A Hearth for the Human Family 2024

Tom Masters taught literature, writing, media, and speech for 40 years at the high school and college levels. Since 2005, he has worked as editor at large for Focolare Media and is secretary of its board of directors. He has a BA in English and philosophy from Lewis University, an MA in English literature from DePaul, and a PhD in Language, Literacy, and Rhetoric from the University of Illinois in Chicago. For the Focolare he has written a couple of books, participated in its Abba School, and helped translate Chiara Lubich’s primary texts. For the past twenty years, he has worked to promote ecumenical dialogue as a board member of The Initiative and as a representative for the US Catholic Bishops to Christian Churches Together.  He and Kathleen have been married for 53 years. They have three adult children and five grandchildren.

LINK: https://www.focolaremedia.com
LINK: https://theinitiative.org
LINK: https://www.christianchurchestogether.org/

The Rev. Dr. Karen Petersen Finch is an ecumenical theologian in the Reformed tradition who specializes in dialogue with Roman Catholic theology at the local, national, and international levels.  Karen is Professor of Pastoral Leadership at The Presbyterian College in Montréal, QC, Canada and represents the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in the Reformed-Catholic Dialogue in the United States.
Karen earned her bachelor’s degree at Pomona College in English Literature.  She graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity and was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).  Karen earned her doctoral degree from Gonzaga University with a dissertation recommending the theological method of Bernard Lonergan, S.J. for ecumenical dialogue.  She later studied Lonergan as a Fellow of the Lonergan Institute at Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Karen served as Associate Professor of Theology at Whitworth University in Spokane, Washington for thirteen years.  She is author of numerous articles and book chapters on Reformed theology, Lonergan, ecumenism, dialogue, and servant leadership. Above all, Karen adapts Lonergan’s theological method to local settings to support dialogue between lay people in neighboring churches. Her book, Grassroots Ecumenism: The Way of Local Christian Reunion, was published in 2022 by New City Press.

LINK: https://presbyteriancollege.academia.edu/KarenPetersenFinch

Sherin Salama is a graduate of Cairo University with a BSc in Economics. Since joining the Focolare Movement in 1997, she has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to ecumenical work. As a Coptic Orthodox Christian, she collaborated extensively with Centro Uno, the Secretariat of the Focolare Movement for Christian Unity, providing written and oral contributions to projects, meetings, and ecumenical trips, drawing from her personal ecumenical experiences and insights from the Desert Fathers and their Apophthegmata. Since 2011, Sherin has been an external member of the Abba School – the Focolare Movement’s Center for Theological, Philosophical, and Cultural Studies – focusing on ecumenical initiatives. In June 2022, she participated in the Halki Summit V in Turkey, an event sponsored by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America in collaboration with the Sophia University Institute (Florence, Italy). The summit focused on the inseparable relationship between the sustainability of the planet and the salvation of the world. Sherin has also been active in several inter-church meetings, including a notable gathering in Sigtuna, Sweden, in November 2018, where she shared her experience as a Coptic Orthodox member of a Catholic movement. In Egypt, Sherin played a significant role in promoting ecumenical life. Over her 23-year tenure at Caritas International in Egypt, she contributed to numerous educational, health, and environmental projects, furthering the organization’s mission and impact.

Nathan Smith is the Director of Ecumenism for Glenmary Home Missioners, a Catholic religious society, and a Consultant for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. He has published on the topic of ecumenism through both popular and academic journals and has served on various theological dialogues between Christian communions. Nathan is currently conducting PhD research at Durham University under the supervision of Paul Murray and Greg Ryan on the topic of Receptive Ecumenism. He is married to Emily and they have one son, Henry, and Cecilia arriving in January.

LINK: glenmaryhomemissioners.org 

Originally from Charleston, WV, Doug graduated from Davidson College and Washington & Lee University School of Law. Doug has been an active presence at Georgia Justice Project (GJP) since its beginning in 1986. Starting as a volunteer, then joining as a staff attorney in 1990, then as Executive Director since 1995.

GJP advocates for clients not only by providing holistic criminal defense and social services; but also, by seeking systemic change in Georgia law that will reduce the number of people under correctional control and reduce barriers to reentry. During his time as executive director of GJP, Doug has helped change 23 Georgia laws. Some recent successes include:

• SB 10 – eliminates automatic suspension of driver’s licenses for missing traffic court.
• SB 105 – created early termination of felony probation for Georgians.
• SB 288 – created record clearing for misdemeanor & felony convictions.

Some of Doug and GJP’s awards include:

• Georgia Legislative Black Caucus Heritage Dinner 2022 Awardee,
• Nonprofit Times 2019 Power & Influence Top 50,
• Urban League or Greater Atlanta’s Man of Empowerment & Distinction,
• Davidson’s College’s 2016 Game Changers,
• Emory University’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award,
• Milner S. Ball (UGA Law School) Working In the Public Interest Lifetime Achievement Award,
• Georgia Center for Nonprofits’ Evelyn G. Ullman Innovative Leadership Award,
• Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers Indigent Defense Award,
• Davidson College’s John W. Kuykendall Award for Community Service,
• and Georgia Indigent Defense Council’s Commitment to Excellence Award.

In addition to these recognitions, Doug is also an Omicron Delta Kappa Alumni inductee at Washington & Lee University and an Annie E. Casey Foundation fellow.

LINK: www.GJP.org
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Appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court as Cook County Circuit Judge on December 3, 2021, after nearly twenty years’ service as an Associate Judge, he sits in the Law Division, Commercial Calendar, presiding over motions and trials in business disputes.  For ten years before coming to the Commercial Calendar, he heard personal injury trials. He has presided over nearly four hundred jury trials.  He serves on the faculty of the National Judicial College. He served as the founding board chair of the Illinois Judicial College. Before becoming a judge, he served as an assistant public defender for thirteen years. He has served as President of the Catholic Criminal Justice Reform Network, sponsored by the Lumen Christi Institute, since 2021 conducting dialogues between the system impacted and system responsible in ten cities across the country.
Tom has taught at Loyola Law School since 1987.  He currently teaches Illinois Litigation: Race, Injustice and Poverty. Tom serves on the advisory boards/committees for Loyola’s Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage, the Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture, and St. Gregory’s Hall.  He served as president of the Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago from 2015-16, which had named him the 2014 Catholic Lawyer of the Year; he has served on the Guild’s board since 1988. Married to Anne Wicker, they have four sons and live in Queen of Apostle’s parish where he teaches RCIA.

LINK: https://www.luc.edu/ccih/

Alba is an attorney in private practice in the metropolitan Boston area focusing on the needs of criminal defendants in the appellate arena. Through her person-centered approach, she has collaborated with her clients in a number of other areas of the law to effectuate more wholistic resolutions. She has collaborated with religious and community groups to advocate for reformative systemic change. The transactional section of her practice assists emerging businesses with financing and organizational challenges. She is an adjunct faculty member of the Massachusetts School of Law.

Father Daniel Griffith, a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, was ordained in 2002. Fr. Griffith joined the University of St. Thomas School of Law faculty in 2011 and currently serves as the Wenger Family Faculty Fellow of Law. At St. Thomas Law, Griffith teaches courses in Catholic Thought, Law, and Policy, Jurisprudence, and Restorative Justice, Law, and Healing. Fr. Griffith is the founding director of the Initiative on Restorative Justice and Healing (IRJH) which launched in fall of 2021. Rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition, IRJH seeks to respond to harm that occurs from leadership and institutional failures, racial injustice, and polarization in a way that promotes accountability and healing.
In addition to his work at St. Thomas School of Law, Griffith has served in a variety of assignments in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis since ordination, including as archdiocesan delegate for safe environment in 2013 and 2014. Fr. Griffith was named pastor and rector of The Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis effective July 1, 2022. Fr. Griffith, preaches, teaches, and facilitates restorative practices in response to harm of the three focus areas of IRJH. His work in restorative justice has taken him beyond the Twin Cities where he regularly speaks and facilitates programming.

David Shaheed was a Superior Court Judge in Indiana for over 20 years. For approximately 6 years, Shaheed presided over Criminal Court 14, the Drug Treatment Diversion Court, and the Marion County Reentry Court.  The Indiana Correctional Association chose Shaheed as the 2007 Judge of the Year for his work with ex-offenders and defendants trying to recover from substance abuse. He was also a member of the ABA Commission on Lawyers Assistance Programs (CoLAP) and Chair of the Judicial Assistance Initiative (JAI) for CoLAP.  Shaheed contributed to the National Task Force Report on Attorney Well-Being and was one of the co-authors of Stress and Resiliency in the U.S. Judiciary published in the 2020 Journal of the Professional Lawyer.

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Amy Uelmen is the Director for Mission & Ministry at Georgetown University Law Center, where her scholarship and teaching focus on the intersection between legal theory, religious values and professional life.  From 2001-2011, she served as the founding director of Fordham Law School’s Institute on Religion, Law & Lawyer’s Work.  She holds a B.A., J.D. and S.J.D. (research doctorate) from Georgetown, an M.A. in Theology from Fordham.  Her current seminar, “Religion, Morality & Contested Claims for Justice” aims to help students from diverse religious and political backgrounds develop the communication skills they need to foster understanding across deep differences.  Recent books include “Five Steps to Healing Polarization in the Classroom” (New City Press 2018, with M. Kessler).  She also serves as a Senior Research Fellow at Georgetown’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, and as a member of the Advisory Board for the University of St. Thomas Initiative on Restorative Justice and Healing.  As a longtime member of the Focolare Movement, Amy has been especially active in the Focolare’s projects for inter-religious dialogue  as well as projects for economic justice and to reduce political polarization.

Marcelle Momha is a Tech and International Development Advisor whose career is marked by her dedication to youth empowerment, digital transformation in Africa, and peace. She is currently a candidate for the Mid-Career Master of Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she is a Kistefos African Public Service, Sumner Feldberg, and Edward S. Mason Fellow. She also holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the School of Public Affairs at American University, Washington, DC.
After completing her Master’s degree in Computer Science, Marcelle worked as an independent consultant in IT systems and projects, bringing technical expertise to several local and international projects, including systems automation, software, and website development. Realizing her passion for transformative challenges with positive social impact, she transitioned to technology coaching for startups and collaboration with non-profits and grassroots organizations.
For six years, Marcelle led the design and evaluation of multidisciplinary training programs and policies on peacebuilding, education, and active citizenship across 24 countries in West-Central Africa for a global non-profit. She focused particularly on supporting young women in these training programs.
Her brief experience in the Cameroonian entrepreneurial environment allowed her to observe the stages of innovation and growth in fledgling companies. These enriching experiences reinforced her belief that everyone has a spark of goodness that can be transformed into a blaze, even if it initially appears as mere smoke. Marcelle is unwavering in this belief and in mentoring young adults as they discover what is sometimes a hidden ember that simply needs to be fanned.

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Joseph Vukov is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and the Associate Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage at Loyola University Chicago. He is also an Affiliate Faculty Member in Catholic Studies and Psychology at Loyola and the Vice President of Philosophers in Jesuit Education. Vukov is the author of three books: Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence (2024), The Perils of Perfection: On the Limits and Possibilities of Human Enhancement (2023), and Navigating Faith and Science (2022). His other writing has appeared in venues including The Chicago Tribune, Living City Magazine, Culture and Evangelization, Fox Opinion, Religion News Service, America Magazine, and a variety of academic journals. Vukov also regularly speaks across the country on topics related to artificial intelligence, human enhancement, and issues at the intersection of science and religion. In 2020, he was named a Sujack Master Teacher and in 2019, was awarded the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Freshmen.

Book: Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence

Dana Dillon is a moral theologian who teaches at Providence College, with a joint appointment in Theology and Public and Community Service Studies. Her teaching and research centers around Catholic social ethics, community service and engagement, and racial justice. Advocacy for those living with mental health conditions is one of her passions.

Angelica Kerr is a data reporting analyst for Scientific and Academic Publishing. She is married to John and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She has held various leadership roles in Focolare North America including membership of the team that facilitates Courageous Conversations: Forums for Racial Equity. Most recently she helped form a committee that coordinates programming to address toxic polarization in the lead-up to the 2024 Presidential Election cycle.

LINK: www.racialequity.focolare.us

Ray. is the Program Development Manager at the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy (Washington, DC) where he oversees ICRD’s domestic programs that deal with toxic polarization, rebuilding social cohesion, and information manipulation. He received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University’s Department of Theology and Religious Studies. He is a sociologist of religion specializing in contemporary Islam and Christianity who has years of experience conducting ethnographic fieldwork in Korea tracking developments in the halal market and the spread of Islamophobic discourse throughout the country.

LINK: www.icrd.org

Paul Catipon is the President and CEO of Netpro Communications Inc., a company that embodies the principles of the Economy of Communion (EoC). With extensive experience in integrating EoC values into business practices, Catipon has been a vocal advocate for creating a more equitable economic model that emphasizes community and mutual support.
He is actively involved in the EoC movement, having served as a member of the EoC Commission and participating in various workshops and international forums, including a presentation at the United Nations. His leadership at Netpro has demonstrated how businesses can thrive while prioritizing social responsibility, particularly during challenging economic times. His commitment to promoting a culture of giving and reciprocity continues to inspire others in the pursuit of a more just and inclusive economy.

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Andy grew up on a farm in Nebraska, and teaches business ethics at the business college at Creighton University in Omaha where he has been for almost 20 years.  He and his wife Celeste live in central Omaha with their son Amos and they manage an Economy of Communion (EoC) enterprise that rehabs houses and buildings and then rents them out.  They try to practice gratuity and reciprocity in their day to day business activities.  They have also written about EoC vision and mindset in journals and co-edited a book called Finding Faith in Business: An Economy of Communion Vision (2024).

LINK: https://creighton.academia.edu/AndyGustafson

Celeste Harvey Gustafson is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Nebraska where she teaches courses on ethics, business ethics, living humanly in the face of new technology, and values-based personal finance. Along with Andy Gustafson, she is co-owner of Communion Properties, a property rehab and rental firm dedicated to affordable residential housing. Together, they are the editors of Finding Faith in Business: an Economy of Communion Approach, a collection of essays on Catholic Social Teaching and the Economy of Communion, and parents to Amos who is almost 2. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, restoring pre-1920s double-hung wooden windows, and her book club.

Maddalena Maltese is a New York correspondent for the economics and finance press agency, Radiocor-Il Sole24ore, and is a reporter for several newspapers and magazines in Italy and the USA. Throughout her career, she has covered a wide range of topics including global politics, human rights, migration, culture, and religion. Maddalena was recognized by New York University’s Gallatin School as one of the 50 emerging immigrant writers in 2018 and 2019. She serves as a consultant on Integral Ecology and Circular Economy for the Mario Diana Foundation and handles strategy and vision for Focolare Media US.
Passionate about intercultural and interreligious dialogue, Maddalena is an ambassador for Religions for Peace International and at the UN’s Multifaith Advisory Council, she represents New Humanity, the NGO of the Focolare Movement. She authored “In Dialogue,” the 2022 annual international report of the Focolare Movement, and the book “Unità è il nome della pace: la strategia di Chiara Lubich” (Unity is the Name of Peace: The Strategy of Chiara Lubich) published by Citta Nuova. Additionally, she serves on the jury for the Constructive Information Award, presented annually in Italy during the National Day of Constructive Information.
Maddalena holds an M.A. in Communication and Journalism, an M.A. in Philosophy, and a postgraduate Certificate in Digital-Entrepreneurial Journalism from the Graduate School of Journalism in New York. She earned her B.A. in Communications and Public Relations in her home country of Italy and is currently enhancing her expertise with a Certification in Global Studies at New York University.

LINK: https://www.new-humanity.org/en
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Dr. Jeanine Ntihirageza is the founding director of the Center for Genocide and Human Rights Research in Africa and the Diaspora (GHRAD) and a professor at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), Chicago. She holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of Chicago and her research includes linguistics, language pedagogy, ubuntu and genocide studies, and human rights in Africa. Since 2013, Dr. Ntihirageza has served as Chair of NEIU’s Genocide and Human Rights Research Group, an interdisciplinary research team that hosts an annual symposium on the topic. In addition to refereed journal articles and book chapters, she co-edited and co-authored Critical Perspectives on African Genocide: Memory, Silence, and Anti-Black Political Violence (Rowan and Littlefield International, 2021) and authored a chapter “Repenser pour mieux panser: A survivor’s account of the 1972 Burundi genocide”.   Dr. Ntihirageza has presented about genocide and mass atrocities, both domestically and globally.

LINK: https://www.neiu.edu/academics/our-centers-and-programs/genocide-and-human-rights-research-africa-and-diaspora-ghrad-center

Giovanna Czander is an associate professor of Religious Studies and Humanities at Dominican University New York. She has lectured, taught, and published both in the US and overseas. Her interests span from the Theology of biblical law and prophetic literature to pedagogy and interfaith dialogue. She holds a BA and MA in Philosophy from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy, and an MA, MPhil, and PhD in Theology, with a concentration in Biblical Studies from Fordham University, New York.
Giovanna is scholar-in-residence at Fordham University’s Institute on Religion, Law and Lawyer’s Work. She is a member in the Focolare Movement’s Abba School, an international interdisciplinary study center, and has worked as a translator and live interpreter for the Franciscan Sisters of the Poor and the beatification cause of Vietnamese Card. Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (1998-2002).

Jon M. Sweeney is the editor at Living City magazine, and an award-winning author and independent scholar who has been interviewed by the Dallas Morning News and The Irish Catholic, on radio with NPR and the BBC, and on national television at CBS Saturday Morning. Jon’s books on Franciscan spirituality have sold a quarter million copies. He’s also the author of forty other books on spirituality, mysticism, biography, and memoir including Meister Eckhart’s Book of the Heart, coauthored with Mark S. Burrows; Thomas Merton: An Introduction to His Life and Practices; and Sit in the Sun: And Other Lessons in the Wisdom of Cats. His book, The Pope Who Quit, was optioned by HBO. Jon is also a partner at Monkfish Book Publishing, and book review editor at SpiritualityandPractice.com. He speaks often at literary and religious conferences, and is a Roman Catholic married to a Reconstructionist rabbi. Their interfaith marriage has been profiled in national media. They live on Milwaukee’s east side.

Sakinah Toure is a native of Houston,Texas where she began her education at Sister Clara Muhammad School at the Houston Masjid of Al Islam (Masjid W D Mohammed). She’s the proprietress of two businesses: “A Righteous Cleanse, Excellent Cleaning Services” and “Purple & Red Purses and Scarves Etc.”
She and her husband, Rashid Mateen, share an 18 year old daughter, Layla, who studies Chemical Engineering in Madrid, Spain with Syracuse University.
She has been committed to interfaith work with the Focolare Friends of Muslims since 2002. Since then, Sakinah has frequently attended Focolare conferences and supported their fundraising efforts. In 2018 she joined a delegation that traveled to the Vatican, Rome, Florence, and Tuscany (where she visited Loppiano and Sofia University). The group went to St.Peter’s Square to hear Pope Francis speak.
In June of 2024, Sakinah returned to the Vatican for an audience with Pope Francis where she was able to greet him personally and thank him for his work. After visiting the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi and praying at The Peace Bell, she’s more committed than ever to Interfaith Dialogue.

Rabbi Michal Woll is a 2007 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Raised in a Reform synagogue in Chicago with a dynamic music program, she has been singing in shul since she was eight years old. Prior to joining Shir Hadash in 2017, she served congregations in Vermont and Michigan.
Rabbi Michal is active in the Interfaith Council of Greater Milwaukee and Tikkun Ha-Ir/Repair our City and is affiliated nationally with T’ruah: The Rabbinical Call for Human Rights as well as Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action.
A third career rabbi, she was ordained following decades of work in corporate and clinical medicine. Since ordination, Michal has maintained her interest in medical ethics and end-of-life care. As a rabbi, she integrates her passions for music, movement, learning, self discovery, pastoral care, and community building.
She lives in Milwaukee with her husband, writer and publisher Jon M. Sweeney, and their daughter Sima.

Sean Schiavolin is an Austin-based film director focused on stories exploring cultural environments, human connection, and man’s search for meaning. Sean’s film work has been featured in the New York Times, the Vatican, Film Festivals, and Cultural Events all over the world. His recent work TO MY FATHER — on the compelling relationship between Oscar winner Troy Kotsur and his father — premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and won awards in multiple US and international film festivals.

LINK: https://seanschiavolin.com
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Holly Taylor Coolman is Assistant Professor of Theology at Providence College. She earned her PhD at Duke University, and her areas of specialty include Christian accounts of Judaism, as well as the family, especially adoption.  She and her husband have five children, and she is the grandmother of the smartest and most beautiful toddler in the world.

LINK: https://htctiesthatbind.substack.com

Dr. Jimmy Walters is a thought leader on Faith & Fatherhood. Walters is a published author and nationally recognized speaker, focusing on Catholic Fatherhood, Leadership Formation, Strategic Planning, Human Rights, & Global Citizenship.
Walters serves as the NGO Representative to the United Nations for the Sisters of Charity Federation. Walters represents the Federation in their commitment of charity, justice, and human rights for all.  Prior to this role, he served as the Director of the Catholic Scholars Program at St. John’s University (NY), led in the Unit of Mission, and taught in the School of Education and St. John’s College.  Walters is a leader in the International Vincentian Family.
Walters has published two books (New City Press)- Dreams Come True: Discovering God’s Vision for Your Life and Batter Up: Answering the Call of Faith & Fatherhood. His new book, A Dad is Born: A Week-by-Week Guide Preparing Your Heart, Mind, & Soul for Fatherhood, will be published in early 2025. Walters has also contributed to Living City Magazine, Busted Halo, US Catholic, Fordham Center on Religion and Culture, NY Daily News, among other media outlets.
Walters is married to the love of his life, Suzie, and they have two beautiful girls, Shea (8) and Lily (4). They live on Long Island, New York.

LINK: www.DrJimmyWalters.com
LINK: www.sistersofcharityfederation.org