Board of Directors

Paul Henderson

Chairperson

Paul Henderson has been in Catholic ministry for over 30 years. For the last twenty-five years I've worked at the USCCB in Washington, D.C. assisting the Catholic Bishops in pastoral ministry on the national level. Its been an incredibly rich and rewarding experience working with so many professional and dedicated lay men and women, clery, religious and bishops. For the past 15 years my interests have focused on strategic and operational planning as well as organizational design, change management and leadership Development.

Tom East

Director

Tom is the Director of the Center for Ministry Development and Project Coordinator for the Certificate in Youth Ministry Studies Program. Previously, Tom was the Director of Youth Ministry and the Associate Director for Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Tom has provided workshops on volunteer management in dioceses and parishes for over twenty-five years. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles.

Sister Donna Ciangio OP

Secretary

Sr. Donna is a Dominican Sister of Caldwell, New Jersey and holds a doctorate from Drew University. She is the Director of Church Leadership Consultation and works internationally and nationally in promoting parish vitality and pastoral direction, congregational and leadership development, faith formation, small Christian communities, consulting with parishes and dioceses, and in many other areas. Her articles have appeared in Today’s Parish, Ligourian, CHURCH Magazine, and in publications from Crossroads, Paulist Press, and St. Anthony Messenger Press.

María-Elena Cardeña

Board Member

María-Elena Cardeña was born in Mexico City and raised in Pasadena, California. Since 1989, she has served as a consultant for youth ministry, a campus minister, and a pastoral associate in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She now serves as a Faith Formation Director for Our Lady of the Assumption in Claremont. Her affiliation with Center Ministry Development began as an adjunct staff member, but she has also written, edited, and led both YouthLeader and Young Neighbors in Action.

Ann Marie Eckert

Board Member

Ann Marie worked for 11 years as a Coordinator for Youth Ministry Services for the Center for Ministry Development and Project Coordinator for YouthLeader and Just5Days. Ann Marie holds a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Christ the King Seminary in Buffalo, New York. She previously held the position of Associate Director for Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Ann Marie worked in diocesan ministry for over 10 years. She has authored and contributed to a number of books including Leadership for Catholic Youth Ministry, Ministry Resources for Youth Leadership Development, Ministry Resources for Community Life, and Effective Practices for Dynamic Youth Ministry. Ann Marie teaches Foundations of Ministry Leadership and Skills for Christian Leadership in the Certificate Program. In September 2012, Ann Marie began her new position at St. Catherine of Siena Parish In Ithaca, New York.

Fr. Michael Montoya

Board Member

Fr. Michael Montoya has served as the Executive Director of the US Catholic Mission Association since 2004. Fr. Montoya is a co-founder of the Missionaries of Jesus, an international religious missionary institute of priests and brothers, where he has been their District Superior in the US from 2003-2006. Fr. Montoya has worked for more than 15 years in multi-cultural and cross-cultural settings in the United States. He has been a pastor along the borders of Texas and Mexico, Los Angeles, and an associate pastor in Chicago. He also served as school Director of St. Louis in Mandaue, Cebu, Philippines. Fr. Montoya holds a Doctor of Ministry degree with a concentration in Spirituality and a cross-cultural focus from the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Fr. Montoya also holds a Master of Divinity from Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas focusing his studies on liturgy in a multi-cultural setting. Fr. Montoya grew up in the Philippines.

Cassie Nielsen

Board Member

Cassie Nielsen currently serves as the Vice President of Communications and Marketing for Florida Virtual School, the nation's first state-wide virtual public school. With both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Teaching degrees from Duke University, she has focused her career on education and educational marketing. Cassie has more than 29 years of experience in the education and educational publishing arenas, including sharing her expertise as an adjunct faculty member to the Rollins College Crummer MBA program in Winter Park, Florida.

Sister Edith Prendergast RSC

Board Member

Sister Edith Prendergast is a member of the Religious Sisters of Charity and was the director of the Office of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 1987 to 2015. She was the director of the archdiocese’s annual Religious Education Congress—an event that attracts over 40,000 participants from around the world. Edith has served on the board of directors for the National Conference for Catechetical Leadership and has published articles in Religion Teacher’s Journal and Living with Christ. She is currently a national consultant, speaker and retreat director.

Sister Maureen Shaughnessy SC

Board Member

Sister Maureen Shaughnessy serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Center for Ministry Development. She is the present General Superior of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth. Sister Maureen has an undergraduate degree in Latin from the College of Saint Elizabeth and a Master’s degree in Religious Studies from La Salle University in Philadelphia. Prior to her election, Sister Maureen served as Assistant Secretary for Catechesis and Leadership Formation at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Washington, DC.