2017 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference

Event Date and Time October 11, 2017 9:00 am

Event Ends October 13, 2017 5:00 pm

Venue Loyola Marymount University

Venue Address Loyola Marymount University, Loyola Marymount University Drive, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Event Sponsors

Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS)
Loyola Marymount University
Mount Saint Mary’s University

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Event Types:

Conferences Galas

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The Center for Migration Studies of New York (CMS), Loyola Marymount University, Mount Saint Mary’s University, and Providence St. Joseph Health hosted the 2017 Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative Conference from October 11-13, 2017 at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA.

The primary purpose of the conference was to advance the goals of CMS’s Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative (CIII) which seeks to study, document and support a growing network of diverse Catholic institutions that are working successfully to advance immigrant integration, empowerment and well-being. The conference:

Examined how Catholic institutions are responding to changing immigration policies;
Conveyed the spiritual and theological vision that undergirds the Catholic Church’s work with immigrants;
Reviewed public policies affecting immigrant integration and academic research on the work of Church institutions with immigrant communities;
Lifted up model integration programs and ministries; and
Offered optional field visits to migrant ministries and shelters in Los Angeles on October 11th.

October 12, 2017 Agenda

Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California

7:30AM – 8:15AM
MASS
Sacred Heart Chapel

8:00AM
REGISTRATION OPENS
Life Sciences Building 120 Foyer

8:30AM – 9:45AM
Life Sciences Building 120

WELCOME
Dr. Timothy Law Snyder
President
Loyola Marymount University

Dr. Ann McElaney-Johnson
President
Mount Saint Mary’s University

INTRODUCTION
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

KEYNOTE
Most Reverend David G. O’Connell
Episcopal Vicar of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region
Titular Bishop of Cell Ausaille and Auxiliary Bishop
Archdiocese of Los Angeles

KEYNOTE
The Honorable Eric Garcetti
Mayor of Los Angeles

9:45AM – 11:00AM
PLENARY
‘WHOLE OF CHURCH’ INTEGRATION CHALLENGES: PARISH-BASED ORGANIZING, LEGAL STATUS FOR THE UNDOCUMENTED, AND YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT
Life Sciences Building 120

The Catholic Immigrant Integration Initiative has become a forum for identifying and disseminating model integration programs and ministries, as well as overarching immigrant needs. This panel discussed needs and programs that should be expanded and that require the engagement of a broad cross-section of Catholic institutions and ministries. They are: (1) parish-based, immigrant-led organizing; (2) legal screening and representation of undocumented residents; and (3) successful models of youth leadership and engagement. This panel described these needs, and the planning workshops later in the conference sought to expand on these programs.

Moderator: Donald Kerwin, Executive Director, Center for Migration Studies
Jeanne Atkinson, Executive Director, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
Sean Carroll, SJ, Executive Director, Kino Border Initiative
Elena Segura, Associate Director and Senior Immigration Coordinator, Office for Human Dignity & Solidarity, Archdiocese of Chicago

11:00AM – 11:15AM
BREAK

11:15AM – 12:45PM
PLENARY
HOW CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS CAN STRENGTHEN THEIR INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE CHALLENGES FACING IMMIGRANTS IN TIMES OF INCREASED FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY
Life Sciences Building 120

This session discussed how Catholic entities, sectors, and communities are responding to the needs of and challenges facing immigrant communities. It identified successful institutional responses and larger integrated “whole of the Church” responses – what is working, what is not, what needs to be strengthened, and which Catholic institutions need to engage these issues in a more active and positive way. It also covered Catholic activism in the context of broader community responses to the needs of immigrants.

Moderator: Jim Kuh, Senior Director, Immigration and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities USA
William Canny, Executive Director, Migration and Refugee Services, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Isaac Cuevas, Associate Director of Immigration Affairs, Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Kathleen A. Curran, Senior Director of Public Policy, Catholic Health Association
Jeanne Ortiz, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, Loyola Marymount University
Marjean Perhot, Director of Refugee and Immigration Services, Catholic Charities of Boston

12:45PM – 1:45PM
LUNCH
St. Robert’s Auditorium

1:45PM – 2:15PM
Life Sciences Building 120

INTRODUCTION
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

KEYNOTE
WHOLE-OF-COMMUNITY APPROACHES TO IMMIGRANT DEFENSE, EMPOWERMENT, AND WELL-BEING
Antonia Hernández
President and CEO
California Community Foundation

2:15PM – 3:30PM
PLENARY
PARISHES: THE CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONAL BUILDING BLOCK ON IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION, PARTICIPATION, AND EMPOWERMENT
Life Sciences Building 120

Parishes are the core institution in which Catholics participate in the life of the Church. The success of the Church as an integrating and empowering institution depends, in large part, on the success of its parishes. This panel examined the challenges and successes of “shared” parishes with large immigrant and diverse populations.

Moderator: Brett Hoover, Assistant Professor and Graduate Director of Theological Studies, Loyola Marymount University
Michael Gutierrez, Pastor, St. John the Baptist Parish, Baldwin Park, CA
Deacon Guillermo Torres, Director of Hispanic Ministry, Diocese of Orange
Fe Musgrave, Pastoral Associate, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rowland Heights, CA

3:30PM – 3:45PM
BREAK

3:45PM – 4:45PM
WORKSHOPS / PLANNING / DISCUSSION GROUPS

These break-out sessions presented an opportunity to learn about, discuss, and plan the expansion of programs and ministries that are essential to immigration integration, well-being and empowerment. It was also an opportunity to hear from leaders of certain sectors on their perspectives and work on these issues.

PARISH-BASED ORGANIZING
Life Sciences Building 120
Moderator: Elena Segura, Associate Director and Senior Immigration Coordinator, Office for Human Dignity & Solidarity, Archdiocese of Chicago

LEGAL SCREENING OF THE UNDOCUMENTED
Malone 112
Moderator: Jeanne Atkinson, Executive Director, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

IMMIGRANT YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT
Pereira 211
Moderator: Rev. Sean Carroll, SJ, Executive Director, Kino Border Initiative

4:45PM – 6:00PM
PLENARY
BISHOPS FORUM ON STRENGTHENING THE CATHOLIC VOICE ON THESE ISSUES
Life Sciences Building 120

The US bishops attending this event responded to the ideas and issues raised over the first day and provided their ideas and direction on how to strengthen the Church’s voice and work with immigrants.

Moderator: Patricia Zapor, Communications Director, Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
Most Rev. Jaime Soto, Bishop of Sacramento
Most Rev. Eusebio Elizondo, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle
Most Rev. David O’Connell, Auxiliary Bishop of Los Angeles
William Canny, Executive Director, Migration and Refugee Services, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

6:00PM – 7:00PM
RECEPTION
Life Sciences Building Courtyard

7:00PM – 9:00PM
THE FR. LYDIO F. TOMASI, C.S. ANNUAL LECTURE ON INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION
Life Sciences Building 120

Established in 2014, the Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, C.S. Annual Lecture on International Migration addresses a migration-related topic of pressing concern to faith communities. Fr. Tomasi, a founding member of CMS, directed the institute from 1968 to 2001 and is the founding editor of Migration World Magazine, a bi-monthly review of migration policy issues. He was also editor of the annual volume, In Defense of the Alien, the proceedings of an annual conference held on immigrants’ rights and immigration policy. On January 15, 2006, Fr. Tomasi was appointed Pastor of Holy Rosary Church in Washington DC. He served in that position through June 2013. Since 2013, Father Tomasi has served as CMS’s executive director emeritus. Past lectures have been delivered by Dr. Hosffman Ospino, Associate Professor of Hispanic Ministry and Religious Education at Boston College and Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck, Distinguished Scholar of Theology and Latino Studies at Loyola Marymount University.

For 2017, the Fr. Lydio F. Tomasi, CS Annual Lecture on International Migration and the Loyola Marymount University Hispanic Ministry and Theology Lecture jointly presented Dr. Maria Clara Bingemer, Professor of Theology at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC) and Brazilian Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Democracy and Human Development in the Kellogg Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame.

EMCEE
Marisol Gaytán Escobar
Graduate Assistant Coordinator
Loyola Marymount University

WELCOME
Thomas Poon
Executive Vice President and Provost
Loyola Marymount University

INTRODUCTION
Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck
Distinguished Scholar of Theology and Latino Studies and Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

LECTURE
MIGRATIONS: A CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGE TO THEOLOGICAL THINKING
Dr. Maria Clara Bingemer
Professor of Theology
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC)
Brazilian Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Democracy and Human Development in the Kellogg Institute for International Studies
University of Notre Dame

DISCUSSION AND Q&A
CONCLUDING REMARKS

October 13, 2017 Agenda

Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California

8:00AM – 8:45AM
MASS
Sacred Heart Chapel

8:30AM
REGISTRATION OPENS
Life Sciences Building 120 Foyer

9:00AM – 10:15AM
PLENARY
HOW RESEARCH CAN INFORM THE WORK OF CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS ON IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY, INTEGRATION AND EMPOWERMENT
Life Sciences Building 120

This panel described the role of scholarship and research in informing and strengthening immigrant advocacy, empowerment, and services. It featured scholarship on Catholic institutions, as well as information on CMS’s democratizing data initiative and its scholarship/research on immigration reform, DACA, refugee protection, and legal representation.

Moderator: Donald Kerwin, Executive Director, Center for Migration Studies
Stephanie Canizales, PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology, University of Southern California
Felicia Escobar, Former Special Assistant to President Barack Obama for Immigration Policy
Roberto Suro, Professor of Journalism at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the School of Policy, Planning and Development and Director of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California

10:15AM – 11:30AM
PLENARY
STRENGTHENING CATHOLIC ADVOCACY ON A FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL
Life Sciences Building 120

This panel discussed Catholic advocacy on immigration issues on a federal, state and local level. It described coalition building, pressing needs, priorities, and opportunities on all three levels.

Moderator: Kevin Appleby, Senior Director of International Migration Policy, Center for Migration Studies
Ned Dolejsi, Executive Director, California Catholic Conference
Tim McManus, Lead Organizer, Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action, Industrial Areas Foundation-California
Ignacia Rodriguez, Immigration Policy Advocate, National Immigration Law Center

11:30AM – 11:45AM
BREAK

11:45AM – 1:00PM
PLENARY
FOSTERING THE LEADERSHIP AND PARTICIPATION OF IMMIGRANTS AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES IN CATHOLIC INSTITUTIONS
Life Sciences Building 120

A consistent challenge in this area is the fact that the leadership and staff of most Catholic institutions do not reflect the composition of the populations they serve. This panel addressed barriers – both structural and practical – to immigrant leadership and participation in Catholic institutions, which impede their ability to act as immigrant integrating and empowering agencies. It addressed the role of race, generational change, nativist attitudes, and other salient issues.

Moderator: Kiku Huckle, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Pace University
Dylan Corbett, Executive Director, Hope Border Institute
Patrick Murphy, C.S., Director, Centro Scalabrini – Casa del Migrante (Tijuana, Mexico)
David C. Okonkwo, Director of the Office of Ministry to Catholics of African Descent, Diocese of San Bernardino

1:00PM – 2:00PM
LUNCH
St. Robert’s Auditorium

2:00PM – 3:15PM
PLENARY
ENGAGING CATHOLIC PHILANTHROPY ON PRESSING IMMIGRATION PRIORITIES
Life Sciences Building 120

This panel examined the various philanthropic and charitable entities offering support to Catholic institutions serving immigrants. Panelists discussed the resources available and how to engage funders and persuade them to assist in addressing urgent matters such as the threat of mass deportation and the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Moderator: Sally Duffy, Former President and Executive Director, SC Ministry Foundation
Brad Myers, Senior Program Officer, Hilton Foundation
Joseph B. Womac, President, Specialty Family Foundation

3:15PM – 4:15PM
WORKSHOPS / PLANNING / DISCUSSION GROUPS

IMMIGRANT YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT
Pereira 211
Moderator: Rev. Sean Carroll, SJ, Executive Director, Kino Border Initiative

LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY AND COMMUNICATIONS ON DACA
Life Sciences Building 120
Moderator: Kevin Appleby, Senior Director of International Migration Policy, Center for Migration Studies

4:15PM – 5:00PM
CLOSING SESSION AND WORKSHOP REPORTING
Life Sciences Building 120

Speaker Profiles

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). Ms. Atkinson co-chairs the Committee for Immigration Reform Implementation and co-founded 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. She speaks nationally on topics including the implementation of large-scale immigration programs and travels internationally to examine issues causing people to migrate and speak with government officials and other NGOs. 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.

Dr. Maria Clara Bingemer
Professor of Theology
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC)
Brazilian Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Democracy and Human Development at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, University of Notre Dame

Dr. Maria Clara Bingemer is a noted Brazilian theologian. A full professor at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC), she focuses her research on systematic theology and in particular on Latin American and liberation theology. She also researches on gender, feminism, mysticism, and testimony.

Dr. Bingemer is widely published in many languages. Her English works include A Face for God: Reflections on Trinitarian Theology for Our Times (Convivium, 2014); Witnessing: Prophecy, Politics and Wisdom (edited with Peter Casarella, Orbis, 2014); Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Poor (with Ivone Gebara, Wipf and Stock, 2004); Simone Weil: A Mystic with Passion and Compassion and The Mystery and the World, both from Wipf and Stock; and Latin American Theology: Roots and Branches, from Orbis.

Stephanie Canizales
PhD Candidate, Department of Sociology
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.

William Canny
Executive Director
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Migration and Refugee Services

William (Bill) Canny is the executive director of the department of Migration and Refugee Services at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB/MRS). He joined USCCB/MRS in May 2015. Mr. Canny brings with him a demonstrated commitment to — and a wealth of experience in — providing service to migrants, refugees, and others in need. He has lived and worked in Niger, Djibouti, Burkina Faso, India, Switzerland, and Haiti. He has served as Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission, COO of the Papal Foundation, and in various leadership roles within Catholic Relief Services, including as Director of Emergency Operations for a period that included the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake.

Rev. Sean Carroll, S.J.
Executive Director
Kino Border Initiative

Born in South Weymouth, Massachusetts on June 24, 1966 as the eldest of five children, and raised in southern California, Fr. Sean Carroll, S.J. graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in History in 1988. He began his Jesuit studies the following year, entering the California Province of the Society of Jesus. On May 27, 2000, Fr. Carroll was ordained a priest, and served for four years as associate pastor at St. Patrick’s Church in Oakland, California, before moving to Los Angeles for his work at the Dolores Mission.

In 2006, Fr. Carroll participated in the exploratory phase of a new migrant ministry to be established in southern Arizona and northern Mexico. A needs assessment revealed that border services for deported migrants, while well meaning, were not meeting the need fully. These efforts led to the inauguration of the Kino Border Initiative (KBI), a Catholic, binational, collaborative effort that focuses on humanitarian assistance, education, research, and advocacy in the area of migration. Fr. Carroll has been the executive director of the KBI since 2009.

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.

Isaac Cuevas
Associate Director of Immigration Affairs
Archdiocese of Los Angeles

Isaac Cuevas arrived in Los Angeles when he was two years old, as a hand holding child along side his mother. They entered the U.S. on a tourist visa and overstayed, living in the country as undocumented immigrants for several years. During the Reagan administration, Isaac and his mother were among the 3 million people who qualified and applied for the legalization program, providing them with a path to citizenship.

As the new Associate Director of Immigration Affairs for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Isaac is developing a network of community leaders and working with them to implement workshops, programs, and resources for people seeking help in the complicated area of immigration law. In addition to community outreach, Isaac works as an immigration advocate, serving as the voice for the Archdiocese among policy leaders and pushing for comprehensive immigration reform.

Kathleen A. Curran
Senior Director of Public Policy
Catholic Health Association

Kathleen A. Curran is senior director of public policy at the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). Ms. Curran coordinates the development of public policy positions for the association and works with other CHA staff to interact with Congress and the executive branch to promote CHA’s advocacy agenda. Previously, Ms. Curran was with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops where she served as interim director of the Office of Domestic Social Development and as a policy advisor on health and welfare issues. She has also worked at the US Department of Labor and on the US Senate Committee on Health, Education and Pensions. Prior to coming to Washington, DC, she practiced law in Boston, following a year serving with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. Ms. Curran received her law degree from the University of Virginia and her undergraduate degree from Yale University.

Ned Dolejsi
Executive Director
California Catholic Conference

Edward (Ned) Dolejsi’s service in the Peace Corps prepared him for working as a parish director of religious education, teaching Catholic high school, executive director of the Catholic Youth Organization, Campus and Young Adult Ministry, and director of the Faith and Community Development for Seattle Archbishop Hunthausen. Mr. Dolejsi co-founded and directed the Channel Program in the Archdiocese of Seattle, which prepared young college graduates for various ministries. For two terms he served as advisor to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Committee on International and Domestic Policy. He chairs the State Advisory Committee on Institutional Religion addressing chaplaincy and is a member of the board for the Alliance of Catholic Health Care and also Catholic Charities of California. Mr. Dolejsi is past president of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors and a former board member of the Catholic Health Association (CHA) and Chair of the CHA Public Policy Committee. He was the former director of the Washington State Conference. He currently serves as a sponsor for Providence St. Joseph Health system in the western states.

Mr. Dolejsi and Colleen Branagan have six sons and six grandchildren. He has been honored by Pope John Paul II as Knight Commander of St. Gregory for his national and international service to the Church.

Sr. Sally Duffy
Former President and Executive Director
SC Ministry Foundation

Sr. Sally Duffy, S.C. is former president and executive director of SC Ministry Foundation, a public grant-making organization that promotes the mission and ministry of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sr. Duffy is a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati and she has dedicated all of her professional career to bringing not only financial resources but her own personal involvement and leadership to support social justice and a vital Catholic Church. A beacon of leadership and generosity in Cincinnati and at the national level, including as chair of the board of Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Charities (FADICA) over the last four years, Sr. Duffy has provided strategic guidance and spiritual leadership to critical initiatives serving the most vulnerable, including immigrants and children in poverty.

Most Reverend Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp.S
Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle

Most Reverend Eusebio Elizondo, M.Sp.S. is a native of Monterrey, Mexico. He received a bachelor’s degree in theology and a canon law degree from the Gregorian University in Rome. In 1984, he was ordained a priest of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit, a religious congregation of men consecrated to God for the service of the Church, who provide spiritual direction for priests and consecrated religious. He was assigned to St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Bothell, Washington in the year 2000 to provide ministry to the growing Hispanic community in Western Washington upon the request of Archbishop Alex Brunett. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle by Pope Benedict XVI on May 12, 2005 and was ordained by Archbishop Brunett on June 6, 2005. Bishop Elizondo is the first Hispanic bishop in Seattle. He is appointed Vicar General, Vicar for Hispanic Ministries, and Vicar for Vocations of the Archdiocese.

Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck
Distinguished Scholar of Theology and Latino Studies and Professor of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Fr. Allan Figueroa Deck is currently Distinguished Scholar of Theology and Latino Studies at Loyola Marymount University and professor of Theological Studies. He has served in a number of academic, administrative, and leadership positions. He was administrator of our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the Delhi barrio of Santa Ana, California. and first Director of Hispanic Ministry for the Orange Diocese. He held fulltime positions at Loyola Marymount University and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. In 1997, he founded and served as first executive director of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality in Orange, California. From 2008 to 2012, he was called to serve as first executive director of the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, DC.

Felicia Escobar
Former Special Assistant to President Barack Obama for Immigration Policy

Felicia Escobar is the former special assistant to President Barack Obama for immigration policy. In this role, Ms. Escobar developed the President’s strategy for building a 21st century immigration system. This work involved coordinating efforts across the Executive branch to strengthen the current system and working toward passage of meaningful, comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Ms. Escobar previously served on US Senator Ken Salazar’s legislative team, working with him to develop his legislative agenda on a host of issues including labor, civil rights, judicial nominations and immigration. She advised Senator Salazar during the comprehensive immigration reform debates of 2006 and 2007 in which Senator Salazar was a key member of the bipartisan group pressing for reform. Prior to this, Ms. Escobar was associate director of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee. In this role, she helped cultivate relationships between Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and key stakeholder groups, including Latino, immigration and education advocacy groups. She started her career as a state policy analyst working for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR). She represented NCLR and its network of affiliates in the Texas State Legislature, testifying before legislative committees to advocate for education, immigrant access to benefits, and hate crimes legislation. Ms. Escobar is a native of San Antonio, TX. She received an undergraduate degree from Yale University, a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and her JD from University of California Los Angeles School of Law.

Marisol Gaytan Escobar
Graduate Assistant Coordinator
Loyola Marymount University

Marisol Gaytán Escobar has been involved in music and pastoral ministry since 1995. She has served as youth leader, music director, liturgy director and massive event assistant coordinator. Ms. Gaytán Escobar is part of the Liturgy Committee at ESNE.TV, which supports the broadcast of the daily mass to more than 22 million potential viewers in southern California and Latin America.

Ms. Gaytán Escobar completed her undergraduate studies in music, and is currently a graduate fellow collaborating at the Latino/Latina Theology and Ministry Initiative at Loyola Marymount University. She has particular interest in the experience of the liturgical celebration through media, spirituality, and Latino theology.

The Honorable Eric Garcetti
Mayor of Los Angeles

Eric Garcetti is the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles. As the city’s chief executive, he has led LA to raise its minimum wage, lower its business tax, bring Hollywood jobs home, and pass the nation’s boldest transportation plan and a groundbreaking initiative to house the homeless. Mayor Garcetti was elected four times by his peers to serve as President of the Los Angeles City Council from 2006 to 2012. From 2001 until taking office as Mayor, he served as the Councilmember representing the 13th District which includes Hollywood, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Atwater Village — all of which were dramatically revitalized under his leadership.

Mayor Garcetti was raised in the San Fernando Valley and earned his BA and MA from Columbia University. He studied as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and the London School of Economics and taught at Occidental College and USC. A fourth generation Angeleno, he and his wife, Amy Elaine Wakeland, have a young daughter. He is a Lieutenant in the US Navy reserve and is an avid jazz pianist and photographer.

Fr. Michael Gutierrez
Pastor
St. John the Baptist Parish, Baldwin Park, CA

Fr. Michael Gutierrez has been a Catholic Priest for 20 years. As the present Pastor of St. John the Baptist Church in Baldwin Park (10,000 families), he provides faith and outreach to a congregation of Latinos and Filipinos. He is also active on the board of Films by Youth Incarcerated (FYI Films), Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) Los Angeles, and Community Corporation of Santa Monica (Affordable Housing). He has been honored by Catholic Charities (OLA Region), National Conference for Community and Justice, and CLUE Los Angeles.

Fr. Gutierrez serves on the board of Sacred Heart High School in Los Angeles, and is also on the board of Hollywood Community Housing Community Corporation in Santa Monica striving to provide affordable housing to underserved communities.

Antonia Hernández
President and CEO
California Community Foundation

Nationally recognized for her commitment toward the betterment of underserved communities in Los Angeles County and beyond, Antonia Hernández joined the California Community Foundation as President and Chief Executive Officer in 2004. An expert in the areas of philanthropy, civil rights and immigration, Ms. Hernández began her legal career as a staff attorney with the Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice and worked as counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary before joining MALDEF in 1981 as regional counsel in Washington, DC.

Ms. Hernández is a member of the State Bar of California, United States Supreme Court, District of Columbia Bar, American Bar Association and the Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute.

Brett Hoover
Assistant Professor and Graduate Director of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Brett Hoover, PhD, is assistant professor and graduate director 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 of Political Science
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.

Jim Kuh
Senior Director
Immigration and Refugee Services, Catholic Charities USA

Jim Kuh is the senior director, Immigration and Refugee Services for Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), a member association of the nationwide Catholic Charities agency network, the largest private provider of human services in the United States. Prior to joining CCUSA, Mr. Kuh spent 36 years with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Migration and Refugee Services (USCCB/MRS) where he held various senior management positions, most recently as the Associate Director of Program Advancement and Evaluation. He began working with refugees at Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Sacramento at the height of the “boat people” refugee crisis in Southeast Asia and large Cuban refugee flotilla in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He also served as the regional director of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. in the late 1980s when it was part of USCCB/MRS. Mr. Kuh is a 1978 graduate of the California State University, San Diego with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration.

Dr. Ann McElaney-Johnson
President
Mount Saint Mary’s University, Los Angeles

Dr. Ann McElaney-Johnson is the 12th president of Mount Saint Mary’s University, the only women’s college in Los Angeles, and a leading advocate for women’s issues and innovative teaching and learning. She has spoken at international conferences and institutions, including the American Council on Education in Washington, DC. She led the creation of the Report on the Status of Women and Girls in California.

Dr. McElaney-Johnson is a member of the advisory board for the Women in Public Service Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the board of directors for the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. She is also Board Chair of the Women’s College Coalition and is on the ambassador council for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. After majoring in French literature at the College of the Holy Cross, she earned a master’s degree in French from Middlebury College and a PhD in French from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She and her husband, David Johnson, have three daughters, Emma, Rachel and Caroline, and a grandson, Will.

Tim McManus
Lead Organizer
Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action
Industrial Areas Foundation-California

Tim McManus is the lead organizer of Communities Organized for Relational Power in Action (COPA), a broad-based organization on the Central Coast of California. COPA is affiliated nationally with the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the nation’s oldest and largest community organizing network. Mr. McManus has organized with the IAF since 2009 — in Texas, Arizona, and California. Mr. McManus studied theology at Boston College and has a master’s degree in education from Notre Dame. Prior to organizing, he taught high school theology in Boston (where he’s from), Dallas, and in Dublin, Ireland. Mr. McManus lives in Gilroy, California with his wife, Marie, a bilingual speech therapist, and one-year-old daughter Gabriela.

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.

Fe Musgrave
Pastoral Associate
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Rowland Heights, CA

Ms. Fe Musgrave serves as pastoral associate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Prior to joining the staff at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, she served as consultant, catechesis in the Asian/Pacific Perspective, Office of Religious Education, Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She coordinated the Building Inclusive Communities (BIC) Summer Institute.

Ms. Musgrave holds an MA in multicultural ministry from the Franciscan School of Theology (which has now relocated to Oceanside) of the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.

Brad Myers
Senior Program Officer
Hilton Foundation

Brad Myers helps to guide the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation’s strategic initiative supporting Catholic Sisters globally. Mr. Myers serves on the advisory committee of the African Sisters Educational Collaborative and on the Family Philanthropy Advisory Council of Southern California Grantmakers. Mr. Myers also served on the grants committee of the Community Revitalization Fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation from 2008 to 2015. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served the Conrad N. Hilton Fund for Sisters for nine years in various capacities, including grants officer. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Mr. Myers also received a master’s degree in religion and social ethics from the University of Southern California.

Most Reverend David G. O’Connell
Episcopal Vicar of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region
Titular Bishop of Cell Ausaille and Auxiliary Bishop, Archdiocese of Los Angeles

The Most Reverend David G. O’Connell is the episcopal vicar of the San Gabriel Pastoral Region, one of the five Pastoral Regions in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He was appointed Titular Bishop of Cell Ausaille and Auxiliary Bishop in 2015. Since his ordination to the priesthood, he’s served as Associate Pastor at St. Raymond in Downey, St. Maria Goretti in Long Beach, and St. Hillary in Pico Rivera, and then as Pastor of St. Frances X. Cabrini, Ascension Catholic Church, St. Eugene, and St. Michael Parishes. He also served as a member of the Priest Pension Board, and currently serves on the Together in Mission Board as well as the Archdiocesan Finance Council, and continues to be a long-time member of the Council of Priests. He is a Knight of Peter Clave. Bishop O’Connell received a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and English literature from the University College Dublin in 1975, a Bachelor of Divinity from Maynooth College in 1977 and a Master of Spirituality from Mount St. Mary’s College in 1987.

David C. Okonkwo
Director of the Office of Ministry to Catholics of African Descent
Diocese of San Bernardino

David C. Okonkwo is the first and current director for the ministry office for Catholics of African descent in the Diocese of San Bernardino for the past six years. He holds an MBA from the University of Redlands in California. He was among the group of four to bring Building Intercultural Competence for Ministers (BICM) to the Diocese and has worked with the group to continue the buildup. He collaborates with different communities’ leaders in providing solutions and is a resource for the diocese and communities. A longtime faith formation participant and a community dialogue forums host, Mr. Okonkwo was born and raised in Nigeria and immigrated to United States. He joined the United States Marine Corps and participated in Operation Desert Storm before moving on.

Dr. Jeanne Ortiz
Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs
Loyola Marymount University

Dr. Jeanne Ortiz is Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs at Loyola Marymount University. Previously, she spent eight years as Vice President and Dean of Students at Whittier College in Southern California.

Dr. Ortiz started her career in the field of higher education in 1979 as a member of the faculty at the State University College at Buffalo, where she earned her PhD in Educational Administration, Organization and Policy.

She also holds a master’s degree in Urban Planning and Human Environment and Design from Michigan State University.

Marjean Perhot
Director of Refugee and Immigration Services
Catholic Charities of Boston

Marjean Perhot has more than 20 years of professional experience in working with immigrants and refugees in Boston and Cleveland. She is responsible for community interpreter services, a social enterprise, immigration legal services and refugee resettlement in her role as division director for Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston. Ms. Perhot provides education and outreach throughout Massachusetts and at national conferences, as well as media interviews on refugee and immigrant issues. She currently serves as a member of the Immigrant and Refugee Resource Section steering committee for Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) and is a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Advisory Council on Refugees and Immigrants.

Thomas Poon
Executive Vice President and Provost
Loyola Marymount University

Thomas Poon, PhD, became executive vice president and provost on June 1, 2017, and leads the university’s Academic Affairs and Student Affairs divisions, including overseeing the university’s educational, scholarly, creative activities, student development, athletics, and enrollment management areas. He is also a tenured professor of chemistry. He has written numerous peer-reviewed articles, including many with undergraduate co-authors. Mr. Poon has contributed chapters and co-authored books on pedagogy and chemistry, and he is currently working on a book titled Changing Your Narrative to Tell Your First-Generation Success Story. He has received multiple grants from the National Science Foundation to investigate topics ranging from his S-STEM work in the molecular sciences, the acquisition of a nuclear magnetic resonance instrument to support teaching and research, and other projects aimed at integrating the sciences into curricula.

Ignacia Rodriguez
Immigration Policy Advocate
National Immigration Law Center

Ignacia Rodriguez conducts legal research as well as legislative and administrative advocacy focusing on immigration executive actions and congressional action on immigration. She also engages in litigation, policy analysis, education, and advocacy to support the integration of low-income immigrant youth and children through access to education. Ms. Rodriguez’s experience as an activist in the immigrants’ rights movement and as an undocumented student from Chile has led to her devotion to improving the lives of low-income immigrants. While at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, she worked with the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), and Public Counsel. She holds an AA from Santa Monica College, a BA from UCLA, and a JD from the UCLA School of Law.

Elena Segura
Associate Director and Senior Immigration Coordinator, Office for Human Dignity & Solidarity
Archdiocese of Chicago

Elena Segura leads the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Immigration Ministry that serves the 344 local parishes (including 120 Hispanic and 40 Polish), since the 2005 inception of the Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform in response to the call of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). She facilitated formation of pioneering networks such as the Priests for Justice for Immigrants (over 200 priests), Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants (59 religious orders), and Immigration Parish Coordinators (127 non-immigrant parishes).

Responding to the needs of the immigrant community, Ms. Segura developed Pastoral Migratoria in 2008, which is a parish-based immigrant social ministry of service and justice actions that is based in the methodology of Aparecida (see-judge-act), whose chief architect was Pope Francis as the Cardinal of Buenos Aires. A national pilot of Pastoral Migratoria is underway starting in the Diocese of Stockton, California. Ms. Segura began her career organizing grassroots responses to problems facing her community in her native Peru.

Dr. Timothy Snyder
President
Loyola Marymount University

‌Timothy Law Snyder was named the 16th president of Loyola Marymount University in March 2015 and assumed his responsibilities on June 1, 2015. President Snyder’s career has been devoted to the Jesuit and Marymount tradition of education of the whole person, encouragement of learning, and the service of faith and promotion of justice. He has been a professor and administrator for more than 20 years at Jesuit institutions, most recently as vice president for academic affairs at Loyola University Maryland from 2007-14. He was also dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Fairfield University from 2001-07, and dean of science at Georgetown University from 1995-99.

President Snyder has published and presented widely on his research interests, including computational mathematics, data structures, design and analysis of algorithms, geometric probability, digital processing and computer music. Recently, he has been working on risk assessment, with applications in commercial air travel, HIV and other areas. He has spoken nationwide about the Millennial Generation and ways to educate them. He has practiced “technogogy” for more than 20 years and created LCAST, a series of podcasts aimed at helping students. The podcasts also feature original music he has written, arranged, recorded, produced, mixed, and mastered; his music can also be found on iTunes. He earned his M.A. and his PhD in applied and computational mathematics from Princeton University. He holds a B.A. in psychology and a BS in mathematics, and an MS in mathematics from the University of Toledo.

Most Reverend Jaime Soto
Bishop of Sacramento

Bishop Jaime Soto was born in Inglewood, California. Bishop Soto graduated from Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana in 1974 and he entered St. John’s Seminary College in Camarillo. There, Bishop Soto obtained his bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1978 and his Master of Divinity in 1982.

Bishop Soto was ordained to the priesthood on June 12, 1982. He first served as Associate Pasto of St. Joseph Church in Santa Ana, until July 1984. Bishop Soto completed additional studies at Columbia University School of Social Work in New York City, graduating in May 1986 with a Master in Social Work. He was named Associate Director of Catholic Charities of Orange in July of 1986. He was appointed as Director of the Immigration and Citizenship Services within Catholic Charities in December of 1986. He was also involved with the implementation of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

In 1989, he was appointed Episcopal Vicar for the Hispanic Community in Orange and was named a Prelate of Honor by His Holiness in 1990. Bishop Soto was named Auxiliary Bishop of Orange in March of 2000 and was named Coadjutor Bishop of Sacramento in October 2007. He was then named the 9th Bishop of Sacramento on November 29, 2009.

Roberto Suro
Professor of Journalism, The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the School of Policy Planning and Development
Director, Tomás Rivera Policy Institute
University of Southern California

Roberto Suro holds a joint appointment as a professor in the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the School of Policy, Planning and Development at the University of Southern California (USC). He is also director of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute, an interdisciplinary university research center exploring the challenges and opportunities of demographic diversity in the 21st century global city. Professor Suro’s latest book is Writing Immigration: Scholars and Journalists in Dialogue (University of California Press, 2011), co-edited with Marcelo Suarez-Orozco and Vivian Louie.

Professor Suro also holds two major service positions outside the university: as a member of the board of directors of Independent Sector, the nation’s largest association of philanthropies and charities, and as a trustee of the Haynes Foundation, a leading supporter of social science research in Los Angeles. Prior to joining the USC faculty in August 2007, he was director of the Pew Hispanic Center, a research organization in Washington DC that he founded in 2001, and in 2004, was part of the management team that launched the Pew Research Center.

Professor Suro is author of Strangers Among Us: Latino Lives in a Changing America (Vintage, 1999), Watching America’s Door: The Immigration Backlash and the New Policy Debate (Twentieth Century Fund, 1996), and Remembering the American Dream: Hispanic Immigration and National Policy (Twentieth Century Fund, 1994) as well as more than three dozen book chapters, reports, and other publications related to Latinos and immigration.

Deacon Guillermo Torres
Director of Hispanic Ministry
Diocese of Orange

Profile not available

Joseph B. Womac
President
Specialty Family Foundation

Joseph Womac joined the Specialty Family Foundation in Santa Monica, California in 2013 as executive director, bringing with him extensive experience in education and charitable leadership. Previously, he served as executive director of the Fulcrum Foundation from 2004 to 2013, which raised more than $65 million in strategic support for 73 Catholic schools in the Seattle area. While at the Fulcrum Foundation, Mr. Womac led an effort that paid for more than 12,000 low-income students to attend inner-city and rural Catholic schools, and he implemented innovative programs that led to some inner-city school enrollments doubling in less than a year. During his time at Fulcrum, not a single Catholic school closed in Seattle, and five Catholic schools opened. In recognition of these counter-trend results, the White House honored Mr. Womac in 2012 as one of nine national “Champions of Change” in Catholic Education. Mr. Womac is also the recipient of the University of Notre Dame’s Michael Pressley Award for Excellence in Catholic education, and the National Catholic Educational Association’s (NCEA) Presidential Award. Prior to joining Fulcrum, Mr. Womac was both a teacher and a student in Catholic schools.

Patricia Zapor
Communications Director
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.

Patricia Zapor is Communications Director for the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC). There she supervises media relations and all external communications of the nation’s largest network of nonprofit immigration services agencies. For nearly 25 years, she was a reporter for Catholic News Service in Washington, DC, specializing in federal government, including the Supreme Court, the White House, and Congress. Areas of her particular reporting interest included immigration and border issues, multiculturalism in society and the Catholic Church, Latin America, and US aid in developing countries.

Ms. Zapor was a recipient of the Eileen Egan Award for Journalistic Excellence from Catholic Relief Services in 2011 and 2005. She also has received numerous awards from the Catholic Press Association, including the 2011 first prize for national reporting. Ms. Zapor also has received writing awards from the Newspaper Guild, the New England Newspaper Association, and the Arizona Press Club. Articles for publications include St. Anthony Messenger, and The Anthonian. She is a graduate of the University of Arizona, with a BA in Journalism.

Planning Committee

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

Kathleen Ash
Executive Director
Catholic Education Foundation of Los Angeles

Jeanne M. Atkinson
Executive Director
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)

William Canny
Executive Director, Migration and Refugee Services
US Conference of Catholic Bishops

Sean Carroll
Executive Director
Kino Border Initiative

Arturo Chavez
President and CEO
Mexican American Catholic College

Dylan Corbett
Executive Director
Hope Border Institute

Isaac Cuevas
Associate Director, Immigration Affairs, Office of Government and Community Relations
Archdiocese of Los Angeles, CA

Kathleen A. Curran
Senior Director, Public Policy
Catholic Health Association of the United States

Fr. Allan Deck
Rector of the Jesuit Community; Distinguished Scholar of Theology and Latino Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Sr. RayMonda DuVall
Former Executive Director
Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego, CA

Brett Hoover
Assistant Professor and Graduate Director of Theological Studies
Loyola Marymount University

Sr. Mary Anne Huepper
CSJ Center for Reconciliation and Justice
Loyola Marymount University
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange

Robert Hurteau
Director of the Center for Religion and Spirituality
Loyola Marymount University

Abraham Joven
Director, Advocacy and Justice for Immigrants
Diocese of San Bernardino, CA

Donald Kerwin
Executive Director
Center for Migration Studies

Fr. Patrick Murphy
Director
Centro Scalabrini – Casa del Migrante Tijuana

Melissa Pagán
Assistant Professor, Graduate Program Director, Religious Studies, Religious Studies
Mount Saint Mary’s University

Marjean Perhot
Director, Refugee and Immigration Services
Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Boston

Elena Segura
Director, Office for Immigrant Affairs and Immigration Education
Archdiocese of Chicago, IL

Roberto Suro
Professor of Journalism at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the School of Policy, Planning and Development and Director of the Tomás Rivera Policy Institute
University of Southern California

Greg Walgenbach
Director, Life, Justice and Peace
Diocese of Orange, CA

Patricia Zapor
Director of Communications
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)