Nicole M. Perone

Chair

Nicole M. Perone is the National Coordinator of ESTEEM, the faith-based leadership formation program for Catholic students at colleges and universities across the United States. ESTEEM is a partnership between Leadership Roundtable and Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University, which prepares young adults for the transition from campus ministry to parish life, and to engage their temporal gifts as leaders in their faith communities. 

Nicole previously served as the Archdiocesan Director of Adult Faith Formation for the Archdiocese of Hartford. She holds a Master of Divinity from Yale University.  Her Bachelor of Arts in Theology with double minors in Italian and Catholic Studies was bestowed by Loyola University Maryland, where she graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.

Nicole is the chair of the Board of Members for the National Institute for Ministry with Young Adults, and on the writing team for the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ pastoral framework on youth and young adult ministry. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the All Africa Conference: Sister to Sister, as well as the National Advisory Council for the NeXt Level initiative of the Center for FaithJustice. In 2018, Nicole was a delegate to the Pre-Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment, and served on the writing committee for the final document. Her work has been published by America Media, Catholic News Service, The Jesuit Post, and US Catholic.  

Nicole lives in Milford, Connecticut with her husband, John Grosso (director of digital media for the Diocese of Bridgeport) and their Golden Retriever, Ellie. 

Bishop Frank J. Caggiano

Vice-Chair

Bishop Frank J. Caggiano was installed as Fifth Bishop of Bridgeport on September 19, 2013. Born and raised in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, Bishop Caggiano was admitted to Yale University in 1977, and transferred to Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, where he graduated summa cum laude. After briefly working in the publishing industry, he was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1987 in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens. 

A noted catechist, Bishop Caggiano was invited by Pope Benedict XVI to deliver World Youth Day talks in Sydney in 2008 and Madrid in 2011 and by Pope Francis to serve as a catechist at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, 2013, Krakow in 2016 and Panama in 2019. He also preached at the Youth 2000 Summer Festival in Tipperary, Ireland.  In October of 2018, he was one of five American bishops elected by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to represent the United States at the Vatican’s XV Ordinary General Assembly: Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment. Within the Diocese of Bridgeport, Bishop Caggiano has instituted the Young Adult Advisory Council to coordinate and enhance parish, school and diocesan ministry on behalf of youth and young adults to “learn from each other and plot a course for the future of youth ministry” in the diocese.

dr. timone a davis*

Treasurer

timone davis is a cradle Catholic who was a “pewster” until she discovered that the uselessness of the Church was because she wasn’t giving anything of herself. After committing to getting involved, her life changed. Her first ministry was with the RCIA, where she not only welcomed others into the Church, but also revitalized her own spirituality. After working for the Archdiocese of Chicago as the coordinator of ReCiL – Reclaiming Christ in Life Young Adult Ministry, timone co-founded PEACE centered WHOLENESS with her husband Orlando, where they are blending clinical counseling and spiritual companioning.

In addition to running a business, timone is an assistant professor in the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago. In her spare time, she serves as the treasurer of the National Institute for Ministry with Young Adults and Associate Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. timone's dynamic energy and deep spirituality enhance her brand of teaching that engages one’s spirit through the use of storytelling. No matter the occasion, timone's mission is to help others open their hearts and minds to the soul-saving power of God's Grace, Love and Mercy.

*dr. timone davis uses lower case letters in the spelling of her name to indicate her willingness to embody the creedal assertion in John 3:30 in her everyday living.

Mr. Darius Villalobos

Secretary

Darius A. Villalobos serves as the Director of Strategic Partnerships and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion for the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). He previously served in the Archdiocese of Chicago in a variety of ministry roles, including youth ministry, young adult ministry, evangelization, and catechesis. He currently serves on the National Advisory Team for Young Adult Ministry of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and as a founding board member of the National Institute for Ministry with Young Adults. He was born and raised in Chicago and is a graduate of DePaul University where he received his bachelor’s degree in English and Catholic Studies. Darius is a Bernardin Scholar at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in the Master of Arts in Intercultural Ministry program. He has served as a parish RCIA director, liturgical music minister, retreat director, catechist, and youth minister. 

Bishop Edward Burns

The Most Reverend Edward J. Burns is the Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, Texas. He had previously served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Juneau, Alaska. 

Bishop Burns was born and raised in Western Pennsylvania and after earning a bachelor's degree from Duquesne University he attended Mount St. Mary Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.  He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1983 and served in two parish assignments before being appointed to St. Paul Seminary, Pittsburgh, as Vocation Director, Vice-Rector, Dean of Studies, and then appointed as Rector of St. Paul Seminary.  Bishop Burns also served the Diocese of Pittsburgh as the Director of Clergy Personnel.  

From 1999-2008, he served on the national level as Executive Director of the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, D.C. He was the Executive Director of the Fishers of Men vocation project, staff of the Apostolic Seminary Visitation called by St. Pope John Paul II, and staff for the bishops’ committee for the re-writing of the Program of Priestly Formation, Fifth Edition.  

Bishop Burns has been an active member of the USCCB, the Northwest Regional Bishops Conference, and the Alaska Catholic Conference of Bishops. He is the past Chairman of the USCCB Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People, a current member of the Committee for Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth, and served on the Catholic Relief Services Board of Directors. Bishop Burns is currently on the boards of The National Catholic Bioethics Center and The Papal Foundation. As the Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, Bishop Burns serves as the Chancellor of the University of Dallas.  

Bishop Daniel Flores

Bishop Daniel Flores has served as the Bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville since 2009. He studied at the University of Dallas, and Holy Trinity Seminary, completing a BA in Philosophy and a Masters of Divinity. In 1988 he was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Corpus Christi. He completed work on doctoral dissertation in Sacred Theology at the Angelicum in 2000. In 2006, he was appointed and ordained as Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Detroit. Presently, Bishop Flores serves as a committee member on several USCCB Committees as well as chair of the Doctrine Committee.

Dr. Hosffman Ospino

Hosffman Ospino, PhD is an Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College, School of Theology and Ministry where he is also Chair of the Department of Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry. He is the Director of the university’s Graduate Programs in Hispanic Ministry. Hosffman is the principal investigator for several national studies on Hispanic Catholics. His research in particular explores closely how young Hispanics are served in the Catholic Church through education and youth ministry. He is the author/editor of more than a dozen books. He is a past President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS) and serves on the boards of several organizations, academic and ministerial.

Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR

Father Agustino Torres, CFR, is a priest with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal based in the Bronx, New York. He is the founder of Corazon Puro, an organization dedicated to forming youth. He hosts the EWTN television shows Icons and Clic con Corazon Puro in Spanish. Father Agustino was one of the friars who founded Catholic Underground, an apostolate of the Friars of the Renewal, and the Casa Guadalupe (women) and JPII (men) houses of discernment. He is internationally sought to address topics such as the Church’s teachings about human sexuality, vocational discernment, and missionary discipleship.