Special US report: Catholics leading the way in the charity sector in 2025.
The Catholic Herald • September 11, 2025
This year’s US Leaders Special Report highlights the new realities of American public affairs. Just as one Catholic left the White House, after Joe Biden finally decided not to seek a second term, another returned as Donald Trump was re-elected with JD Vance as his vice-president and a cabinet filled with conservatives who wear their faith on their sleeves.
In this seventh section of the report, we examine Catholics contributing to the charity and non-profit sectors. Of particular note is Brian Burch, former president of CatholicVote, who has recently taken up the office of Ambassador of the United States to the Holy See. John Yep, CEO of Catholics for Catholics, also joins this year’s list. The former missionary’s work in mobilising Catholic voters was pivotal in President Trump securing 58 per cent of their support.
Thomas G Abraham
Chairman, Anthony Abraham Foundation
Thomas G Abraham is chairman of the board of the Anthony Abraham Foundation, which eases poverty, builds sustainable communities and supports medical research. He is a graduate of the University of Miami.
Paul Beresford-Hill
International educator and diplomat
Dr Paul Beresford-Hill CBE is the ambassador and permanent observer of the Sovereign Order of Malta’s Mission at the United Nations in New York. His responsibilities include liaison between the UN, its member states and affiliate organisations, and the Order of Malta’s extensive global outreach. His background is in education and he is the director general of the Mountbatten Institute as well as the chairman of the English Speaking Union of the United States. He is also a knight grand cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, a knight of justice in the US Priory of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem, and an honorary Commander of the British Empire.
Tim Busch
Founder, Napa Institute
Tim Busch is the CEO of the Busch Hospitality Group. In 2011 he teamed up with Fr Robert Spitzer to co-found the Napa Institute, one of the world’s most successful Catholic leadership think tanks and philanthropic organisations devoted to assisting Catholic leaders defend Catholic values, especially in public life. Busch’s Napa Institute conferences have broken the mould, attracting leading Catholic influencers, both lay and religious. In 2016 the Busch Family Foundation donated $15 million to the Catholic University of America. Busch also helped bring in an additional $32 million in gifts that were used in part to renovate Maloney Hall, and to turn it into a home for the renamed Tim and Steph Busch School of Business. Speaking to the Herald in 2023, Busch attributed the rise of the institute’s influence to “God’s grace”. His personal faith journey was inspired by another successful Catholic business leader to take an entrepreneurial approach to his faith. “I went to a parochial school, and one day, one of the nuns suggested it would be a good idea if we went to Mass. So I did and in time became a daily communicant. Later, in college, I never lost my faith but did fall away somewhat from practising. Then I went into business, and in my 30s joined Legatus [the organisation for Catholic CEOs founded by Domino’s Pizza owner Tom Monahan], and that proved decisive. I returned to daily Mass and never looked back, and today it remains a tremendous anchor in my life. I recommend it highly to anyone searching for God and spiritual fulfilment.” A founder of JSerra High School in Orange County, California, and the endower of the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America, he is also a successful Catholic networker. He writes on religious subjects for the National Review and has launched pilgrimages to the Holy Land, England, Paris and Rome. In 2023 he hosted a New York conference on “Principled Entrepreneurship” which included a Eucharistic.
Andrea Hattler Bramson
President, Loyola Foundation
Andrea Hattler Bramson spent many of her formative years living in Puerto Rico attending Sacred Heart schools. She has been the president of the Loyola Foundation for ten years, and has been a trustee for over 30 years. The Loyola Foundation is a charitable organisation that supports Catholic mission activities in less developed countries. She has served on the boards of FADICA and the National Catholic Educational Association, and was the president of the pastoral council of her parish in Virginia. In 2020 she co-founded the Full Spectrum Studio, which is dedicated to artists with disabilities.
Brian Brown
Co-founder, National Organization for Marriage
Brian S Brown is the co-founder and president of the National Organization for Marriage. This is a non-profit political organisation established in 2007 to work against the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the US. Previously, Brown was founder and executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, during which time he evolved it into one of the largest pro-family organisations in northeast America. Originally a Quaker, he converted to Catholicism aged 25.
Brian Burch
United States ambassador to the Holy See
Brian Burch is the co-founder and former president of CatholicVote, a conservative non-profit political advocacy group based in the US, whose mission is for every Catholic in America to live out the truths of their faith in public life. He was also President Trump’s nominee to be US ambassador to the Holy See and was sworn into the position on 25 August. Burch is married and has nine children. In 2018, he was named the Legatus “Defender of the Faith” for serving the Church.
Daniel J Cellucci
CEO, Catholic Leadership Institute
Daniel J Cellucci is CEO of the Catholic Leadership Institute, an apostolate providing leadership training and consulting to more than 290 bishops, 2,700 priests and over 33,000 deacons, religious and lay leaders in more than 100 dioceses. Cellucci has also served as a member of the National Advisory Council for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. He oversees research on the Disciple Maker Index, a parish survey tool that helps church leaders focus their efforts toward evangelisation. Cellucci lives in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Richard T Clark
Chairman, Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia
Richard T Clark is the chairman of the Catholic Foundation of Greater Philadelphia, the Catholic Leadership Institute and Penn Medicine’s Cardiovascular Institute Leadership Council. He is a retired chairman and chief executive officer of Merck & Co, a global leader in the pharmaceutical industry. In 2016, the late Pope Francis named Clark and his wife a knight and dame in the Order of St Gregory the Great for their dedication and exceptional service to the World Meeting of Families Philadelphia and the pastoral visit of the Holy Father to Philadelphia.
Elizabeth Donnelly
Mary J Donnelly Foundation
Elizabeth Donnelly is a frequent speaker and writer on Catholic affairs. She is a trustee of the Mary J Donnelly Foundation, and has long been active in FADICA, which seeks to educate foundation leaders on issues facing the Church. She has served on several boards, including those of Jesuit Volunteers International, Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Ignatian Solidarity Network.
Axel d’Epinay
COO, Magnificat
Axel d’Epinay, based in New York, is chief operating officer at the Magnificat publishing firm and Aleteia USA. Under his leadership, since 2005, the pocket-sized Magnificat has grown to over 330,000 subscribers in the US. It is now a world-leading weekly spiritual guide in multiple languages which partners in the UK with the Herald, and is a regular fixture at the back of American churches. It includes daily and Sunday readings, all Feast Days and daily reflections on the Gospel.
Michael Espiritu
Assistant professor, Weill Cornell Medical College
Michael Espiritu MD holds the position of assistant professor of clinical paediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College and serves as an attending neonatologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr Espiritu is a knight of Magistral Grace in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, where he serves as a counsellor at the Permanent Observer Mission of the Sovereign Order of Malta to the UN. He is also a knight commander of the Holy Sepulchre and a knight of merit of the Constantinian Order of St George.
Alexia Kelley
President, FADICA
As president and CEO of FADICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities) and a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, Kelley oversees a leading philanthropic members’ peer network that promotes the growth and effectiveness of US Catholic philanthropy. FADICA supports Catholic education, exchange, fellowship and faith, research and interaction with Catholic leadership. Kelley served for ten years at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She also served as the deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. She co-wrote A Nation for All: How the Catholic Vision of the Common Good Can Save America from the Politics of Division and co-edited the book Living the Catholic Social Tradition: Cases and Commentary.
Fra’ John Dunlap
Grand Master, Order of Malta
Fra’ John Timothy Dunlap is 81st Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Admitted to the Order of Malta in 1996, he took his solemn vows as a professed knight in 2008. For over a decade he has served the Order of Malta as chairman of the Committee for the Protection of Names and Emblems and Representative to the Alliance of the Orders of St John. In 2009, Dunlap was elected for a five-year term as a member of the Sovereign Council. He was re-elected for another five-year term by the Chapter General in 2014 and then in 2019. He led the Order of Malta as Lieutenant of the Grand Master from June 2022, following the death of Fra’ Marco Luzzago. He was elected Grand Master of the Order of Malta in May 2023. He is a New York barrister by training and also co-owns an Italian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan.
Timothy Flanagan
Founder, Catholic Leadership Institute
Timothy Flanagan founded the Catholic Leadership Institute (CLI) in 1989. Under his leadership, the CLI has reached national prominence, providing first-class leadership formation and consulting to clergy and lay leaders in over 100 dioceses in the US and around the world. In 2019, the late Pope Francis named him a knight of St Sylvester in recognition of his service to the Church and her people. He has also served as a lector and Eucharistic minister.
Jack Fowler
Senior director, American Philanthropic
Jack Fowler is the senior director of American Philanthropic. Before joining American Philanthropic, he worked for 31 years at National Review in various capacities, including as publisher, where he oversaw fundraising and development operations. He remains a contributing editor. He is also the host of The Victor Davis Hanson Show podcast. He has served on numerous boards, including the American Mental Health Foundation, Human Life Foundation, Frontier Center and Gatestone Institute. The Bronx native graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Nannette Hendel
Director of philanthropy, Adams Family Foundation
Nannette Hendel serves as the director of philanthropy for the Adams Family Foundation and is on the board of directors for Covenant House, a charity which provides long-term support for young people facing homelessness and survivors of trafficking. Hendel graduated from St John’s University with a degree in psychology. She went on to work at Dreyfus Service Corporation before moving to Connecticut where she concentrated her efforts on raising her family, volunteering and fundraising for various non-profit organisations there and in the greater New York area.
Patrick E Kelly
Supreme knight, Knights of Columbus
Patrick E Kelly is the 14th and current supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus. Previously, he served as deputy supreme knight from 2017 until 2021. Prior to this he served as vice president for public policy for 11 years. He was the founding executive director of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, DC. He was also the senior adviser to the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom at the US State Department and, in this role, was its primary contact with the Holy See and other nations on matters of religious freedom.
Tim Shriver
Disability rights activist
Maryland resident Tim Shriver leads the Special Olympics international board of directors. He previously helped produce four films including The Peanut Butter Falcon, The Ringer and Amistad. Shriver also serves as president of the Joseph P Kennedy Jr Foundation, and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning. In 2011, he wrote the book Fully Alive: Discerning What Matters Most. Shriver’s connection to the Kennedy family is through his mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who was the sister of John F Kennedy. He is also a brother of Maria Shriver. Raised in a Catholic household, Shriver received his master’s degree from the Catholic University of America, reflecting his deep ties to his faith and his family legacy.
Marcela Szymanski
Head of international advocacy, Aid to the Church in Need
Marcela Szymanski lives in Brussels. Since 2011, she is the EU and UN advocacy officer for the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need, which helps the voice of the persecuted Church to be heard among policy makers. She conducts high-level public diplomacy relations on behalf of persecuted Christians, including kidnapped priests as well as entire communities under duress by Islamic terror groups. She has 20 years’ experience as a media correspondent and public affairs professional. She often appears in the media defending the importance of maintaining the integrity of Article 18, promoting and protecting the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and opposing attempts to separate its basic elements.
John Yep
CEO, Catholics for Catholics
John C Yep is the founder and CEO of Catholics for Catholics, a faith-based organisation he launched in 2022 after 14 years as a missionary, including time discerning the priesthood with the Legionaries of Christ. He worked closely with the Trump campaign in 2024, hosting a series of Catholics for Trump events across the US alongside prominent Catholic and political leaders. A vocal advocate for traditional values in public life, Yep has become a leading figure in Catholic grassroots activism.