Updated
kac November 30, 2007
Speaker and Performer Biographies
A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W
Alejandro Aguilera-Titus is the interim executive director of the Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs of the USCCB. He has more than twenty-four years of experience in ministry with a strong emphasis on leadership development and formation, and ministry with young people. Alejandro is a nationally known speaker and writer highly regarded for his practical application of theological thought to pastoral ministry and formation. He is a board member of the National Catholic Network for Hispanic Youth and Young Adult Ministry and the National Association of Catechists Working with Hispanics. He shares an intercultural family with his wife, María, and their three children.
John Angotti’s music touches the spirits and lives of all people, no matter their age. An accomplished and superb pianist, he has worked in church music ministry as director of children’s, young adult, adult, and contemporary music choirs. He presents workshops on many topics as well as dynamic, spirit-filled concerts, retreats, and parish missions. In 2006, John became a full-time music missionary, traveling throughout the United States and abroad with his musical message of faith and hope. He is currently artist-in-residence at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Naperville, Illinois. Visit www.johnangotti.com for more information.
APeX Ministries is a nationally known comedy duo based out of Baltimore and outside Denver. They travel North America using a style they define as Christian Vaudeville. This includes death defying juggling, sketch comedy, and personal testimony. In other words, they are evangelists, they throw things at each other, and they are funny. Gene hopes one day to compete in the Olympics as a solo synchronized swimmer. Brad is very strong! To contact APeX, e-mail APeX@APeXMinistries.com or visit www.apexministries.com.
Lisa Ferlita Bagladi’s professional ministry in arts and spirituality combines dance and music as a pathway and practice for embodied transcendent prayer. Her workshops and classes teach mental, physical, and spiritual methods for people of all levels to incorporate prayer, meditation, and contemplation into a regular health-fitness routine. Lisa’s background includes dancing and teaching professionally for twenty years in the Chicago area and playing and studying flute since the age of nine. She serves as the public relations manager at World Library Publications and resides in Barrington, with her husband, Tony, and their four daughters.
Sarah Bauer, with her musically charged voice of faith, has become one of the elite Catholic/Christian recording artists of our generation. With her third release, Radiance, Sarah has inspired the journey for listeners of all ages through her pop/rock-induced recordings and live performances. In addition to writing the 2007 Steubenville Youth Conference theme song All Access and creating some awesome videos on vocations, she has performed at World Youth Day and past National Catholic Youth Conferences. Sarah travels nationwide with her band to minister through music. Check out her website and cool videos at www.sarahbauer.com.
John Beaulieu has been involved with ministry since 1983. He has traveled with NET ministries, served as a parish youth minister for thirteen years, was involved with caring for teens in the wake of the Columbine tragedy, and now serves as the director of youth outreach for Franciscan University, guiding seventeen youth conferences serving more than 38,000 teens each year. He spreads the good news using a blend of off-the-wall humor and hard-hitting truth, delivering his message across the United States and Canada with passion and clarity. John and his beautiful wife of seventeen years, Lisa, are blessed with four children: Andrew, Madeleine, Catherine, and JohnPaul.
Josh Blakesley has dedicated himself to making quality contemporary Catholic music. He has led music for more than ten years at various Steubenville Youth Conferences throughout the United States and worked as a musician with the Catholic Heart Work Camps and the Life Teen Camps. He has released two solo albums, Immersed (2003) and Waiting (2006). In addition to composing and recording music, Josh serves as young adult coordinator and assistant music director at Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic Church in Alexandria, Louisiana. He travels many weekends to other parishes throughout the United States doing concerts, conducting workshops for musicians, speaking at youth rallies and conferences, and leading praise and worship. For more information, visit www.spiritandsong.com.
Doug Brummel has earned the respect of leaders across the country as one of the most effective intergenerational Catholic communicators in the church today. His Lighten Up! Whole-Community Celebrations have been welcomed at more than 700 parishes across the country as well as at numerous conferences such as NCYC! His love for the church’s young and old alike echo through his original “cast of characters.” Doug’s transformation into his characters have mesmerized all generations drawing them closer to the light of Christ! For more information, visit www.dougbrummel.com.
Tom Buckley worked on stage for concerts, theatre, television, and films for almost twenty years. What should have been a wildly successful life, turned into a journey through hell!!! Having lost almost everything, including his life, Tom finally turned to God and asked for help. He has been given the gift of life that was always there for him.
Nick Cardilino is a campus minister by day at the University of Dayton working primarily in the area of service and social justice, but at night he becomes a singer-songwriter. His third CD, Discover the Way, features two versions of the 2007 NCYC theme song that he cowrote with David Smith, who also produced most of the tracks on the album. Nick and his wife, Anne Marie, have been blessed with three great kids: Christopher, Mary Joy, and Anne Marie.
Ceili Rain is a “downpour of heavenly partiness!!” Pop-rock music with an Irish flavor, it has a subtle but sincere spiritual message with inclusive and inviting lyrics. The band, complete with guitars, drums, accordion, bagpipes, and whistles, is led by front man/songwriter Bob Halligan Jr., more than two hundred of whose songs have been recorded by well-known Christian and secular artists and sold more than thirty million units. CR has won seven Unity Awards and made the Top 20 Countdown on K-LOVE Radio. Billboard Magazine describes Ceili Rain as “Music that makes your feet want to dance and your soul soar!” For more information, visit www.ceilirain.com.
Jim Chesnes, M.S., LMHC, has been in full-time professional youth ministry since 1985. Since 1992 Jim has been the youth minister and confirmation coordinator at St. Paul of the Cross Church in North Palm Beach, Florida. For the past ten years Jim has also practiced as a licensed mental health counselor specializing in adolescents and their families. Jim lives in Jupiter, Florida, with his wife, Laura, and children, Mary and Max.
Most Reverend Matthew Clark is a native of Waterford, New York. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1962 and installed as the eighth bishop of Rochester in 1979 where he continues to serve today. He is currently a member of the USCCB Committees on Women in Society and in the Church, and Vocations and Priestly Formation. He also serves on the Episcopal Advisory Council for Region II of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains. Bishop Clark is a former episcopal liaison for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry.
Terry Clark has been involved with youth ministry for the last twelve years. He has been serving the Diocese of Des Moines at the St. Thomas More Center for the last three years as the program coordinator. Terry uses a blend of humor and storytelling to spread the Gospel message. He and his wife, Jana, live in Panora, Iowa, with their sons, Theo, David, and John Henry. They are expecting their fourth child in January.
Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley was ordained to the priesthood in 1983 for the Diocese of Wichita, where he served for twenty-one years before his ordination and installation as Bishop of Salina in 2004. He has a bachelor of arts in English and classical antiquities from the University of Kansas and a master’s of theology and master’s of divinity from Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. He also holds an STL from Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in Christian spirituality. Bishop Coakley enjoys literature and the outdoors, especially running, hiking, and bicycling.
Fr. Michael Depcik, OSFS, was born in Chicago, but lived in Michigan so long he calls it his second home. He is one of the few deaf priests worldwide and uses American Sign Language as his preferred language. Fr. MD, as he is known, is a member of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales and was ordained a priest in 2000. He currently ministers to deaf Catholics in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Previously, he served the Diocese of Lansing as chaplain for the deaf for five years and as summer program director at De Sales Center for Holley Ear Institute in Brooklyn, Michigan, where programs focused on families with deaf children or deaf parents. There he initiated the Catholic Youth Leadership Week for deaf students ages 12-18. Fr. Depcik has a master’s degree in mental health counseling for the deaf.
Chris de Silva is originally from Singapore and presently lives in Los Angeles. He is the director of music ministry at St. Brendan Catholic Church and School. Chris studied composition and film scoring at the University of Southern California under Morten Lauridsen, Donald Crockett, and Christopher Young. He performed at World Youth Day in Denver and has ministered at Los Angeles Archdiocesan events and USCCB conferences. He has played in concerts and liturgies at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress in Anaheim, California. Chris released his first CD, One Love/One Song, with GIA Publications, Inc. in February 2007.
Jamie Dillon left a promising career in health care to be a youth minister and has never looked back. After being a parish musician since grade school, her music and ministry have come together to create a blend of story and song that is inspiring, entertaining, and easily works its way into the heart. This is Jamie’s seventh NFCYM conference appearance and she was the only American woman to perform and lead catechetical sessions at World Youth Day XX. Jamie has a master’s of science in community health administration and wellness promotion and a master’s of arts in religious education. She is a happily married mother of two children.
Sister Charlene Diorka, SSJ, is the associate director of the National Religious Vocation Conference. She served for six years as vocation director for the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. She is also a member of the Initial Formation Committee for the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Prior to vocation ministry, Sister Charlene was a secondary school teacher. She holds a master’s degree in theology from St. Michael’s College in Vermont and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia.
Patrick Donovan serves as the executive director for the Diocese of Wilmington’s Office for Catholic Youth Ministry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and an MA in theology from the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. Previously, Patrick served as a parish youth minister and theology instructor in the Diocese of Knoxville. He is the co-author of Reaching Teens through Film, Volumes 9, 10, and 11, and is a regular contributor to Youth Ministry Access, an online ministry service of the Center for Ministry Development. Patrick is married with two children and a third expected to arrive moments after this conference ends.
Kevin Driscoll is the coordinator of the Diocese of Gary Office for Youth and Young Adults. He has more than ten years of professional youth ministry experience at both the parish and diocesan levels, and is the chair of the Membership Management Committee for the NFCYM. He is in the master’s in pastoral studies program at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Kevin and his family reside in Cedar Lake, Indiana.
Tom East is the director of the Center for Ministry Development, project coordinator for Youth Ministry Services, and coordinator of the Certificate Program in Youth Ministry Studies. He served as author and general editor for Call to Faith: A Thematic Approach to Young Adolescent Catechesis (Harcourt Religion Publishers, 2007). Tom is the author of Effective Practices for Dynamic Youth Ministry (Saint Mary’s Press, 2004) and other titles on topics of leadership and prayer and worship.
Ann Marie Eckert is a member of the Center for Ministry Development’s Youth Ministry team, serving as program director for YouthLeader, a five-day youth leadership program that trains more than eight hundred young people a year for leadership in their parishes, schools, and communities. Ann Marie has served as a parish and diocesan coordinator of youth ministry and spearheaded an Environmental Justice Initiative for the NFCYM in years past.
Marissa Esparza is the director of the Office for Youth Ministry in the Diocese of San Diego. She currently serves on the board of directors for La Red (National Network for Pastoral Juvenil Leaders). Marissa is bilingual and has the ability to provide leadership training in English and Spanish on Catholic youth ministry, specially addressing the challenges of ministering in a multicultural church. Her passion for this area of ministry comes from her own personal experience growing up in San Diego and helping to build bridges and overcome language barriers within the church. She continues to present in English and Spanish to adults and youth around the country.
Most Reverend Felipe de Jesús Estévez was ordained as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Miami in 2004. Fluent in English, Spanish, French, and Italian, he earned his doctorate in sacred theology (STD) from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, in 1980. He currently oversees the Archdiocese of Miami’s Ministry of Pastoral Services/Lay Apostolate, as well as, all the apostolic movements and lay associations. In addition, he serves on the Subcommittee for Youth and Young Adults of the USCCB.
Jason and Crystalina Evert married in June 2003 after a year of engagement and several years as speaking partners. Jason holds a master’s in theology and undergraduate degrees in counseling and theology with a minor in philosophy from Franciscan University of Steubenville. He is the author of several books. Crystalina received her training as a chastity speaker from the Challenge Task Force on Chastity. Together they speak to more than 100,000 teens each year in Catholic, Christian, and public high schools around the country. Both Jason and Crystalina are full-time apologists with Catholic Answers, the nation’s largest lay-run apostolate for apologetics and evangelization.
Tammy Evevard spends whatever time she is not shopping for shoes traveling the country sharing the amazing truth of how much our God loves us! She is known to be a dynamic, passionate speaker who captures audiences with her enthusiastic style and storytelling. She was a keynoter at the 2005 NCYC in Atlanta and is a past member of National Evangelization Team and Reach Youth Ministry Team, both traveling retreat teams. Tammy lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her husband, Mark, and their three children.
Joia Farmer is a singer, songwriter, speaker, mother, and wife hailing from the wild west of Colorado. Her newest CD, Before & Afterlife, combines energy and soul and reflects her personal journey. Joia uses her music and witness as a medium to inflame others with the joy and peace she has found in Christ and hopes it does just that! She has shared stages with Jesse Manibusan, Steve Angrisano, and Matt Maher as well as singing and dancing her way across the country. She is also mother to three awesome kids, Jack, Ava, and Caedmon, and proud wife of Brad Farmer of APeX Ministries. For more information, visit www.joiafarmer.com.
Friends of Jesus is a multicultural band from San Jose, California. They have been raising the roof on youth events in California and at the national level for many years. Their high energy and upbeat music has kept teens and people of all ages jumping, dancing, and singing for the Lord. The Friends of Jesus Band is a must for every youth event. For more information, visit www.fojministries.com.
Carole Goodwin, D.Min., director of youth ministry for the Archdiocese of Louisville, has extensive experience with adolescents and young adults in school, parish, diocesan, and university settings. She is a popular national speaker on adolescent issues at training workshops for catechists and young ministers. She is the author of several books including, Quicksilvers: Ministering with Junior High Youth (Twenty-Third Publications), and Senior Year: Last Things and Lasting Things, Life-giving Relationships, and Family Ideas for Ministry with Young Teens (Saint Mary’s Press). Carole also serves as the chairperson of the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry’s Board of Directors.
Mark Hart, affectionately known as the Bible Geek®, serves as executive vice president for Life Teen International. A graduate from the University of Notre Dame, Mark is a popular speaker, best-selling author, and weekly regular on Catholic video and radio programs. His interactive Bible study series, T3, and weekly Life Teen podcasts are helping hundreds of thousands of Catholics explore Scripture in a new way. Mark currently lives in Phoenix with his pregnant wife, Melanie, and their daughters, Hope and Trinity.
Sarah Hart’s music is simultaneously life affirming and thought provoking, a rare and welcome combination. Sarah’s lyrics explore what really matters. Her passion for her Catholic faith and her love for the people of the Catholic Church is evident in her ministry. Her travels as a speaker and musician have taken her throughout the United States as well as parts of Europe and Asia. Since 1993, she has been performing concerts and keynotes for youth and women’s events, churches and colleges, and folk and Christian music festivals. She is an artist and songwriter for OCP/Spirit and Song. Sarah lives in Nashville, with her husband, Kevin, and their wonderfully exhausting young daughters, Addie and Evie. For more information, visit www.sarahhartmusic.com, www.spiritandsong.com, or www.myspace.com/sarahhartmusic.
Pam Heil is a nationally certified youth minister currently serving as youth and young adult minister for St. Brigid of Kildare, in Dublin, Ohio. She has previously served as a teacher, coach, and campus minister of a coed high school. This motivational speaker loves teens and believes in them. Her ministry inspires them to have a healthy respect for self and others, moving them to an understanding of love which will lead to inner peace and healthy relationships. Find out more at www.pamheil.com.
Bridget Holmes is the pastoral counselor and youth minister at the Church of St. Martha in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. She has a master’s degree from the University of San Diego, and is a licensed associate counselor. Bridget also volunteers with Project P.A.C.K.M.A.N. (Police and Community Kids Music Against Narcotics), a rock band and anti-drug group for teens.
Grupo Huellas was established in Orlando in 1989 to support the mission of the Hispanic youth ministry programming. The members of the group are young people who write and produce their own music and are leaders and mentors in their communities. The mission of the group is to merge various Latin rhythms and incorporate Christian contemporary sounds while sharing the message of evangelization, love, and the Word of God through music. The group has traveled extensively and has recorded two CDs, the most recent being Siguiendo El Camino. The group includes: Rey Malavé, Emmanbel Malavé, Victor Alicea, Juan Vega, Mercedes Vega, Melinna Ramírez, Rey J. Malavé, Luis Malavé, Hector Montes, and Agustin Perez.
Most Reverend Sam G. Jacobs was installed as Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux in 2003 after serving fourteen years as bishop for the Diocese of Alexandria. Bishop Jacobs was born in Greenwood, Mississippi, and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in philosophy and a graduate degree in education/administration from The Catholic University of America. He has served on numerous committees for the USCCB and is currently chairman of the Committee on Evangelization.
ValLimar Jansen is a highly regarded singer, cantor, storyteller, and concert and recording artist. She is also a college professor, leader of worship and prayer, and workshop presenter at conferences in the United States, Japan, Israel, Italy, France, the U.K., Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, and Jamaica. She has collaborated or performed with some of the best-known songwriters and musicians in contemporary Catholic music, including: John Angotti, Steve Angrisano, Sarah Hart, Matt Maher, Jesse Manibusan, Danielle Rose, and many others. With her husband, Frank, ValLimar recently returned from Italy, where they performed at papal youth events. They have new CDs, DVDs, and an upcoming book.
JC’s Posse is a Catholic youth entertainment ministry that has been around since 1994! Based out of Wyoming, they have been serving the young people of the Rocky Mountain region with their unique approach to ministry. They use improvisation, music, comedy, dramatic skits, and personal testimonial to connect with their audience. For more information, visit www.jcsposse.com.
Father James W. Kiernan began as an Iowa farm boy. He taught in Catholic high schools and was pastor in many parishes throughout his priesthood. As a high school teacher, he says his priorities “were Christ, kids, and cars—and seeking to keep them in that order.”
DJ Bill Lage is a Catholic Christian entertainer who has traveled the country for the past thirteen years energizing and connecting with both the young and the young-at-heart, spreading the news that yes, living a life for God can be fulfilling, challenging, and most definitely fun! At the NCCYM in Las Vegas, thousands of youth ministers from across the nation experienced the “Catholic Dance” with DJ Bill. Now it’s time to bring the Catholic Dance to the youth at NCYC 2007! Please contact DJ Bill Lage today to bring him and the Catholic Dance to your diocese! Visit www.CatholicDance.com or call 888-4-DJBILL.
Sean Lansing is the project coordinator of the Young Neighbors in Action program, a weeklong service learning experience that gathers more than two thousand young people in 17 locations across the United States and Mexico to serve the poor and learn about how to live lives of justice. Prior to working for the Center for Ministry Development, Sean was director of youth ministry for the Central City Catholic Parishes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Matt Maher has become one of the most popular and critically-acclaimed Catholic artists in the country. Since his debut CD, The End and the Beginning, Matt’s rise has been remarkable. His songs have been sung at World Youth Day and appeared on a Grammy-nominated album. He received the 2003 Unity Award for Best New Artist of the Year. His music has received glowing reviews from major Catholic and Christian music publications. With the release of Welcome to Life in 2003 and Overflow in February 2006, Matt continues to explore the wonders and challenges of this life that God calls us to live. For more information, visit www.mattmahermusic.com.
Reinardo Malavé is currently the coordinator of Hispanic youth and young adult ministry in the Diocese of Orlando. He has been involved in the ministry for more than twenty-eight years. Rey has provided youth ministry leadership training courses for both Hispanics and non-Hispanics at various levels in the diocese as well as in the southeast region of the United States. He served as the president of the National Catholic Network de Pastoral Juvenil Hispana (La Red) from 1999 to 2005, as well as the national chair for the First National Encuentro for Hispanic Youth and Young Adults. In 2006, Rey received the Archbishop Flores Medal award from the USCCB Bishops’ Committee for Hispanic Affairs, for his distinguished work throughout the years and the National Youth Ministry Award for Multicultural Gifts given by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry.
Brother Robert Malusa, SDB, made his first profession of vows in the Salesian Congregation at Mary Help of Christians Church in New York City in 2004. He is studying at Seton Hall University and resides in Orange, New Jersey.
Jesse Manibusan, Catholic ninja, extreme evangelizer, and undercover catechist has more than twenty years of experience in youth ministry and music ministry. He is a blend of musical mojo from the Beatles to Eminem to Cotton Eye Joe to Ozzy; has the storytelling finesse of Barney meets Jack Black; and the graceful movements of Gregory Hines meets Shakira. Jesse covers the United States, Canada, Europe, and parts of the Pacific Rim bringing a contagious love and passion for Christ and the mission of the church. Jesse holds a master’s of arts in multicultural ministries from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California, and is published by Oregon Catholic Press. He and his family live in Grapevine, Texas. Visit www.jessemanibusan.com for more information.
Judy McDonald, based in San Diego, has been a natural comedian all her life. An alumnus of University of San Diego, she has been performing standup comedy for thirteen years. She performs at corporate and private events, universities, and is a regular at the La Jolla Comedy Store in San Diego. For the past four years Judy has been touring the world bringing her Catholic comedy to parishes, conferences, and even American military bases. She is a featured writer and contributor to www.lifeteen.com and www.spiritandsong.com. Judy also shares her own unique perspective on life on her website, www.judymcdonald.net, with hilarious blogging, photographs, and occasional video to the amusement and entertainment of those who know how to surf the Internet.
Brother Mickey O’Neill McGrath, Oblate of St. Francis de Sales, paints pictures and tells stories. In between the occasional layovers in his studio, he keeps himself busy as a speaker and retreat director for audiences around the United States. His work and ministry have been featured in St. Anthony Messenger, USA Today, and Catholic newspapers around the country. He has released several books, including his first children’s book, Jesus A to Z (World Library Publications, 2007), a delightfully rich and colorful ABC book for young Catholics. Brother Mickey’s work is available through World Library Publications and his own website, www.beestill.com.
Paul Melley is a talented singer, saxophonist, and composer. He currently serves as director of liturgical music and assistant chaplain at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where he ministers as director of the chapel choir as well as the contemporary ensemble, and oversees music used in liturgy and worship at the college. Paul has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, and is featured
on a number of recordings from GIA Publications, Inc., and Oregon Catholic Press. He had the great honor of singing his own composition at the Vigil Liturgy attended by Pope John Paul II in Toronto, Canada, for World Youth Day 2002 for an audience of more than half a million people.
Frank Mercadante is the founder and executive director of Cultivation Ministries. He has presented in more than seventy dioceses internationally. He is the author of several books including Growing Teen Disciples, (Saint Mary’s Press, 2002), and the teen book Positively Dangerous: Live Loud, Be Real, and Change Your World (Saint Mary’s Press, 2003). He is married to Diane and has six children.
Ted Miles is a native of Baltimore and has worked for CRS since July 2005 as the religious education relationship manager and staff member in the agency’s youth strategy program. Prior to joining CRS, he served as a Jesuit volunteer in Belize and Guatemala, a parish youth minister for seven years, a Catholic high school teacher for eight years, and a diocesan youth leader throughout this time. Ted has created an urban immersion experience called Justice Action Week for high school youth, and continues to serve as the project director. The Archdiocese of Baltimore recently awarded him their highest honor in youth ministry, the Cardinal Sheehan Award, for his commitment to young people.
Greg “Dobie” Moser is the executive director of the National Center for Catholic Youth Sports (NCCYS) and of CYO in Cleveland where more than five thousand coaches and twenty-two thousand youth participate in CYO sports annually. He has trained nationally and internationally and holds a master’s in family systems counseling. He has an extensive background as a coach and trainer of coaches in Catholic and public settings. Dobie is the author of the NCCYS and ASEP Catholic Coaching Essentials program.
Sister Lela Nelson, DC, has a bachelor’s in communication with a minor in psychology. She joined the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul in 2002. Before becoming a Daughter of Charity she served as a campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She currently lives in Chicago where she serves as the curriculum coordinator at the Marillac Social Center, which serves 340 children from the age of fifteen months to fourteen years old.
Vince Nims is celebrating 17 years of full-time parish, diocesan, and national youth ministry. Popularly known as the “Roamin’ Catholic Banana Guy,” he is published by OCP’s spritandsong.com and is a graduate of the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley, California. A six-time NCYC musician, three-time World Youth Day musician, and daddy, he travels the United States and Canada almost every weekend of the year sharing his captivating music style, message delivery, retreat facilitation, and community building. Visit him at Booth #227 or at www.vincenims.com.
Oddwalk Ministries consists of Shannon Cerneka, Orin Johnson, their families, friends, and all of you! It exists to help young and old alike embrace life as eucharistic people through fun, upbeat, and interactive music and witnessing. Oddwalk has performed in front of thousands of teenagers and adults in such venues as NCYC comedy clubs, World Youth Day catechetical sessions, and several diocesan youth rallies and conferences. Recently signed with GIA Publications, they just released Walk Away Different, a CD of music for prayer and liturgy. For more information, visit www.oddwalkministries.com, oddwalk.blogspot.com, or keytarsuperstar.com.
Over the Top Ministries (Justin Russell and Anne Marie Cribbin) uses comedic music and storytelling to provide a laugh-’til-you-hurl look at what it means to be a disciple of Christ. We all need to laugh at ourselves once in a while, because hey, sometimes faith is funny. And God is neat . . . every time. Visit www.getoverthetop.com.
Chris Padgett is a brilliant songwriter, musician, speaker, and worship leader who travels the world giving talks, missions, and concerts. He has six solo albums to his credit, the latest—Impact—recently released by Spirit and Song. One of the most effective champions of family life in the church today, Chris can speak from experience. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for more than 15 years and has eight children. Chris and his wife, Linda, recently published their first book, Not Ready for Marriage, Not Ready for Sex: One Couple’s Return to Chastity, which recounts their journey from courtship to marriage. Chris holds a master’s in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, and has begun doctoral work in Marian studies at the International Marian Research Institute in Dayton, Ohio. You can find out more at www.chrispadgett.org, as well as get his music from iTunes.
Mike Patin lives in Lafayette, Louisiana, with his wife and daughter. He spent six years as a high school teacher and coach, and has worked in youth ministry since 1990. He has been a summer camp counselor as well as an assistant coach for a college basketball team. He now speaks around the country about Catholic faith, positive attitude, using your gifts, and living life fully. Mike enjoys hanging out with his family, including their dog, Pepi, music, sports (his favorite is college basketball), Comedy Central, and that his “job” lets him meet cool people from all over the United States. For more information, visit www.mikepatin.com.
Bob Perron’s message has the humor of a standup comedian and the depth of a theologian. He is a master at capturing students’ attention using hilarious stories to illustrate biblical truth with clarity, authority, and depth. His energy is contagious. He has motivated and inspired thousands of young people and adults across the country. Bob has been involved in ministry since 1984. He is currently the executive director of the St. Thomas More Center and Office of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Des Moines. Bob is a husband and father of five amazing children.
Popple is Kyle Heimann and Dan Harms. Kyle used to be a youth minister on the campus of Purdue University where Dan was a student. The two shared a love for peanut butter, Jesus, and the smell of freshly cut grass. The name Popple came from a campsite on an island in the middle of Lake Michigan where the boys were once chased by man-eating flies after swimming in a lake full of leeches. Indeed, Popple loves speaking and performing at retreats, youth rallies, and conferences. For more information, visit www.popple.us.
Randy Raus is president and chief executive officer for Life Teen. He has been involved in Catholic youth ministry for the past twenty-one years. He has worked on a national level with Life Teen for the past twelve years. Randy travels throughout the world representing Life Teen and training youth leaders, parents, and teens. He has served as national director and as vice president of parish ministries for Life Teen. Randy spends his leisure time at home in Marietta, Georgia, with his wife, Monica, and their eight children.
Righteous B has been terrorizing the rap game since 2000 when he started using hip-hop as a way to evangelize the teens of his urban parish in New York. Since then, he has recorded three traffic stopping albums and toured the country utilizing the rawness and the momentum of hip-hop to preach the Gospel. Says Righteous, “My life is there in the groove. My struggles, my emotions, my passions, and my stupidity are tucked into each rhyme.” A big part of Righteous
B’s ministries is embracing and building up the urban Catholic Church. You can read more about his adventures at www.RighteousB.com.
Jorge Rivera has worked within the Hispanic/Latino community in the Archdiocese of Chicago for many years. Presently, he is coordinator for Hispanic young adult ministry for the archdiocese. His accomplishments include the organization of three archdiocesan Encuentros (gatherings), the Pascua Juvenil, leadership formation retreats, music workshops, and missions for parishes that are in need of beginning pastoral ministry formation with Hispanic young people. Jorge’s most recent recording, Reinventando El Amor (World Library Publications) was released in 2006 and includes riveting Latin rhythms with profound messages of the experience of a migrant Latino community.
Anna Scally is president of Cornerstone Media and a columnist for Cornerstone’s Top Music Countdown. She is host of the audio show, Burning Issues, which deals with relevant youth topics. As an author, her work has appeared in several journals and popular publications. She has made more than two thousand public presentations at youth rallies, training events, retreats, and adult education days. A recipient of the National Youth Ministry Award for Performer/Artist, Anna petitions the “young church” to make a positive difference in their parishes, schools, and in their communities.
David Smith is a full-time producer and owner of Icon Studio based in northern Indiana. Formerly one half of the duo Crossed Hearts on GIA’s Disciple Records, David now devotes his time to helping independent artists raise the bar in their music and production efforts. Recent clients include Sean Clive, Matthew Baute, Popple, Nick Alexander, Joel Stein, Teresa Smith, and Nick Cardilino, the 2007 NCYC theme song cowriter. For more information on Icon Studio, visit www.IconMusicStudio.com.
Sal Solo is MTV meets Jesus! That’s how some might describe what this former British rock star brings to youth rallies all across America and in thirty-six other nations. Stunning videos, power rock and techno beats, action, and interaction, all designed to knock your socks off in the one and only EVANG-A-GANZA! A multimedia feast with Christ at the center: guaranteed unforgettable! For more information, visit www.salsolo.com.
Most Reverend Jaime Soto grew up in southern California. He was ordained a bishop in May, 2000 and celebrated the 25th anniversary of his priesthood ordination in June 2007. For most of his ministry he has served the Latino community in the Diocese of Orange, California. He currently serves on the USCCB Committee for the Laity and is the chair for the Subcommittee on Youth and Young Adults.
Gerard Thomas Straub is a documentary filmmaker and an award-winning author of five books, including the critically acclaimed The Sun and Moon over Assisi. His latest book, Thoughts of a Blind Beggar, will be published by Orbis Books in the fall of 2007. He has written and directed thirteen documentary films, including When Did I See You Hungry?, which was narrated by Martin Sheen, and Rescue Me, featuring a song by U2 and Bono. Gerry, who is a Secular Franciscan, is the founder and president of The San Damiano Foundation, which produces films that celebrate the spirituality of St. Francis of Assisi and the Franciscan concern for the poor, social justice, peace, nonviolence, prayer, and the integrity of creation.
Terri Telepak has worked for the Catholic Church in the field of adolescent development for twenty-eight years. She has a master’s in catechesis, a master’s of divinity, and a pontifical diploma in ministry from the Notre Dame Center for Catechetics and Ministry, granted under the auspices of the Holy See in Rome. She is also a prevention specialist in the areas of drugs and alcohol, violence, and pregnancy. Terri is a national and international speaker and frequent presenter at major Catholic education and ministerial conferences. She presently serves as a trainer for the recently released National Study of Youth and Religion.
Father Anthony Vinson, OSB, is a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in St. Meinrad, Indiana. He joined the monastery in 2001 and was ordained a priest in 2005. He has a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Northwest Missouri State University, a master’s in Catholic thought and life, and a master’s of divinity, both from Saint Meinrad School of Theology. Fr. Anthony is the director of vocational development at Saint Meinrad School of Theology, where he oversees the One Bread, One Cup Youth Liturgical Leadership Program, which offers formation to youth and young adults. He also is director of the Office of Monastery Vocations. Other duties include his work as the archabbey’s beekeeper and as a chaplain for the nearby Sisters of St. Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana. Fr. Anthony also speaks at parishes, high schools, and college campuses on the topic of leadership through faith and values.
Who Do You Say I Am—a six-member, Cleveland-based group—is familiar both as a headliner and backup band at youth rallies, concerts, retreats, and conferences around the country. Bilingual and supremely talented, this group reaches audiences in both English and Spanish. Most of the members have Puerto Rican heritage. Led by Andy Andino, the band includes Wendy Andino, Camille Garcia, Jesse Marquardt, Chris Ballway, and Andy Andino Jr. “The main purpose of this group,” Andy says, “is to spread the Gospel in song, and to spread it in a way that attracts and motivates young people to praise our Lord.” Based on their own stories of personal healing, conversion, and recovery, their music is a “testimony of survival” that offers inspiration and hope to all, confirming that “God is here among us.” When they are not touring, composing, or recording, the band members devote time to various ministries, including visiting local prisons and attending church missions.
Kristin Witte serves as the coordinator of pastoral care for the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Division of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Kristin presently holds three master’s degrees and is currently a student at Catholic University of America where she is pursuing a doctorate in ministry. Kristin and her husband, Andrew, just celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary.
