Jim Arena 
Jim Arena has worked as a transformation leader and executive coach for Silicon Valley companies for most of his career and knows first-hand the excitement and difficulty of change in developing new breakthrough opportunities conceived by technology companies. He typically is working with executives where change comes fast and is often unpredictable. Jim is intrigued by the wisdom that develops when you work closely with others whether it leads to success or it fails. Jim has personally seen those experiences turn into a desire to surrender to Christ and help others on an even more significant life-fulfilling journey. He’s been trained in the Spiritual Exercises through the Center of Ignatian Spirituality in Sacramento, California in 2018. He also completed the 3-year Institute for Leadership in Ministry, a lay-leadership program, for the Catholic Diocese of San Jose. He is a member of St. Simon’s Parish and is married to Kathy with two adult children who still teach him how to be their best dad. He loves to bicycle nearly anywhere. You might find him on a road near you.
Kelly Barnes
Kelly completed her undergraduate and graduate work at Santa Clara University, earning a Masters in Pastoral Ministry with an emphasis in Spirituality. Ignatian spirituality enlivens her ministry as she companions others through the Spiritual Exercises in EveryDay Life (SEEL) and provides monthly spiritual direction (online) since she recently moved to Kentucky to live near family. She and her husband of more than 37 years are blessed with two sons (also Jesuit educated) and are delighted to be involved grandparents. Kelly served as the Associate Director of Campus Ministry and the Director of Christian Service at Jesuit High School, Sacramento, and worked in Catholic education for 24 years. She enjoyed encouraging her students along the spiritual journey by developing them as faith-filled leaders, leading Kairos and other retreats, domestic and international service immersions.
Terry Barwegan
Terry holds a B.A. in Japanese Language, and a certificate in Asian Studies from Arizona State University, and an M.A. in Pastoral Ministry from Santa Clara University. Additionally, he has guided spiritual seekers through the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius for many years, having been trained to do so at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos, California. He is active in ministry at Holy Spirit Church in San Jose, where he and his family are members of the congregation.
After graduating from Arizona State, Terry moved to Japan with his wife, where he taught English and researched pedagogy in the employ of the Japanese Ministry of Education and taught at six junior high schools in Saitama, just outside of Tokyo. Terry began a long career at Apple in 1996, working primarily on software in various roles, and while doing so invented a new database backup technology, for which he and his team received a U.S. patent. In 2019 he joined the teaching faculty at Apple’s internal university, where today he continues to teach management, leadership, culture, and career development to Apple employees.
Terry also flies vintage airplanes, restored and drives a vintage car, and finds other reasons to tinker with, and usually break, vintage audio and electronics. He has been playing the drums since he was 14, largely progressive rock and jazz, and dabbles in experimental electronic music with analog synthesizers and outdated recording techniques. He is the dad of Hadley Fujieda Barwegen and Sophia Fujieda Barwegen, and has been married to Laura Fujieda for more than 30 years. He is grateful that all of them have somehow learned to put up with the above mentioned (metaphorical as well as actual) noise that Terry makes.
John Burns
I am a retired Consulting and Clinical Psychologist living in Ashland, Oregon. My wife ( since deceased) and I moved here for a mid-career . sabbatical in 1990 with the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and became enamored of the core JVC values of Community, Spirituality, Simple Lifestyle and Social/Ecological Justice. As JVC promises, we were happily”ruined for life” and stayed in Southern Oregon to carry on our changed lives.
Prior experience and appreciation for the Jesuit charisms came through my undergraduate years at Santa Clara University. I had no real exposure to the Ignatian Exercises;however, until feeling called to them by the offering of the 19th version of the Exercises through the SCU Alumni Association in 2020-21. I felt called further to be trained as a Spiritual Director of the Spiritual Exercises through St Monica’s Spirituality Center where I received a Certificate as one of the cohort that went through its first program.
Beyond directing the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises I am involved with social and ecological justice initiatives. I also enjoy the many opportunities for enjoyment of God’s outdoors in Southern Oregon and beyond.
Cynthia Cass
Cynthia Cass, J.D., enjoyed 28 years of an active law practice before retiring to concentrate on a retreat ministry and immersing herself in the richness of Ignatian spirituality. Her law practice was concentrated on advising nonprofit organizations, including No. Valley Catholic Social Services. Cynthia has served on the Board of Trinity Co. Catholic Social Services and as a major donor officer for a large homeless mission in Redding, California. Cynthia has established soup kitchens in remote areas of Northern California, has been involved in parish religious education and is an Associate with the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.
Peter Chan
Peter Chan received his certificate in Spiritual Direction from Bread of Life Center in Sacramento, CA, and is a graduate of the School of Pastoral Ministry of the Oakland diocese. Peter was also trained at the Center for Ignatian Spirituality in Sacramento to give the 19th Annotation of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercise. His ministry includes facilitating small group sharing and retreats with the Chinese Ministry at Mercy Center, Burlingame and other Chinese communities
He gives ongoing spiritual directions and guides people doing the Ignatian 19th annotation retreat.
Peter seeks to accompany people longing for a close relationship with God to find the divine in themselves and to gain the inner freedom to live fully in the Spirit.
Victoria Chan
Victoria Chan is a Spiritual Director and a Retreat Guide for the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. She received her formal trainings and certificates from the Bread of Life Center and the Center for Ignatian Spirituality in Sacramento.
Besides offering Spiritual Direction, and guiding the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises; her other ministry includes facilitating monthly groups sharing with the Chinese community from the bay area and leading retreat with the Chinese Ministry at Mercy Center, Burlingame. Victoria seeks to verify and encourage people of different traditions “to bring out our inner spiritual freedom, our inmost truth, which is what we call the likeness of Christ in our soul”. At this time, she is available to meet via Zoom.
Will Ferguson
William Ferguson completed Giving The Exercises training through the Center for Ignatian Spirituality at St. Ignatius Loyola Parish in Sacramento in 2021. He grew up finding God in the natural beauty of San Diego’s mountains, deserts and beaches, in the wildflowers and under the stars. He studied physics at the University of Southern California then joined the California Province of the Society of Jesus for twelve years. He was formed in Ignatian Spirituality as a Jesuit Scholastic, earning Masters degrees in Philosophy and Divinity. He learned to respect the teaching profession, trying his hand at Freshman religion, honors physics, and AP Chemistry at Brophy and then Bellarmine College Preparatories. Science and Religion have been convergent pathways on his spiritual journey. Teilhard de Chardin has been one of his luminaries, with “Finding God in all things” being one of his guiding spiritual principles. After leaving the Society of Jesus, he married Heeyang Hong and with her has been blessed with three children who are all too rapidly moving into and through their adolescence. He is a board certified member of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains and currently leads the spiritual care department at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento.
Francine Foerster
Francine began her Ignatian journey at Santa Clara University where she studied business. Her passion for learning about other lands and cultures propelled her to Thunderbird, where she received a Master of International Management degree. Francine has global leadership experience in the pharma and biotech arena and founded a consulting practice specializing in strategic planning and global launch
execution. As a certified professional coach, Francine focusses on inspiring others to follow their heart and lead with confidence. Francine completed her training in the Spiritual Exercises at St. Monica’s Spirituality Center in 2023. She has completed seminars in the New Cosmology at Holy Names College and volunteered in strategic planning for Earth Hope. She is a member of St. Joseph Marello Parish in
Granite Bay, Ca. where she has served in youth ministry, the parish council and parish strategic planning,
Alpha and various service ministries. Her wish is to share the transformational power of the Spiritual
Exercises to draw people closer to Christ and to help them discern God’s movements and desires for
their life. Francine loves to hike, ski and travel and spend time with family and friends.
Cris Goodman
Cristine Goodman volunteered at the Jesuit Retreat Center for many years and is a graduate of the Pierre Favre Program. She has been a Spiritual Director at the Catherine Center, a residential program for women recently released from prison, sponsored by the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo. She has co-led directed retreats at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos. She has also been a spiritual director in the Pilot FIRE program at Holy Spirit Parish in San Jose and has worked in the spiritual development component of the Diocese of San Jose’s Institute for Leadership in Ministry. Cristine has also accompanied souls during 8-day silent retreats at the Jesuit Retreat Center, Los Altos and has directed several people in the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (SEEL) as well as general spiritual direction. She is married and the mother of four adult children. Before retiring, Cris served professionally as an attorney.
Ron Hallagan
Ron is a retired Ernst & Young partner where he spent the majority of his professional career advising large high technology clients. Ron lives in San Jose and is a parishioner at Holy Spirit Parish where he has served the past three years as the chair of the Pastoral Council. Ron currently serves as a Board member and / or advisor to many non-profit organizations including the Drexel Schools Board of Trustees; The First Tee of Silicon Valley; the Hallagan / Huston Family Foundation; and Santa Clara University’s Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurism. Ron has completed the Spiritual Exercises (19th annotation) and is currently a director in training to deliver the Spiritual Exercises through St. Ignatius’ Center for Ignatian Spirituality
Maurice Herbelin
Maurice aspires to live a life that is spiritually driven and believes in striving to discover the person that the Divine created each of us to be — which is a personal journey of discovery, healing, and joy — one that moves our experience of the Divine from the head down to the heart. His faith journey has been enriched by several mentors, where he has received spiritual direction himself for over 15 years. After completing the SEEL program in 2017, Maurice spent time as a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain where he found affirmation for his desire to assist others with their own spiritual journeys. Professionally he works as a physician executive utilizing his clinical and business background to help shape the healthcare system around the country. He has been married for over 20 years and has young adult children.
Heeyang Hong
“My name is Heeyang Hong. I was born in Seoul, Korea and came to the US when I was 12 years old. After my undergraduate studies at UCSB, I worked as a translator in Korea and in the US for a few years. Then I studied theology at JST in Berkeley and got an M.Div in 2003. Since then I was married and now have three children who are 13, 11, and 9. We live in Sacramento and we are members of St. Ignatius Parish. I am currently working as a part time preschool teacher and volunteer as a catechist at our parish. The Spiritual Exercises are a very powerful experience that I would love to share with others. No doubt, it also helps me stay close to God in my everyday life.”
Terry Jelley
As a spiritual director, chaplain and guide for the Spiritual Exercise in Everyday Life, I
am very excited to be joining the SEEL program at St. Simon’s Parish this year. After
working for American Airlines for 40 years and traveling the world, I decided to journey
in a spiritual direction. This included completing the Graduate Program in Pastoral
Ministries at Santa Clara University, the Spiritual Direction Program at Mercy Center
and the Pierre Favre Program to direct the 19 th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises at
the Jesuit Retreat Center. For the past 5 years I have been employed as a Chaplain at St. Louise and O’Connor Hospitals along with working as a Spiritual Director and guide for the Spiritual Exercises.
I enjoy following a Trinitarian approach to life. I still love to travel to the far corners of
the world to admire and conserve God’s wondrous creation. I feel called to follow in the
footsteps of Christ by ministering to people in need both in the hospital and those living
on the margins. But I find the most joy by working alongside and watching as the Spirit
inspires those I am privileged to guide and accompany as they travel on their own
spiritual journeys.
Lelanya Kearns
Lelanya Kearns MD is a physician in San Jose, Ca. She has been married since 1996 and has 5 children. She graduated from Santa Clara University and has a degree in both Biology and Religious Studies. She completed the SEEL program in 2020 and graduated from St Monica Spirituality Center “Giving the Spiritual Exercises” in May 2023. She enjoys daily prayer walks and encountering Christ in the sacraments.
Anne Lagorio
Anne is a retired LMFT, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, who worked in several roles over her career at Trinity County Behavioral Health, as a Mental Health Case Manager, Clinician, County Alcohol and Drug Services Director, and finally as Agency Assistant Director. Anne also volunteered for 8 years as the Trinity County Northern Valley Catholic Social Services Advisory Board Chairperson. Anne is active in several ministries at St Patrick Parish, Weaverville, serving as the Pastoral Council Vice Chairperson, RCIA Coordinator, and Co-Director of Music. She is also serving as the Shasta Deanery Representative on the Bishop’s Diocesan Pastoral Council. Anne has been active in both Retreat and Music Ministry for 28 years. She is also as SNJMA, Associate for the Sisters of the Holy Names, Jesus and Mary. Anne has been companioning those making the Spiritual Exercises since 2017, when she completed the Pierre Favre Program at El Retiro Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos, Ca. Anne has made both the 30-Day Silent Spiritual Exercises Retreat and the 30-Week Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life. Anne lives in Northern California in Trinity County, has 2 adult children and 2 dogs, and enjoys hiking, and singing and playing guitar as a part of the music group, Trinity Peace.
Lynne Lukenbill
Lynne received her certificate in Spiritual Direction from Bread of Life Center in Sacramento, CA, and holds a Master of Arts degree in Pastoral Ministries from Santa Clara University. Lynne also holds a certificate from the Pierre Favre program, training to guide retreatants in Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, from El Retiro, the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos, CA. She also is involved in Restorative Justice ministry with both offenders and victims and their families. Lynne is guided by Ignatian spirituality in the belief that God is present to us in all things and invites us into deeper relationship through the everyday experiences of our lives. She uses an evocative reflective approach as a guide.
Sr. Susan McCarthy
Sr. Susan McCarthy has been a Sister of Mercy for 50 years. She received her BA from Dominican College, San Rafael; her teaching credential from CSUS; and her MA in Education Administration from the University of San Francisco. She has served in a variety of leadership positions within the Sisters of Mercy as well as the Diocese of Sacramento for over forty years. She has been a spiritual guide to many and has led days of prayer and reflection for retreat groups. Presently she is a spiritual director through Mercy Center Auburn as well as the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, Sacramento.
John McCarthy
John is a graduate of St Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, Ca. and Santa Clara University. He is married and a father of two adult children. For 33 years John has been involved in Recovery work, finding deep freedom and grace in 12-Step Spirituality. He completed an Ignatian Spirituality Leadership pilot program, FIRE, at his home parish of Holy Spirit, San Jose, Ca. in the Spring of 2016. John completed the 19th Annotation Retreat of the Spiritual Exercises at El Retiro in Los Altos. In the spring of 2017 John was trained in “Giving the Spiritual Exercises” through the Center of Ignatian Spirituality in Sacramento. He finds Christ in his work with the homeless of San Jose and has been on four immersion trips working with the poor of Nicaragua. John has been a member of the San Francisco retreat team of the Ignatian Spirituality Project (Retreats for Homeless Men in Recovery) since 2013.
Teresa McCarthy
For 34 years, Teresa McCarthy has been involved in recovery work, finding a deep freedom and grace in 12 Step spirituality. She completed an Ignatian Spirituality Leadership program, FIRE at her home parish Holy Spirit, San Jose, in spring of 2016. She completed the 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises, at El Retiro in Los Altos, Ca. in the spring of 2017. She has been trained in Giving the Spiritual Exercises through the Center of Ignatian Spirituality in Sacramento. Teresa co-lead an Experiencing God through Art retreat with the Verbum Dei Sisters in Fall 2017. She finds Christ in her work with Homeless of San Jose and has been on five immersions trips working with the poor of Nicaragua. She is married and a mother of two adult children.
Fr. Brendan McGuire
Fr. Brendan McGuire is pastor of St. Simon Parish in Los Altos. He was ordained a priest in 2000 and has an STB and Master’s degree in theology from St. Patrick’s Seminary and University in Menlo Park, CA. He also has an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering and Master’s degree in Computer Science and Math from Trinity College, Dublin. He attended the Executive Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He is a native of Ireland and the youngest of twelve children.
He is a regular speaker for parish retreats around the country on prayer, liturgy, forgiveness, death & dying and stewardship. He is passionate speaker on deepening our connection with God through daily prayer and action. He has published four books of homilies and is currently writing a new book on death and dying.
He is an advocate for the Ignatian Spirituality and finds that it speaks to the heart of the people of Silicon Valley. His own 30-day silent retreat was a transformative experience and he wants others to have aa similar opportunity to go deeper into their relationship with God and Jesus. Fr. Brendan has taken the Spiritual Exercises himself four times and led others through them 3 times. He looks forward to introducing others to St. Ignatius and his Spiritual Exercises.
Katie Metzger
Katie Metzger is a graduate of the Pierre Favre program, a 3 year training program in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius offered by the Jesuit Retreat Center at Los Altos, as well as the Sisters of Mercy’s Art and Practice Program for spiritual direction.
Katie has journeyed with numerous people through the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life (19th Annotation) as well as offering general Spiritual Direction. Katie has led several retreats for the AMEN group at Bellarmine College Prep and assisted on retreats at the Jesuit Retreat Center.
Katie is a retired CPA, substitute teacher, and “church lady” having worked for 12 years at her local parish. She is married to her highschool sweetheart, the mother of 3 sons and grandmother to 4.
Karen Skidmore
I offer spiritual companionship for those who seek God, and the life God wants to give them, in the midst of busy career, volunteer and family lives. Trained in the contemplative tradition, and in Ignatian spirituality and discernment, it’s my joy to also offer direction in the transformative Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. Widowed young and experienced in helping family members with health crises, I accompany others with compassion and God’s hope as they face life’s difficulties. A retired career attorney and ordained elder, I have been deeply involved in volunteer lay ministries and nonprofit leadership roles for over 30 years, hold various graduate certificates in spiritual formation and direction, and membership in SDI. I currently worship in a local Episcopal church.
Maryanne Stanislaw
Maryanne Stanislaw is a dedicated Spiritual Director based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is passionate about guiding individuals on their spiritual journeys and is a graduate of the Embracing the Holy Spiritual Director Training Program in Portland, OR, and the Pierre Favre Program at the Jesuit Retreat Center in Los Altos, CA. Maryanne specializes in spiritual direction, leads retreats, and facilitates the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.
In collaboration with organizations such as the Jesuit Retreat Center, Santa Clara University, the Heart of Christ Program, Contemplative Leaders in Action, and Family Matters, Maryanne seeks to help others find a deeper connection with God. Over the past three years, she has presented weekly sessions on the 18th and 19th Annotations and the ‘Seeing with the Heart’ program through Santa Clara University’s Alumni Department and the Graduate Program in Pastoral Ministries. Additionally, she offers spiritual direction and the 18th and 19th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises via Zoom, making her services easily accessible to a wider audience.
Maryanne’s faith and ministry, inspired by St. Ignatius’ call to ‘find God in all things,’ are deeply rooted in the principle of inclusivity and respect. Fluent in five languages, she teaches French, German, and English to corporate tech groups and professionals in Silicon Valley and beyond. Her diverse upbringing, which combines her American and Thai heritage and her experience of being raised in several different countries, has cultivated a deep appreciation for all cultures, enriching her spiritual practice and direction. This commitment to inclusivity and respect is a guiding force in her personal and professional life, ensuring everyone feels valued, respected and heard.
Loretta Pehanich
A “cradle Catholic” and freelance writer, Loretta Pehanich blogs monthly at IgnatianSpirituality.com and is the author of Fleeting Moments: Praying When You Are Too Busy. She is a founder of Women in Conversation, a large-group spirituality ministry for women at St. Francis Parish. A spiritual director since 2013, Loretta completed a three-year internship in spiritual direction at the Bread of Life Center in Sacramento. Recently she completed the two-year course in giving the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius through the Center for Ignatian Spirituality, Sacramento. With more than 20-years experience in ministry, including retreats, workshops and small group leadership, Loretta worked in public relations/communications/fundraising for the Diocese of San Jose, Bellarmine College Prep, the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Mateo, Christ the King Retreat Center and other nonprofits. She holds a bachelors’ degree from USC’s Annenberg School of Communication. She and her husband have four adult children and 10 grandchildren.
Tom Tate
Tom attends Holy Spirit Parish in San Jose, CA, where he serves in both liturgical and social ministry. He is married and the father of two daughters. Tom completed an Ignatian Spirituality Leadership program (FIRE) in 2016 at his parish and the 19th Annotation Spiritual Exercises (SEEL) in 2018. In May 2023, he was trained as a director of the Spiritual Exercises through the Giving the Exercises program at St. Monica Spirituality Center. Tom enjoys golf, hiking and helping others grow their relationship with God.
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Terri Wegener
Terri delights in accompanying others as they discover Ignatian Spirituality through the Spiritual Exercises, and as they grow more deeply in their own spirituality. Terri received her training as a Spiritual Director at Bread of Life in Sacramento, and as an Ignatian Spiritual Director at the Center for Ignatian Spirituality in Sacramento. Terri lives in Davis, California. She is married and has seven grandchildren. She enjoys hiking and the outdoors. Terri has a background as a yoga teacher, and is a retired hydrologic engineer.