MOMENTUM

The Accompaniment Symposium
Presenters

Getting to Know the Presenters…

Presenters

Stacy M. Allen is the principal of the Law Office of Stacy M. Allen, PLLC, a boutique law firm specializing in criminal, civil litigation and probate matters. Stacy is a proud 2011 graduate of Howard University School of Law, in Washington, DC, where she served as President of the Huver I. Brown Trial Advocacy Moot Court Team. Prior to attending law school, Ms. Allen graduated cum laude from St. Edward’s University where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations with a concentration in Latin America and was awarded the St. Edwards University’s Presidential Award. A native of Colón, Panama, Stacy is proud to call Houston home where she has served as a middle school and high school catechist for 8 years at her home parish, St. Monica Catholic Church. She currently serves as the Chairperson of the St. Monica Parish Council and is the volunteer Youth Ministry Coordinator for her parish. Stacy is a founding member of the Young Adult Catholics of African Descent for the Archdiocese of Galveston Houston and in 2020 she was appointed as a lay consultant to the USCCB Bishops Working Group on Youth and Young Adults.

Dr. timone davis serves as Assistant Professor at Loyola University Chicago. Her dynamic energy and deep spirituality enhance her brand of teaching that engages one’s spirit through the use of storytelling. Her mission is to help others open their hearts and minds to the soul-saving power of God’s grace, love and mercy.

Note: timone uses lower case letters in spelling her name to indicate her decrease as God increases within her.

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 holds a master’s in religious studies from Mount St. Mary’s College in Los Angeles and is the author of numerous books and resources. Tom also serves as project coordinator for the Accompaniment Project of the NFCYM in collaboration with the Center for Ministry Development.

Brian Henritze has worked in ministry for fifteen years at the parish and diocesan levels. He holds an MBA and an MA in theology and currently serves in the chancery for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Brian served as co-chair of the Christus Vivit project team for the NFCYM. He and his wife Amanda have four children. They have taught him more about ministry, faith, and love than any job or degree ever could.

Dr. Young Hoang is the president of the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement (VEYM) in the US, a branch of the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (PWPN) and pontifical work under the Holy See. In this servant leader role, Young is charged with the responsibility of collaborating with leaders across the country in planning and directing programs to assist 25,000+ youth members at over 140 chapters/parishes to be good Christians and contributing members to society. Professionally, he is a supervisory clinical psychologist and director of mental health services at the US Department of State.

Jamie Kohler has worked in youth ministry at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Vancouver, Washington, for eighteen years. She sees her efforts to share Christ with those she encounters as an extension of the motherhood she gives to her own four children (one young adult, two teens, and a preteen).

Tracey Lamont is an assistant professor of religious education at the Loyola Institute for Ministry at Loyola University New Orleans. She earned her MA and Ph.D. in religion and religious education from Fordham University and specializes in youth and young adult ministry and religious education. Her passion, scholarship, and commitment to teaching and learning has led her to serve in a variety of advisory positions, including her role as vice-chair of resources for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops National Advisory Team for Young Adult Ministry and as a member of the National Leadership Network for the National Dialogue on Catholic Pastoral Ministry with Youth and Young Adults.

Benito Medrano is the coordinator of Hispanic ministry of the Diocese of Fresno where he serves parish groups of Pastoral Juvenil Hispana, youth and young adult ministry, and migrant ministry.  He also serves in the leadership team of Region XI’s Committee of Pastoral Juvenil Hispana where he collaborates with other diocesan leaders of the region. Benito was born and raised in Guanajuato, Mexico, and came to the United States at the age of 15 with his parents and four siblings.

Marthamaria Morales serves in the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Previously Marthamaria worked as a relationship manager at CRS, in Hispanic/Latino ministry and youth and young adult Latino ministry for the Diocese of Birmingham, and for EWTN. She has served on the boards of NFCYM, La RED Catholic Network of Pastoral Juvenil Hispana, and Southeast Pastoral Institute (SEPI). Mariamaria was the co-chair for communications for the V Encuentro.

D’Maris Murillo is the assistant for youth and young adult ministry at Our Lady of Fatima, Lakewood, Colorado.

Dr. Josh Packard is the executive director of Springtide Research Institute, a new research institute that explores the intersection of religious and human experience in the lives of young people (ages 13 to 25). Josh is an accomplished researcher, speaker, and academic who studies the sociology of religion and new forms of religious expression. He is the co-author of Church Refugees: Sociologists reveal why people are DONE with church but not their faith. Josh lives in Greeley, Colorado, and serves as a sociology professor at the University of Northern Colorado.

Solanyi Rodriguez is a youth minister at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Newark. She forms part of the chastity and prolife organization Corazón Puro and speaks for Lifenet. Solanyi also serves as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and as a member of the young adult outreach committee for the Archdiocese of Newark. 

Jody Roy is Ojibway originally from Atikameksheng Anishnawbek in Ontario, Canada. Currently the director of Saint Kateri Center of Chicago, a Native American ministry of Saint Benedict Parish and is the only Native American Catholic ministry in the state of Illinois. She has earned a BA in business management from Kendall College at National Louis University in Chicago. She is a member of the Administrative Oversight Committee for the Chicago American Indian Community Collaborative (CAICC). The CAICC is a network of seventeen organizations and programs dedicated to meeting the needs and improving conditions for Native Americans in the greater Chicago-land area.

Christopher Wesley is the founder of Marathon Youth Ministry Inc., an organization focused on developing healthy ministry leaders. He is also the full-time director of youth and young adult ministry at St. Joseph Parish in Cockeysville, Maryland, where he oversees middle and high school youth ministry.

Starr Young is a graduate student at the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University Chicago working toward a dual degree of master of divinity and master of arts in pastoral counseling. She is passionate about creating awareness of mental health in the African American community and ministering to young adults. Starr currently serves at St. Columbanus Catholic Church on the Southside of Chicago.

Moderators

Christina Davis is Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the Diocese of Reno.

Dr. Patrick Donovan is Director of the Diocesan Leadership Institute for the Diocese of Bridgeport.

Sr. Adelina Garcia is the Associate Director of the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis for the Diocese of San Angelo.

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