Sister Maris Stella Vaughan, O.P. , serves as a missionary and teacher with the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia in the Diocese of Phoenix

Sr. Maris Stella professed vows as a Dominican Sister of St. Cecilia (Nashville) in 2006. She has served in several of her Congregation’s schools in the apostolate of teaching, working mostly with middle and high school students. She also spent three years as a missionary in the Diocese of Roermond, the Netherlands, where she led ministry for Dutch teens, college students, and young adults. Sister currently teaches Religion, Ethics, and Speech at St. John Paul II Catholic High School in the Diocese of Phoenix. She loves sharing the joy of the Gospel with her students and learning alongside them as they probe deeply into the rich teachings of the Catholic Faith.

After an extensive career with the Air Force, Steven Kwast currently serves as President and Chief Global Officer for Genesis Systems.

Steve Kwast is the President and Chief Global Officer for Genesis Systems, a company dedicated to solving the global water scarcity problem on earth, and supplying the water management systems for long term space travel. He is a retired Air Force Lieutenant General who has spent his lifetime mastering the art of peaceful International affairs and national security strategies.  He was raised in a remote African tribe and is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in Astronautical Engineering.  He has a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and was the University President for the Air Force’s University (Air University) in Montgomery, Alabama. He is married to the former Joni McDonough and they have two children.

Fr. Ken lived the life of the prodigal son for most of his young adult life. Raised in a nominally Catholic family, who only lived the externals of the faith, Fr. Ken left the Catholic Church for many years. During that time he earned a business degree and worked as a business profession in Advanced R&D and software testing; a few years into his career he joined a few of his co-workers in establishing a $4.5 million Internet software company. Focused on money, fitness, and success, he made little room for God; but God did not give up on him. During this journey, God presented him with challenges that forced him to question his personal beliefs and the question “What is Truth?” Through a series of conversions, years of struggle, study and questioning, Fr. Ken found his way from agnosticism, to non-denominational Christianity, and ultimately back to the Catholic Church.

Fr. Ken joined the Fathers of Mercy in 2006 and was ordained in 2012. For two years, he served as an associate pastor of a medium sized parish and currently serves as a Missionary, webmaster and vocation director for the Fathers of Mercy. Fr. Ken has a great understanding of the personal and societal pressures that individuals face and knows what it is like to “hate coming to church.” His mission talks are for people of all levels of faith; from those who are madly in love with Jesus to those who struggle with church and religion.

Deacon Charlie was ordained on June 10, 2017 by His Excellency Jose H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles. He is married to his wife Jessica of nearly 20 years and is a proud father and grandfather. 

Deacon Charlie holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Film Studies from Florida Atlantic University. He serves in Chair, VP, and President roles for numerous Catholic apostolates including Catholic Answers, the National Communications Committee for the Catholic Association of Latino Leaders, the Vida Initiative, and SOFESA, a non-profit organization founded by his wife in 1999 that assists homeless and low-income families in Southern California. 

Prior to ministry, Deacon Charlie held senior corporate leadership positions with the Walt Disney Internet Group, Univision, and AOL.

Jennifer is the Founder and Executive Director of Young Catholic Professionals (YCP), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to ‘Work in Witness for Christ’. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Marketing from Trinity University and her MBA from Texas A&M, graduating summa cum laude. Jennifer worked for Merrill Lynch in the Global Wealth Management practice and for FTI Consulting in the Corporate Restructuring practice before starting the YCP ministry in 2010. Jennifer has been interviewed on EWTN's "Life on the Rock", National Catholic Register, Word on Fire and several other international media outlets promoting the YCP apostolate.

Montse has a Masters from the George Washington University and a B.A. from Florida International University. She served on the Montgomery County Commission for Women in Maryland and is currently on the board of the Patients’ Rights Action Fund; a lay consultant to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Religious Liberty Committee; a member of the President’s Advisory Counsel of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students; on the advisory council to the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious (CMSWR) and the GIVEN Institute; and on the Hispanic Affairs Advisory Board for the Philos Project. Although not an attorney, she “plays one on TV” advocating for Becket clients on major television and radio networks including Univision, CNN en Español, Telemundo, Fox Business, and EWTN. Born in Mexico City, she is fluent in Spanish and French and is a competitive jazz and classical vocalist.

After 15 years in lay ecclesial leadership, Jason Deuterman joined the OSV Institute for Catholic Innovation where he now leads as the Director of Innovation Design.  Jason endeavors to champion the mission of the Church by fostering curiosity, empathy, creativity, and calculated risk-taking in leaders from archdioceses, dioceses, seminaries, and non-profit organizations around the country.

Prior to joining the OSV Institute, 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, impacting the over 70 parishes within the diocese.

Jason holds a bachelors degree from Texas A&M University (WHOOP!), a masters degree from the University of Dallas, and certifications in design thinking from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and IDEO.

Outside of his work, you’ll find Jason either in his gym in the middle of Crossfit workout, or with the most important loves of his life, his bride of 11 years, Allison, and their two beautiful children.

Principal Consultant, The Table Group
Founder and President, Amador Consulting

Al brings extensive experience from the information technology field as a director of
numerous enterprise implementations as well as over two decades of keynote
speaking, communication training, teaching, coaching and facilitating. Al’s specialty is
bringing executive leadership teams together to work on the key areas of; trust,
meaningful conflict, commitment and clarity. His company, Amador Consulting, has
served domestic and international leaders for over 10 years. Al has a reputation for
connecting with both technical and business leadership teams.
Al partnered with The Table Group in 2008. His primary clients are executive teams
looking for guidance to improve their cohesion and alignment, as well as to translate
their organization’s vision so that it is inspiring and actionable. His clients span a broad
spectrum of industries; technology, health care, pharmaceutical, telecommunications,
retail and manufacturing.
Prior to partnering with Table Group Consulting and beginning his practice Al’s
positions included; program director for credit card security at Kaiser Permanente,
director of technology services for Bare Escentuals, and intranet services manager for
Robert Half International. Al has led numerous technical teams in the UK, India, China,
Japan, Germany, and Latin America.
Al lives with his wife and two children in Lafayette, California.

Born in June of 1965, Msgr. Morris has been a priest of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis since May of 1996.  In July of 2005, he was named director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate and the Vicar for Deacons in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. In June of 2006, under the leadership of then Archbishop Raymond L. Burke (now Cardinal Burke), he established the St. Maximilian Kolbe House of Discernment and served as the director of the house. In September of 2008, Monsignor was named a member of the Papal Household. In the fall of 2010, he became the Director of Sacred Liturgy and Assistant Professor in sacred theology at Pontifical College Josephinum.  In June of 2018 Msgr. Morris was appointed Rector of the Oratory of Ss. Gregory and Augustine, a pastoral ministry of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis devoted to the celebration of the Holy Mass and the other sacraments according to the ancient rite of the Church.

Msgr. Morris has served as an assistant professor of Sacramental Theology at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary and the Pontifical College Josephinum, a lecturer for the Paul VI Catechetical Institute and the spiritual advisor to the Marian Catechists in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He has been a visiting lecturer at the Liturgical Institute at St. Mary of the Lake University, Mundelein Seminary. Monsignor hosts programs on multiple Catholic radio stations and frequently gives talks, retreats and days of recollection on various topics related to the Catholic faith throughout the United States.

As Chief Operating Officer for Young Catholic Professionals Peter manages national and chapter operations, expansion efforts, brand and marketing efforts, and volunteer support. He received his Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Dallas and then spent two years working in Rome, Italy and traveling across Europe as a staff member on UD's study-abroad campus. After returning to Dallas he worked for OnTarget Partners growing their marketing and sales efforts prior to joining the YCP apostolate in 2014 as the non-profit’s second full-time employee.

Rob Hays is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ashford Hospitality Trust (NYSE:AHT), a publicly-traded hotel ownership company with 100 hotels across the United States, representing more than 22,000 hotel rooms.  The company has properties that are affiliated with various Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt brands, as well as some that are independent boutique brands.  Mr. Hays is also a member of the Board of Directors of Ashford Hospitality Trust.  He has been with the company since 2005 and previously held a variety of positions including Chief Strategy Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance & Strategy.  Mr. Hays has frequently appeared in both print and television media, including CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, and numerous real estate and industry publications.  He is also a frequent speaker at industry and Wall Street investor conferences.  

Prior to joining Ashford in 2005, Mr. Hays worked in the Corporate Development office of Dresser, Inc., a Dallas-based oil field service and manufacturing company, where he focused on mergers, acquisitions, and strategic direction. Before working at Dresser, Mr. Hays was a member of the Merrill Lynch Global Power & Energy Investment Banking Group based in Texas.

Outside of his professional work, Mr. Hays is involved in several charitable, formative and faith organizations.  He is the Chairman of the Board of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Life at Princeton University.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Dallas Forum on Law, Politics and Culture at the University of Dallas as well as the Ethics & Public Policy Center based in Washington DC.  He is also on the executive committee of the International Business Leaders Advisory Council, an advisory council of global business leaders assisting the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome in the creation of a new school of church management.  

In Dallas, he co-founded the Business Ethics Forum, which meets quarterly to provide business leaders regular formation in ethics, philosophy, natural law, and Catholic Social Doctrine.  He also is the lead organizer for the annual Dallas Successful Fathers Conference, now going into its 22nd year.  He and his wife Alicia have hosted nearly 30 lectures in their home, called the Cottonwood Lectures, on topics of faith, family and culture, now going into its seventh year.  

Mr. Hays earned his A.B. in Politics with a certificate in Political Economy from Princeton University and later studied philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, Italy.  He and his wife Alicia have been married for 17 years and have 6 children. They reside in Coppell, Texas.

Dina Dwyer-Owens is an acclaimed author and motivational speaker with more than 38 years of franchise leadership experience, including 15 years as CEO of Dwyer Group (now Neighborly), the global franchisor for which she also served as the organization’s longest-serving Chairwoman, and board member. In addition to serving as a chair of the International Franchise Association in 2010, Dina is also known for participating in CBS’s Emmy-winning hit reality show “Undercover Boss” in 2012. Dina is the author of two books: Live R.I.C.H. and Values, Inc. that both share her global message for living and leading with a proven code of values (books available for purchase at Values-INC.com). 
 

Dina also spearheaded the reintroduction of the IFA’s VetFran program in 2001, which now includes some 650 franchisors that offer franchising financial incentives to veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Jeff Schiefelbein serves as the Co-Founder and Chief Culture Officer at 5, a North American energy advisory firm.  Jeff’s firm has received numerous accolades including five consecutive appearances on the Inc 5000 and dozens of best places to work awards.

Jeff earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Texas A&M University with a focus on entrepreneurship. During college, Jeff developed and launched the nation’s largest college safe-ride program to reduce drunk driving, CARPOOL. For his work on this project, Jeff was awarded the National Daily Point of Light Award and the Texas Governor’s Volunteer Service Award. Jeff serves as the President of the Board of Trustees for The Highlands School in Irving, Texas, and as a Trustees for The Catholic Foundation. He is also a motivational speaker and the host of a Catholic radio show on the Guadalupe Radio Network. Jeff lives in Irving, Texas with his wife and five kids.

Entrepreneur, CEO, and Catholic family man. Jere Thompson is the exemplar for Working in Witness for Christ. 

Mr. Thompson co-founded and became CEO of Ambit Energy in 2005.  Ambit grew to a billion-dollar company in less than seven years and was named the fastest growing private company in America in 2010 by Inc. Magazine. Prior to Ambit, Mr. Thompson founded CapRock Communications in 1992 to build a fiber optics network connecting nearly every primary and secondary market in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.  

A life-long Catholic, Mr. Thompson has served on the board of Cistercian Preparatory School for 35 years.  He also serves on a number of non-profit and civic boards, including the Hoblitzelle Foundation, the Southwestern Medical Foundation, the O’Donnell Foundation and the Dallas Citizens Council.  Mr. Thompson graduated from Stanford University with a BA in Economics in 1978 and obtained his MBA at The University of Texas in 1982.  

Mr. Thompson and his wife, Carolyn, have been married for 35 years and have five children and six grandchildren.