2024 Exchange Presenters
2024 Exchange Presenters
EXCHANGE brings together experts in the field who are specialists in their unique perspectives of ministry with young people. Let’s face it! All of our contexts are different with diverse peoples, communities, cultures, circumstances, and economics. This is why we need YOU, an expert in your particular ministerial context to be at EXCHANGE. Are you ready to share your expertise at EXCHANGE?
To learn more about EXCHANGE, Click Here >
Get to Know Your Exchange Presenters...
Emcees...
Marcia Lane-McGee is an author, speaker, and the cohost of the Plaid Skirts and Basic Black podcast. A former Family Teacher and high school youth minister, she has a heart for the young church, justice, and Taylor Swift. In addition to being an aspiring joy guru, a fan of karaoke nights, trivia, and strawberry twizzlers, Lane-McGee is working towards her Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies and is counting down to her graduation in May 2024! She is excited to be a part of Exchange and is looking forward to connecting with you!
Mike Patin is from Louisiana. He’s worked with teens & ministry leaders for over 35 years, as a high school teacher, coach, youth & campus minister, and even as an assistant coach for a college basketball team.
He speaks across North America with teens and adults about our Catholic faith and connecting to God in a busy modern world.
General Session Presenters...
Paul Sifuentes
Diocesan Member
Senior Director of Parish Leadership | Archdiocese of Indianapolis
Paul Sifuentes serves as the senior director of Parish Leadership for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He’s worked in ministry for the past 19 years and is honored to serve as the chair for the board of directors for NFCYM. He is a certified Working Genius facilitator and loves dialoging with fellow ministers about how they can best use their God-given gifts to serve with energy and joy. A proud graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Paul and his wife have 6 wonderful children. When not working, you can find Paul listening to the latest podcast, grilling on the green egg, becoming the diaper dragon, and watching Dude Perfect videos with his family.
Roy Petitfils
Licensed Counselor | Pax Renewal Center
Roy Petitfils is a licensed professional counselor in Louisiana. He has worked with youth and young adults for more than 25 years and is now a counselor in a private practice. Roy regularly consults with schools, publishers, and organizations helping them more effectively reach and minister to youth and young adults.
Roy has published five books, including his most recent Helping Teens with Stress, Anxiety and Depression.
Sr. Mercedes Torres, OP
Vocation Director | Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist
Sr. Mercedes was raised in Brooklyn, NY in a Dominican immigrant family. Sister studied Spanish and International Relations at the University of Southern California and worked for a non-profit planning trips and traveling to Cuba and Nicaragua, prior to entering religious life. Sr. Mercedes entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2011 and professed her Final Vows in 2019. Sister has taught Spanish and Humanities at a high school in Phoenix, was a librarian at the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and currently serves as the Vocations Director her community.
Dr. Hosffman Ospino
Assoc. Professor and Chair, Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry | Boston College
Dr. Hosffman Ospino is a native of Colombia, where he pursued undergraduate studies in philosophy. He holds an M.A. in theology with a concentration in church history and a Ph.D. in theology and education from Boston College. His research explores the dialogue between faith and culture and the impact of this interchange on Catholic theological education, catechesis, and ministry. He has served as the principal investigator for several nationally recognized studies on how the Hispanic Catholic presence transforms parishes, schools, and organizations. He has authored and edited more than a dozen books.
Breakout Presenters...
Chris Bartlett | Vice President of Ablaze
It was the spring of my 8th-grade year on a retreat where Chris’ relationship with Christ and His Church became personal and real. Since that time, God has been gently calling his gifts into ministry. Chris served on retreat teams in High School & College and was blessed by an amazing internship in youth ministry. After graduation, he was hired as the Director of Youth Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas in College Station. In 2008, Chris became the Director of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministry at the Diocese of Austin. This is where ministry leadership became a professional passion. In 2011, Chris returned to parish ministry as the Director of Youth Ministry at St. William Catholic Church in Round Rock and has been there since.
Cathy Becker | Pastoral Associate at St. Katharine Drexel Parish
Cathy Becker holds a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and is a nationally Certified Lay Ecclesial Minister. Currently, she serves as the Director of Faith Formation at St. Agnes Parish in Springfield, Illinois, where she has developed an Emmaus Teens-an accompaniment ministry model, family formation program, restored order sacrament process, and adult formation ministries. Cathy has been an adjunct and author for the Center for Ministry Development and Benedictine University in Springfield, Illinois, and is a Champion of the NFCYM Pathways to Professional Ministry Focus Area. Cathy resides in Springfield with her husband Joshua and three daughters, two Australian Cattle Dogs, and a gecko, who are, as a family, at the core of her vocation and joy. Cathy also serves as an archery caddy for their daughter Leah, who competes in national archery competitions.
Jason Deuterman | Director of Strategic Consulting & Innovation Design at OSV
After 15 years of lay ecclesial leadership, Jason Deuterman joined OSV as the Director of Strategic Consulting and Innovation Design. With a trailblazing vision, Jason endeavors to champion a Church on a mission that is more curious, more empathetic, more creative, and tenacious enough to take more risks for the sake of the Gospel.
Prior to joining OSV, Jason served as the Director of Youth, Young Adult, and Campus Ministries for the Catholic Diocese of Dallas, where he architected and nurtured strategic ministry initiatives. Furthermore, Jason spearheaded various episcopal endeavors to help shape diocesan strategy.
Robert Feduccia | Vice President of EQ Saints
Robert Feduccia is a speaker, retreat leader, writer, and educator, motivated by belief in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ to transform lives. After launching the Youth Liturgical Leadership Program with One Bread, One Cup in 2000, Robert went on to serve as a development editor for St. Mary’s Press, and then as the general manager for Spirit & Song, the contemporary music division of Oregon Catholic Press (OCP). A graduate of St. Meinrad Catholic Seminary and the Catholic University of America, Robert has taught theology to deacon candidates in dioceses around the country. He has been a frequent contributor to OCP’s Today’s Liturgy and to the Center for Ministry Development’s Youth Ministry Access. He lives in the Nashville area with Kathleen, his wife, and their two sons and two daughters.
Noelle Garcia McHugh | EQ Saints
Noelle Garcia McHugh is a Catholic recording artist and speaker, wife, and mom to five kids. She travels the country sharing the faith through witness, Scripture, catechesis, and music. Her main topics include sharing her witness of struggling with depression and self-harm, and having faith during suffering. She has three music albums – her latest “Wonderfully Made” — is a project she did with her husband, David McHugh. Noelle also has two Lighthouse Media talks: “13 Reasons Why You Matter” and “Getting Others to Heaven.” Noelle has a Masters of Theological Studies from Newman University. She currently resides in Dodge City, Kansas.
Kathy Goller | Teal Horizons Coaching
Kathy Goller is a certified life and leadership coach with over 20 years experience in diocesan ministry and a Master’s degree in pastoral ministry, Kathy brings a depth and breadth of expertise in evangelization, discipleship, faith formation, youth ministry, and personal and leadership development. Kathy founded Teal Horizon Coaching LLC to accompany and inspire people to develop their gifts and lead their whole lives with purpose.
Ali Hoffman | alihoffman.co
Ali Hoffman has a passion for Jesus, discipleship, prayer, her family, friends, donuts, chipotle, and Pilot G-2 .38 pens, in that order. She was a missionary with NET ministries for two years. After graduating with a degree in Catholic Studies and Family Studies from the University of Saint Thomas, she was a youth minister in Texas for 6 years. She now is a full-time Catholic evangelist, traveling the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Jodi Hunt | Executive Director of the Neuhoff Institute for Evangelization and Ministry
Dr. Jodi G. Hunt, Ph.D. has worked at the University of Dallas for over five years as an affiliate assistant professor of ministry. She also taught theology and religious studies at Antonian College Preparatory (San Antonio, TX) and Fordham Preparatory (Bronx, NY), and was the director of admissions at the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education at Fordham University. In addition to teaching theology, Dr. Hunt has worked with various dioceses, parishes, and Catholic schools across the US, training lay ecclesial ministers and Catholic educators in catechetical methods and youth ministerial practices.
In her free time, Dr. Hunt enjoys road-tripping with her husband and their three children to 4-H livestock shows across the country, spending time on their family farm, and cheering on the Fightin’ Texas Aggie sports teams.
Paul Jarzembowski | Associate Director for the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth
Paul Jarzembowski serves on staff for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington DC, overseeing the U.S. bishops’ engagement with laity ministry, ecclesial movements, youth, and young adults. He is also the author of “Hope from the Ashes” (Paulist Press, 2021), on evangelization, pastoral care, and accompaniment of individuals through Catholic moments of return such as Lent. He was the lead staff for the USCCB engagement with the XV Synod of Bishops on “Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment,” and its post-synodal exhortation, “Christus Vivit.” Paul is also the United States’ national coordinator for World Youth Day, and serves as an advisor to the Vatican on ministries with young people.
Michael Marchand | President & Co-Founder of ProjectYM
Michael is a preacher, teacher, and innovator who is focused on serving his (second) favorite group of people on the planet: Catholic youth ministers. After years of working in parish youth ministry, Michael cofounded ProjectYM to do just that. Since then, his work with ProjectYM has taken him across the country and around the world – training, equipping, and supporting thousands of youth ministry leaders…and letting them know that they matter.
Chris Miller | Religious Studies Teacher at a San Francisco area Catholic High School
Dr. Chris Miller most recently worked for Catholic Charities Santa Clara County supporting the Community Action Poverty Simulation program as well as serving as the youth and young adult coordinator at a 5,000-family parish in San Jose, CA. Prior to this position, Chris taught theology and served as director of campus ministry at a Catholic boarding school in Connecticut. He also worked as the Director of Youth Ministry at a Catholic parish in Palo Alto.
Chris currently serves as co-chair of the Pastoral Care and Mental Wellness Ministry Network through NFCYM, is a member of the California State Mental Health Policy Workgroup, a member of the NAMI National FaithNet Steering Committee, and a member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s Faith Communities Task Force.
Dayrin Perez | Lead Coordinator of Youth Ministry for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Dayrin is an educated professional with a deep passion for sharing the gospel and accompanying others in their discipleship journey.
She has served in parishes in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles for over 15 years as a Director of Youth Ministry, Confirmation Coordinator, and Director of Family Ministry. In October of 2019 she embarked on a journey as a Youth Ministry Coordinator for the Office of Religious Education in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. As of August 2023, she now serves as the Lead Coordinator of Youth Ministry in the Office of Religious Education.
Rhyan Ramirez | BroRhy
Bro Rhy also known as Rhyan Ramirez is a dynamic speaker, facilitator and mentor who breaks down barriers with his uplifting presentations and workshops, creating authentic connections with youth and adults and inspiring them to embrace their Identity in Christ, Live Authentically and Live ON Purpose.
Bro Rhy brings 11 years of experience as a Licensed Psychiatric Technician, working in adult mental health as well as 9 years and counting as an Emotional Intelligence educator working in both public and private schools, grades K-8 along with supporting the adults who serve and care for them.
Fr. Parker Sandoval | Vice Chancellor and Senior Director of Ministerial Services for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
Fr. Parker Sandoval is the Vice Chancellor and Senior Director of Ministerial Services for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and resides at Incarnation Church in Glendale. After graduating from LMU, he worked at The Walt Disney Company for many years. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in 2015. His passion is the ministry of the Word.
