Program Advisory Board
Bishop David J. Walkowiak, Episcopal Moderator
Bishop Walkowiak was appointed the 12th bishop of the Diocese of Grand Rapids by Pope Francis on April 18, 2013. Born in East Cleveland, Ohio, Bishop Walkowiak attended the University of Notre Dame, where in 1975, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government and international studies. He studied at Saint Mary Seminary in Cleveland and received a Master of Divinity degree in 1979. He was ordained to the priesthood June 9, 1979 by the late James Cardinal Hickey at the Cathedral of Saint John the Evangelist in Cleveland. Bishop Walkowiak later studied canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he received the Licentiate degree in 1984 and the Doctorate degree in 1987.
Conor Dugan, Chair of the Board
Conor Dugan is an attorney with Warner Norcross & Judd in Grand Rapids, where he serves as Senior Counsel in the firm's Appellate Practice Group. Before joining Warner Norcross & Judd, Conor clerked for then-Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, worked as an appellate litigator in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice for nearly seven years, and served as counsel at an appellate and Supreme Court boutique in Washington, D.C. In his career he has successfully represented clients in the U. S. Supreme Court, the Michigan Supreme Court, numerous federal courts of appeals, and the Michigan Court of Appeals. He received an A.B. in Government from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School. Conor lives with his wife and four children in East Grand Rapids, Michigan and is a member of Sacred Heart Parish.
Benjamin Currie, MD
Benjamin Currie is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist. He received his B.S. in Biology from the University of Notre Dame, and his M.D. from Northwestern University, where he was president of the Catholic Medical Students Association. He completed his residency at Washington University in St. Louis. He has participated in several service trips abroad, most recently providing ophthalmic surgical care to patients in Honduras. He and his wife Stephanie are parents of five children and members of St. Francis de Sales in Holland, MI.
Jerry DeShaw
Jerry began his career in Holland, MI, with Prince Corporation, a manufacturer of automotive interior products; ran his own business manufacturing custom cases in the music industry; worked at Innotec in Zeeland, MI, a supplier of automated products for automobiles; and ended his career as the Vice President of Sales and Engineering at Ridgeview Industries, a supplier of stampings and metal assemblies for the automotive industry. He retired in October 2021. Jerry has a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Grand Valley State University. Jerry married his high school sweetheart Julie in 1982 and they have three married children. They are active members of Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church in Holland, MI. Jerry has a heart to serve and has been involved in various roles at Our Lady of the Lake, including being an RCIA sponsor, a parish council member, and the chair of the Haiti outreach committee. He has served as chairperson of the Holland Habitat for Humanity, chairperson for the Holland Area Young Life committee, and is on the board of God’s Embrace Ministries. Julie and Jerry facilitate small prayer groups through God’s Embrace Ministries, are involved in marriage preparation at Our Lady of the Lake, and have been supports of SBI for many years.
Kelli Fickel
Kelli Fickel is a homeschooling mother of eleven children, the eldest of whom attends Hope College and is an active member of the Saint Benedict Institute on campus. Kelli earned a BA in Education from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where (more importantly) she also converted from Reformed Protestantism to the Catholic faith and celebrated her Confirmation. Kelli taught fifth grade at a public school for four years before devoting her time more intensively to home education. She has served for over fifteen years on homeschool leadership committees, teaches classes from preschool to high school chemistry, promotes Catholic home education in the greater Lakeshore area, helps create co-op classes and curriculum, and mentors new mothers. A Holland native, Kelli has also served on city neighborhood improvement and planning committees. She is a devoted supporter of parental rights, education, and the pro-life cause. Kelli now lives in Grand Haven with her husband, Ambrose, and children and is an active member of Saint Mary's of the Immaculate Heart in Muskegon.
Jennifer Newsome Martin
Jennifer Newsome Martin is a Catholic systematic theologian with particular expertise in the thought of Hans Urs von Balthasar. Her first book, Hans Urs von Balthasar and the Critical Appropriation of Russian Religious Thought, was one of ten winners internationally of the 2017 Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise. She serves on the editorial board of Religion & Literature and the University of Notre Dame Press and has a history of leadership positions with the Hans Urs von Balthasar Consultation of the Catholic Theological Society of America and the steering committees for the Christian Systematic Theology Unit and the Eastern Orthodox Studies Unit in the American Academy of Religion. She has a joint appointment in the Department of Theology and the Program of Liberal Studies at the University of Notre Dame.
Bruce Rooke
Bruce is a dreamer and writer by trade, thanks to the advertising business. He began this career in Detroit, as a Group Creative Director for Doner and Worldwide Creative Director for J. Walter Thompson, then moved into healthcare as a Chief Creative Officer for two large agencies. He finally opened his own shop in 2020 and helps agencies and clients dream bigger. He went to the University of Michigan where he met his wife, Julia (one dream crossed off the list) and won the Hopwood Award for best undergraduate poetry (a dream yet to be finished). Bruce is an Evangelical convert to Catholicism; an avid proponent of Lectio Divina and all things Ignatian, Chestertonian, Franciscan, Kolbian, Barron, Vatican II, and the Underground Church throughout the centuries. He and Julia have been involved in launching Alpha, Unbound Prayer Ministry, small groups, Renewal Ministries missions, and sharing their testimony on Forgiveness in Marriage with different churches.
Phil Sotok
Phil is the President and Founder of VentureSource Corporation. The company, formed on the pillars of Catholic social doctrine, is a global supplier of customized and specialized products to the automotive industry, with offices in Zeeland, Michigan; Shanghai, China; and Barcelona, Spain. Prior to founding VentureSouce, Phil worked in various engineering, finance and international business development roles for Chrysler, Magna and Prince Corporation. He earned his BS degree in Economics and Mathematics from Hope College and his MBA from the Thunderbird school of International Management. He speaks Spanish and Portuguese. In addition to providing leadership and strategic direction to VentureSource, Phil is also an active investor in two start-ups and a board member of the Virtuous Leadership Institute.
In Memoriam: Thomas Levergood
Thomas Levergood, one of the Saint Benedict Institute’s founding advisory board members, passed away on August 6, 2021. Thomas was the Executive Director and a co-founder of the Lumen Christi Institute at the University of Chicago. The following links are to his obituary, various tributes, and a special tribute from First Things Magazine.