Welcome to New Lay Missioners and Sisters!

AT A WELCOMING Reception in the 3rd Floor Rec Room! at 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon we welcome the following lay missioners and new Sister candidates:

LINDSAY DOUCETTE (29) —CAMBODIA Lindsay hails from Indianapolis, IN. She graduated from Butler University with a BA in International Studies and Spanish, and studied one semester in Lima, Peru, at the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas. She obtained her Masters of Public Affairs with a concentration in Non-profit Management from Indiana University. She served as Program Director at Indiana Campus Compact, providing resources, technical assistance, training opportunities, conferences and grant funding to faculty, staff and students of Indiana colleges and universities.

Before that, Lindsay was an Americorps volunteer acting as Service-Learning Coordinator for an Indianapolis community through the Corporation for National and Community Service. She has also volunteered as a Spanish language interpreter at a free health clinic, a fair trade educator with Ten Thousand Villages, and as a Big Sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

JOHN KORB (54) & CYNTHIA KORB (53)—East Timor The Korbs are from Tonganoxie, KS. They have two daughters ages 26 and 29. John graduated from Emporia State, Kansas with a BSE in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration. Cindy earned her degrees at Emporia State University, a BSE in Elementary Education and a Master of Education specializing in Learning Disabilities.

John has been a teacher of a variety of ages and an athletic coach for various school teams. Additionally, John served as an elementary school principal for six years. John’s teaching specialty is math and geometry. Cindy recently achieved her ESL education certification. She worked for many years as a kindergarten, first grade and fifth grade teacher, specializing in helping children with learning difficulties, including special education.

John and Cindy worked during the summers of 2005 and 2007 in Kenya as volunteer teachers working with Homeless Children International. John has served in a community thrift shop, coach of soccer, basketball and softball, project leader and 4-H teacher, fundraiser for extra-curricular activities and was active in his local PTA.

STEPHEN LIGHT (62)—KENYA Stephen is from St. Paul, MN and has a BA in Philosophy and Political Theory from Thiel College, an M.S. in Park and Wildland Management from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from The University of Michigan. He is a Master Degree Candidate in Catholic Spirituality from the College of St. Catherine.

Steve’s specialty is natural resources management. He served for 12 years as the Policy Director of the South Florida Water Management District; Senior Policy Advisor for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources; Director of the Environment and Agriculture program of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; Founder and Co-Director of the Collaborative Adaptive Management Network. Currently, he operates his own consulting firm, working on behalf of governmental entities and NGO’s. Steve has been involved with his parish as a council member, Eucharistic minister, men’s group participant and the Dorothy Day Center for the indigent.

RENA MENDEZ (23)—EL SALVADOR Rena was born in Staten Island, NY but grew up in Topsham, Maine. She received a BA degree with three majors – Political Science, Hispanic Studies & International Studies – in the spring of 2009.

Rena completed two semesters of undergraduate studies at the Universidad de Puerto Rico. She worked as a classroom assistant for one month with children residing in a garbage dump of Guatemala City; served as a volunteer for a semester at a legal aid project working with domestic violence victims in Portland; worked at a Portland soup kitchen and a homeless shelter; and volunteered for one summer with children with Down Syndrome.

PHUONG MINH NGUYEN (44)—EAST TIMOR Born in Vietnam, Minh immigrated to the U.S.A. and now calls Baltimore home. Minh became a licensed cosmetologist. She attended community colleges in Maryland, studying graphic design and fine art. She discontinued those studies to concentrate on diocesan programs that permitted her to obtain—after completing a four-year program—the certificates necessary to teach CCD and to deepen her Catholic faith.

Minh first began to get involved in parish activities by directing a youth group for refugees. She served as the principal catechist and English tutor at her local parish for 15 years. For the last three years she has served as a youth minister at another parish. Minh has participated in two medical mission trips to the Philippines, one medical mission trip to Jamaica, and one medical mission trip to Vietnam. She has also worked at a local food bank and at a soup kitchen.

MARY OLDHAMMARY (34) KENYA—Hailing from Woodland Hills, CA, Mary received a BS degree with honors in chemical engineering from Iowa State University. After ten years as a chemical engineer, Mary joined the Catholic Relief Services volunteer program.

She recently completed her two–year commitment as a CRS volunteer and spent her first year of service in Fort Portal, Uganda, providing support for a CRS microfinance project. This past year Mary worked out of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Justice & Peace. Previously, Mary used her chemical engineering skills for the medical division of 3M. Mary has also served with the LA Catholic Worker, LA Junior Achievement, LA Fair Trade Steering Committee and as a faith-sharing group facilitator at her parish.

ERICA OLSONERICA (24)—EL SALVADOR Erica comes from Louisville, KY Erica and graduated summa cum laude with a BA in International Studies and a minor in Faith, Peace and Justice from Boston College. She worked as the Assistant Director of Cross Roads Ministry in Louisville, planning and facilitating retreats based on Catholic Social Teaching for high school and college-aged students. Additionally, she writes grants, plans and conducts fundraising activities and writes the organizational newsletter. Erica is also a member of the core community of the Casa Latina Catholic Worker House in Louisville.

In 2007 Erica completed a year of volunteer service with the Response-Ability program teaching Haitian immigrants residing in the Dominican Republic. As part of her orientation for this program, Erica attended the Maryknoll International Service Orientation program conducted by MSD at Bethany. Other service works include assisting refugees with after school and computer programs with Kentucky Refugee Ministries; assisting with a cultural survival program working on behalf of Guatemalan people; and serving as a camp counselor for the Northeast YMCA of Louisville.

NANCY TYROLT (50)—EL SALVADOR Nan comes from Stamford, CT, and graduated with a B.A. in speech & communication from Eastern Illinois University. She has worked in the radio broadcast industry in many capacities as an on-air traffic reporter, radio personality, creative director, on air news reporter, broadcast copy chief and producer. For four years Nan was the full time, youth minister for three collaborating parishes in semi-rural Michigan.

Subsequently she co-founded a junior high youth ministry program in a large Hispanic/Haitian parish located in Miami. She has also worked as bookkeeper/ office assistant. She most recently worked in a temporary position as a radio program producer.

SR. ANASTASIA BIRGITTA LINDAWATI, MM (38)—CHINA OR PHILIPPINES Sister was born in Mojokerto, Indonesia and raised in East Java, Indonesia. She graduated from Bogor Agricultural University, Indonesia with a BA in AnimalHusbandry in 1993. She obtained her Masters of Management with a concentration in Financial Management from Narotama University, Indonesia in 2006. She most recently finished her study at Continuing Education Program of Catholic Theological Union Chicago as part of her orientation as a candidate of the Maryknoll Sisters.

Sr. Anastasia ministered as a helpline at Aid for Women Chicago, and also as a volunteer at University of Chicago Hospital, Chinese American Service League and Bonaventure House. She also involved in Charismatic Prayer Group at St. Thomas of the Apostle Church Chicago.

SR. GENIE CASTILLO NATIVIDAD, MM (34)—NAMIBIA OR TANZANIA Sister comes from Diadi, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines. She had two years college at La Consolacion College in Manila and had some courses at the Institute of Religious Formation in Quezon City Philippines. As part of her orientation process to Maryknoll, Genie took continuing education program for 4 semesters at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, IL.

While working in Malaysia, Genie met the Missionary Community of St. Paul the Apostle, a Spanish community doing missionary work in Africa. She entered the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation in the Philippines and was with them for 4 1⁄2 years. Genie left the Augustinians and joined the community she met in Malaysia and became a lay missioner in Turkana, in northeast of Kenya for 6 months.

Returning home, Genie joined the Maryknoll Sisters in 2007. During her first year in Orientation, Genie did ministry with the mentally ill people in Chicago. In her second year, Genie did prison ministry with the young men and women at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago. Genie just made her First Vows on Aug.9, 2009.

SR. LAURA AVECILLA GULEDEW, MM—CHINA OR PANAMA Laura hails from Ifugao, Philippines and studied at Adamson University, Manila, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. Right after graduation, she joined a Pharmaceutical Company as a Medical Representative. Her job brought her to different places of the Cordilleras Region in the Philippines knowing their cultures and ways of life, meeting people in all walks of life. Then in 1997, she went to the University of the Cordilleras in Baguio City as a Guidance Counselor.

While she was working at the University, she was very much involved with the Student Catholic Action and latter became the adviser of this organization. This involvement became a starting point or reconsidering again her dream of becoming a Sister. And in 2007, she joined the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation.