Jack Valero, coordinator and co-founder of Catholic Voices, is also Press Officer for Opus Dei in the UK. In 2006 he co-ordinated, with Austen Ivereigh, the Da Vinci Code Response Group, a team of Catholics who made themselves available to the media in the run-up to the DVC film. In 2010 he was Press Officer for the Beatification of Cardinal Newman within the Papal Visit to Britain.
The Team
Coordinators
Jack Valero
Austen Ivereigh
Dr Austen Ivereigh, coordinator and co-founder of Catholic Voices, is an author, journalist and commentator, who is a well-known voice on TV and radio on church affairs. From 2000-2004 he was deputy editor of The Tablet. From 2004 to 2006 he was Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's public affairs director. He is the author of various books, most recently How to Defend the Faith without Raising your Voice (Our Sunday Visitor, 2012).
Kathleen Griffin
Kathleen Griffin is a broadcaster, writer and academic. She has been a producer on many BBC Radio 4 programmes, including Woman's Hour, Feedback and In Touch. She is currently a senior lecturer in Broadcast Media at Brighton University and regularly trains journalists for the BBC. Her many books include 'The Forgiveness Formula' (Simon and Schuster, 2003), a practical guide on the steps to forgiveness.
Speakers
Dominic Burbidge
Dominic Burbidge is a postgraduate student of the University of Oxford, interested in the local politics of East Africa. He also works as a Researcher to Timothy Garton Ash.
Helen Hunt
Helen Hunt is a theology student at Durham University and President of Durham University Catholic Society. Before University she spent some time working as a volunteer youth worker for the Church.
Gregory Daly
Gregory Daly is completing a PhD in ancient history at the University of Manchester. Author of Cannae: The Experience of Battle in the Second Punic War, he studied History and Greek and Roman Civilization in University College Dublin, where he taught for several years.
Caroline Farrow
Caroline Farrow is a Catholic writer and blogger. She is a mature student, currently on a break from her studies in Literature and Theology, whilst she juggles the demands of her four children. Caroline has a passion for pro-life work and promoting Church teaching on human sexuality, especially amongst young people.
Marianne Neary
Marianne graduated at Cambridge University and is continuing her Medicine degree at University College London. She is a keen science writer, musician and will be running for CAFOD in the London Marathon 2012.
Peter Smith
Peter Smith is a lawyer who works in central London. He has previously worked in Parliament.
Richard Solomon
Richard Solomon, a convert, is married with five young children. He is a chartered accountant working in the City of London. He also serves as the Honorary Treasurer of Providence Row, one of the oldest Catholic charities for the destitute, and is a member of the movement Communion & Liberation.
Joe Ronan
Joe Ronan is a businessman and lifelong Catholic. He's worked in science and industry following a degree in Chemistry from Imperial College, and has a particular interest in education and parish life.
Meg Schützer-Weissmann
Meg Schützer-Weissmann works for a rare book dealer, for a school as archivist, and for an art history study program as administrator. She is currently studying for the Maryvale Certificate in Catechesis and has volunteered with the Order of Malta in France and Lebanon.
Paula Thompson
Paula Thompson is married, an architect by profession. She loves working with young people and is currently an International volunteer in social media for World Youth Day Rio2013. She belongs to the lay Benedictine community of St Aelred and is particularly interested in pro-life issues
Alice Heans
Alice Heans is a convert from the Church of England and a member of the Ordinariate. She studied Theology at Heythrop college and is now studying for an MA in Christian Spirituality. Alice is also currently volunteering for the Alliance of Pro-life students.
Clare Mulvany
A midwife by profession, Clare is married with six children. A Catholic revert, a home educator and a lazy blogger, she is enthusiastic about the Church's teaching, particularly in the areas of pro-life work and the education of young people.
Miguel Bravo
Miguel Bravo is in his final year of an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and Philosophy at the University of Bristol. A lifelong Catholic, he was born in Venezuela and moved to England aged five. He is currently the treasurer of the University of Bristol Pro-Life society.
Matthew Oliver
Matthew, a New Zealander, is married and lives in Brighton. He is a part-qualified accountant working in the City of London and returned to his faith in 2010. Matthew is a volunteer in the Brighton and Hove "Night Shelter" scheme, run by local Christian parishes.
Laura D'Arcy
Laura Crowley is a barrister, practising in commercial law. Before being called to the Bar, she read History at Cambridge.
Carl Fernandes
Carl is a medical doctor working in NHS General Practice. He currently enjoys working with his patients in the local community - in the diverse melting pot of central London.
Neil D’Aguiar
Neil D’Aguiar has Degree in Theology from Durham University, including a year at Kings College London. He works as a RE Teacher and Director of Spirituality at Richard Challoner School. He is also a carer to his wife.
Teresa Loftus
Teresa Loftus works in Statistics and has also worked in the IT industry. She studied an MA at Maryvale and been involved with a number of the new movements and communities.
Michael d'Arcy
Michael d'Arcy is a barrister, practising in commercial law. After a degree and doctorate in physics at the University of Oxford he was a lecturer both at Oxford and King's College London. He has also carried out science policy research in Washington DC.
William Johnstone
William Johnstone was an Anglican clergyman. He works for the St Barnabas Society, a Catholic charity that supports convert ministers and religious, while studying classics at University College London.
Sarah de Nordwall
Sarah de Nordwall works in a bardschool, writing poems on commission for business and charity events. She also runs her own shows and creative poetry workshops in the community, for a mixture of clients. She is passionate about women's issues and volunteers for "40 Days for Life".
Marie Jones
Marie Jones is a full-time mother of two with a background in Youth Ministry. She has worked with the physically and mentally handicapped and spent time with L’Arche community.
Olive Nsababera
Olive Nsababera graduated from Yale University with a B.A in Economics. She currently works in a law firm where she focuses on legal research and case management.
Fr Paul Keane
Fr Paul Keane works as a parish priest in north-east Essex and is the Catholic chaplain at the University of Essex. Born in London, he read History at Cambridge and trained to be a priest at The English College in Rome.
Obianuju Ekeocha
Obianuju Ekeocha is originally from Nigeria, now living and working in Kent as a Biomedical Scientist. She is also a founding member of Culture of Life Africa, an initiative dedicated to the promotion and propagation of the Gospel of Life in Africa.
Ella Leonard
Ella Leonard is married with three children. She is a corporate lawyer specialising in investment funds and is a governor of three educational charities, one of which operates two Catholic primary schools in South London.
Catherine Anderson
Catherine Anderson works in Central London as a B2B Marketing Consultant in the IT sector. She is a Trustee and fundraiser of The Amar Jyoti Trust, a Charity which helps blind children and other marginalised groups in India. A Catholic revert, Catherine is also an alumnus of King’s College London.
Poppy MacDonald
Poppy MacDonald is currently studying for an MA in Bioethics at St Mary’s University, Twickenham whilst working full-time as a Commodity Buyer in Aerospace Engineering.
James Newman
James Newman is a medical student at the University of London, having previously studied at the University of Oxford. He enjoys reading about Middle-Eastern history.
Chris Morgan
Chris Morgan is a tax advisor specialising in international and European law. He is a member of the Catholic movement, Communion and Liberation.
Fiona O’Reilly
Fiona O’Reilly is a management consultant, specialising in programme and project management. She also leads Soul Food, a lay initiative that brings together a large range of Catholic professionals living and working in London.
Fiona Paley
Fiona Paley works in Communications and Public Affairs. She has a Theology and Religious Studies degree from Cambridge University.
Edward Rennie
Edward Rennie is a Christian Socialist, Borough Councillor and religious broadcaster. He has previously worked for the campaigning solicitor Imran Khan, and has had a few stints as a Wine merchant. He became a Catholic in 2007.
Chris Serpell
Chris Serpell is a postdoctoral research fellow currently working on DNA nanotechnology at McGill University, having completed his doctorate in chemistry at the University of Oxford. A former Catholic Society President, he has also spent time living in community and working with the disadvantaged.
Peter D. Williams
Peter D. Williams is a former Atheist ‘revert’ to the Catholic Faith, works as a Campaigner for the Pro-Life organisation Right to Life, and is a part-time Graduate Theology student at King's College London.
Liz Toy
Liz Toy is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist in the NHS specialising in thoracic malignancy. She has an interest in ethical issues at the end of life.
John McAleer
John McAleer read Philosophy and Theology at Trinity College Dublin and Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He worked for the Papal Visit Team prior to Pope Benedict's visit to the UK and is now teaching in a Catholic Secondary School in London.
Isaac Chenchiah
Isaac Chenchiah is lecturer in applied mathematics at the University of Bristol. He is a convert to the Catholic Faith.
Anna-Marie Treloar
Anna-Marie Treloar is a medical student at Hull York Medical School. She has worked with local and national Catholic youth initiatives, and with York University Catholic Society.
Mary Clarkson
Mary Clarkson is a Labour Councillor and governor of a Catholic primary school in Oxford. Married with four children, she has a background in management consultancy and in employment and social policy.
Clare-Ann Fransen
Clare-Ann Hamel-Smith is a recently qualified architect. She grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and has been living in the UK for nearly 10 years. From a young age she has been involved in giving talks on pro-life and human sexuality issues.