Meet the Re/Gen 2025 Cohort

  • Brenda (She/Her) is proud Norteña Fronteriza with a deep love of her community and roots in the Texas border region. She has a deep understanding of Spanglish and the intersections of economic and migration displacement; as well as a deep understanding of all things border culture. Brenda practices and seeks to embody radical hope in everyday living; while working towards building joy, understanding, calm and peace in her community.

  • Madelyn currently lives in Metro Detroit and works as a manufacturing engineer. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2020 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. She is a big crafter, and loves to knit and crochet. Madelyn is passionate about the fight for climate justice and trying to live a low waste lifestyle.

  • Hannah Farley is a special education professional, writer, and artist living in Maine. She likes playing Irish music with her husband, Thomas, and and cuddling with her cat, Peppa, while she knits. In her spare time, she is a Civil War reenactor and historical craft hobbyists. Hannah is currently working on a historical fiction novel about exiles in Siberia in the 1930s.

  • Danielle graduated from Boston College in 2022 and served as a Jesuit Volunteer in Yakima, WA, which cultivated their value for interdependence and community-led justice movements. They returned to the Denver area (native lands of the Cheyenne, Ute, and Arapaho peoples), where they grew up, and worked as a case manager for families with supportive housing. Danielle is active in union organizing and committed to interconnected liberation. She craves community-centered spaces and loves to attend events at indie bookstores and participate in protests. As a queer person, Danielle is reckoning with feeling stifled by the Church, but seeks to be nourished by their deep roots in their faith while exploring expansive spiritualities beyond Catholicism. She is excited to join Re/Gen to work toward a radically inclusive, anti-racist, and anti-colonial Church. For fun, you can find Danielle trail running, hiking, reading, or dabbling in poetry.

  • Loreena M Garcia is currently the Associate Director of Individual Giving for Habitat for Humanity Greater Los Angeles, the 4th largest Habitat affiliate in the country. After more than a decade of service in varying types of nonprofit organizations, including working for Jewish, Catholic, and other faith-based organizations, Loreena has learned how to work within the strengths of the faith-based communities in Los Angeles to make a greater impact. A passionate advocate for the right to housing and believing strongly in the Preferential Option for the Poor, Loreena has spent her life volunteering and working in spaces highlighting the needs of the marginalized, especially BIPOC, Seniors, individuals with disabilities, as well as displaced communities.

Learn More about the Re/Generation Program

  • Ari Leandry, originally from Lorain, Ohio, is currently completing a two-year English teaching fellowship in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2023 with a degree in Comparative American Studies and a concentration in Journalism. At Oberlin, she was involved in mutual aid, reproductive justice, and accessibility efforts. She served as an abortion doula and facilitated on-campus sexual violence prevention trainings. Ari also co-founded the Coronavirus Oberlin Mutual Aid Fund, which raised over $65,000 to support low-income students during the pandemic. Raised Catholic, her interest in liberation theology has shaped her political commitments and draws her to the values of the Re/Generation Program. Upon returning to Ohio, she looks forward to expanding her work in immigration justice.

  • Naiomi Gonzalez (she/they) is a queer, nonbinary, Puerto Rican who proudly claims the title of “professional nerd.” She has an MDiv from Brite Divinity School, an MA in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, and an MA in History. They have a passion for theology, the Bible, and advocating for a faith that advocates for a more just and equitable world.

  • Sarah Beth Mernaugh is a recent graduate of Loyola University New Orleans, where she earned her Master of Pastoral Studies with a concentration in Youth and Young Adult Spirituality. Rooted in Ignatian values and liberation theology, her work centers inclusive campus ministry, interfaith justice, and spiritual care for students on the margins. During her time at Loyola, Sarah Beth served as a Graduate Assistant for Student Life and Ministry, co-leading retreats, supporting interfaith programming, and helping build spaces of belonging for young adults navigating faith, identity, and community. She is also a writer, photographer, and lay minister with deep commitments to relational ministry, political formation, and reimagining church through love.

  • Amy lives in Southern California. She attended Marquette University where she studied criminology and law studies as well as social welfare and justice. Her education nurtured and solidified her desire to work with society’s most vulnerable. After college, she spent a year serving in Atlanta through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps where she worked on several campaigns, including paid family leave and higher wages for tipped workers. Using the lessons that she learned in Atlanta, she moved to Phoenix to attend law school where she focused on public interest law and therapeutic jurisprudence. She presented at the International Academy of Law and Mental Health. She continues to serve her community through various non-profits. She is currently empowering the next generation as an educator. When not in the classroom, she can be found either enjoying the local arts scene or attending a local sporting event.

  • Nic is a member of The House of Hagar Catholic Worker community in Wheeling, WV. He is a former seminarian with the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, and currently serves as the director for 3 sober living homes for people in recovery from Substance Use Disorder. He works closely with people in active addiction, impacted by poverty, in recovery from SUD, and with mental health issues. Nic hold and MSW from Ohio University. He is a horticulture enthusiast and proud cat dad of 2.