Fr. Charles Trullols
Spiritual Director & DC Chaplain
Fr. Charles Trullols
Fr. Charles Trullols is the Spiritual Director and DC Chaplain of the Leonine Forum. He is also Director of the Catholic Information Center, a corporation of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC. Originally from Barcelona, Spain, he graduated from the Barcelona School of Architecture with a bachelors degree in Architecture, then earned a bachelors degree in Theology and a doctoral degree in Canon Law (JCD) from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
Fr. Trullols was ordained a priest in Rome for the Prelature of Opus Dei in 2006. Following his ordination he was assigned to work in Granada, Spain. In 2008 he moved to the United States and lived in Pittsburgh, South Bend, and Chicago, where he served the pastoral needs of the Prelature. Besides his current role at the Leonine Forum and at the CIC he is also assistant Chaplain at Oakcrest School in Virginia. Fr. Trullols speaks four languages fluently.
Mitch Boersma
Co-Founder & Executive Director
Mitch Boersma
Mitch Boersma is Co-Founder & Executive Director of the Leonine Forum. He is also the Executive Vice President of the Catholic Information Center (CIC) – an organization committed to making the Catholic Church alive in the hearts and minds of men and women living and working in our nation’s capital. Originally from Colorado, Mitch holds a Bachelors degree in Business from the University of Dallas and a Masters degree in Moral Theology and Ethics from the Catholic University of America. Mitch held research positions at the American Enterprise Institute (Washington, DC) and worked as an independent writer and researcher on several book-length projects. In 2013, Mitch was named one of FOCUS’ (Fellowship of Catholic University Students) 30 under 30 young Catholics, He is a Tertio Millenio Seminar Fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, and a graduate of the Summer Seminar on Catholic Social Teaching from the Society of Catholic Social Scientists. His work has appeared in secular and religious news outlets including RealClearReligion, EWTN, Legatus Magazine, Fox News, The Stream, Verily Magazine, and National Review Online, among others. He and his wife Rosie live in Fairfax, VA with their children.
Emma Boyle
Director of Operations
Emma Boyle
Emma Boyle is the Director of Operations of the Leonine Forum. In this role, she leads a team that is shaping Leonine’s formative programs, cultivating a growing network of Catholic professionals, and building relationships across the country. Previously she spent nearly a decade in Catholic education, including teaching, writing curricula, and spearheading student life initiatives. Emma received a B.A. in History from Christendom College. She is a 2013 Washington DC Leonine Fellow and a native of Pittsburgh, PA.
Abigail Galván
Director of Development
Abigail “Abi” Galván
Abigail “Abi” Galván serves as the Director of Development of the Leonine Forum and is a 2021 Washington DC Leonine Fellow. Abi is passionate about helping nonprofits forge strategic partnerships and achieve sustainable growth. Prior to joining the Leonine Forum, Abi served as Lead Development Officer of the Thomistic Institute, Communications and Program Officer of the Crimsonbridge Foundation, and Development Director of the Religious Freedom Institute. She got her start in fundraising by helping devise and fund the launch of the Bethlehem Museum for Heritage and Culture in the Holy Land. A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Abi earned her bachelor’s degree in international politics. She serves on the Pastoral Council of the Archdiocese of Washington, DC and is a founding board member of the Gratia Plena Institute, an initiative started by a fellow alum. Originally from Texas, Abi now calls Washington, DC her home.
Cindy Searcy
Director of Strategic Partnerships
Cindy Searcy
Cindy Searcy serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships to the Leonine Forum and as the Vice President of Development at the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC). She has over a decade of professional experience in nonprofit fundraising with a number of institutions in Washington, DC. Born and raised in Kentucky, Cindy earned her BA in Government with honors from Georgetown University and a Master’s degree in Politics from the Catholic University of America. Cindy is a recipient of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s M. Stanton Evans Alumni Award, and is a former Bryce Harlow Fellow. She has contributed articles to The Catholic Thing and Law & Liberty.
Brie Jastrebski
Director of Alumni Engagement & Chicago First Year Coordinator
Brie Jastrebski
Gabrielle (Brie) Jastrebski serves as the Director of Alumni Engagement for the Leonine Forum. She helped launch the Leonine Chicago chapter and served as the First-Year Coordinator since 2020. Prior to joining the Leonine Forum, Brie served as the Global Program Manager of the FEMM Foundation and lead Educator for FEMM’s international education programs. She has served in leadership for Young Catholic Professionals – Chicago Chapter and as a FOCUS Missionary. Brie is a graduate of the University of Illinois and a Chicago native.
Jennifer K. Amster
Events & Communications Manager &
NYC First Year Coordinator
Jennifer Monsalve
Jennifer K. Amster (née Monsalve) serves as the Events & Communications Manager of the Leonine Forum. She is a 2018 New York City Leonine Fellow and has served as the NYC First-Year Fellow Coordinator since 2019. Prior to the Leonine Forum, Jennifer served as Director of Campus Ministry at Felician University. She received her BA from Fordham University. Thereafter, she earned her Master’s degree from the Pontifica Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá, Colombia, while working at the Colombian Bishops Conference. Jennifer lives in Bogota, NJ with her husband Logan, whom she met on the 30-Day Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Elisabeth Showalter
Associate Director of Development & DC First Year Coordinator
Elisabeth Showalter
Elisabeth Showalter serves as the Associate Director of Development for the Leonine Forum. She also serves as the DC First-Year Fellow Coordinator, and is the point person for all First-Year DC events. Prior to joining the Leonine Forum, Elisabeth served as the Advancement Officer for the GIVEN Institute and as a mathematics teacher at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School in Washington, DC. She is a graduate of the Catholic University of America where she studied mathematics, psychology, and Italian. Elisabeth lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband.
Rich Loesing
LA First Year Coordinator
Rich Loesing
Rich Loesing is an attorney and consultant who works as the Director of Mission Advancement at the Napa Institute. His interests include Catholic apologetics, men’s spiritual fellowship, Notre Dame (and now USC) football, and spending time with his wife, Brenda, and two sons. An alumnus of the University of Notre Dame and the Pepperdine University School of Law, Rich remains active in mentoring and networking with alumni and students from those organizations. He is committed to growing in his faith and surrounding himself with men and women of goodwill. Rich currently resides in Long Beach, California.
Fr. Roger Landry
NYC Chaplain
Fr. Roger Landry
Father Roger J. Landry, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River, Massachusetts, is National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. He is also a Papal Missionary of Mercy, Chaplain to the New York Chapter of the Leonine Forum, a Member of the Board of the Shrine of Our Lady of the Martyrs in Auriesville, New York, and a National Eucharistic Preacher for the USCCB’s National Eucharistic Revival. He helped lead the Seton Route of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage from New Haven, CT, to Indianapolis from May through July 2024 in preparation for the Tenth National Eucharistic Congress.
A graduate of Harvard College (1992) and the Pontifical North American College in Rome (1999), he served as Catholic Chaplain to Columbia University in New York City and to the Thomas Merton Institute for Catholic Life (2022-2024), Attaché to the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York (2015-2022), Ecclesiastical Assistant to Aid to the Church in Need USA (2021-2024), and has been a pastor, newspaper editor and high school chaplain in the Diocese of Fall River. He writes for many publications, appears regularly on television and radio, and is the author of Plan of Life: Habits to Help You Grow Closer to God (Pauline Books and Media 2018). His homilies, articles, retreats, conferences, educational videos and other offerings are available for free at catholicpreaching.com.
Fr. Luke Mata
LA Chaplain
Fr. Luke Mata
Fr. Luke was born in Madrid, Spain in 1966 and is the second child of a family of nine children. His soccer skills and some prayers earned him a scholarship to Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey. Fr. Luke graduated from Bergen Catholic in 1984 and was admitted into the University of Notre Dame.
After graduating from Notre Dame Fr. Luke worked as the president of Youth Service International while also serving as the United States Coordinator of youth formation for Opus Dei based in New York City. He also served on the organizing committee at the USCCB for the World Youth Day in Denver that would take place in 1993.
Fr. Luke’s theological studies in preparation for the priesthood eventually landed him in Rome, where he completed a bachelor’s degree in theology as well as a Masters in Philosophy at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. In 2006 Fr. Mata was ordained to the priesthood, in Rome, by the Bishop Prelate of Opus Dei, Javier Echevarria. In 2008, also at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, he successfully defended his Doctoral Dissertation and was awarded a PhD in Moral Philosophy.
While working on his PhD in Rome Fr. Luke had the great fortune of working in two Synods of Bishops, one with John Paul II and one with Benedict XVI.
Fr. Luke moved to Los Angeles in 2008 and now serves as the Vicar of Opus Dei for the West based in California. He also continues to preach retreats throughout the United States and devotes as much time as he can to providing spiritual direction to lay people, especially busy professional men and women.
Fr. Peter Armenio
Chicago Chaplain
Fr. Peter Armenio
Very Rev. Peter V. Armenio was ordained a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei in 1980 and currently serves as the Vicar of Opus Dei for the Midwest (USA). Fr. Armenio received a doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 1996. He has served as the chaplain of Lexington Institute, Willows Academy, and Northridge Preparatory High School in the Archdiocese of Chicago and has worked in campus ministry for several years. He has written these books published by MTF: Our Moral Life in Christ (semester, complete course, and college editions), The History of the Church (semester and complete course editions), and The Mystery of Redemption and Christian Discipleship.
Fr. Arne Panula
Co-Founder
(1946-2017)
Fr. Arne Panula
Fr. Arne Panula, 71, a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei, passed away on July 19, 2017, after struggling for many months with cancer. He is survived by his three sisters, Lynne, Amy, and Pat, their husbands, Wynne, Ralph, and John, and eleven nephews and nieces.
Fr. Panula was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota. He attended Harvard University where he was on the crew team. After graduating in 1967 with a B.A. in English Literature, he moved to Rome to study theology where he lived with St. Josemaria Escriva, Opus Dei’s founder. He was ordained a priest in 1973 and earned a doctorate in Theology from the University of Navarre, in Pamplona, Spain. After ordination, he served as chaplain of The Heights School in Washington, D.C. in the mid-1970’s, after which he exercised his ministry for many years in Northern California, working with high school and university students. From 1998-2002 he was Vicar of the Prelature of Opus Dei for the United States, in New York.
From 2007 on he was the Director of the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. where he carried out a rich and fruitful work of spiritual direction. He also expanded the mission of the Center by creating the Leonine Forum to educate men and women early in their careers in the core tenets of the Social Teaching of the Catholic Church.
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