Stanley Francis “JR” Zerkowski
Director Ejecutivo de Fortunate Families, es residente de Lexington, Kentucky. Es el fundador de Lexington UNITED Interfaith Encounters y Lexington UNITED Interfaith Dialogues. Diseñó y facilitó el Primer Servicio Interreligioso de Pride de Lexington en el Historic Lyric Theatre para culminar el Mes del Pride de Lexington y el Festival de Pride de Lexington, que reunió a más de 23 líderes interreligiosos: budistas, cristianos, judíos, musulmanes, así como líderes cívicos y comunitarios, incluidos el alcalde de Lexington, jefe de policía y jefe de bomberos.

En la Diócesis de Lexington, Kentucky, cofundó y dirige el Ministerio Católico LGBTQ + Lexington - "Juntos en el Puente", y fundó "Juntos en la Jornada", un Ministerio LGBTQ + de Familia, Amigos y Aliados, que ahora es Fortunate Families Lexington.

Su artículo mensual basado en la fe aparece en LinQ, la organización de servicios comunitarios de Pride en la revista Bluegrass LGBTQ +. Ha colaborado con la revista Pastoral Liturgy Magazine, Liturgy Training Publications. Completó su pregrado y primer programa de posgrado en Desarrollo y Administración de Recursos Humanos en la Universidad de Barry, Miami, FL. Luego recibió una maestría en Gobierno y Administración de la Iglesia de la Escuela de Negocios de la Universidad de Villanova, recibió el más alto honor que un estudiante graduado puede obtener en la Universidad de Villanova: el Medallón de Bartley. Es miembro de las sociedades de honor de Phi Kappa Phi y Beta Gamma Sigma. Ha recibido cuatro Proclamaciones de Mayoral por sus iniciativas interreligiosas y LGBTQ + y el Premio Lexington Mayoral Good Neighbor; fue nombrado Embajador de la Commonwealth por el Secretario de Estado de Kentucky; y, en 2017, recibió el Lexington Fairness Jonathan Barker Leadership Award otorgado en parte porque "ha tomado muy en serio las palabras del Papa Francisco y ha trabajado para construir puentes entre las comunidades LGBT y de fe". En 2019 recibió el George HW Bush Premio Points of Light por su trabajo en la construcción de puentes tanto para la comunidad LGBTQ + como para la comunidad interreligiosa en Lexington, KY; recibió del Rabino David Wirtschafter el Premio Temple Adath Israel Jethro por su trabajo construyendo puentes dentro de la comunidad de Lexington. Es miembro de la Mesa Directiva de Lexington Fairness, la Mesa Ejecutiva del Consejo de Iglesias de Kentucky y la Mesa de Síndicos de la Fundación Newman. En noviembre de 2019 fue elegido vicepresidente de la Mesa de Fideicomisarios de Newman Foundation Inc. Es un Caballero de Colón- Cuarto Grado.
Viaja por los Estados Unidos hablando sobre el Ministerio LGBTQ + y facilitando Días de Discernimiento y Visión, estableciendo Sitios Ministeriales en los que las comunidades religiosas pueden responder intencionalmente a la exhortación del Catecismo para tratar a las hermanas y hermanos LGBTQ + con "respeto, sensibilidad y compasión" y ckorear bienvenida intencional y acompañamiento celebrando la dignidad de hermanas y hermanos con demasiada frecuencia en las periferias. 

 

Honorary Member of the Board Of Directors

Fr. James Martin, SJ
Fr. Martin is an American Jesuit priest, writer, and editor-at-large of the Jesuit magazine America.  In 2017, Pope Francis appointed Father Martin as a consultant to the Vatican's Secretariat for Communications. He is a New York Times Best Selling author and frequent commentator on the life and teachings of Jesus, and on Ignatian—inspired by the life and teachings of Saint Ignatius of Loyola—spirituality. Father Martin's outreach to the LGBT community has drawn a strong backlash from conservative Catholics. He is the author of Building a Bridge: How the Catholic Church and the LGBT Community Can Enter into a Relationship of Respect, Compassion, and Sensitivity.

Board of Directors


Ed Buechel, Kentucky
President

Ed received his undergraduate degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati and his law degree from the University of Kentucky. He practices law in Northern Kentucky. Ed and his wife Kathy live in Edgewood, Ky. Ed and Kathy each have a gay son, and they are very proud of both of them. Ed also has a daughter and son-in-law, and Ed and Kathy have one grandson. Ed has participated in numerous parish activities and is involved in a number of community organizations. He serves as the first lay Chair of St. Charles Care Center, Inc. Ed and Kathy host Catholics Embracing the LGBT Community, a support group for parents of LGBT individuals in Northern Kentucky.



Cathy Hoffmann, Indiana
Treasurer

Cathy is a lifelong resident of southern Indiana. Cathy and her husband, Chris, have been married for 28 years and have two grown sons, one straight and one gay.
Cathy received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting at the University of Southern Indiana in 1988 and is a Certified Public Accountant. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Indiana CPA Society. Currently, Cathy serves as the Controller the YMCA of Southwestern Indiana. Her prior professional career includes 16 years with Karen L Schenk and Associates LLC, providing accounting and tax services to individuals, small businesses, trust and estates, and not-for-profits. She also spent 10 years with Deaconess Hospital in various roles in the finance and personnel services departments.

Cathy was raised catholic and has been a member of St Wendel Catholic Church since 1993 and has served on the building committee, finance committee and as a CCD teacher. She also served as a speech and debate coach and on the PTO of St Wendel Catholic School. Cathy was a YWCA Live Y'ers mentor in Evansville, Indiana for several years.
 

Penny Smith-Bogert, New York
Secretary

Penny Smith-Bogert lives near Albany, New York with her beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Jackie. She is a retired speech/language pathologist, a devoted yoga practitioner and the mother of a 34-year-old daughter and a 29-year-old gay son.

She participates in various local LGBT+ events and volunteers for the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. Penny is a very active member of her parish, and has served as a Eucharistic Minister, Faith Formation Teacher, Confirmation Team Facilitator and Chaperone to the National Catholic Youth Conference. She currently sings alto in her church's music ministry group and considers herself blessed to be part of such vibrant secular and religious communities.


 

Fr. Mario Serrano, OFM Conv.,Texas

Friar Mario, has been a Conventual Franciscan Friar since 2003 and was ordained a priest in 2016.  He currently serves as University Minister at St. Joseph University Parish, a Conventual Franciscan Parish in Terre Haute, IN. He is a first generation Mexican-American; the first in his family to pursue higher education and the only to have a graduate degree. Prior to his present assignment, he served as Director of University Ministry and Adjunct Faculty in the Theology Department at Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU). Friar Mario holds a B.A. from Catholic University of America and a Masters of Divinity from Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, TX.  Since 2012, he has been the Spiritual Companion for the ACTS HOPE ministry which offers retreats to all members of the Body of Christ who are in need of spiritual healings, especially those who may not otherwise be able to attend a "mainstream/ traditional" retreat and who may require special healthcare services.


Jason Steidl, New York

Jason Steidl lives in Bronx, New York where he is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Fordham University. He received his BA in government and theology from Georgetown University, his Master of Theological Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and his PhD in theology from Fordham University. His research focuses on the relationship between the peripheries and center of the US Catholic Church. How do communities on the margins create and sustain dialogue with the hierarchy? What resources are available in Catholic tradition for those struggling against systematic social and ecclesial sin? As a gay Catholic, he puts this theology into practice as a member of the ministry team for Out at St. Paul, the LGBTQ ministry of St. Paul the Apostle Church in Manhattan. Outside of his research, teaching, and ministry, he enjoys spending time at the New York Botanical Gardens, shopping at thrift stores, and singing Sacred Harp, an a cappella shape-note tradition.  


Deacon Steve Hester, Rhode Island
Deacon of the Catholic Diocese of Lexington recently assigned to Saint Andrew Parish on Block Island, Rhode Island. I am blessed with my wonderful wife and two teenage daughters, all of whom keep me in line, especially regarding social justice, fairness, and equality. I believe that the message of Jesus is one of love and mercy for all God's creatures and my role in ministry is to further that message, always. I seek to reach out to the marginalized, stand up for the oppressed, and represent Christ in my service to others. The LGBTQ+ community holds a special place in my heart, as mine is one of the fortunate families. I am honored to work on their behalf. 


Betty Dirr, Ohio

Betty lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, Mike. They have 2 children, a 32-year-old son and a 30-year-old lesbian daughter. Betty is a native of Louisville, KY where she attended Catholic schools for 16 years. After graduating from Spalding College (now University) with a BS degree in home economics, she went on to earn a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from the University of Kentucky. Betty started her career as a registered dietitian in New Haven, CT where she worked for four years before moving to Cincinnati in 1977.  She retired from Good Samaritan Hospital in 2014.

Betty is active in parish life at St. John the Baptist Church as a lector, coordinator of the Fair Trade product sales and Vincentian volunteer for the St. Vincent DePaul Society Conference. Her involvement with Fortunate Families has included being a Listening Parent and assisting in the planning of a Parent Gathering in Cincinnati. She is also an active participant in local parish ministries for Parents/Families and Friends of LGBT+ Persons.


Janice Schwegmann, Kentucky  

Jan lives in Cold Spring, KY with her husband of 45 years, Joe.  They have 3 children; two of whom are gay, and three grandchildren and one grandchild on the way.  

Jan attended Catholic schools all through grade school and high school, and has degrees in Elementary Education and Music.  She was on the faculty of St. Joseph School and directed the children’s choir for the last 30 years.  She retired in 2016.  

She is presently volunteering in and around her parish in various groups and choirs, and teaching piano in an after school inner city program.  She is active as a listening parent in the LGBTQ+  group at her St. Joseph, Cold Spring parish, and only in recent years has ventured into other cities to support the LGBTQ+ community.  She feels honored to be part of the Fortunate Families’ “Family”n and is grateful everyday for the opportunity to work with such a loving group of people.  




Anita Capillo,  Kentucky 

Anita Capillo is the second of eight children who grew up in Montclair, New Jersey.  Educated in Catholic schools until college, she learned early in life about service to the church and others from her parents.  At the age of nineteen she was one of the youngest volunteers for the Catholic Church’s Lay Apostolate Program.  Following graduation from the New York Foundling Hospital she wanted to serve in one of the poorest areas of eastern Kentucky and was placed in a medical clinic in Wolfe County, Kentucky, where she worked for several years.  In 1987, while working in the Fayette County Attorney’s Office during a break from her nursing career, she was asked to write a grant to fund a Domestic Violence Victim Assistance Program to support victims of interpersonal violence through safety planning, needs assessment and referral, as well as through the court system. Thirty years later this program continues to assist victims in the county prosecutor’s office today.  In 1999, Anita was once again tasked with writing a grant to establish a program to provide state of the art forensic examinations for victims of sexual violence.  Anita established one of the first such programs in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the year 2000, which is the only law enforcement based program in the state.  This program is in its eighteenth year.  Anita retired from the Police Department in August 2017 and is currently the Clinical Program Coordinator/ Nurse Examiner for the Childrens Advocacy Center of the Bluegrass since October 2017.  She has been a member of St. Paul Catholic Church for almost 40 years and an active member of the music ministry.

 
Christine Zuba, New Jersey

 Christine Zuba lives in Blackwood, New Jersey, near Philadelphia.  She received her BS in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University, and an MBA from Rutgers University.  Christine is employed as a television and radio broadcast equipment sales manager to both regional and national networks. Christine is a member of the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) and the Association of Federal Communications Consulting Engineers (AFCCE).
 
A lifelong Catholic born and raised in northeastern Pennsylvania, Christine has lived in southern New Jersey for over 30 years.   Christine has two grown children, a daughter and son.. 
 
Christine has been a longtime parishioner of Saints Peter and Paul Church in Turnersville.  As a Transgender Catholic she serves as a facilitator of her parish LGBTQ ministry, Together in Prayer.  Christine is also a Eucharistic Minister, and a member of the hospitality committee.  Christine also participates in other ministries such as Out Catholics of Philadelphia, One In the Spirit (Marlton, NJ), and in the NJ-PA Consortium of Welcoming Parishes, a group of similar ministries across New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 


Fr. Francis Gargani, C.Ss. R 

Francis Gargani is a priest of the Redemptorist Religious Community ordained in 1971.  A parish priest for ten years, in Saratoga Springs, NY and Pittsburgh, PA, after post-graduate studies in Worship at Catholic University, Francis was campus minister at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA for seven years. 

Retreat ministry followed at the former Redemptorist Retreat Center in Esopus, NY for nine years, with further post-graduate studies in Spirituality and Spiritual Direction at Fordham University, NY. 

After nine more years of ministry focused on social justice, residing in the south Bronx,  Francis became superior of the Redemptorist headquarters in Brooklyn, NY also for nine years. 

He now resides in Washington, DC, at the new location of the Redemptorist Provincial House, launching into a ministry of evangelization in collaboration with two other Redemptorists. 

Francis is past President of “Pax Christi Metro New York,” the international Catholic Voice of Peace, past Board Member of the “Interfaith Assembly on Housing and Homelessness of New York,” past Board Member of the New York Chapter of the “National Pastoral Musicians,” colleague in Iona College of New Rochelle, NY’s “Institute of Spirituality,” colleague of the Inter-faith Seminary of New York, “One Spirit,” recipient of their 2019 “Service to Humanity Award, and original Board Member of “Cave Canem,” North America’s only Black Poets Society.  Francis has been Catholic Chaplain at Chautauqua for two previous summers, presenting programs on Thomas Merton and a Just War in the Nuclear Age.

In 2017 he was the pilgrimage leader of the LGBTQ Community to the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ, and facilitated having the LGBTQ community formally welcomed by Redemptorist Joseph Cardinal Tobin.  

See Story:  https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/nyregion/catholic-church-gays-mass-newark-cathedral.html

Dr. Melinda Moore 

Melinda Moore is a Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University.

She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from The Catholic University of America, where she trained in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) and conducted research on CAMS. She regularly trains clinicians in CAMS, as well as advocates on behalf of suicide prevention in her role as chair of the Kentucky Suicide Prevention Group, Inc., a statewide suicide prevention nonprofit.

She has conducted military suicide bereavement research at the University of Kentucky and suicide treatment research at the Robley Rex Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Louisville. Her interest in Posttraumatic Growth emerged from her own experience with suicide and the changes that experience created within her allowing for her current career path and personal interests and relationships.