OUR MISSION:

NCCL Board of Directors

Meet the members of our dedicated leadership team...

Jose Amaya

Jose has worked as a Director of Faith Formation at Archdiocese for the Military Services since 2012. He has served as the Coordinator of Catechist Formation and Hispanic Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Washington; and as a parish director of religious education. Jose was project director for the Archdiocese’s Family Faith Assessment tool which brings catechetical conversations into the home in the form of question-and-answer games that parents can play with their children on laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. Jose has an MDiv from Washington Theological Union.

Kathie Amidei, Ph.D.

Kathie serves as Pastoral Associate at St. Anthony on the Lake Parish in Wisconsin. She was formerly the Associate Director for Catechesis and Child Ministry for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. She has served in a number of parishes as a teacher and a director of religious education. She holds a Doctorate in Education and Leadership. Kathie is a national speaker and author of Forming Families: A Faith Resource on Catholic Identity (OSV, 2019).

Sister Ruth Bolarte IHM, D.Min.

Sister Ruth is a member of the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Immaculata, Pa. A native of Peru, she holds degrees in theology from Immaculata University and St. Charles Seminary in Pennsylvania. She graduated with a doctorate in ministry from the School of Theology and Religious Studies from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She has been involved in parish and diocesan ministry working in areas of adult faith and leadership formation, both national and internationally, within an intercultural context. She is, also, adjunct professor in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Villanova University and Pastoral Consultant for Renew International.

Therese Brown

Therese is the executive director of the Association of Catholic Publishers. Previously, she served as associate director of marketing at USCCB Publishing and associate director at the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry where she directed the National Catholic Youth Conference. During her time at the USCCB, she was project manager for the implementation of the Roman Missal in the U.S. with the Secretariat for Divine Worship and marketing specialist for three key USCCB titles, National Directory for Catechesis, U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, and the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. She is an author of Graced Moments: Prayer Services for the Lives of Teens (World Library Pub.) and catechetical and teaching resources from Saint Mary’s Press. She holds an MBA from Loyola University Maryland and a master’s degree in youth and liturgy from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Milissa Else

Milissa currently works for the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey and serves as Assistant to the Chancellor for Pastoral Projects. Milissa and the Chancellor provide ongoing training and support for pastors, parish staff and Parish Pastoral Councils. Since 2021, their work has focused on the Synod on Synodality. Milissa also serves as a part-time Director of Religious Education in a parish. Previous to her work with the Archdiocese, Milissa spent nearly five years directing adult faith formation and managing small Christian communities. Milissa provided training to small group facilitators in 20 dioceses across the country. Prior to serving directly in parish ministry, Milissa was Vice President for a consulting firm. Through the consulting firm, Milissa served the Catholic Church for nearly 20 years in parishes, dioceses, and religious communities across the country.

Michael Howard

Michael received his M.A. in Church Ministry/Spirituality at St. Mary’s University Seminary, Ecumenical School of Theology, and holds a B.A. in Biblical Studies at Washington Bible College. Presently, he facilitates and teaches online courses for the University of Dayton, McGrath Institute STEP Online program for Notre Dame, and Loyola Marymount University, The Presences Of Black Catholics Today and Tomorrow online courses. He loves the spiritual readings of Henri J. M. Nouwen and the mystic Howard Thurman. He is also the founder of Eat the Scroll Ministry, where he began his search and hunger to read and study God’s Word for faith formation with adults. "Eat the Scroll….It is sweet as honey."

Justin Huyck

Justin is Editor for Pastoral and Parish Resources at Liturgical Press. Previously, he served in parish ministry for 15 years in Ohio, Illinois, New York State, and Ontario (Canada), as well as Director of Department of Communications for the Diocese of Youngstown. His pastoral experience has encompassed liturgy, adult faith formation, youth and young adult ministries, Christian Initiation, and catechesis with children and families. Justin is the author of From Home to Home: Finding in Mobility and Baptism: Alive in Christ (Little Rock Scripture Study and Liturgical Press), and holds a B.A. in Government from Cornell University and an M.A. in Theology and Liturgy from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Justin previously served on NCCL’s Board, and before that as Chair of the Product Development Committee and on Representative Council.

Charleen Katra

Charleen is the Executive Director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD). Prior to beginning her current position in 2019, she served as an Associate Director in the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. For over twenty years her primary responsibility was directing the Ministry with Persons with Disabilities. Charleen is the co-author of The Adaptive Teacher: Faith-Based Strategies to Reach and Teach Learners with Disabilities (Loyola Press, 2019) and the author of How to Talk to Children about People with Disabilities (Twenty-Third Publications, 2019). She has extensive experience in systematic and sacramental catechesis and has served as a national consultant, author, and speaker on the topic of inclusion for various Catholic publishers. She holds a Bachelor's in Special/Elementary Education and a Master’s in Pastoral Studies.

Tracey Lamont, Ph.D.

Tracey is Director of the Loyola Institute for Ministry and Assistant Professor of religious education and young adult ministry. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion and Religious Education from Fordham University and specializes in curriculum development, youth and young adult ministry, and religious education. Before Loyola, Tracey was a teacher, a parish youth and young adult minister, and Confirmation coordinator. She is a member of the Religious Education Association and has presented papers on young adult moral development and pedagogical practices in Catholic high schools. Tracey served as a committee member for the National Dialogue on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment from 2017-2019, and has been a member of the USCCB National Young Adult Advisory Team since 2017. She also serves as member of the board of directors for the National Institute for Ministry with Young Adults.

Catherine LaVecchia

Catherine is the Director of Lifelong Learning at Church of the Presentation, Upper Saddle River, NJ. She has served in various ministry capacities for the past 30 years, including youth ministry, family faith formation, and lifelong faith formation. She has also taught theology and spirituality to college students for many years. She has a Masters Degrees in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education and a Certificate in Church Management from Villanova’s Center for Church Management.

Erin McGeever

Erin has served as the Diocesan Director of Christian Formation in the Diocese of St. Augustine for the last 15 years. Prior to this position, she served 25 years in the Diocese of Covington, Kentucky in a variety of catechetical roles including: Catholic School Teacher, parish catechist, parish Director of Religious Education, in the Diocesan Office of Catechesis, and on the faculty at Thomas More University in the theology department. She holds undergraduate degrees in education and theology, both from Thomas More University, and an M.A. in theological studies from the University of Dayton and an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Northern Kentucky University.

Gary Pokorny

Gary served as Director of Catechesis and Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, and in related archdiocesan roles, from 2007 to 2023. Prior to that, he served as Director of Lay Formation at Saint Francis Seminary, as a parish director of religious education and as a youth minister. He earned a Master of Divinity from Saint Francis School of Pastoral Ministry, and a Post-Master Certificate in Pastoral Theology from University of St. Mary of the Lake. Gary has been a member of NCCL since 2007, and served as chair of the Standards and Certification Committee and as NCCL representative to the Alliance for the Certification of Lay Ecclesial Ministers (2012-2021).

John Michael Reyes

John Michael is Director of Adult Spirituality at Saint Ignatius College Preparation in San Francisco. He holds a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University (Berkeley, CA) and a Certificate in Liturgical Art & Architecture from Saint John's School of Theology Seminary (Collegeville, MN). He has experiences as a P-12 teacher, hospital chaplain, retreat director, and as a campus minister for Jesuit Universities particularly in the areas of Liturgy and Sacramental Formation. He is a frequently sought-after liturgy coordinator and cantor for national conferences, including the annual Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. He assists with TeamRCIA, and his writings can be found through Liturgical Press, Liturgy Training Publications, Paulist Press and Twenty-Third Publications.

Sister Janet Schaeffler, O.P.

Sister Janet has worked in parish and archdiocesan ministry in faith formation. She is currently ministering as a retreat and adult faith formation consultant and presenter. The author of hundreds of articles and several publications including Deepening Faith: Adult Faith Formation in the Parish (Liturgical Press, 2016) and Let This Be the Time: Spiritual Essentials for Life's Second Act (Twenty-Third Publications, 2020), Janet teaches online courses through Boston College and the University of Dayton.

Patrice Spirou

Patrice is Ministry Lead for Family Catechesis and Curriculum in the Office of Evangelization & Discipleship at the Archdiocese of Atlanta. In her role, she accompanies ministry leaders encouraging, empowering, and equipping them to answer God’s call to bear fruit that will last! Patrice is a passionate advocate of family centered approaches to faith formation. Prior to serving at the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Patrice taught high school theology, was a parish DRE/PCL, and has taught in Colleges of Education both in Illinois and Georgia. She holds a B.A. in Theology and a M.A. in Teaching.

Rita Thiron

Rita is the Executive Director of the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions. Prior to arriving at the FDLC, she served for twenty years as the Director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Lansing (Michigan). She served for eleven years as the Director of Adult Education and the Catechumenate at Holy Family Parish and as an adjunct professor at Siena Heights University. She holds a masters degree in Theology with a Concentration in Liturgical Studies from the University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN) and a bachelors degree in History from Xavier University (Cincinnati, OH). Rita serves as a consultant to the Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship of the USCCB. She is the author of eight books and countless articles and is a frequent presenter in dioceses across the United States.