Executive
Committee
The Most Rev. Bishop Gabino
Zavala – Bishop President
Bishop Gabino Zavala was ordained Bishop as Auxiliary of Los Angeles, heading the San Gabriel Pastoral Region in 1994. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and a Masters Degree in divinity from St. Johns Seminary in Camarillo. He was ordained a priest May 28, 1977 for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He then attended Catholic University in Washington, D.C ., where he earned a Licentiate in Canon Law.
He has served as associate pastor, associate director of the Marriage Tribunal for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, served as professor of Canon Law and then as Rector of St. Johns Seminary. He is a member of the Boards of Don Bosco Technical High School, the Instituto de Liturgia Hispana, A Place Called Home and The House of Ruth. He serves on the Advisory Board for Detention Ministry for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. He is a member of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops where he presently serves on the following committees: Domestic Policy, Canonical Affairs, Bishops Editorial Oversight Board for the National Adult Catechism, and Ad Hoc Committee on the Spanish Translation of the American Bible. Bishop Zavala also served as chair of the Sub-Committee for Encuentro 2000, Many Faces in Gods House.
Judy Coode –
Council Chair
Judy Coode, who has served on the council since 2003, is the communications manager for the Maryknoll Global Concerns office, where she has worked since 1995, and is responsible for the production of their bimonthly newsletter, action alerts, website and other publications. Through Maryknoll, she participates in the Justice for Immigrants campaign and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good. She serves on the Archdiocese of Washington's Global Solidarity Committee, and is a contributing writer to Sojourners magazine. A former Jesuit Volunteer, she lives in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington , D.C. and is active with Pax Christi Metro D.C.
Jeanette Rodriguez
– Vice-Chair
Jeanette Rodriguez, who has served on the council since 2003, has been an associate professor and chair of the Department of theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University since 1995. Prior to that she taught at Loyola Marymount, and the University of Guam . Some of the courses she has taught include: Liberation Theology; Women and Theology; Religion and Social Conflict; Social Analysis, Religion and Culture and U.S. Hispanic Theology. She has written extensively, including books, articles, edited volumes and reviews.
Pearlette Springer – Vice-Chair
Pearlette Springer, who has served on the council since 2005, has been with the Diocese of Gary, Indiana for more than six years as the diocesan director for the Office of African American Ministries. She has served three years on the Pax Christi USA Anti-Racism Team (PCART), and is currently on the board of directors of St. Jude House, Crown Point , Indiana , a domestic violence shelter for women. She is also on the board of Referral and Emergency Service, Gary , Indiana , an emergency referral and food pantry located in Gary with a homeless shelter and transitional housing.
Sr. Josie Chrosniak, HM - Treasurer
Sr. Josie Chrosniak, HM, who has served on the council since 2006, is a member of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. She is the director of Heartbeats, a non-profit organization that networks with, and markets the artwork for, women, developing world and minority artists. Much of her work at Heartbeats focuses on educating the public about the policies of fair trade and the impact of these policies on the people of developing world countries. Sr. Josie currently serves as chairperson for the HM Community Social Justice Committee and is the HM Community representative to the 8th Day Center Board in Chicago . She is a trustee on the board of directors for the Diocese of Cleveland Catholic Commission Office, and is a member of the Cleveland Diocesan Global Solidarity Council.
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Arturo Chávez, Ph.D.
Dr. Arturo Chavez, who has served on the council since 2006, is president of the Mexican American Cultural Center . He has worked for over 20 years in a variety of ministries. As a teacher and youth minister, he worked with youth in an inner city parish setting. As a chaplain to incarcerated youth, he developed pastoral care and community after-care programs. As a community organizer and activist, he founded a non-profit organization for youth and families called JOVEN in San Antonio , TX . He is a coauthor, with his wife Mary, of the dynamic new curriculum for Latino Youth Leadership called RESPETO that is being implemented in parishes throughout the country. He is a national speaker and workshop facilitator. His expertise includes: leadership in multicultural communities and Hispanic ministry; Latino youth and family ministry; immigration; social and religious history of Mexican Americans; and Catholic social thought. He holds a Masters in Theology from Oblate School of Theology and a Doctorate in Religion and Social Change from the University of Denver and the lliff School of Theology.
Donna Toliver Grimes
Donna Toliver Grimes, who has been on the council since 2004, is a Poverty Education and Outreach Manager in the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development in Washington , D.C. She serves as a resource and collaborative partner for diocesan offices and national Catholic organizations that are implementing social justice education and action programs in the U.S. Her primary concentration in this work is on raising awareness, compassion and empowerment responses to domestic poverty. Other responsibilities include supporting the bishops in their efforts to teach and lead Catholics on various issues related to Catholic social mission such as global poverty in Haiti, Mother Africa and elsewhere, the U.S. criminal justice system and clergy formation for social mission. She writes, develops resources, presents workshops, plans large conferences and participates on workgroups. Donna also works with others on grassroots empowerment efforts in her community, serves as a catechist and Eucharistic minister in her parish, supports JustFaith Ministries on multiple levels and seeks to engage African American Catholics and others in Pax Christi and the Church's peace and justice efforts.
Diane Lopez Hughes
Diane Lopez Hughes, who has served on the council since 2005, is a retired hospice social worker and registered nurse, and local peace and justice activist in Springfield , Illinois. She is the mother of two draft-age sons, the wife of a retired public defense attorney, co-convener of Pax Christi Springfield ( Illinois ), Pace e Bene Engage facilitator, and a board member of the Sangamon Valley Group of the Sierra Club. She is also a member of St. Joseph parish (parish nurse minister), the Mary Wood Branch of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and founding member of the Grassroots InterFaith Team. Hughes participated in election monitoring in El Salvador in 2004, a Witness for Peace delegation in Cuba in 2005, and worked with a Springfield surgical team assisting in pediatric surgery in Guatemala in 1993. She is a member of SOAW and a former prisoner of conscience. She is also a freelance writer.
John Kelly
John Kelly has served on the PCUSA National Council since 2002, initially as the Young Adult Forum's representative. He has been a strong advocate for emphasizing Pax Christi USA's work in outreach to students and young adults, and organizing Pax Christi groups on college and high school campuses. Serving as chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Civic Engagement of the Pax Christi USA National Council, John worked closely with staff to develop, promote, and raise funds for the "Life Does Not End at Birth" media campaign during the 2004 election season. John formerly served on the Pax Christi Florida State Council. John worked at the Congressional Hunger Center, where he trained young adult leaders in the fight against hunger and poverty. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., John was a Catholic campus minister and Director of Social Justice ministries at St. Augustine Church in Miami, Florida.
Mary Pat O'Gorman
Mary Pat O'Gorman, who has served on the council since 2006, is currently a freelance grant writer and serves as chair of the development committee on the PCUSA National Council. Mary Pat started career managing the volunteer program at Ministry with Community soup kitchen and homeless shelter. She holds a Masters in Management and Urban Policy from the New School for Social Research and worked for five years as the director of development at Habitat for Humanity - New York City. She then worked at World Wildlife Fund in Washington, DC, raising funds to support environmental causes. A former Jesuit Volunteer in Graz, Austria, Mary Pat now lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
Erin O'Keefe
Erin O'Keefe, who has served on the council since 2005, is a student at The Catholic University of America where she a Drama and Theology major with a Peace Studies Minor. She served on the organizing committee for the 2005 Conference on the UN Millennium Development Goals hosted by the Our Generation student coalition and Georgetown University, is active in Pax Christi CUA, and Amnesty International. Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, she enjoys defending her home state, deconstructionist theatre, and vegetarian foods. She plans to join the Jesuit Volunteer Corps in the fall of 2008 and relocate to Bethel, AK.
Kathleen Pritty, RSM
Kathleen Pritty, who has served on the council since 2007, is a member of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, and serves as the Justice Coordinator for the Sisters of Mercy's Northeast region, based in Albany, NY.
Bill Quigley
Bill Quigley, the 2003 Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace, is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans, and has served on the council since 2007. Bill and his wife Deb are the parents of two grown sons. Bill is active with School of Americas Watch in GA and AZ, human rights in Haiti , and Katrina justice work. He runs the Poverty Law Center and Clinic at Loyola and teaches and writes on a wide variety of social justice issues.
Olga Sarabia
Olga Sarabia is a retired medical social worker who served 30 years in the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services hospitals & public health. Prior to her career in health, Olga worked 5 years for an anti-poverty program in the Latino East LA community as an organizer in a public housing project. She served on the Pax Christi Anti-racism Team for four years. She is currently a Board Member on the Eastern LA Regional Center for the devolpmentally disabled; a Transitional Living Home for women & children & a Commissioner on Housing & Community Development in her city of Alhambra where she has lived for 35 years. In her parish Olga is Eucharistic Minister, Lector & leader of a Small Christian Community since Renew 2000. Olga is an Associate of the Sisters of Social Service. She is the proud mother of three adult children who serve their communities well.
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