Dr. Fernando A. Ortiz, Ph.D., ABPP is currently the Director of Counseling Services at Gonzaga University and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington, Department of Psychiatry. He was an assistant professor of clinical psychology in the doctoral program at Alliant International University where he taught personality assessment, psychotherapy, and multicultural competencies development for psychologists. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Saint John’s Seminary College, Camarillo, California. He earned a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University, a Master’s degree in Religious Studies, a Master’s degree in Business Administration, and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Washington State University with a specialization in Mexican ethno-psychology. He completed a post-doctoral specialization at the University of California, Santa Barbara in ethnic minority mental health. His doctoral dissertation was a comprehensive study on the personality structure of Mexicans and this was published in the peer-review scientific journal of Research in Personality. He is a licensed psychologist and certified by the American Board of Professional psychology.  Currently, Dr. Ortiz was a member of the National Review Board providing consultation to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on the prevention of sexual abuse. Dr. Ortiz assists seminaries and religious communities with the psychological evaluation of candidates to the Catholic priesthood and religious communities.  He is particularly interested in promoting wellness, self-care, and a holistic human formation for individuals in pastoral settings. In evaluating candidates to the seminary, seminaries, and clergy, he has evaluated over 300 individuals. He is the leading author of the edited book, To Be One in Christ. Intercultural Formation and Ministry published by Liturgical Press (2015).

Fr. Donald S. Nesti, CSSp, a native of Pennsylvania, was ordained to the priesthood in 1963. He earned a licentiate and a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He served his missionary order, the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in many capacities. Fr. Nesti’s teaching assignments include Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA; the Pontifical College Josephinum, Columbus, OH; and the University of St. Thomas. In the administrative field, he served as Director of the Immaculate Heart Seminary, Bethel Park, PA: Director of Planning, Research and Renewal, Congregation of the Holy Ghost USA - Eastern Province; President, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA; and Provincial Superior, Congregation of the Holy Ghost USA - Western Province. Currently, he teaches at the University of St. Thomas in the Masters in Faith and Culture program. Fr. Nesti founded the Center in 1994 in response to Pope John Paul II’s 1982 creation of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The Center for Faith and Culture seeks to understand and affect the relationship between the worldview of Catholic faith and culture.

“Fr. Nesti’s leadership enables the center to instill in those it touches- through both degree programs and ecumenical outreach- a desire to understand and respect people of all faiths and cultures. Because of Fr. Nesti, the Center for Faith and Culture has become one of UST’s most visible symbols of the relationship between the love embodied in the gospel and those uniquely American values set forth by our Founding Fathers.”

Fr. James Burkart was ordained to the presbyterate of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston on May 22, 1993. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Drama from the University of Houston in 1988, a Master of Divinity from the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 1993, A Master of Arts in Theological Studies (Systematic Theology) from the University of St. Thomas in Houston in 1995 and a Master of Arts in Theologica Studies (Liturgy) from the University of Notre Dame du Lac in 2004.
He served as parochial vicar at St. James the Apostle Church in Spring, Texas and St. Theresa in Memorial Park. He was assigned as administrator and then pastor to St. Mary, Mother of God in Hempstead, Texas in 1999 and St. Martin de Porres in Prairie View, Texas in 2000. These two parishes were merged into one new parish called St. Katharine Drexel in 2001. He also served as pastor at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic Community and is presently the pastor of Christ the Good Shepherd Catholic Community in Spring, Texas. He was assigned as Chairperson of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission in 2005. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Southwest Liturgical Conference (swlc.org) and has been president of the board for the past 5 years.
 

Ernesto Cortés, Jr. is the co-director of the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) which provides leadership training and civics education to poor and moderate-income people across the US and UK. Cortés has been instrumental in the building of over 30 broad-based organizations whose hallmark is the development and training of ordinary people to do extraordinary things. He is the executive director of the 30 organizations of the West / Southwest IAF.
      He formally launched this work in 1974, starting with the Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS), the nationally recognized church-based organization of San Antonio’s west and south side communities. This work has since expanded to include organizing projects across ten states including Texas, California, Nevada, Arizona, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Iowa, Oklahoma and Mississippi. Over the years, these organizations have leveraged billions of dollars for poorer communities including $700 million in infrastructure improvements in the colonias (areas of Texas which lacked basic drainage systems) in the 80s and 90s, $2.8 billion in increased public funding to equalize school funding in Texas in the mid-1980s, and in recent years, $15 million in state funding for workforce development projects equipping underemployed adults with job training options. Millions more have been invested (and saved) in community level infrastructure, healthcare reform and housing.
      Aided by Cortés’ imagination and skill, the West / Southwest IAF organizations have produced impressive results in the area of job training. By building the capacity of constituents to create the political will to mobilize for hard monies, IAF organizations have built ten independently operating labor market intermediaries: Project Quest in San Antonio, Capital IDEA in Austin, Project ARRIBA in El Paso, Project VIDA in the Rio Grande Valley, JobPATH in Tucson, NOVA in Louisiana, Skills-Quest in Dallas, Capital IDEA-Houston, Arizona Career Pathways in Phoenix, and Project IOWA in Des Moines. The graduation rates of these projects consistently outpace those of the community college with which they partner, transforming over 12,000 adults into knowledge workers equipped with needed skills in high demand fields. MIT economist Paul Osterman has also documented the results of living wage campaigns in Texas finding they raised the wages of 10,000+ in the Valley plus those in Austin and San Antonio.
     Cortés also envisioned and launched the Alliance Schools strategy – a much lauded initiative to engage communities of adults in public education. Identifying and training parent and community leaders to change the culture of their schools, the Alliance Schools have been successful in building a broad base of support for public education, both locally and statewide. The success of the Alliance schools in raising test scores by building a culture of collaboration has been well documented, most recently by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform.
The work of the West / Southwest Industrial Areas Foundation, pioneered by Cortés, has been written about extensively. Cortés has been awarded honorary degrees from Princeton University, Rutgers University, Southern Methodist University, University of Houston and University of St. Edwards in Austin. In addition to being the recipient of the HJ Heinz Award in Public Policy and the MacArthur Genius Award, Cortés has completed multiple fellowships at the JFK School of Government at Harvard and MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning (Martin Luther King Jr.). He is a graduate of Texas A & M University.