LOS ANGELES

PARTNERING WITH

In monthly sessions held at the USC Caruso Catholic Center, Leonine Fellows are led by Catholic thought leaders from around the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. During these sessions Leonine Fellows will grapple with some of the most important questions at the intersection of Catholicism and public life.

LOS ANGELES

PARTNERING WITH

In monthly sessions held at the USC Caruso Catholic Center, Leonine Fellows are led by Catholic thought leaders from around the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. During these sessions Leonine Fellows will grapple with some of the most important questions at the intersection of Catholicism and public life.

Join nearly 800 Leonine Fellows across the country 

Become part of a larger community of leaders committed to integrating the teachings of the Church within their professional and civic lives.

2023-2024 Leonine Forum applications are now closed.

2023-2024 LOS ANGELES

FIRST-YEAR LEONINE FELLOWS

Tom Bernardo
Bosch: Legacy (Amazon Freevee)


Tom is an Executive Producer and co-showrunner of the Amazon crime drama Bosch: Legacy. Born and raised in upstate New York, his Catholic education includes high school with the Christian Brothers, college with the Jesuits, and a law degree from Notre Dame. After practicing law for five years, he left the profession to become a TV writer. He has a passion for cinema, reading, working out, and exploring Los Angeles. His two favorite places in the entire city: the quiet chapel at the Monastery of the Angels and watching classic films at the David Geffen Theater (Academy Museum).
Brean Bettencourt
Tractor Beverage Company


Brean is the Director of Sales Strategy & Customer Experience at Tractor Beverage Company, the first and only certified organic total beverage solution for the food service industry. Raised in rural Central California on a cattle/farming operation, she graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, with a B.S. in Fruit Science. She is pursuing a Master's in Counseling at Divine Mercy University. She is passionate about the connection between food, people, and communication. In 2020, she graduated from California Agricultural Leadership, a fellowship aimed at developing leaders for a vibrant agricultural community. Previously, Brean served with Young Adult Teams of Our Lady (an international lay apostolate). She currently serves with Lifegiving Wounds, a ministry that fosters healing for adult children of parental divorce and separation. A fairly new resident of Southern California, Brean resides in Ventura County and enjoys spending time with family and friends, cooking, and traveling.
Andrew Cooper
Chartwel Financial Advisory


Andrew Cooper was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities to study finance and math. He is a financial associate for Chartwell Financial Advisory, a financial advisory firm serving businesses in the private middle market. Andrew specializes in business valuation services appraising early stage/start-up companies and complex securities. After working in Minneapolis after college, he decided to pursue additional intra-company opportunities and moved to Orange County, California. He currently resides in Costa Mesa, California, and is active in the Orange County community. Andrew enjoys dancing, hiking, running, traveling, and weightlifting.
Stephen Davies
Crowns & Vines Productions


Stephen is a husband and father of three living in Southern California. Alongside his wife, they co-founded Crowns & Vines Productions where they create story-driven media through artistry in hopes to inspire and uplift. Stephen is also a freelance re-recording mixer, sound designer, and composer for film, television, advertising, and podcasts. He has almost 15 years of experience working in audio post production in NYC and LA. Outside of work, Stephen and his family love the outdoors, visiting national parks, spending time with family & friends, and helping out at their Byzantine Catholic parish. He also has a great affinity for espresso.
Clement Decker
PIMCO (Pacific Investment Management Company)


Clement is a software engineer at PIMCO, a global investment firm focused in fixed income. Clement graduated from UCLA where he studied Computer Science, and led the UCLA pro life club. Outside of work, Clement continues assisting with the pro life movement and enjoys surfing and staying physically active.
George del Hierro
Chapman University


Dr. del Hierro has over 13 years of enrollment management experience in higher education. He is currently the Associate Director of Graduate Business Programs at Chapman University. He has held leadership positions in Financial Aid, Advising, Strategic Partnerships, Academic Leadership and as an Enrollment Management and Institutional Effectiveness consultant. He is a father of five boys and married to his beautiful wife, Alyson. He enjoys spending time with the family, playing sports, and working out.
Mary-Kate Duda
Self-Employed Special Education Attorney and Writer


Before earning a J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law, Mary-Kate earned a B.A. in Political Science from Azusa Pacific University. Having served as the Guardian Ad Litem for nearly 1,000 youth, Mary-Kate’s legal career has focused on advocating for juveniles in the Foster Care and Special Education systems as well as family law matters. Mary-Kate is the founder and owner of Advocate Communications, Inc., a research, writing, and marketing company that helps attorneys, mental health professionals, and nonprofits expand their reach. Mary-Kate lives in Claremont, CA, with her husband, Quentin, who is also a Leonine Fellow.
Quentin Duda
Gaiden


Born and raised Catholic in Northeast Ohio, Quentin moved further and further westward before finally landing in Los Angeles to serve as a Technical Architect for ICANN. Since then, Quentin has consulted for major clients across the Healthcare, Media & Entertainment, Finance, and Manufacturing spaces, and currently owns and operates his own independent technical consulting company. Quentin met his lovely wife Mary-Kate not long after moving to Southern California, and enjoys evening walks, woodworking, and Escape Rooms.
Maria Fabrega Moyano
Cashfana


Maria is from Spain, where she completed her studies of law and specialized in Compliance. After marring Michael she moved to the USA, has three kids, she stays at home raising them while working in her jewelry business and serving at the board of The Camino Schools as a founding family.
Annie Flynn
Goldman Sachs & Co.


Annie is a Private Wealth Advisor at Goldman, Sachs, & Co., managing portfolios for a wide range of clients including high net worth individuals, family offices, and institutional investors. Prior to Goldman, she spent several years in Chicago as a part of Northern Trust's commercial banking and sponsor finance group. Annie graduated from the Unversity of Notre Dame, majoring in Finance and History. Originally from Orange County, she enjoys trying new workout classes, exploring the LA restaurant scene, and spending time with family.
Nicholas Friesenhahn
Caltech


Nick is a chemical engineering PhD student at Caltech who is passionate about improving human health through the design of more effective protein-based therapeutics. In addition to conducting research, Nick helps lead Caltech Catholics, a club of Catholic graduate students. He also strives to promote competence in STEM among the next generation of scientists by mentoring and tutoring high-school students through the Flintridge Center. Before moving to Pasadena for graduate school, he earned his BS in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech. While having lived on both coasts, he is from neither; he grew up in Farmington, New Mexico and Midland, Texas. Some of his hobbies include skiing, hiking, running, playing soccer, and swing dancing.
Ailis Garcia
The Strong Movement
John Gutbrod
CartAgent LLC


Having reckoned with both Corporate America and small business ownership, John is always seeking to deepen his perspective on what it means to be in the world but not of it. An alumnus of Franciscan University, and raised in a big Catholic family in Ohio, John began his professional life in medical sales for Cardinal Health. He left Ohio in 2017 and started his first business while living in Southeast Asia. In 2019 he moved to Los Angeles where he currently runs a small Digital Marketing Agency. John loves reading, writing, traveling, board games, all things food & drink, and most of all having deep discussions with great friends.
Dennis Gutierrez
California Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General


Dennis was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Currently, he serves as a Deputy Attorney General to the Office of the Attorney General of California at the California Department of Justice. He studied Philosophy and Political Science at Pepperdine University and earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School. Dennis's favorite things include spending time with his nine siblings, hiking, playing video games, studying epistemology, and cheering on the Baltimore Ravens.
Naomi Leanage
TikTok


"Naomi Leanage is a lifestyle content creator born and raised in Toronto, Canada. After majoring in journalism in university, she went on to work in marketing in the fashion e-commerce industry followed by event and program planning in higher education before taking on her current dream job full-time. She creates original content on social media, entertaining and educating through fashion, comedy, travel and self care videos and has worked with over 50 renowned brands including Neutrogena, Lancôme, Walmart, Samsung and Adidas. An avid traveler who has visited over 30 countries, her other passions include reading, biking (both on the bike trail from Santa Monica to Venice Beach and in a spin studio), hosting and spending time with friends, health and wellness."
Elizabeth Lee
Loma Linda University Health


Elizabeth was born and raised in Los Angeles. She completed her undergraduate education at UC Berkeley before attending medical school at the Medical College of Georgia. She is now in residency training to become a diagnostic radiologist. In her free time she enjoys hiking, baking, and spending time with friends and family.