President

I am blessed to be raising three boys. I am an active member of St. Joseph Parish in Wauwatosa, where I have served on parish council and on the Stewardship and Communication Committees.  My full-time job is in finance. I became involved in Awake’s Leadership Team after finding out that my great-uncle was credibly accused of abuse as a priest in the Green Bay diocese. After taking a year to focus on my family, I am excited to be part of the Board of Directors. Awake has given me a way to focus my frustration and anger about the crisis in our Church by turning it into action. I desire to help our Church fully acknowledge the pain and hurt caused and work towards bringing Christ to others.

A lifelong Catholic, I grew up in the Fond du Lac area and graduated from UW-Madison. My work as a high school teacher brought me to Milwaukee where I met my husband A.J. We live in Glendale with our young daughter, and we are parishioners at Holy Family parish in Whitefish Bay. When I was a high school senior, our parish priest was removed due to allegations of sexual abuse, just before abuse scandals in the Church made headline news in 2002. Due to that experience, it became apparent to me in 2018 that the way we responded in the early 2000s was woefully insufficient, and Awake provides the opportunity to listen to survivors and work with the Church to affect change. I am grateful that I can work with Awake to help bring healing in the manner to which Christ compels us.

I am a lifelong Catholic who grew up in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. I went to college in the Chicago area and worked as an attorney in Illinois as well. After years of practicing law, I obtained a license in canon law, the law of the Catholic Church. I have since worked for dioceses, Catholic ministries, and currently for a religious order. I live in northern Illinois with my wife and son. I was in college when the sexual abuse crisis became public and the Archbishop resigned. I was shocked at how the institutional Church had treated so many people. I have encountered many survivors, and am committed to helping inside the Church anyway I can. I joined Awake because as people of God we are called to action in bringing Christ's redemptive healing to the Church.

I am a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, but grew up in Milwaukee. After serving for thirteen years as professor of moral theology at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, NY and collaborating in the formation of future priests, I am now a visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame.

Helping Church leaders to respond more adequately to the clergy sexual abuse crisis has become a passion for me. I believe intensely in Christ’s power to turn our wounds into sources of grace for ourselves and others. I am also a founding member of the National Catholic Restorative Justice Initiative which seeks to apply the practices of restorative justice to the Church’s sexual abuse crisis. Along this path, our Lord has led me to accompany a number of survivors on their journey toward healing, and to collaborate more closely with Awake, supporting our organization’s prophetic mission.

I am an employment and immigration attorney and partner at a local law firm. I live on the east side of Milwaukee with my husband Rob, two children, and dog Tilly. I am a lifelong Catholic and dedicated to our Catholic community in Milwaukee. It is my honor to be on the Awake Board and assist this important organization in their work to provide comfort, counseling, and consolation to victims of clergy abuse. I appreciate Awake’s community of concerned and faithful Catholics dedicated to doing something constructive about this crisis in our Church.

I have served the greater Cincinnati area as a leader in Catholic adult formation for over 25 years. Most recently, I founded Magdala House where I host retreats and accompany others as mentor and spiritual director. I have a certificate in spiritual direction and am currently studying theology at the Athenaeum of Ohio. Before entering full time ministry, I worked as a statistician. My husband and I are parents to three adult sons, and I enjoy long walks in the woods with my golden retriever, Daisy May. Helping support the Awake community in its mission is an honor and privilege. I offer my own personal experiences with abuse in the Church and my formation as a spiritual director to accompany those seeking healing and to inspire transformation in the Church.

I was raised in Cedarburg and graduated from Beloit College with a BA and a MAT in Elementary Education. After teaching sixth grade, I graduated from Marquette Law School, served as Chief Staff Attorney at the Milwaukee Legal Aid Society, taught as a law professor at Marquette, was appointed as an interim Milwaukee County Executive, and founded the Marquette Law Restorative Justice Initiative and the Andrew Restorative Justice Center. I also served as a Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge for 12 years and a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice for 5 years. I have been a practicing Catholic for over 40 years. For the last 15 years I have worked internationally to develop, teach and apply restorative justice approaches to the clergy/religious abuse scandal. Having the deepest respect for Awake’s work, I am happy to serve as a member of its board.

I am a Ph.D. candidate and doctoral research fellow at Baylor University, where my research focuses on the impact of race and culture on clergy abuse disclosure, reporting, and recovery processes. I have engaged lawmakers and led state-level policy initiatives to prevent clergy-perpetrated abuse. As a devout Catholic, I remain deeply committed to exposing abuse at all levels within the Catholic Church for its ultimate healing and transformation. The institution's repeated betrayal of victims through denial, concealment, and inadequate response must end if the church hopes to truly embody the justice, compassion, and respect for human dignity that stands at the core of its proclaimed values. Through Awake, I have found profound support from other survivors who, despite the tremendous pain they have suffered, have chosen not to allow what happened to them to destroy their faith.

I grew up Catholic in a suburb of Philadelphia, and after graduating from college I worked as a chaplain in the Diocese of Fort Worth. I then completed advanced studies in theology and social work at Boston University and began a career as a therapist and social worker. For 14 years, I served as the Director of Investigations and Religious Accreditation at Praesidium. Over the past two decades, I have also dedicated much of my time to working with children and families in the Texas foster care system. Currently, I run an investigation agency that specializes in cases of clergy misconduct, and I serve 12 religious orders as a survivor assistance coordinator. This role has deepened my appreciation for the vital mission of Awake. I am honored and excited to contribute to the meaningful work of this much-needed organization.

I am a mother, grandmother and social worker. I worked for the Archdiocese of Boston for thirty-five years followed by five years with One Fund Boston coordinating supportive services for those injured at the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. In 2002, when the clergy sexual abuse scandal exploded, it was a privilege to be charged with developing a program of pastoral care and clinical services as an outreach to survivors, families and parishes for the Archdiocese of Boston. Survivors continue to courageously point the way with prophetic voices longing for justice, healing, and renewed trust and friendship as sisters and brothers in Christ. I am humbled to be invited to join Awake as an ally in its zeal and passion to continue the journey.

Treasurer
I live in Michigan, and am a wife to a wonderful husband and mother of two beautiful young adults. I grew up in a large Catholic family in Indiana and attended Catholic grade school and high school. After college, I worked as an environmental engineer for 30 years in the consulting industry. Currently I serve as an active volunteer for several local Catholic organizations. Service to others is and has always been an important part of my life, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of Awake’s important mission to be informed, encourage change, and help those who are hurting from abuse.