Bishop Joseph Jude Tyson has been the Bishop of Yakima Diocese since 2011 and serves as a member of the USCCB’s committee for Cultural Diversity and is Chair of the USCCB’s Pastoral Care for Migrants, Refugees and Travelers. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1989 and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington, a Master’s in International Relations from the University of Washington, a Master of Divinity from the Catholic University of America and an honorary Doctorate of Letters from St. Martin’s University in Lacy, Washington.
Chairman
Scott Hurd is Vice President for Leadership Formation with Catholic Charities USA, has twenty-six years’ experience in ecclesiastical service at the national, diocesan, and parish level, and has earned degrees from the University of Richmond and Oxford University. He is an award-winning author of five books including Forgiveness: A Catholic Approach, When Faith Feels Fragile: Help for the Wary, Weak, and Wandering, and Around the Table: Retelling the Story of the Eucharist.
Vice Chairman
John Kerry is based in NYC, procuring electricity and natural gas and developing energy projects with commercial, institutional, government and not-for-profit institutions throughout the Northeast. His partners, based in Texas and Washington DC, develop energy projects and procure energy throughout the country. John has recently developed strategic relationships with Siemens, Metro New York and Siemens, New England to provide full-service Procurement, Production and Reduction of Energy to clients in the Northeast. He is working with VHB Environmental Engineering, Watertown, MA to advance their environmental permitting and civil engineering profile in New England and Revolution LED Lighting, to install in-door and out-door LED Lighting for municipal, institutional and industrial entities throughout the country. John is a former senator for the state of Maine and former executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference. He is an advisor to Catholic Climate Covenant's Catholic Energies program.
Board Member
Miriam G. Hidalgo is a Catholic writer and speaker. She has more than twenty years experience in the fields of catechesis, youth ministry, and Hispanic ministry at the parish, diocesan, and national level. Miriam was the President of the Federation for Catechesis with Hispanics under NCCL from 2016-2019 and she is co-author of the book, The Joy of Adolescent Catechesis (PAC). Currently Miriam is a wife and full-time mother and serves as Youth Minister at her home parish. She continues to provide ministerial services to Catholic parishes, dioceses, and other organizations throughout the country.
Board Member
Ronald (Ron) G. Jackson, Sr. is Senior Director, Government Relations for Catholic Charities USA with primary responsibility of legislative advocacy on issues impacting the elimination of poverty. He represents CCUSA before Congress and the White House. He received his Law Degree, JD from Antioch University School of Law; Masters of Social Work Degree, MSW from Howard University School of Social Work; and BA Degree in Sociology i from Jackson State University.
Prior to joining the staff at CCUSA Ron served for 15 years the Executive Director of the D.C. Catholic Conference for the Archdiocese of Washington. In that job Ron served three Cardinals as the government relations liaison between the Archdiocese of Washington and the D.C. Government (Mayor; City Council), Congress and the White House. During his tenure as D.C. Catholic Conference Director, Ron served as President of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors.
Ron was married to the late Brenda J. (Bellamy) Jackson and they are the very proud parents of three wonderful children, Ron Jr. Tiffany (Chad), and Joseph. He also is a very proud grandfather of Chloe Elise Quinn.
Board Member
Sharon Lavigne is an environmental justice activist in Louisiana focused on combating petrochemical complexes in Cancer Alley. Lavigne worked as a special education teacher until deciding to dedicate herself full-time to working for environmental justice in her community. In October 2018, she founded RISE St. James, a faith-based, grassroots environmental organization that started with a community meeting in her living room. Now, she manages a small staff and some 20 volunteers. She is the 2022 recipient of the Laetare Medal, the highest honor for American Catholics, and a 2021 recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize.
Lavigne is the daughter of civil rights activists and has lived in the St. James Parish, Louisiana community her whole life. As a little girl, her family lived off the land—with gardens, cattle, pigs, and chickens—and her grandfather caught fish and shrimp in the Mississippi River.
Secretary
Dominican Sister, Mary Ellen Leciejewski is the System Vice President for Environmental Sustainability for CommonSpirit Health based in California.
In this role, Sr. Mary Ellen is responsible for overseeing systemwide sustainability initiatives. In conjunction with her work in sustainability Sr. Mary Ellen facilitates communication networks among her colleagues and works closely with hospital systems and environmental organizations throughout the country to raise awareness of healthcare’s impact on the environment and to promote programs that proactively address issues of sustainability.
Board Member
Dr. Stephen Schneck is a Washington-based public lecturer and Catholic political activist who recently retired as Director of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America. He is a frequent media source for queries about Catholicism and contemporary public issues, having offered commentary for most national print, radio, television, and online news sources. He writes regularly for the Catholic and religious media. In 2015 President Obama appointed Schneck to the White House Advisory Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. In addition to his work for Catholic Climate Covenant, Schneck also serves on the governing boards for Sojourners and for Democrats for Life of America. A political philosopher by training, Schneck received his doctorate from the University of Notre Dame. He holds a tenured faculty position at The Catholic University of America, where he served previously as professor, department chair, and dean. His academic books and articles range in topic from political philosophy to public policy.
Board Member
Sr Patricia Talone is vice president emerita for mission services of the Catholic Health Association, after serving their for 15 years. She has published widely and is an accomplished moral theologian and ethicist. She is a Sister of Mercy of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Community.
Board Member
Dr. Nancy C. Tuchman is an Aquatic Ecologist whose research focuses on human impacts on Great Lakes aquatic ecosystems. Her research has been awarded over $4.5 million in federal grants over 28 years, and she has published over 50 manuscripts and book chapters, and mentored over 60 undergraduate and graduate students in her lab. She is a professor in the biology department at Loyola University Chicago. In 2005 she founded and directed—for five years—the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Policy at Loyola, and served as its Founding Director from 2005-10. Her innovative work in building sustainability at Loyola earned her the Chicago Magazine Green Award in 2013. She Chairs the International Association of Jesuit Universities’ Task Force on Environmental & Economic Justice, and serves on the Steering Committee of EcoJesuit, the international network of Jesuit affiliates working for a sustainable planet.
Treasurer
Glenn Willard is Of Counsel for Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP, where he has been for over 11 years. He helps candidates for public office, political committees, corporations and nonprofit organizations participate in federal and state elections under complicated and varied campaign finance regulations, while guiding organizations through the many public ethics and lobbying regulations at the federal and state level as they seek to influence public policy.
Ex Officio
I feel blessed to participate in the Covenant's mission to advance the Catholic Church's call for us to love and care for God's creation, especially for our most vulnerable neighbors. I try to affirm the moral, spiritual and non-partisan foundations of this appeal, so that we can build bridges through divisions and generate lasting, compassionate and cooperative solutions for the climate crisis.
Before the Covenant, I was blessed to serve with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the National Congress of American Indians, EPA's American Indian Environmental Office, and the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army. I am a graduate of Brown University and Villanova Law School, and my family and I are long-term parishioners at St. Mary's Basilica in Alexandria, Virginia.