Location: Learning Center

Utilizando los Medios Sociales para Evangelizar a la Comunidad Latina / Using Social Media to Evangelize in the Latino Community

Las redes sociales son el presente y el futuro de cómo hacer llegar el mensaje a todo tipo de audiencia. Venga y aprenda tácticas simples y efectivas en cómo usar esta herramienta para evangelizar a su comunidad.

Social networks are the present and the future of how to get the message to all kinds of audiences. Come and learn tactics simple and effective in how to use this tool to evangelize their community.

Speaker: Armando Cervantes
Director of Youth & Young Adults
Diocese of Orange, California

Moderator: Patricia Garcia Alvarado
Secretaria
Diocese of Carabayllo
Lima, Peru

Armando M. Cervantes graduated from the University of California at Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences with an emphasis in public and community service. He also holds a master’s degree in pastoral theology from Loyola Marymount University. Recently, he completed an executive MBA from Chapman University in Orange, California. Mr. Cervantes has 16 years of professional experience in various ministries serving all age groups. Currently he is the director of the SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES Atlanta 2017 | 83 youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Orange and the co-founder of ChurchMediaSolution, a social media consulting company. He has been a youth minister, confirmation coordinator, young adult Bible study leader, teacher, retreat leader, and has led countless missionary and pilgrimage experiences. He is a national speaker and serves as a national consultant for dioceses and national groups especially in strategy, social media and intercultural competencies.

Location: Hanover C 

Creating a space and place in parishes and organizations for young adults (age 20-40) to discover their gifts, cultivate community and discern their vocations. This presentation will help attendees understand and engage young adults; identify opportunities and overcome obstacles; and form strategies to nourish a culture of care and discipleship that equips young adults to develop leadership skills and to form lifelong connections to the Church sharing their time, talents and treasures.

Speaker: Abigail Byron-Goslin
Associate Director of Campus Ministry
Diocese of Savannah, Georgia

Speaker: Janice Givens
Founder/Director of Go F.I.S.H. Outreach
Atlanta, Georgia

Moderator: Thomas Scholler
Associate Director, Development and Stewardship
Archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan

Abigail Byron-Goslin is associate director of Campus Ministry in the Diocese of Savannah overseeing and directing the campus ministry outreach efforts in south Georgia for 28 colleges and universities. Ms. Byron-Goslin has over 15 years of experience in youth and young adult ministry, and served in the Archdiocese of Atlanta for twelve years working with several parishes, apostolates and ministries such as Spirit and Truth, To Encounter Christ, Lifeteen and the GA Tech Catholic Center. After launching the BE Weekend retreat apostolate and traveling the country speaking and facilitating these retreats, she left Atlanta in 2015 to become a missionary campus minister for the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia. Ms. Byron-Goslin enjoys building and nurturing strong communities that encourage discipleship formation and lead to a closer encounter with Christ and the Catholic Church. Facilitating this encounter with Christ and the Catholic Church is what she believes to be the ultimate mission of her life.

Janice Murphy Givens is the founder/director of Go F.I.S.H. Outreach (Go Forth and Invite Someone Home) in Atlanta and has over 30 years of experience in youth and young adult ministry. After serving as youth minister in four parishes, she started young adult ministry in the Archdiocese of Atlanta in 1996 drawing hundreds of young adults to wildly successful programs including being the first to host Theology on Tap in a bar! Between ministry jobs, Ms. Givens has also worked as a venue manager to organize several Olympics, World Cups, and Super Bowls. She has also led over 50 mission trips – both nationally and internationally – most serving orphans with disabilities to Mustard Seed Communities in Jamaica. Ms. Givens has spent the last 20 years helping others to understand young adults and help them develop their gifts for the Kingdom.

Location: Hanover AB

Handouts:

Diocesan Stewardship Days – Honolulu

The Importance of Diocesan Stewardship Days

Panelists will discuss their varied experiences with diocesan stewardship days including issues such as the benefits of these events, structure, timing, budget, multi-cultural considerations, marketing and other critical factors.

Panelists:
Mark Clark
Director, Stewardship and Development
Diocese of Honolulu, Hawaii

Debra Leaverton
Director, Parish Stewardship Education and Pastoral Services Appeal
Orange Catholic Foundation
Garden Grove, California

Mary Ann Otto
Pastoral Minister
St. Joseph and St. Mary Parishes
Appleton, Wisconsin

Moderator: Jeanne Smith
Associate Director of Stewardship and Development
Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida

Mark Clark has served as the director of stewardship and development for the Diocese of Honolulu since 2012. Prior to this, and following careers in teaching, school development and sales management in Hawaii, Mr. Clark worked in stewardship and development for the Diocese of Rochester, New York, for 11 years. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame with an MBA from California Lutheran University, Mr. Clark and his family live in Kailua, Hawaii, on the Island of Oahu.

Debra Leaverton has served the Diocese of Orange since 2001 and under the Orange Catholic Foundation since 2008 as director of parish stewardship education and pastoral services appeal. She manages the diocesan annual appeal, is responsible for parish stewardship education and provides consultation for parishes on stewardship, capital campaigns, electronic giving and annual renewals. Ms. Leaverton’s previous career experience includes project management, sales and marketing, and training and development. She attended San Diego State University in the areas of education and psychology. At her home parish of St. Martin de Porres in Yorba Linda, she has served in the areas of SRE, teaching elementary, junior high, confirmation and youth ministry, women’s ministry and pro-life efforts. She continues to serve her parish as an extraordinary minister of the Eucharist, and assists with the parish’s stewardship efforts. She currently serves on the ICSC board of directors and on the conference registration committee.

Mary Ann Otto recently returned to her ministerial roots in parish life after serving for nine years as the stewardship and special projects director for the Diocese of Green Bay. She currently is a pastoral minister for St. Joseph and St. Mary parishes in Appleton, Wisconsin where her responsibilities include adult formation, evangelization and stewardship. In her work at the diocese, Ms. Otto worked with parish leaders talking about the spirituality and practicalities of Christian stewardship. She assisted parishes in fostering plans for infusing the stewardship message to help create in their communities a culture of grateful generosity. She is the author of several stewardship resources including a six-week small group process, Be Not Afraid-How to Follow Jesus. She has given stewardship presentations and parish missions nationally and has recently returned from a stewardship mission trip to the Philippines. Ms. Otto holds a master’s degree in theology and served as Region VII representative on the ICSC board of directors for the past five years. She chairs the ICSC parish stewardship education and services committee. She and her husband, Jeff, have five children and eight grandchildren.

Location: Hanover E

Handout:

Head of Schools Role

Head of school, president or principal – whatever the title, we all agree that their role as the chief advancement officer should be an important part of their job. Head of schools, presidents and principals play a significant role in the two ways to secure revenue: enrollment management and fundraising. This presentation will help all attendees understand this role and the position’s function within advancement and admissions teams.

Speaker: Larry Furey
Partner
Partners in MissionSchool Leadership Search
Solutions
Westwood, Massachusetts

Moderator: Corinna Siy
Stewardship Coordinator
Archdiocese of Vancouver
British Columbia, Canada

Larry Furey brings senior level management experience and over 25 years of development knowledge to Partners in Mission. He is currently providing comprehensive advancement services to Catholic schools, dioceses and religious organizations throughout the United States. He serves as assistant headmaster for advancement at Xaverian Brothers High School, a Catholic all-boys college preparatory school located in Westwood, Massachusetts, where he is leading his second capital campaign for $25 million. It was under Mr. Furey’s leadership that the school successfully increased its annual giving program from $120,000 to over $1,300,000 in eight years. Prior to his responsibilities at Xaverian, he served as vice president of advancement at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Boston. Mr. Furey began his career in advancement in 1990 when he left public accounting to become the first director of development at his alma mater, Marian High School in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University in St. Bonaventure, New York, and is both a Certified Fund Raising Executive and a CPA. He is the treasurer and board member of the Association of Catholic Admission and Advancement Officers of New England. Mr. Furey and his family reside in Westwood, Massachusetts.

Location: Hanover D

Handout:

Conducting Transformational Campaigns

With about thirty five percent of the Catholic population in the United States being Hispanic/ Latino, you’ll want them on board for your next capital campaign. Come learn about this community, its giving culture, and best practices on how to successfully engage our Hispanic/ Latino members. Spanish version is Session 65.

Speaker: Jose Piñones
Major Gift Officer
Archdiocese of Chicago, Illinois

Moderator: Brian Doyle
Director of Development
Diocese of Palm Beach, Florida

Mr. Jose Piñones – Originally from Dallas, Texas, Mr. Pinones graduated with a degree in marketing from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. For five years he served as the development director for St. Mary’s and St. John Paul the Great Campus Ministries in the Diocese of Tyler. He moved to Chicago to embark on the historic $415 million To Teach Who Christ Is campaign in 2014. In that time, he has conducted over 950 personal solicitations in English and Spanish. He is a constant advocate for the Hispanic Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Mr. Pinones has served on the Nacogdoches Habitat for Humanity board as well as the Nacogdoches Junior Chamber board. In a volunteer capacity, he has raised money for The Big Shoulders Fund and Latinos Progresando. In his personal time he enjoys running and keeping up with current world events. He is an avid Dallas Cowboys fan and bought his first Chicago Cubs t-shirt last year.

Location: Regency VII

Handouts:

Annual Plan

Focus of Stewardship

Best Practices in Parish Stewardship

Responsibilities

Drawing parishioners into a deeper relationship with the Lord and inviting them to make a conscious decision to support the mission of the Church with their time, talent and treasure is at the heart of stewardship. In this session, we discuss practical tools and strategies for promoting stewardship year round. We will focus on initial and subsequent steps of communicating stewardship, increasing parishioner engagement and how to conduct an annual parish stewardship commitment effort.

Speaker: Kerry Ann Tornesello
Associate Director of Development
Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina

Moderator: Sister Mary Brigid Callan
Director of Stewardship and Development
Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio

Kerry Ann Tornesello has been the associate director of development in the Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina since 2014. Prior to this position, she was the parish manager of St. Therese parish in Mooresville, North Carolina, a 4,000 family parish in the northern suburbs of Charlotte. Her stewardship journey began 13 years ago when her pastor asked her to “find out more about stewardship and start a stewardship committee here.” Her diocesan responsibilities include traveling the 46 counties of the diocese promoting parish stewardship and meeting parishes where they are on their stewardship journeys; whether beginning the journey, getting back on the path, coasting, or speeding along. Ms. Tornesello also coordinates the $5.7 million Diocesan Support Appeal, three additional annual collections, and she supervises the support staff of the office of development. Ms. Tornesello holds a bachelor’s degree in English and business communications from DeSales University in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, and a master’s degree in education from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. She, her husband, and son have been active members of St. Therese Parish for 19 years.

Location: International North

Prior to the call of Pope Francis to share the “Joy of the Gospel”, the Church of the Nativity embarked on a process “to grow disciples, develop a healthier parish community, and more intentionally and effectively serve the New Evangelization.” This presentation includes the Church of the Nativity’s story and shares the three key strategies that drove the transformation of the parish. These strategies have more than doubled the weekend attendance while tripling offertory giving.

Speaker: Reverend Michael White
Pastor
Church of the Nativity
Timonium, Maryland

Speaker: Tom Corcoran
Associate to the Pastor
Church of the Nativity
Timonium, Maryland

Moderator: Reverend Christopher Heath
Pastor
St. Hedwig Catholic Church
Los Alamitos, California

The Reverend Michael White is an award-winning and best-selling author. He has co-authored the books Rebuilt, Tools for Rebuilding, and Rebuilding Your Message, with combined sales of more than 100,000 copies. Many say Rebuilt has changed the conversation about parish mission and culture in the American Catholic Church. Father White has spoken to diocesan gatherings and conferences nationally and internationally. He has been the keynote speaker at Proclaim Conference in Sydney Australia, Alpha Ireland, and at conferences for the Archdioceses of Boston and Montreal and Krakow. Father White earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Maryland and his graduate degrees in sacred theology and ecclesiology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He worked as personal secretary to Cardinal William Keeler, who was then archbishop. During that time, Father White served as the director of the papal visit of Pope John Paul II to Baltimore. During his tenure as pastor of the Church of the Nativity, the church has tripled in weekend attendance to more than 4,000. Commitment to the mission of the Church has grown, evidenced by the significant increase in giving and service in ministry, and genuine spiritual renewal.

Tom Corcoran is an award winning and best-selling author. He has co-authored the books Rebuilt, Tools for Rebuilding, and Rebuilding Your Message, with combined sales of more than 100,000 copies. Many say Rebuilt has changed the conversation about parish mission and culture in the American Catholic Church. Over the last few years, Mr. Corcoran has spoken to diocesan gatherings and conferences nationally and internationally sharing his unique insights about renewing and rebuilding parishes. He has been the keynote speaker at Proclaim Conference in Sydney Australia,Alpha Ireland and at conferences for the Archdioceses of Boston and Montreal. Mr. Corcoran has worked at the Church of the Nativity for 19 years. He currently serves in the position of associate to the pastor and is responsible for weekend message development, strategic planning, fundraising and staff development.When he is not working he enjoys cooking, sports, and taking Tae Kwon Do with his son. Mr. Corcoran has been married 18 years to his wife Mia. They have seven children and live in Parkville, Maryland.

Location: International North

“It’s time to take time for you.” Those involved in ministry can be described as “givers.” But at a certain point, you cannot give what you do not have. Come and explore the benefits of offering your parish ministers a chance to refresh, recharge and renew their spirit and some ideas on how to do so!

Speaker: Laurie Whitfield
Director of Parish Stewardship
Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York

Moderator: Christine Heusinger
Associate Director of Stewardship
Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia

Laurie Whitfield is the director of the office of parish stewardship for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York. She has been with the office for more than 19 years and has helped move parish stewardship forward in the diocese by utilizing her gifts of creativity, teaching, humor, and innovation. Prior to this position she was an educator and corporate trainer. Ms. Whitfield has developed many resources, especially for children and parish stewardship leaders, including her published works, Taking Care of God’s Gifts with Our Sunday Visitor. She initiated a computer training series, communications seminars as well as spiritual and gift discovery sessions and more to help create new comfort levels for parish leaders as they foster parish stewardship efforts. She is a frequent presenter at annual ICSC conferences, is the Region II representative on the ICSC board of directors and has offered the keynote address and breakout sessions at regional arch/diocesan stewardship days and various other engagements. Ms. Whitfield holds a bachelor’s degree in music education, a master’s degree in pastoral administration and she is a Dominican Associate.

Location: Hanover FG

How should dioceses integrate an effective eGiving option into your annual appeal or capital campaigns? Two eGiving experts will share practical case studies on how dioceses have integrated online best practices to enhance their appeals and campaigns. From eliminating wasteful paper pledge redemptions, to driving more donors to give electronically, this session will give you useful eGiving information to meet the major decline in check writing. Fee considerations will also be addressed.

Speaker: Bradley Otto
Vice President of Operations
Faith Direct, Inc.
Alexandria, Virginia

Speaker: Mike Walsh
Vice President of Business Development
Faith Direct, Inc.
Alexandria, Virginia

Moderator: Eden d’Souza
Stewardship Coordinator
Diocese of Calgary
Alberta, Canada

Bradley Otto has over ten years of experience in helping companies best utilize their technical resources and fundraising for religious organizations. He spent numerous years providing technical services to companies large and small before joining Faith Direct in 2007. As vice president of operations, Bradley has been able to use his extensive knowledge to help Faith Direct, Inc. streamline their online giving services to better serve church and donor client needs. While serving in his current role Bradley has also been a member of the Branch Banking & Trust’s Payments Advisory Board since 2011 which gives him important insight into payment trends that can impact fundraising capabilities. Bradley attended Miami University in Ohio where he met his wife, Jenny. They and their three children are active members of their church in Annandale, Virginia. He is a Cub Scout leader, helps coach his children’s various sports teams and sits on multiple church and community boards.

Location: Regency VII

This session offers an opportunity to appreciate the relationship between good liturgy and effective stewardship and the important role that a “singing assembly” plays in fostering and nurturing communal prayer. Practical tips on how to accomplish lively liturgy and developing a music program that will send your community out into the world to be about the Gospel!

Speaker: Tom Kendzia
Recording Artist, Composer, Clinician, Director of Music
Christ the King Parish
Kingston, Rhode Island

Moderator: Mark Ayers
Steward for Music and Liturgical Ministries
St. Mary Magdalen
Altamonte Springs, Florida

Tom Kendzia is a liturgical composer who has been a catechetical consultant for over 20 years. He appears regularly at national and international events for catechists, liturgists, and musicians as a speaker and performer. Mr. Kendzia has been active as a parish music director since 1977, and has over 25 recordings of liturgical and instrumental music published by OCP. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Manhattanville College. He is a contributing author, consultant, and recording producer for the new Sadlier Sacrament Program, and recently named their national consultant for liturgy and music. He has been the music director at Christ the King Parish, Providence, Rhode Island, since 1986.