Virtual Cohort
About our Virtual Cohort
We are launched our very first Virtual Cohort in 2021, giving more people in more places the opportunity to experience CLA.
The virtual cohort is for those who do not live in a region where CLA already operates. People who live in a region where CLA operates may participate in the Virtual Cohort (given extenuating circumstances), however, those who do not have a CLA cohort in their region are prioritized in the selection process.
Our Virtual Cohort is 100% online. It is facilitated by Marselys Lucero, our virtual coordinator.
Are you interested in our Virtual Cohort?
Meet Kate André!
Cohort Coordinator – New York 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.
Get in touch with Kate at CLANYC@ignatianyoungadults.org.
Meet Robby Francis!
Cohort Facilitator – Virtual Cohort
Robby is the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry at the Bellarmine Chapel on Xavier University campus in Cincinnati, OH. Originally from St. Louis, MO, Robby has worked in ministry with young people for fourteen years. He graduated in 2006 from St. John’s University with a bachelor’s in philosophy and received his master’s in Pastoral Studies and Spiritual Direction in 2015 from Aquinas Institute of Theology.
Robby enjoys hiking, craft beers, attempting new recipes in the kitchen, and great conversations about faith and justice.
Who is a leader who inspires you?
Dorothy Day has always stood out to me as someone who beautifully balanced her spiritual life with her passion for social justice. She courageously challenged injustices through an attitude of love, recognizing God's presence in others, especially the poor and marginalized.