New York City, New York
About CLA-New York City
CLA began in New York City in 2008 and has been going strong ever since.
Xavier High School is our home for monthly cohort sessions.
The cohort is facilitated by Roxanne De La Torre our coordinator in New York City.
Are you interested in CLA-New York City?
Meet Kate André!
Cohort Coordinator – New York City and Virtual Cohort
After studying Music and Drama as an undergrad at UNC-Chapel Hill and pursuing performance in NYC, Kate attended Yale Divinity School where she earned an M.Div. and S.T.M. Her master's thesis focused on sketch comedy as a tool for community-building in worship. Kate also trained in multi-faith college chaplaincy with Yale University Chaplain Sharon Kugler and served from 2013 to 2015 as the Director of Campus Ministry at the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT. From 2015 to 2019, Kate taught World Religions, Philosophy & Ethics, and led the Upper School Campus Ministry program at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls' Catholic school in Manhattan's Upper East Side. She completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training at Kripalu in 2013 and 40-hour Basic Mediation Training with the New York Peace Institute in 2016. Kate served as a Chaplain Resident at The Mount Sinai Hospital from 2019 to 2020 and is thrilled to be part of the Contemplative Leaders in Action team!
Who is a leader who inspires you?
I am inspired by Mount Sinai Hospital chaplain Apolinary Ngirwa. During the height of the pandemic in NYC, Apolinary continued to serve patients and staff with his hallmark joyful kindness, despite repeated COVID exposures. He even took on additional work to keep more vulnerable members of his team safe. He leads humbly, models intellectual curiosity by sharing scholarly articles, goes out of his way to encourage young talent to blossom, and makes everyone he encounters feel seen and valued. All of this Apolinary does without requiring accolades. He simply lives out the values of his faith by daily loving God, self, and neighbor, and he inspires me to do the same.