a naturalized US citizen who emigrated as a toddler with his parents from the Philippines.

Charles Dahan
Program Manager of the Immigration Policy Lab
Stanford University

Charles Dahan is the program manager for the Immigration Policy Lab at Stanford University. Prior to joining Stanford, Mr. Dahan was managing partner for Behavior Clarity Analytics. His research utilizes randomized experiments to test the effects of religion, race, and ideology on public health behaviors and policy preferences. Recent projects include: survey experiments with the Bureau of Economic and Business Research; measuring the relationship between religiosity; consumer confidence; libertarian and communitarian ideology and food stamp expenditure preferences; and a complimentary survey experiment measuring the priming effects of religious belief and behavior on public health expenditures. Mr. Dahan’s methodological expertise includes survey experiments and methodology, polling, framing and priming experiments, and measuring the relationships between religious belief and behavior and political preferences. He holds a BA in political science from the University of California, San Diego, an MA in American government and politics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and will complete his PhD in political science at the University of Florida in 2017.

Allan Figueroa Deck, S.J.
Distinguished Scholar in Pastoral Theology and Latino Studies and Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Jesuit Father Allan Figueroa Deck is a distinguished scholar in pastoral theology and Latino studies and holds a dual appointment as lecturer in the Departments of Theological Studies and Chicano/Latino/a Studies at Loyola Marymount University. He earned doctoral degrees in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University and in Latin American studies from Saint Louis University. Fr. Deck is the author or editor of nine books and more than 60 chapters in books and journal articles on pastoral theology, Latino/a studies, Catholic social teaching, spirituality and intercultural competence. His latest book is Francis, Bishop of Rome: The Gospel for the Third Millennium (Paulist, 2016).

In addition to teaching, research and writing, Fr. Deck has served as parish administrator, director of Hispanic ministry, founder and first executive director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, California, and co-founder and first president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS). He served as the first executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. A nationally recognized speaker, Fr. Deck has received the John XXIII Award of the Catholic Library Association for contributions to church renewal in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, the Sadlier Award for contributions to religious education and the Virgilio Elizondo Award of ACHTUS for contributions to the development of a theology of and for Latino/as in the United States.

Westy Egmont
Professor of Macro and Global Studies and Director of the Immigrant Integration Lab
Boston College Graduate School of Social Work

Westy Egmont joined the faculty of the Boston College School of Social Work (BCSSW) to teach social policy and build connections between academic work in diversity and the increasing cosmopolitan population of the foreign born in the region. With a doctorate in pastoral counseling, Dr. Egmont has focused on the human needs and social services of newcomer communities, immigrant rights, and the complex, dynamic two-way process of immigrant integration. His work has led to the creation of BCSSW’s Immigrant Integration Lab, a pioneering endeavor in relating demographic shifts of developed nations, social policy, and social practices that foster the full economic, social, and civic participation of the newcomer to studying the mechanisms of incorporation by the receiving society. Prior work as a missionary educator and in executive leadership of anti-poverty social service agencies makes the issue of applied research his priority. Dr. Egmont is the co-chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Immigrants and Refugees, having served as an adviser to six governors.

His current courses cover immigration policy and practice and have led to a certificate program for students focusing on the subject. Courses include comparative social policy and action field course on EU and US immigration policies taught in Europe and a US borderland course covering migrant rights, the needs of unauthorized migrants, and the emergence of divided receiving communities. Dr. Egmont emphasizes the role social work can play in fostering healthy migrant families and communities.

Mark Franken
Consultant
Center for Migration Studies

Mark Franken is a consultant to the Center for Migration Studies (CMS), supporting CMS’ Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative, which advances immigrant integration within the life of the local community. Mr. Franken has nearly 40 years of experience working with refugees and immigrants, having retired as the executive director of Migration and Refugee Services at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB/MRS) in 2007. After retiring, he worked briefly as the executive director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC).  Since then, he has provided consultancy services and served as a board member for several nonprofit organizations whose missions focus on refugee and immigrant populations.

Jill Marie Gerschutz-Bell
Senior Policy and Legislative Specialist
Catholic Relief Services

Jill Marie Gerschutz-Bell is senior policy and legislative specialist for Catholic Relief Services (CRS), representing the international humanitarian and development organization before the US Congress on matters of appropriations, migration, human trafficking and refugees, among others. From 2009-2012, Ms. Gerschutz-Bell served as fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, wherein she contributed to and co-edited  And You Welcomed Me: Migration and Catholic Social Teaching. She serves on the Board of National Catholic Reporter.

Prior to joining CRS, Ms. Gerschutz-Bell served as migration policy director for the Jesuit Conference USA for five years. Selected a young leader in immigration by the German Marshall Fund, she was a fellow in its Transatlantic Forum on Migration and Integration. She has also worked with Casa Alianza in San Jose, Costa Rica and the International Federation of Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies in Geneva. Ms. Gerschutz-Bell holds an MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University and a BA in political science and Spanish from the University of Dayton.

Dave Hall
Outreach Ministries Pastor
Emmanuel Faith Community Church

Dave Hall is outreach ministries pastor of Emmanuel Faith Community Church (EFCC) in Escondido, California. He has served for 37 years in pastoral ministry for churches, mostly focusing on outreach ministries and on international and cross-cultural ministry. Prior to his service at EFCC, he served in church ministry in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Spain.  Along with his wife of 40 years, he has three grown children and six grandchildren.

James Harris III, DEd
President
University of San Diego

James T. Harris III, DEd, became the University of San Diego’s fourth president on August 3, 2015. Throughout his academic career, President Harris has worked closely with cross-discipline teams to spearhead new civic and community engagements, connecting academic environments with intractable issues faced by society. Previously, he served as the president of Widener University, a private, independent institution with four campuses in two states — Pennsylvania and Delaware — and as the president of Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio. The span of his career includes volunteer leadership service in numerous local, state, and national roles. Examples of President Harris’s leadership include his service as chair of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania, chair of the Pennsylvania Campus Compact, and as vice chair of National Campus Compact, a national coalition of 1,200 college and university presidents dedicated to promoting civic engagement among college students. He also served on the executive committee of the NCAA and as chair of the NCAA Division III Presidents Council. Currently, President Harris serves as chair-elect of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Board of Trustees, one of the largest educational associations in the world.

In recognition of his considerable contributions to education and the communities he has served, he is the recipient of many awards and honors, including leadership awards from the NAACP for his work on defending civil rights. Earlier in his career, President Harris was named by the John Templeton Foundation as one of the Top 50 Character-Building Presidents in America, and in 2011, he received the Chief Executive Leadership Award from CASE. Defiance College recognized him in 2002 with its highest recognition, the Pilgrim Award; and Widener University bestowed upon him the lifetime title of President Emeritus in 2015. In 2014, President Harris was recognized with the College and University Public Relations and Associated Professionals’ Ciervo Award, presented to one who exemplifies the association’s fundamental purposes of supporting and advancing the understanding of higher education.

He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Toledo, a master’s degree in educational administration from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, and his doctorate in education from Pennsylvania State University. All three of his alma maters have recognized him for his leadership in education and in 2013, the Pennsylvania State University Board of Trustees named him a Distinguished Alumnus, the highest honor the university bestows upon a graduate.

Linda Hartke
President and CEO
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

Linda Hartke is president and CEO for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). In her role, Ms. Hartke oversees the direction and growth of LIRS and serves as an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors. She has broadened LIRS’s reach to transform the lives of more newcomers and individuals who stand alongside them. Under Ms. Hartke’s leadership, LIRS has impacted major federal policies on immigration, grown the culture of welcome in American communities, and strengthened the participation of Lutherans and new Americans in volunteer and advocacy roles. Financial support has dramatically increased and diversified, and the programmatic reach of LIRS has expanded. Ms. Hartke’s strategic vision for LIRS is to be a catalyst for creating communities of welcome where newcomers can thrive.

Her leadership experience is exemplified by her previous role as the executive director of the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, a global network of churches and agencies engaged in advocacy, based in Geneva, Switzerland. Ms. Hartke’s expertise on migrant issues comes from serving as chief of staff to Rep. Chet Atkins (D-MA), where she worked on issues affecting the Southeast Asian refugee community. Her passion for serving vulnerable migrants continued after her time on Capitol Hill, first as country director for Church World Service in Cambodia, and then as director of programs and operations at its New York headquarters. Ms. Hartke currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Center for Migration Studies of New York.

An active Lutheran, she is a member of Christ Lutheran Church in Baltimore and serves on the boards of several faith-based and advocacy organizations.

Rev. Rex Hays, C.M.
Pastor
Sacred Heart Parish, Diocese of Stockton

Reverend Rex Hays, C.M. (Vincentian) is pastor of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Patterson, California. Since his ordination in 1993, Fr. Hays has worked in Hispanic ministry in: Northwest Arkansas; Mexico City; Dallas, Texas; Los Angeles, California; and presently in Patterson, California. He helped found, with the assistance of Catholic Charities, Little Rock and the Congregation of the Mission, an immigrant counseling service in Springdale, Arkansas. Fr. Hays has worked for eight years with the Movimiento Familiar Cristiano Catolico to promote healthy families in the Hispanic community.

Brett Hoover
Assistant Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Brett Hoover, PhD, is assistant professor of theological studies at Loyola Marymount University, where he teaches pastoral theology as well as courses on immigration, faith and culture, and fundamental theology. Dr. Hoover is the author of The Shared Parish: Latino and Anglo Catholics and the Future of U.S. Catholicism (NYU Press, 2014), and much of his research has focused on the power dynamics between ethnic or racial groups in Southern California parishes transformed by demographic change. In 2001, he co-founded BustedHalo.com, an outreach and catechetical website for young seekers. Dr. Hoover is originally from Southern California, speaks Spanish, and worked for many years in ministry in multicultural settings. He is the author of Comfort: An Atlas for the Body and Soul (Riverhead, 2011) and other books and articles.

Kiku Huckle
Assistant Professor
Pace University

Kiku Huckle is an assistant professor of political science at Pace University in New York City, specializing in the fields of race and ethnic politics, Latino politics, and religion and politics. Her research, broadly described, addresses how culture, values, and identity intersect and ultimately affect political beliefs and patterns of engagement. Dr. Huckle’s current book project examines how well the American Catholic Church fulfills its self-ascribed role as a service and socializing institution for Latino and Latino-immigrant populations, offers potential explanations for her findings, as well as suggestions for improvement. Other projects examine how community-level factors — such as living in proximity to schools and churches — affect the process of immigrant political incorporation and citizen political engagement, and she is also working on a contemporary assessment of Catholic political engagement.

Dr. Huckle earned her PhD in political science from the University of Washington, an MA in political science from Villanova University and the University of Washington, and an MA in biblical studies from George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

Donald M. Kerwin, Jr. is executive director of the Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS). The organization is an educational institute/think tank devoted to the study of international migration, to the promotion of understanding between immigrants and receiving communities, and to public policies that safeguard the dignity and rights of migrants, refugees, and newcomers. CMS was established in 1964 by the Congregation of the Missionaries of St. Charles, Scalabrinians. It is a member of the Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN), which consists of more than 270 organizations that serve, safeguard, and advocate for migrants throughout the world. Mr. Kerwin previously worked for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) between 1992 and 2008, serving as its executive director (ED) for 15 years and its interim ED for six months in late 2012 and early 2013. Upon his arrival at CLINIC in 1992, he coordinated CLINIC’s political asylum project for Haitians. CLINIC, a subsidiary of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), is a public interest legal corporation that supports a national network of several hundred charitable legal programs for immigrants. Between 2008 and 2011, Mr. Kerwin served as vice president for programs at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), where he wrote on immigration, labor standards, and refugee policy issues. He has also served as: an associate fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center where he co-directed Woodstock’s Theology of Migration Project; a non-resident senior fellow at MPI; a member of the American Bar Association’s Commission on Immigration; a member of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Immigration Task Force; a board member for Jesuit Refugee Services-USA, the Capital Area Immigrant Rights Coalition, and the Border Network for Human Rights; an advisor to the USCCB’s Committee on Migration; and a member of numerous advisory groups. Mr. Kerwin writes and speaks extensively on immigration policy, refugee protection, access to justice, national security, and other issues.

The Most Reverend Gerald F. Kicanas
Bishop of Tucson

The Most Reverend Gerald F. Kicanas was installed as bishop of Tucson on March 7, 2003, following his appointment of coadjutor bishop of Tucson on October 30, 2001. Previously, Bishop Kicanas was appointed auxiliary bishop of Chicago on January 24, 1995 and served as episcopal vicar of Vicariate I of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was ordained a bishop on March 20, 1995.

Ordained a priest on April 27, 1967, Bishop Kicanas has served in various capacities in the seminary system of the Archdiocese of Chicago for over 25 years. He is also the former vice president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and the former secretary of the USCCB. In addition, Bishop Kicanas is the former chair of the Board of Directors of Catholic Relief Services (CRS); the former chair of the Board of the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA); a member of the Board of Directors of the National Pastoral Life Center; a former member of the Committee for Migration; former chair of the Sub-Committee for Lay Ecclesial Ministry; former chair of the Diaconate Committee; former member of the committee for the Laity; and former member of Liturgy, Priestly Formation and Doctrine Committees, as well as the National Advisory Council.

Bishop Kicanas is currently a member of the USCCB’s Communications Committee; a member of the Subcommittee on Africa, the Subcommittee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, and a member of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. He is the recipient of an honorary doctorate in humanities from Lewis University in 2010, and an honorary doctor of laws from the University of Notre Dame in 2011. Bishop Kicanas was the recipient of the Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Award in 2008.

Educational credentials include post-graduate work in several areas, as well as a PhD in educational psychology, a MEd in guidance and counseling from Loyola University, and a licentiate in sacred theology from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, Mundelein, IL.

Rev. Clete Kiley
Special Advisor to Archbishop Blase Cupich, Archdiocese of Chicago
Director for Immigration Policy, UNITE HERE

Reverend Clete Kiley is a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He has served as a diocesan administrator, seminary rector and pastor in a large immigrant parish. Fr. Kiley has also served on the staff of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and was president of the Faith and Politics Institute in Washington, DC.

Currently, he serves as a special advisor to Archbishop Blase Cupich for a range of concerns including immigration. Fr. Kiley is also the director for immigration policy for UNITE HERE, the hotel and restaurant workers union, a largely immigrant union. He represents UNITE HERE on the International Labor Recruitment Working Group, a coalition investigating the abuse of J-1 and H2B visas and other issues of trafficking.

Fr. Kiley serves on the AFL-CIO Immigration Committee, as well as participates on the Steering Committee for the Justice for Immigrants Initiative at the USCCB. He is also the chaplain of the Chicago Federation of Labor, and serves as a senior fellow at the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America.

José López
Director of Hispanic Young Adult and Migrant Ministries
Diocese of Stockton

José López was born in Jaripo, Michoacán, México. Mr. López worked as a migrant farmworker for many years, and at the same time served as volunteer in Pastoral Juvenil and migrant ministry. Currently, he is the director of the Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry Office and Migrant Ministry in the Diocese of Stockton. Mr. López was the president of the Catholic Migrant Farmworkers Network (CMFN) and currently serves as member of its executive committee. Mr. López has been an active member of LA RED- National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana since it was founded in 1997. On the ENAVE team, he is a member of the Process Committee in which he is committed to being a bridge between migrant farmworkers and Hispanic youth and young adults, motivating them to come together and raise their prophetic voice as the Hispanic people did in the III National Encounter of Hispanic Ministry.

Mr. López participated as a facilitator and delegate at the diocesan, regional, and national levels from 1983-1985 in the process to the III National Encuentro of Hispanic Ministry, in Encuentro 2000, in the First National Encounter of Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry in 2006, and in 2007 in the Catholic Migrant Farmworkers Network II National Consultation.

In 2013, he and his wife Digna were the recipients of the Lumen Christi Award presented by the Catholic Extension Society for their commitment of more than 30 years to the development and formation of lay Hispanic leaders, especially young people and migrants in the Church. Accompanied by their daughters and son, Daniela, Josue and Gabriela, Mr. López and Digna are the first Hispanics to receive this award and accepted the award on behalf of the Hispanic lay leaders in the diocese.

Melissa M. Lopez
Executive Director of Migration and Refugee Services
Diocese of El Paso

Melissa M. Lopez is the executive director and attorney at law of Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services (DMRS). She began working at DMRS in August 2007 as a staff attorney. Shortly after being hired, Ms. Lopez was named supervisor of the Removal Defense Unit. From August 2007 to February 2013, she represented individuals in removal proceedings before the El Paso Immigration Court, helping them seek benefits ranging from cancellation of removal to adjustment of status, and everything in-between. In September 2012, Ms. Lopez was named interim executive director, and in February 2013, she was named executive director. She graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in May 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts (majored in political science, minored in professional writing and rhetoric) and from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas in May 2007.

Michael Lovette-Colyer, PhD
Assistant Vice President and Director of University Ministry
University of San Diego

Michael Lovette-Colyer has served as the director of university ministry at the University of San Diego (USD) for the past nine years. In addition to leading teams and people to achieve priority objectives, the majority of his work has focused on creating contexts and programs which promote the faith formation of undergraduate and graduate students; designing, implementing, and assessing programs that support the theological exploration of vocation; facilitating immersion experiences as well as meaningful reflection approaches to enhance those experiences; and supporting community-based learning. Dr. Lovette-Colyer also serves as an adjunct faculty member in USD’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies, teaching a section of “Introduction to Catholic Theology” each semester.

Prior to his service at USD, he spent eight years working on behalf of Santa Clara University in the office of Campus Ministry and the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education. While at Santa Clara, Dr. Lovette-Colyer directed the DISCOVER Project, a university-wide initiative funded by the Lily-Endowment designed to engage the university community in the theological exploration of vocation. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from the Jesuit School of theology at Berkeley, a Master of Business Administration from Santa Clara University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from John Carroll University. He earned his PhD from the University of San Diego. Dr. Lovette-Colyer’s dissertation, titled “Cultivating Compassion in Undergraduate College Students: Rhetoric or Reality?” was published in the Journal of Catholic Higher Education. His most recent publication, “The Spirituality of Immersion: Compassion, Solidarity, Relationship,” was published in Engaging Pedagogies in Catholic Higher Education in May of 2016.

The Most Reverend Robert McElroy
Bishop of San Diego

The Most Reverend Robert W. McElroy was installed as the sixth bishop of San Diego on April 15, 2015. Previously, Bishop McElroy was appointed auxiliary bishop of San Francisco by Pope Benedict XVI on July 6, 2010 and was ordained by Archbishop George Niederauer at Saint Mary’s Cathedral on September 7, 2010. He became the archdiocesan vicar for parish life and development and has served in that role until his appointment to be the next bishop of San Diego.

Born in San Francisco on February 5, 1954, Bishop McElroy felt called to the Catholic priesthood at an early age. He entered Saint Joseph High School in Mountain View, which was the high school seminary of the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Upon graduating from Saint Joseph, he entered Harvard College in 1972 to pursue a degree in American history. After his graduation from Harvard, Bishop McElroy attended graduate school at Stanford and in 1976 received a master’s degree in American history.

Reentering the seminary in the fall of 1976, he attended Saint Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park, California and was ordained a priest of the archdiocese on April 12, 1980. Bishop McElroy’s first assignment was Saint Cecilia Parish in San Francisco. In 1982, he became the secretary to San Francisco Archbishop John Quinn. Bishop McElroy obtained a licentiate in theology from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, a doctorate in moral theology from the Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in political science from Stanford.

He returned to parish work, which has always been his first love, in 1989 serving as a parochial vicar at Saint Pius Parish in Redwood City. In 1995, Archbishop Quinn appointed Bishop McElroy vicar general of the archdiocese, a post he continued to hold under Cardinal William Levada, who succeeded Archbishop Quinn. In 1996, he was made a prelate of honor by Saint John Paul II and appointed pastor of Saint Gregory Parish in San Mateo by Cardinal Levada.

Bishop McElroy has written two books: The Search for an American Public Theology and Morality and American Foreign Policy. In addition, he has written a series of articles in America magazine touching upon key elements of Catholic social teaching.

Bishop McElroy is the vice-president of the California Catholic Conference and serves at the national conference of bishops on the administrative committee, the ecumenical committee, the committee on domestic justice and the committee on international affairs.

His Excellency Francisco Moreno Barrón
Archbishop of Tijuana

His Excellency Most Reverend Francisco Moreno Barrón is the archbishop of Tijuana. Born in the city of Salamanca, Guanajuato on October 3, 1954, he entered the diocesan seminary of Morelia in December 1966, where he completed all his priestly studies, from high school to theology. Archbishop Moreno received presbyteral ordination from Archbishop Emeritus Estanislao Alcaraz Figueroa on February 25, 1979. For five years, he served in the parish of Santa Ana, Zacapu. Archbishop Moreno was rector of the temple of Cristo Rey in Morelia and diocesan director of the Youth Ministry. For six years, he was executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission for Youth Ministry. Archbishop Moreno was rector and first parish priest of the Lord of Mercy in the city of Morelia until October 2000, when he was appointed episcopal vicar del Bajío.

On February 2, 2002, he was appointed by his Holiness Juan Pablo II titular bishop of Gaguari and auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Morelia. On March 20, 2002, Archbishop Moreno received episcopal ordination as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Morelia. He was elected president of the Episcopal Commission for Youth Ministry for the triennium 2003-2006. Archbishop Moreno also serves as a member of the Episcopal Commissions for Liturgy and Family Pastoral for the same triennium. During the LXXXII Plenary Assembly of the Mexican Episcopate, he was named responsible for the Youth Dimension of the Episcopal Commission for Family, Youth and Lay People for the triennium 2006-2009. On March 28, 2008, Archbishop Moreno was appointed third bishop of the Diocese of Tlaxcala by His Holiness Benedict XVI.

On June 16, 2016, Pope Francis appointed him metropolitan archbishop of Tijuana, assuming his post on August 11, 2016.

Robert Moser
Deputy Director
Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego

Robert J. Moser, PhD, earned his baccalaureate degree (1970) from Villanova University and a master’s in regional planning (1973) and a doctorate in Social Science (1978) from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. From 1973-1980, he was an assistant professor of sociology at Neumann College outside Philadelphia. From 1980-1984, Dr. Moser served as the program manager for the Center for Indochinese Health Education at the University of California, San Diego. In 1985, he joined the staff of Catholic Charities, Diocese of San Diego where he served as the program manager of the Refugee Health Program from 1985-1991 and then as director of the Department of Refugee and Immigrant Services from 1992 to 1998. Dr. Moser has been the agency’s deputy director since 1998 and has administrative responsibility for the programs provided under Refugee Services, Immigrant Services and Senior Nutrition. He will assume the duties of the executive director beginning January 1, 2017. From 1980 to 2005, Dr. Moser taught sociology part-time at various educational institutions, including San Diego State University, Miramar College and the University of San Diego. He has also published and reviewed articles in professional journals and serves as a consultant in matters pertaining to refugees and immigrants. Dr. Moser is married and has three sons. 

Rev. Patrick Murphy, C.S.
Director
Centro Scalabrini – Casa del Migrante (Tijuana, Mexico)

Reverend Patrick Murphy, C.S., is director of the Casa del Migrante in Tijuana, Mexico. Born in New York City in 1952, he completed his seminary studies in New York, Chicago, and Toronto, and graduated from Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois in 1974 with a bachelor’s in psychology. In 1979, Fr. Murphy completed his Master of Divinity degree at the University of Toronto. He also received a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University Chicago in 1985.

Fr. Murphy has been a member of the Missionaries of St. Charles, Scalabrinians, since his first profession in 1976. He was ordained a priest in August 30, 1980, and since then his ministry commitments have included the following: associate pastor in two multicultural parishes in the suburbs of Chicago; provincial vocation coordinator for the Scalabrinians; pastor of a large Hispanic parish in Los Angeles; provincial for the Scalabrinians Western province; and director of Hispanic Ministry in the Archdiocese of Kansas City.

Leya Speasmaker
Field Support Coordinator and Integration Program Manager
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Leya Speasmaker serves as a field support coordinator and integration program manager for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). As a field support coordinator, Ms. Speasmaker helps grow the capacity of the national network of charitable immigration service providers by providing training and consultation to organizations on program management and capacity building. As the integration program manager, she coordinates CLINIC’s resources and technical support on integration within the CLINIC network. Ms. Speasmaker is a graduate of the University of Virginia, where she earned a BA in English and a Master of Teaching degree. She is also a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Master of Public Affairs and a Master of Arts in Latin American studies. Prior to working at CLINIC, Ms. Speasmaker taught English as a Second Language in Virginia, Ecuador, and Texas, and she speaks Spanish.

Nadine Toppozada
Program Manager
Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego

Nadine Toppozada was born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt to expat parents from Greece and Turkey. Ms. Toppozada received her bachelor’s degree in political science from the American University in Cairo, Egypt, and her master’s degree in international relations from Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in Syracuse, New York.  Ms. Toppozada speaks Arabic, Portuguese, and French.  She has worked with the Council of Europe Committee on Migration, Refugees, and Displaced Persons in Strasbourg, France, the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants in Washington, DC, and Ecumenical Refugee Services in Denver, Colorado. Currently Ms. Toppozada is the program manager for Refugee Services at Catholic Charities in San Diego, California where she oversees the Wilson Fish Project, Cuban Haitian Entrant Program, and Match Grant Program.   

Sr. Janice Vanderneck
Director of Casa San Jose
Sisters of Saint Joseph of Baden, PA

Sister Janice Vanderneck is director of the Casa San Jose of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Baden, Pennsylvania.  Previously, she served as director of the Latino Catholic Community Office for Social Services where she established the first office in Pittsburgh assisting Spanish speaking-only clients. Sister Vanderneck has collaborated with several other organizations in their outreach efforts to address the needs of this growing population in Allegheny County and western Pennsylvania. Additionally, she has helped establish programs assisting immigrant families through acculturation and understanding life in the United States.

Sister Vanderneck has advocated for Latino immigrants in areas such as civil rights, health care access, education, public assistance, and immigration reform. In efforts to establish a more immigrant friendly environment in the Pittsburgh area, she also has worked with law enforcement officers and political representatives. An active member of the Latino Roundtable of Pittsburgh, Sister Vanderneck has co-organized the annual information fair, Al Servicio de la Comunidad. She serves as chairperson of the Civil Rights for Immigrants Taskforce of the Pittsburgh Interfaith Impact Network, and is a member of the Advisory Council on Immigrants and Internationals for the Department of Human Services of Allegheny County.

A sister of Saint Joseph and a former missionary in the Brazilian Amazon, Sister Vanderneck has been a passionate and vocal supporter of comprehensive immigration reform for five years.

Estela Villagrán Manancero
Director of the Office of Latino Ministry, Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis
President of the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry

Estela Villagrán Manancero, born in Uruguay, has extensive experience in community development and pastoral ministry in a multi-cultural setting. Her passion for missionary work has led her to minister in numerous countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, Egypt, and China. Mrs. Manancero’s formation in business administration, experience in community organizing, and success in pastoral ministry come together to produce a highly effective lay ecclesial minister in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, where she is currently the director for the Office of Latino Ministry. She is also the president of the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry (NCADDHM). Mrs. Manancero is a consultant to the subcommittee Hispanic Affairs, Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB); advisor to the Justice Peace and Human Development office (USCCB); advisor to the Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative; and advisor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Civil Rights Group, Minneapolis division.

Carmen M. Vazquez
Vice President of Student Affairs
University of San Diego

Carmen M. Vazquez was appointed vice president for student affairs at the University of San Diego (USD) in 2005. For the past 12 years, Ms. Vazquez has led the Student Affairs Division, which, in the Catholic tradition, creates an educational environment which motivates and inspires student learning and personal development, serves the university community, and challenges students to make a positive contribution to society. She has a student-centered philosophy, is dedicated to the holistic development of college students, and brings enthusiasm to her leadership role.

Ms. Vazquez has many years of experience as a student affairs educator and practitioner. She began her career at the State University of New York at Stony Brook where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in psychology and sociology and a master’s degree of social work. She served in various positions at Stony Brook, including adjunct faculty in the school of social welfare, dean of students and assistant vice president for alumni relations. Ms. Vazquez also served as assistant vice chancellor for student life at the University of California, San Diego, from 2002-2005.