Trustees serve terms of three years, and may serve for two consecutive three-year terms. A total of 11 trustees may be appointed and elected.

Some seats are reserved for specific functions. Thus, the current President and immediate Past President of VOTF fill two positions, and two seats are reserved for members of the National Representative Council (NRC).

Bylaws

Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes

Dues

In alphabetical order, Board members serving today are: 

 Dan Bartley

I have been happily married to my wife, Ellen, for over 21 years. We have three children, Kris (19), Carolyn (17), and Paul (14). I joined VOTF on Long Island in October 2002 because of a deep desire to see our Church become something that our children and grandchildren will want to belong to. I still feel that way. In November 2002, I became Co-Chair of LIVOTF and have been re- elected three times.

Although a CPA by training, my passion for the church led me to earn my Master’s degree in theology at my local seminary. I am also a graduate of the Pastoral Formation Institute, an intensive, two-year program that integrated theology, spirituality, human development and psychology. Additionally, I completed an optional third-year Pastoral Formation track in evangelization. Prior to becoming “unwelcome” due to my involvement with VOTF, my wife and I were very active in ministry on both a local and diocesan level. We helped design the diocesan training program for leaders of marriage preparation programs, and subsequently served as instructors for the program. We also facilitated groups and served on the coordinating team for marriage preparation in our parish. We helped to pilot a diocesan interfaith marriage preparation program. My wife and I also designed and presented workshops and retreats based on the Myers Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) for which we are both qualified administrators. The workshops have centered on various topics such as conflict resolution, communication and spirituality. I served on the Diocesan vocations committee and was my parish coordinator for RENEW 2000.

My focus on Long Island, which I also bring to my work at the National VOTF level, is to develop a truly grass-roots organization. I am a strong proponent of servant leadership. I believe that we should be spending a significant portion of our time encouraging and supporting the growth of our affiliates. I believe that if we do this well we will have a chance to “Keep the faith and change the Church.” If not, we will not. I believe it is essential that we keep our membership energized and engaged in the conversation. This has been my primary focus on Long Island and remains my primary focus at National.  (back to top)

William R. Casey

Bill Casey and his wife Kris have three adult daughters and reside in Alexandria, VA. They worship at Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, a small multi-cultural parish formed by and for African-Americans in the 1940s when they were relegated to back pews and choir lofts in local Catholic churches.

Bill has co-chaired the Northern Virginia affiliate of VOTF (corresponding to the Diocese of Arlington, VA) since its inception in August 2002, and he has served on several regional and national VOTF committees, including the 2006 National Officers’ Elections Committee (chair) and the current Governance Committee (member). He has been a spokesperson at VOTF press conferences held in Washington D.C. in conjunction with the annual meetings of the USCCB. He participated along with VOTF Executive Director Ray Joyce in a radio interview on Interfaith Voices in 2006.

Bill holds Masters degrees in Theology (Augustinian College) and Public Administration (University of Southern California), and he is a certified mediator in the Virginia judicial system. Bill worked for 34 years as an executive and manager for the Federal Government’s financial regulator of the Savings and Loan industry, predominantly in Management, Human Resources, and Professional Development, until he retired in 2004.

Bill currently serves as a volunteer mediator, Restorative Justice facilitator, and jail Bible Study leader. The needs of survivors of clergy sexual abuse, along with VOTF’s inspired response to the crisis through the lens of survivors, initially drew Bill into VOTF, and he is committed to fostering and advancing its core goals through his role of the Board of Trustees.  (back to top)

Ronald L. Dubois

I was a Maryknoll priest for 13 years, teaching in seminaries in this country and working as a missioner in Jakarta, Indonesia, before I resigned. I have a Master's degree in Theology from Maryknoll Seminary and a Doctorate in Philosophy from St. Louis University. I worked for 23 years in Human Resources at State Street Bank before retiring in 2002. I am married to Kay Doherty, who has three daughters. We are enjoying our four-year old twin grandchildren, Rosalie and Jenson.

I have been involved with VOTF since the Convention in July of 2002. I am chair of the Paulist Center Affiliate in Boston. I have been active with the VOTF Council since early 2003 and was a member of the Steering Committee of the previous Council. I am fully committed to the Mission and Goals of VOTF, and work to see that the Voice of the Faithful is heard in the Catholic Church. It is essential that we continue to focus on accountability and transparency of the hierarchy, the clergy, and the laity as we work to build the Church as the People of God.

I have over 20 years experience with non-profit Boards of Directors. I am currently President of two non-profit Boards and secretary of a third. I am familiar with the Guidebook for Directors of Nonprofit Corporations and fully understand the duties of care and loyalty that are expected of Directors. As a Representative of VOTF’s national council, I participated in the revision of the by-laws.  (back to top)

Mary Pat Fox

Mary Pat Fox is a member of St. Ignatius of Loyola parish in New York City, NY. She attended Catholic grammar school. She received her college education at St. Michael’s College in Winooski, VT where she was educated by the Eudmandite order. Mary Pat has been a lector, parish council member and chairperson of the capital campaign for Church of Our Saviour in midtown Manhattan.

Mary Pat has served as the chairperson of the local VOTF affiliate in Manhattan, on the National Representative Council, the Convocation Implementation Team, the Tri-State Leadership Team, and the MANY Hearts and MANY Hands team that provided leadership training to affiliate leaders.

Mary Pat says “I joined VOTF and ran for office because I believe that VOTF is the organization to mobilize Catholics in the pews. I firmly believe that in order for our Church to be a healthy sustainable Church the laity must re-examine our role and take on greater responsibility in the governance and guidance of the Church. Our Church must be a loving community where we can find spiritual, emotional, and intellectual nourishment. We cannot expect this to be delivered to us—we need to create it. We have an obligation to learn from the many survivors who have been so brave in showing us the problems and issues our church must address.”   (back to top)

Svea Fraser

Scott and I were married 31 years ago, and we have two grown daughters. We have lived in Switzerland, Australia, and Singapore; the Catholic Church has been home to me through all our travels.

In 1980 Scott and I founded a group to resettle Southeast Asian refugees. Many of the people who joined and worked with us for nearly five years are part of Voice of the Faithful today. In the 1980s. I studied Scripture at Andover Newton Theological School, and completed my Masters of Divinity degree at Pope (now Blessed) John XXIII National Seminary (one of two women to have done so). I was the first woman Catholic chaplain (campus minister) at Wellesley College.

At the parish level, I have been involved as a CCD teacher, an RCIA director, lector, eucharistic minister and workshop leader. I also have been a member of three archdiocesan commissions (Liturgical, Vocations, and Ecumenical/Interfaith). I have been blessed with wonderful experiences and formation in the Catholic Church. I am now a member of St. John the Evangelist parish, Wellesley, MA.

My commitment to the mission and goals of Voice of the Faithful is based on my deep love for the Church, and a conviction that the Church is all “The People of God.” We are the living stones built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ and the foundation of Peter. I believe now is the era of the laity. It is time for us to work together for the reign of God with all religious, priests, and bishops. As an individual I want to dedicate my gifts and energy to help build bridges of trust in a community whose members are all hurt by the present crisis.   (back to top)

Patricia T. Gomez

Pat is a member of Holy Family Parish in Concord, MA. Originally from Wisconsin, she has lived in Colombia, S.A., New Orleans, and New Jersey, and in Massachusetts for the past 17 years. Pat has served many faith communities on parish councils and planning teams and has taught every level of religious education from pre-school to adult. At Holy Family, she currently teaches Baptism preparation classes, sings in the choir, and serves as Eucharistic minister. She also makes pastoral visits to patients at a local hospital.

John Hushon

John was an international corporate lawyer with a large Washington, D.C., law firm, until 1995, after graduating from Brown University in 1967 and Harvard Law School in 1970. He and Judy moved to Houston and then London as John became CEO of ElPaso Energy International. Upon retirement in 2002, they moved to Naples FL.

During his tenure with ElPaso, John managed its expansion into energy infrastructure projects in more than 20 countries in the developing world. John continues as a management consultant, but his principal “occupation” since retirement has been working on a graduate degree in theology. He completed the work for a Masters Degree in Theology-Sacred Scripture in December 2005 at Washington Theological Union (WTU). He has been teaching in Naples and Washington throughout this period, is the organizer and co-chair of the FaithJustice program and various adult educational programs at St. John the Evangelist in Naples.

John is a trustee/board member of the WTU where he is active in finance and strategic planning (particularly the revision of the curriculum to accommodate the demands of collaborative ministry and the education of those who are or will be non-ordained ministers in our Church). He also is active in the Center of Concern (a social justice “think tank” in Washington), VOTF Southwest Florida (also Treasurer), and Hope for Haiti (also co-chair of the annual “Airlift” gala).

John is a member of St John the Evangelist parish in Naples and The Pax Community in McLean, Virginia. He is married to Judy, a PhD environmental chemist. Judy is still active in environmental consulting, primarily on a pro bono basis, and she devotes considerable time to the Houston Ballet. Judy and John have two married sons and two granddaughters. They enjoy international travel, gardening, bridge, and the theatre.   (back to top)

Elia Marnik

VOTF has been a part of my life for over six years. As a lifelong Catholic, I am deeply committed to the three goals of VOTF, which are a dramatic response to the shocking sexual abuse crisis in our Church. VOTF has emerged as a united “voice” for faithful Catholics.

Since the early spring of 2002, I have been a member of VOTF, starting with my attendance at the weekly sharing meetings at St. John’s in Wellesley, then the first working group meetings. I then helped to staff the Summer 2002 Conference. Since that time, I have been active in many different initiatives: as a charter member of the Structural Change Working Group; as a member of the Protecting Our Children Group; as a facilitator at the Indianapolis convention; as a presenter at the Newton conference; as a member of the VOTF team which met with (then) Archbishop O’Malley; as a representative and member of a parish affiliate; as a director of the Boston Council; and for two years as the chair of the Nominating Committee for national officers.

I continue to see the need for the laity to have an integral and meaningful role in our Church, and I am willing to work vigorously toward that end.

Outside of VOTF, I am an educator. I have substantial experience serving on state, municipal and private boards, and have served for more than four years as President of a non-profit corporation. My most important role in life, however, is that of wife, mother and grandmother.   (back to top)

Jayne O'Donnell

A parishioner of the Church of St. Timothy parish in West Hartford, CT, Jayne has been the Director of Religious Education there since 1990; she also served from 2000 to 2006 as the first Development Coordinator for the parish middle school. In addition, she is the past chair of the St. Timothy Middle School Board; past Parish Council chair; taught 2nd and 3rd grade C.C.D.; and has been involved in the parish Social Outreach program.

Jayne graduated with a B.A. from Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart (Purchase, NY) and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

An active member of VOTF since May 2002, Jayne co-founded the Greater West Hartford VOTF affiliate, serves as the VOTF Regional Coordinator for Hartford, CT; and sits on the Hartford Regional VOTF Steering Committee.

She resides in West Hartford CT with her husband Edward (Bud) O'Donnell, and they are the parents of a son and daughter.  (back to top)

Edward N. Wilson

Jesuit-educated at Regis HS, NYC and Holy Cross College. U.S. Naval Officer. Columbia Law. 40-years corporate & financial law in NYC including VP/General Counsel of major public corporation.

Four Years VOTF:

Attended ’02 Boston Convocation.

Co-founder, Brooklyn VOTF ‘02.

On team that negotiated lifting ban on VOTF meetings using church property ’03;

Dialogue with diocese continues.

With wife Anne, Co-leader Brooklyn affiliate.

On national Governance Committee that proposed present NRC.

Member: National Structural Change Working Group.

Legislative Accountability Advisors.

Tri-State VOTF group that organized Fordham

Convocation, ‘03 and St. Paul’s Forum, ‘04.

National Representative Council since 2006.

Marketing & Communications (MarCom) Group

Member of the Oratory Church of St. Boniface, Brooklyn, NY. Finance chair and member of parish council 2001-2004.

Two adult daughters. Two small grandchildren

  (back to top)

Voice of the Faithful is a lay organization of faithful Catholics, who organized in 2002 as a response to the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. We started in the basement of a church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and have since expanded worldwide with more than 30,000 members.

Our Mission is to provide a prayerful voice, attentive to the Spirit, through which the faithful can actively participate in the governance and guidance of the Catholic Church.

We work towards achieving our mission by pursuing three goals:

• Support survivors of clergy sexual abuse
• Support priests of integrity
• Shape structural change within the Catholic Church

Our Beginnings

Carrying Out Our Mission and Goals

Rights of the Laity

VOTF FAQs

Statement of Identity

VOTF Structure

Bylaws

Board of Trustees

National Officers

National Representative Council

National Working Groups

Parish Voice Affiliates

National Staff

Our members, both individually and in affiliates, work locally within their parishes and dioceses to enhance lay participation in the governance of the Church, to make accountable those local Church entities that benefit directly from our contributions (both financial and personal), and to install programs that aim to protect our children and to carry out VOTF goals and mission.

Members within each VOTF Region elect Representatives who represent at the national level the opinions and wishes of their regional members, participate in the development of VOTF policy, help transmit communications between the national office and the regional members, disseminate information about successful projects region to region, and help implement national projects and resolutions.

Members also elect National Officers, who spearhead VOTF efforts to reform and renew our Church, who supervise the day-to-day operations carried out by VOTF’s Executive Director and national staff, and who articulate for the public the VOTF policies developed in conjunction with members, elected Representatives, and the Board of Trustees.

Members may participate in the VOTF National Working Groups, which develop the resources needed to support survivors (Survivor Support), support priests of integrity (Priest Support), shape structural change (Structural Change), remain centered in prayer (Prayerful Voice), protect children (Protecting Our Children), and educate ourselves to be responsible members of the Church (Voice of Renewal/Lay Education).

The Board of Trustees, which is responsible to the entire organization for its financial health, works with the National Officers, the Executive Director, and the National Representative Council to develop policies and ensure project financing.

Finally, VOTF’s Executive Director and the national staff provide the framework needed for daily operations and maintain the communications infrastructure necessary for an internationally dispersed membership to work together.

Within and through each of these elements, VOTF members commit themselves to working in a collegial and collaborative manner and to working within the Church to attain our goals. The current focus for collegial activity is the Strategic Plan for 2009-2010.

Bylaws

Board of Trustees

National Officers

National Representative Council

National Working Groups

Parish Voice Affiliates

National Staff

Four officers—president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer—elected by VOTF members serve two-year terms. They lead the organization’s efforts to reform and renew our Church and they implement the policies and strategies they develop in collaboration with members, the staff, and the Board. They are expected to work closely with the Executive Director to advance VOTF’s mission and goals.

President

VOTF’s President has overall responsibility for the affairs and operation of VOTF Inc., has a seat on the Board of Trustees, and serves as an ex-officio member of all committees on the Board. He or she also is the primary spokesperson for VOTF as well as the one responsible for developing institutional relationships with the Church and other organizations. Operationally, the President oversees the Executive Director and directs the implementation of the annual plan.

Term 2008-2010: Dan Bartley (Long Island NY)

Vice President

The Vice-President performs the traditional role of standing in for the President when needed but also carries out other duties that may be assigned by the President or by the Board of Trustees. He or she focuses especially on long-term issues of governance, policy, and planning, and works on special projects with the Executive Director, when requested by the President.

Term 2008-2010: Janet Hauter (Chicago IL)

Treasurer

The Treasurer helps the Executive Director and the President prepare the annual budget, helps the outside auditors who file the organization’s tax returns, participates on the Board of Trustees Development Committee, provides monthly financial summaries where required, and signs off on major expenditures. The Treasurer also is expected to adhere to all the guidelines established by the Board of Trustees Audit Committee.

Term 2008-2010: Kevin Connors (Long Island NY)

Secretary

VOTF’s Secretary records and then issues the minutes at all meetings of the Board of Trustees; works with the other officers on organizational governance, policy and planning; ensures that VOTF records on committees, task forces, membership, and other entities are collected properly; and performs other tasks that may be assigned by the President or by the Board of Trustees.

Term 2008-2010: Julie McConville (Wellesley MA)

Bylaws

Board of Trustees

National Representative Council

National Working Groups

Parish Voice Affiliates

National Staff

VOTF had its beginnings in January 2002, in the basement of St. John the Evangelist Church in Wellesley, MA. Small gatherings of 25 to 30 people met there in “listening sessions” to speak of their heartbreak and outrage over revelations that priest sex abusers had preyed upon our children and that members of the Church hierarchy had—through both actions and inactions—enabled and covered up those crimes.

These small gatherings grew each week, from dozens to a few hundred, from crowds of 700 in Spring 2002 into a movement and organization that by 2004 numbered thousands. Today VOTF has more than 100 affiliates and more than 25,000 members in the United States and other countries. Support for survivors and a desire to make accountable those who enabled sex abuse by the clergy remain animating forces.

Here is an excerpt from one of VOTF’s earliest reports, written by a founder who helped to write the words that defined our mission and goals:

The Voice of the Faithful Story

By Peggie Thorp, Founding Member, Voice of the Faithful

When the faithful speak, the faithful listen. And so it has been for these months of our fleeting infancy and explosive growth. From 25 people gathered on a January Monday evening at St. John the Evangelist church in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to standing-room-only crowds exceeding 700 all spring, to tens of thousands of members today throughout the world, the group that has become Voice of the Faithful has shared our outrage, pain, deep love of Church, and commitment to act. Mainstream Catholics are talking as never before — to each other and to Church leadership. …

This crisis has brought faithful Catholics all over the world to their feet - first by ones and twos, and now by the tens of thousands. … Our mission is nourished by each other as we continue a Spirit-driven dialogue toward a stronger Catholic Church. Good hearts and discerning minds are determined that the voice of the laity will never be silent again.

Carrying Out Our Mission & Goals

Statement of Identity

VOTF FAQs  

VOTF’s mission and three goals commit us to working within the Church. We do not seek to redefine dogma; we do not seek to create an alternative church. But our mission and goals clearly do not call for the Church to remain “the same.”

The Church of “the same” has fostered a climate where sexual abuse of our children can proceed unchecked by accountability; where the decisions of bishops to protect the abusers and forsake the abused has caused great human suffering and has sapped the moral authority of the Church; where the mechanisms that should have checked this abuse are not open and transparent to the People of God; and where the divide between clergy and laity impoverishes our efforts to live out the mission of Christ within the world.

To address these excesses, to renew and reform the Church we love, we believe that participation of the laity is essential.

• We believe that the laity have the graced dignity, intelligence, responsibility and obligation to cooperate in Church governance in a meaningful way,according to the norm of canon law (cf. Canon 129).
   
• We believe that meaningful lay participation is the only way to correct the profound flaws that have been revealed in the human institutional life of our Church.
   
• We believe that the council documents of Vatican II illuminate the pathway for lay involvement in the Church.
   
• And we urge that the openness and mutual respect advocated by Pope John Paul IIin Ut Unum Sint (“That All May Be One”) be the model for meaningful dialog among bishops and laity.

This philosophy is centrist, and it is inclusive. We are committed to providing an open and safe forum for ALL Catholics to freely and respectfully discuss the challenges of our Church, regardless of their views on specific issues.

This inclusiveness commits us to a collaborative and collegial method of operating, and to an organization that develops its actions “from the bottom up,” with attention to all members of the organization and in communion with our Church.

Participating in VOTF requires a commitment to these principles. We seek to model the behavior that we ask from our Church: centered in Christ, open to the gifts of all, inclusive and loving towards all, accountable to all members, and transparent in actions.

The Board of Trustees is the principal governing body of Voice of the Faithful, Inc. It is responsible for setting the general policy of the Corporation in consultation with the officers and the National Representative Council, ensuring that reasonable actions are taken to accomplish VOTF’s objectives, reviewing and approving the long-term strategy of the organization, administering national elections, and defining organizational membership. (For complete details, see the VOTF Bylaws, especially Article I.)

A maximum of 11 trustees serve on the Board. Two of these trustees are the current and immediate past Presidents of VOTF. Two are members from the National Representative Council who are elected by the NRC for nomination to the Board. Four are trustees elected by the NRC from nominations submitted by the Board of Trustees Nominating Committee. The Board of Trustees itself elects the remaining three members.

Board terms are for three years. A trustee may serve two consecutive three-year terms.

Board Members [clicking here opens page or part of page created from document Trustees page Board Members.doc]

Bylaws

Board Minutes

Officers
Dan Bartley, President
Janet Hauter, Vice President 
Kevin Connors, Treasurer
Julie McConville, Secretary