Thomas D. Jones, PhD*, is a scientist, author, pilot, and veteran NASA astronaut. In more than eleven years with NASA, he flew on four space shuttle missions to Earth orbit. On his last flight, Dr. Jones led three spacewalks to install the centerpiece of the International Space Station, the American Destiny laboratory. He has spent fifty-three days working and living in space.

* Bio/photo taken from Astronaut Tom Jones website

Joakim Koech is the principal of Cardinal Maurice Otunga High School in Nairobi, Kenya. Founded in 2005 and further developed with the help of the Association of Volunteers in International Service (AVSI), the school aims to develop students’ awareness of themselves as human beings, with a particular focus on needy students who would not otherwise have access to schooling. Koech has spent 16 years as a teacher, coach, and deputy principal. 

Priscilla is a Guidance Counselor at a high school committed to educating and transforming students into young women of competence, compassion, and commitment in a Catholic Felician-Franciscan tradition of leadership and service. She received a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Delaware, and an M.A. in Counseling from Montclair State University. 

President of New York Encounter. Mr. Maurizio (Riro) Maniscalco has been playing music and writing songs since the age of 10, while studying first and then working in human resources. Though born and raised in Italy, Mr. Maniscalco has been living in New York City with his family since 1994. A self-taught guitarist and percussionist, and a skilled singer and talented song-writer, Mr. Maniscalco throughout the years has developed a deep love for the blues—a music he knows thoroughly and performs in a very passionate way. 

Msgr. Ronald Marino, Episcopal Vicar for Migrant and Ethnic Apostolates of the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY has over 25 years of experience working for immigrants in the Catholic Migration Office of the Brooklyn Diocese of which he served as Director for 17 years. He was ordained a priest in 1973 after having obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Cathedral College in Douglaston, NY and a Master of Divinity Degree from Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, NY. 

Archbishop Amel Nona was born November 1, 1967 in Aqlosh – Nineveh, Iraq. He was ordained a priest on January 11, 1991 in Baghdad. From 2000 – 2005 he studied in Rome, and from 2005 – 2010 he served as a parish priest in Alqosh. On January 8, 2010, he was ordained a bishop. He served as Archbishop of the Mosul Chaldean archeparchy (archdiocese) from 2010 – 2014. On March 7, 2015, he was appointed the Bishop of St. Thomas Chaldean eparchy (diocese) of Australia & New Zealand.

His Eminence Seán Cardinal Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M. Cap., was born June 29, 1944 in Lakewood, Ohio, and was raised in Western Pennsylvania, where he entered a Franciscan seminary. At 21, he was professed into the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and at 26 he was ordained a Catholic priest. After earning a master’s degree in religious education and a Ph.D. in Spanish and Portuguese literature from the Catholic University of America, he taught at Catholic University and founded Centro Católico Hispano (Hispanic Catholic Center) in Washington, DC, an organization which provided educational, medical and legal help to immigrants.

Giulio Piscitelli (b. 1981, Napoli),  earned a degree in Communication Studies, approached photography in 2008, and after graduation began working with Italian and foreign news agencies (AFP, Controlucepix). He collaborated with the historical photo archive Parisio of Naples, as post producer of images and archivist until 2010. 

Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM was appointed Custos of the Holy Land for the first time in May of 2004, for a period of six years, and reconfirmed by the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor in May of 2010 for another three-year term.

Born on April 21, 1965, in Cologno al Serio in the diocese and province of Bergamo, he began formation with the friars of the province of Emilia Romagna, to which he still juridically belongs. He was ordained a priest on September 15, 1990, and entered into effective service of the Custody of the Holy Land in 1999. 

Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the Millennium Development Goals, having held the same position under former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. He is Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He is co-founder and Chief Strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance, and is director of the Millennium Villages Project. 

Stephen Sanchez is originally from El Paso, TX but lives with his wife in Brooklyn. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a major in Philosophy and Government and is currently pursuing a Masters in Educational Leadership at Fordham University. He was a teacher and Pastoral Youth Director for thirteen years and more recently served as the Founding Director of ComUnidad Juan Diego, an educational, pastoral, and social services initiative for Latin American immigrants in the Archdiocese of New York. He is currently a first year principal at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel - St. Benedicta Catholic School on Staten Island.