About Us
We invite young adults to deepen their faith through the practice of Ignatian spirituality and to live as women and men for and with others.
About Us
The Office of Ignatian Spirituality’s Ignatian Young Adult Ministries initiative is designed around four fundamental Ignatian principles: spirituality, community, leadership, and service. We invite young adults to deepen their faith through the practice of Ignatian spirituality and to live as women and men for and with others.
We partner with parishes, schools, and other Ignatian ministries to cultivate strong, local communities of young adults inspired by the Jesuits and their way of proceeding.
We have three core programs: Contemplative Leaders in Action , Charis, and Jesuit Connections.
Our Programs
Charis
Charis offers retreat experiences in the Jesuit tradition to young adults n in their 20s and 30s, helping them to develop deeper spiritual lives and stronger connections to faith communities.
Contemplative Leaders in Action
CLA participants are formed in Ignatian spirituality, practice the art of Ignatian discernment, and study Ignatian leadership. CLA is an 18-month program that begins and ends with retreat experiences. Cohorts generally gather twice per month: an in-person meeting and a virtual workshop in which all CLA cohorts nationwide participate. Three Days of Reflection are integrated throughout the program.
Jesuit Connections
Jesuit Connections welcomes young adults (20s and 30s) who are alumni of Jesuit schools, volunteer programs, and all those inspired by Ignatian traditions, teachings and values. We plan events around speakers, service opportunities, and spirituality programming for all those interested in building vibrant, local communities of young adults committed to the Jesuit values of faith and service.
Our Team
National Staff
Mary Beth Cassidy
Associate Director for Jesuit Connections
Mary Beth is the program coordinator for CLA events and team logistics. She is also the coordinator of Jesuit Connections Boston, offering monthly programming for young adults.
Lauren Gaffey
Associate Director for Charis Ministries
Lauren has worked in the area of young adult ministry for over 15 years, with experience on college campuses, in parishes, and through Charis Ministries. Her work at Charis includes forming and training young adult retreat teams, writing retreat manuals, and leading young adult retreats. She works with a national network of partners who offer Charis retreats in their own communities. Lauren also works with the Midwest Jesuits, including serving as the editor of Jesuit Prayer, the app and website that offer daily Scripture, reflection, and Ignatian prayer. She lives with her family in Chicago, IL.
Elise Gower
Associate Director for Contemplative Leaders in Action
Elise coordinates Contemplative Leaders in Action (CLA). She brings over 10 years of experience working in ministry and community engagement at Loyola University Maryland and The University of Scranton.
Elise is committed to individual and collective antiracism work, faith intersections within the LGBTQ+ community, and understanding discernment as a critical tool for informed and effective leadership. She seeks to engage others in Ignatian spirituality, a tradition that is rich in history and adaptable in meeting communities diverse in background, identity, and experience. Elise lives with her partner, Jamie, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Joe Williams
Director of Communications and Advancement
Office of Ignatian Spirituality
Joe is the Director of Communications and Advancement for the Office of Ignatian Spirituality (OIS), splitting his time among its many programs and initiatives. Joe has worked in parish ministry and was previously part of the Paulist Father's young adult outreach ministry, BustedHalo.com. Joe lives in Portland, Maine, with his wife and two children.
CLA Regional Coordinators
Kate André
CLA Regional Coordinator – New York and Virtual Cohort
After studying Music and Drama as an undergrad at UNC-Chapel Hill and pursuing performance in NYC, Kate attended Yale Divinity School where she earned an M.Div. and S.T.M. Her master's thesis focused on sketch comedy as a tool for community-building in worship. Kate also trained in multi-faith college chaplaincy with Yale University Chaplain Sharon Kugler and served from 2013 to 2015 as the Director of Campus Ministry at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT. From 2015 to 2019, Kate taught World Religions, Philosophy & Ethics, and led the Upper School Campus Ministry program at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls' Catholic school in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Kripalu in 2013 and 40-hour Basic Mediation Training with the New York Peace Institute in 2016. Kate served as a Chaplain Resident at The Mount Sinai Hospital from 2019 to 2020 and is thrilled to be part of the Contemplative Leaders in Action team!
Allain Andry
CLA Regional Coordinator – Charlotte
Allain thanks the many Jesuits who have staffed St. Peter parish in Charlotte for his engagement with Ignatian spirituality. Allain has been a business lawyer for 35 years but also has been active in the faith formation and RCIA ministries at his parish. He made the Spiritual Exercises and has been the leader of the Ignatian spirituality ministry team at St. Peter. He is in his fourth and final year of formation as a spiritual director through Fairfield University.
Allain recently retired from his law practice and is very enthusiastic about CLA’s mission of accompanying young adults as they develop, discern, and integrate Ignatian spirituality and leadership through all areas of their lives.
Allain is originally from New Orleans (thus the spelling of his name, pronounced Allen). He and his wife Mary Catherine (MC) met in law school and moved to Charlotte after graduation. They have three children. Allain loves the mountains, apples, gardening and playing pickle ball.
Robby Francis
CLA Regional Coordinator – Virtual Cohort
Robby is the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the Bellarmine Chapel on Xavier University campus in Cincinnati, OH. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Robby has worked in ministry with young people for fourteen years. He graduated in 2006 from St. John’s University with a bachelor’s in philosophy and received his master’s in Pastoral Studies and Spiritual Direction in 2015 from Aquinas Institute of Theology.
Robby enjoys hiking, craft beers, attempting new recipes in the kitchen, and great conversations about faith and justice.
Kate Haser
CLA Regional Coordinator – Baltimore
Kate is involved with a number of Jesuit and Ignatian projects in Baltimore. She directs the Spiritual Exercises and offers spiritual direction. As a parishioner at St. Ignatius, she coordinates the Ignatian Spirituality Project, which offers overnight retreats to formerly homeless women. Kate serves on the board of the Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth in Wernersville, PA, and the mission and identity committee of Loyola Blakefield, a Jesuit high school.
Kate worked for thirty-five years for the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and recently joined the national board.
It’s not all about Ignatian spirituality and the Jesuits! Kate stays in touch with her five siblings and a wide range of friends, and enjoys cooking and baking, tending her row house garden, knitting, and following the Orioles and the Baltimore restaurant scene.
Kelly Hickman
CLA Regional Coordinator – Seattle
Kelly has facilitated several Ignatian Spirituality Center programs and thrives in communications-rich roles. She is passionate about advancing social justice and undoing institutionalized racism, and deeply believes in ISC’s mission to nurture compassion, healing and justice in our world.
Kelly serves on the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL) Puget Sound board and on the A Matter of Spirit editorial board. She is a third generation Seattleite and enjoys spending lots of time with family and friends, snuggling her cat Leeloo, and the radical act of resting.
Marty Kelly
CLA Regional Coordinator – Boston
In addition to his role in CLA, Marty currently serves as an Associate Chaplain at the College of the Holy Cross, where he has been since 2007. A graduate of Stonehill College and the Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Marty has worked in parish, high school, and college ministry. Marty lives in Shrewsbury, MAm with his wife, Meg Fox-Kelly, and their three sons: Kieran, Sean, and Conor.
Anthony Marciniak
CLA Regional Coordinator – Detroit
After graduating from Western Michigan University and the University of Michigan with a BS/MS in Aeronautical Engineering, Anthony started his career as a design engineer working on satellite components and safety system products. Fifteen years into his career, he was invited to participate in Detroit’s inaugural CLA cohort and the transformation was immediate. He was able to see his inherent strengths, articulate his mission and align his values with his faith to become the servant leader he aspires to be today.
During his progression into engineering leadership, he found his passion for the development of people rather than the development of the product. This has provided the direction and vigor to shift his career into human resources. He is currently the Director of Human Resources for a health and wellness software and coaching company. Talk about a pivot!
In addition to his career and CLA Detroit, Anthony is a sport enthusiast in playing and watching. Golf, softball, skiing, and any major sport, he will try, play, or watch. He and his wife (another CLA alum) have been married for 8 years and currently have one son.
Jackie Newns
CLA Regional Coordinator – Philadelphia
Jackie currently serves at Chestnut Hill College and the Saint Raphaela Retreat Center within the work of mission, ministry and marketing. As an artist and spiritual director, Jackie creates intentional environments for introspection, brave dialogue and creative prayer practices through the lens of Ignatian spirituality. A graduate of University of Scranton and the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, Jackie now resides in Wyncote, PA, with her partner, Rachel. In her free time, thrifting, biking, and floral design are her outlets. As a CLA alum (Boston 2013-15), she is grateful to be reconnected with this transformative program.
Andria Seneviratne
CLA Regional Coordinator – Washington, DC
In addition to her role at CLA, Andria is a Director at FSG, a mission-driven consulting firm. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and a CLA alum (DC 2018 - 2020). Andria is excited about the opportunity to accompany young adults through 18 months of spiritual formation and to learn from the collective wisdom of the group!
Andria loves hiking and traveling to new places to learn about different cultures and communities.