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Alumni Successes

  • Rev. Gary Bagley, M.R.E., -- Fr. Bagley received a Master of Religious Education degree from the Catechetical and Pastoral Institute of Loyola, which later became the Loyola Institute for Ministry (LIM). He has been a leading ministry trainer of adults and youth in Catholic youth ministry for 30 years. Fr. Bagley was the Director of the Youth Department and the Director for Youth Retreats for 25 years in the Diocese of Buffalo, New York. He is currently the pastor of St. Benedict Parish, in Buffalo.
  • Michael Carotta, M.R.E. '95 , Ed.D. -- Mike the is the former director of religious education of Boys Town U.S.A. He is also the former executive director of the Religious Education Division of the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA). He is a noted author, speaker, and consultant specialist in the field of youth ministry -- specializing in youth-at-risk issues and adolescent spirituality. Mike is currently a consultant for Harcourt Religion Publishers and an an adjunct instructor in the Theology Department of Creighton University (Omaha) and Loyola Institute for Ministry, Loyola University New Orleans.
  • Judy Deshotels, M.P.S. '96, is completing her Ph.D. in Higher Administration Policy from the Department of Education at University of Maryland.  Her dissertation focuses on faculty professional identity and Jesuit and Catholic values in a Jesuit University.
  • Reynolds R. (Butch) Ekstrom, M.P.S '83, -- Butch is the coordinator of the Loyola Pastoral Life Center (LPLC), an associate director of the Loyola Institute for Ministry (LIM), at Loyola University New Orleans, and a widely known author and specialist in the fields of youth ministry and adult learning. Prior to his years with the LPLC and LIM, Butch worked for the national Center for Youth Ministry Development (CYMD), in Connecticut, and for nine years as an Associate Director of Religious Education in the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Butch is the author and editor of the books The New Concise Catholic Dictionary, Guides to Youth Ministry: Media and Culture, Guides to Youth Ministry: Retreats, Guides to Youth Ministry: Evangelization, and other texts. He was also a key contributor to and national consultant for the Crossroad Adult Christian Formation Program in the mid-1990s. Butch's other writing credits include over 200 published articles, essays, and reviews. In 2002, he was honored with a National Award by the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM) for lifetime contribution as an educator and trainer in youth ministry. In 2004, he became a member of the Board of Directors for the Catholic Youth Foundation USA.
  • Joy Manthey, C.S.J., M.P.S. '03 -- Joy is a river boat captain and chaplain. She was featured in the Sept. 17 issue of NCR and in St. Anthony Messenger was the feature cover story, Ministering on the Mississippi.
  • Sr. Oralisa Martin, M.R.E. '81, D.Min. -- Oralisa is the founder of the African American Catholic Catechetical Conference in Los Angeles, and is the co-founder of MARANATHA: An Evangelization Training Program. She holds a Master of Religious Education degree from Loyola University New Orleans and received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Howard University School of Divinity (HUSD), in Washington, D.C., from which she graduated summa cum laude and from which she received the 1993 Scholarship and Dissertation Award. Dr. Martin travels extensively to present religious revivals, retreats, keynote addresses, and workshops on catechesis, evangelization, pastoral ministry, Scripture, and training of Catholic school teachers who work with African-American young learners.
  • Brian R. Merry, M.R.E. ’91 -- is the Director of Catholic Religious Education and the Mentor Program at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.
  • Mona Villarrubia, M.R.E. '90 -- Mona is a Catholic school teacher who serves on the Archdiocese of New Orleans Review Board. She authored From Hurt to Healing: Childhood Abuse by a Catholic Priest - One Woman's Story.

Updated July 31, 2008