Speakers

DR. DAMIAN ZYNDA, a keynote speaker for Day 1, will speak on the day’s strand, Sharing God through Ignatian Spirituality: Ignatian Spirituality as part of our faith formation and forming the formators.

She will explore the day’s overarching questions: “What are some of the challenges that our schools are facing today in terms of the first UAP: Showing the Way to God through The Spiritual Exercises and Discernment? How can Ignatian Spirituality guide us – or make a difference in our mission of educating our students for faith?” 

Dr. Damian Zynda is the Director of Mission and Ministry at McQuaid Jesuit in Rochester, New York, and is on the faculty at Creighton University’s Christian Spirituality Program, a graduate program dedicated to forming Spiritual Directors in the Ignatian Tradition. She received her Doctorate in Systematic Theology and Christian Spirituality from the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto School of Theology in 2004. Dr. Damian Zynda specializes in Theology and Dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises, Theology of Conversion, Spiritual Direction and Supervision in the Ignatian Tradition, Theology and Dynamics of Ignatian Discernment, and Practica in Ignatian Spiritual Direction. She is an experienced spiritual and retreat director and supervisor who has directed retreats in Spain, Italy, Canada, and across the United States.

FATIMAH HUSEIN, M.A., PH.D., a keynote speaker for Day 2, will speak on the day’s strand: Educating for Interreligious Dialogue.

She will explore the day’s overarching questions: What does religious commitment mean and entail in an age of religious pluralism? What should our students understand about religion and be able to do to engage in meaningful and respectful interreligious dialogue? What are the main issues here? What are the ways forward?

Dr. Fatimah Husein is a professor of the philosophy of religion at Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. In 1997, she completed her master’s studies in Islamic philosophy at McGill University Canada, and in 2004, she earned her Ph.D. degree in Indonesian/Islamic studies from the University of Melbourne Australia. Her main areas of interest are interreligious dialogue, philosophy of religion, and the Hadhrami diaspora in Indonesia. Her collaboration with Prof. Stefan Hammer of the University of Viena resulted in a book called Religious Pluralism and Religious Freedom: Religions, Society, and the State in Dialogue, which was published in 2013. Among her recent publications include: “Negotiating Salafism: Women Prayer Groups and Their Preachers in Indonesia’s Islamic Digital Mediascapes” (CyberOrient, 2021), and “Preserving and Transmitting the Teachings of the Thariqah ‘Alawiyyah: Diasporic Ba ‘Alawi Female Preachers in Contemporary Indonesia,” (JIOWS, 2021). 

PAUL SHARKEY, PhD, MTheol, MEdEval, MEdLeadership, a keynote speaker for Day 4, will speak on the day’s strand: Forming a Resilient Faith: Teaching for In-depth Faith Formation in Our Secular Context Today.

He will explore the day’s overarching questions: Given the weakening of institutional religions, the rise of religious “nones,” as well as the detrimental effects of social media, etc., what would we consider the most important obstacles to – and temptations against – living out one’s faith deeply in our world today? How can we reimagine our religious education and faith formation programs to address these challenges?

Dr. Paul Sharkey serves as a postgraduate coordinator and adjunct lecturer at Catholic Theological College, University of Divinity in Melbourne. He also acts as a consultant on Catholic Mission and Identity for Catholic Education in the Diocese of Parramatta. His research focus revolves around Catholic school identity, and he holds postgraduate qualifications in theology, education, program evaluation, and educational leadership and management. Dr. Paul Sharkey is particularly interested in exploring matters related to mission, identity, and culture within Catholic schools. His publications include Educator’s Guide to Catholic Identity and From Theory to Practice: Religious Education in the Classroom. 

DANIEL PATRICK HUANG, S.T.D., SJ, a keynote speaker for Day 5, will speak on the day’s strand: Educating for Faith as Catholic Schools in the Ignatian Tradition Today.

He will explore the day’s overarching questions: What is the meaning of evangelization in our schools today especially in increasingly multi-religious and secular environments in and out of schools? How can we as Catholic and Jesuit schools “show the way to God”? In light of the numerous challenges we are facing in our mission to educate for the faith, what would a distinctly Catholic and Jesuit response from our schools–and especially a universal response from our network–look like and sound like?

Fr. Danny Huang teaches in the Faculty of Missiology of the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and also serves as moderator of the Renewal Program for Missionaries of the same Faculty. He served as Provincial Superior of the Philippine Province of the Jesuits from 2004 to 2008. From 2008 to 2019, he served as General Councilor and Regional Assistant for Asia Pacific of two Superiors General, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas and Fr. Arturo Sosa. From 2016 to 2021, he was a Consultor for the Congregation for Catholic Education in the Vatican. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Georgetown University since 2020.  Fr. Huang obtained his Doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Catholic University of America in 1996.