CFJ Board of Advisors

In the Spring of 2015, the Center for Faith and Justice launched a Board of Advisors, comprised of 10 Xavier alumni who share a heart for the mission of the Center and unique expertise that they have developed along their personal and professional journeys since graduating. Meet the current roster of advisors.

Antronette Black (2016)

During Antronette's time at Xavier, the CFJ played a substantial role in the woman she has and is becoming. The CFJ transformed Antronette's life in many ways. As a member of the 2014 Summer Service Interns, she worked at the U.S. Bank Boys and Girls Club. There she worked as an educational assistant and her experience at the club and in the internship; led her to change her career path from law to nonprofit work! Antronette has also traveled to Ferguson Missouri, with the Dorothy Day Immersion trip during her senior year. This experience helped to expand her perspective on the interconnectedness between religion and social justice. Currently, Antronette serves as a program director for Future Leaders Over-The-Rhine, a nonprofit organization, in downtown Cincinnati. At Future Leaders she works with youth in grades 7-12th preparing them for college readiness, while educating them on professional and character development, and financial literacy.

 

Elizabeth Coyle (2005)

Elizabeth has put her Jesuit education and theology degree to use in the past ten years. She has worked as an educator, teaching social justice at the high school level. She has worked with the homeless for many years, most recently as a resident volunteer at Lydia's House, a Catholic Worker house of hospitality in Cincinnati. She has also served as a campus minister, working for three years at the University of San Diego. There, she led retreats, facilitated immersions to El Salvador and Tijuana, and provided regular spiritual direction and support to students. Elizabeth is excited to serve on the CFJ Advisory Board because her years at the Dorothy Day House and in campus ministry were among the most formative of her life. She understands her vocation as bridge-building between young people of privilege and those on the margins of society, and she is grateful for the ways the Center for Faith and Justice does this work each day.

 

Steve Fisk (2002)

Since his time at Xavier, Steve has stayed in Cincinnati, and found himself changing career paths a few times - starting out in the educational fundraising industry, and then into the non- profit world of the YMCA, and finally settling into Information Technology. Today, he is an account manager for SmartIT, an IT consulting firm specializing in workforce solutions. He is passionate about enabling people to do God's work. In addition to supporting the CFJ at Xavier, he and his wife support various organizations that are making real change in our community, including the Ronald McDonald House, Crossroads Church, and the Freestore Foodbank. He is proud to support the CFJ, and to join the Board, because he knows there are a lot of young men and women at Xavier who are like him - people who are passionate about others, but don't know how to balance the desire to make a difference with their chosen career fields. He would like to help them make that path. He lives in the neighborhood of Pleasant Ridge (home of the PRC Gravy Cheese Fries), with his awesome wife, Jaime, and their beautiful daughter, Katelynn.

Danny Herold (2016)

While at Xavier, the CFJ was an integral part of Danny's life, and the experiences he had helped him develop into the person he is now. Most notably, being a Summer Service intern and being involved with the Dorothy Day Immersion trip. While being a summer service intern, he worked at Project Connect engaging with children experiencing homelessness in the Cincinnati area. Inspired by his CFJ experiences, he started to explore ways to blend justice and business, and started working at United Way of Greater Cincinnati helping to market and grow the VITA Tax Program which offers free tax services for individuals in the Cincinnati area. After graduation, Danny started working at Acosta Sales and Marketing as a Category analyst, analyzing grocery sales within Kroger for a portfolio of clients.

 

Kristopher Holmes (2012)

After graduating from Xavier with a BA in History and minors in Theology and Classical Humanities, Kris wanted to give back to the Jesuits and dedicated a year of service to the Alum Service Corps teaching freshmen history. After service, Kris pursued a lifelong dream of becoming an Egyptologist and enrolled in graduate school at the University of Memphis, completing his MA in 2015. This opportunity allowed him the chance to live and study in both Ghana and Egypt and yes, reads Hieroglyphs. However, during his time in Egypt, Kris found himself being called to return to Jesuit education and this led him back to Cincinnati. Currently, Kris teaches Social Studies at St. Xavier High School.

 

Betsy Hoover (2006)

At Xavier, Betsy Hoover was involved in multiple retreat and service programs through Campus Ministry and the Dorothy Day House. She was also a pioneer at Xavier as one of the first students to major in Philosophy, Politics, and the Public (PPP), a program that has subsequently risen to national acclaim. She graduated in 2006. Betsy is now a Founding Partner with 270 Strategies, leading the firm's digital strategy practice. She helped launch the company after serving as director of digital organizing for the 2012 Obama for America campaign, where she was responsible for bridging the gap between online and offline organizing.
At 270, she focuses on women's economic and health issues, technology for engagement, voter empowerment, and electoral campaigns. She's passionate about building communities online around issues people care about. Betsy is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and currently lives in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with her husband, Jeremy Bird. Betsy serves as the first chair of the CFJ Board of Advisors.
 

April Kerley (2000)

April is a Digital Content Strategist for Western and Southern Financial Group. In this role, she leads the centralized coordination of advisor-focused digital content strategy and roadmap execution on behalf of business units with IT and other shared services. More broadly, her work and purpose are to serve and share life experiences through stories that offer financial solutions that impact our future. She aims to put herself in the shoes of her audience -- they inspire her work.

 

Krista Kutz (2009)

During undergraduate years at Xavier University, Krista Kutz invested her time in a range of campus ministry and social justice activities, and graduated in 2009 with her BA in Theology. Krista then enrolled in Divinity School at The University of Chicago, having completed her MDiv in 2013. For four years, Krista worked at Old St. Patrick's Church in Chicago's West Loop, first as a ministry intern and then as the full-time Director of Liturgy. She now works in development for The Night Ministry, a nonprofit that serves people experiencing homelessness, with specialized services for LGBT homeless youth and pregnant/parenting homeless young women. Krista is focused on advancing organizations that make a positive impact in the community. She and her husband, fellow Xavier grad Craig Scanlon, live in Chicago.

 

Bobby Nichols (2013)

As a 2013 graduate of Xavier University, Bobby Nichols spent his time as a student worker in the Center for Faith and Justice. When he wasn't working for the office, he was leading retreats and service opportunities, and learning from peers and mentors on the value of engaging justice as an expression of one's faith. Since graduation, Bobby has worked at Saint Xavier High School in Louisville, KY as a Theology Faculty and Campus Minister, teaching scripture, ethics, and spirituality, as well as directing the school's retreat programs. Bobby also serves on the advisory board for CrossRoads

Ministry a retreat center in Louisville and active member of his parish council.
 

Colleen Reynolds (2015)

While at Xavier, Colleen didn't waste a second when it came to getting involved. Through the CFJ, Colleen was part of Alternative Breaks; Contemplatives In Action; the GetAway, Approach, and Encounter Retreats; traveled to D.C. for the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice, and is a proud alum of the Summer Service Internship, where she spent her summer falling in love with Cincinnati through leading inner-city emersion experiences with the the Ozanam Center for Service Learning at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The CFJ taught her to ask tough questions and helped her grow her understanding of what servant leadership looks like given the complexities of today's social and political climate. Colleen was a PPP student with a double major in Theology, and minors in Peace Studies and History. She currently works as the Director of Community Affairs for Cincinnati City Council Member PG Sittenfeld, and serves on the Board of Trustees for her neighborhood's community council. Her heart belongs to community organizing, and she can often be found volunteering for local, statewide, and national political campaigns. She is also heavily involved with two local non-profits: Women Helping Women, the agency that provides crisis intervention and support services for women and men who are survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking, and Talbert House, a network of services focusing on prevention, assessment, treatment, and reintegration for some of the most vulnerable in the community.