Peter Redpath – Chairman: Dr. Redpath is a Full Professor of Philosophy at St. John’s University; has received numerous awards and honors for his work in philosophy; was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Institute for Advanced Philosophical Research in 1988; has made over 100 public program appearances on philosophical topics in the U.S. and Europe; has authored numerous books, monographs, and published articles; and has edited various philosophy books. He was a member of the Board of Editors of Editions Rodopi.

Father Joseph Fessio is the Founder and Editor of Ignatius Press. He is also the publisher of the influential publications Catholic World Report and Homiletic & Pastoral Review. As a Jesuit professor he founded both the St. Ignatius Institute of the University of San Francisco and Campion College. During his academic career he has taught philosophy and theology courses at several schools. Fr. Fessio wrote his dissertation on the ecclesiology of Hans Urs von Balthasar under the direction of Pope Benedict XVI (then Professor Joseph Ratzinger). He holds the degrees of B.A. and M.A. from Gonzaga University; M.A. from the Fourvière Jesuit Faculty of Theology in Lyons, France; and Ph.D. from the University of Regensburg in Germany. In addition to his academic and publishing work, Fr. Fessio has worked as a consultant for the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and is the co-founder of Adoremus: Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy.

Dr. Hancock earned his BA and MA at the U. of Oklahoma, and his Ph.D. in philosophy at Loyola U., Chicago. He holds the Joseph M. Freeman Chair of Philosophy at Rockhurst University ; former Chair of the Philosophy Department and Teacher of the Year, he has authored four books on philosophy; twenty-two published philosophical articles and co-authored two novels. Dr. Hancock is a Director of the Angelicum Academy and the Great Books Academy; former President of American Maritain Association and current President of the Gilson Society; former Coordinator of and Lecturer in Rockhurst’s Great Books Program, “Return to the Classics,” Dr. Hancock specializes in Metaphysics, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of Mind, Ethics, Political Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Education, and speaks Spanish, Ancient and Modern Greek, and reads Latin, Italian, French, German, and Polish.

Prof. Piotr Jaroszynski holds the Chair of the Philosophy of Culture at the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. He works within the framework of classical philosophy and belongs to the American Catholic Philosophical Association, American Maritain Association and the International Society of Thomas Aquinas. He has written numerous articles and several scholarly books, including The Controversy Over Beauty (1992, 2002, in Polish), Metaphysics and Art (Peter Lang, 2002), and Science in Culture (Rodopi, 2003), as well as many books for the broader public. For his textbook Ethics: The Drama of the Moral Life (6th ed., 2002), he received the personal thanks of Pope John Paul II.

Heather M. Erb, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania. She has taught philosophy and religious studies at Penn State, Fordham, St. Francis (Loretto, PA), and University of Toronto. She holds degrees in philosophy and religious studies (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium, and St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto) and a Masters and Doctorate in philosophy on the metaphysics of St. Thomas Aquinas from the University of Toronto. She has designed and taught Philosophy for Theology for Catholic Distance University, and has taught seminarians, religious, and Catholic schoolteachers in a variety of settings. Her publications focus on the nexus of metaphysics and mystical theology in Aquinas and his interpreters, as well as on issues in Catholicism and culture. Her books include Thomism and Tradition: From Rivulets to the Fountain’s Source (Catholic University of America Press, American Maritain Association, 2025), and The Path of Spiritual Happiness (En Route, 2016). Other publications include contributions to Catholic University of America and Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas (Vatican City) collections, articles in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, Studia Gilsoniana, Verbum (Budapest), Proceedings of the Patristic, Medieval and Renaissance Society, New Oxford Review. Erb has been a featured speaker at Hillsdale College, Newman Centers, and Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, among others.

Dr. Clare McGrath-Merkle is a philosopher of religion, spirituality scholar and Discalced Secular Carmelite. She is a graduate of St. John’s College, Annapolis (M.A.), the Washington Theological Union (M.T.S., with a certificate in Carmelite Studies), and the University of Augsburg, Germany (D.Phil.), with additional doctoral studies at The Catholic University of America School of Theology and Religious Studies (A.B.D., spirituality studies). She has written articles for The New Oxford Review, SimplyCatholic.com, The Journal of Religion and Health, and The Regensburg Forum, among others, as well as a 2018 book entitled Berulle's Spiritual of Priesthood. She has made appearances on EWTN to discuss the dangers of New Age spirituality, and served as EWTN's English-language host for the 2016 beatification of Fr. Marie Eugene, OCD. She resides in Baltimore and is the grateful mother of a daughter and granddaughter.

Matt D’Antuono is a physics teacher and writer. He lives with his beautiful wife and nine home schooled children in New Jersey. He holds bachelor’s degrees in physics and philosophy, master's degrees in education and philosophy, and he is currently working on a PhD in philosophy. He has been a teacher for 15 years. He writes regularly for the National Catholic Register, and his six books include A Fool’s Errand: A Brief, Informal Introduction to Philosophy for Young Catholics, Philosophy Fridays, The Wise Guy and the Fool, and The Healing. Matthew is a member of the Catholic Speakers Organization, CatholicSpeakers.com. He has three Youtube channels: DonecRequiescat, a mix of philosophy, theology, and science; MisterD418, a channel of weekly Gospel readings and reflections for kids by his kids; and AP Physics C, his AP physics lectures.

Joe Woodard earned a BA (Political Science), MA (Political Philosophy), MA (Liberal Studies), and PhD (Government - Claremont Graduate School). He spent 15 years as an academic, 15 years as an editor and journalist, and 11 years as a federal tribunal judge. He married Kathy in 1986; they raised ten children, many now married and raising grandchildren.

Dr. Thaddeus Kozinski is the author of Modernity as Apocalypse: Sacred Nihilism and the Counterfeits of Logos (Angelico Press) and The Political Problem of Religious Pluralism: And Why Philosophers Cannot Solve It (Lexington Books). Dr. Kozinski was academic dean and professor of philosophy and humanities at Wyoming Catholic College. At present, he teaches theology for Marin Catholic High School and Divine Mercy University.

Tami has taught both at the high school and college levels over a medium-length teaching career, beginning in 1993 after she received her Secondary English credential and continuing after she graduated with a Masters of the Great Books from St. John’s College in Annapolis, MD, in 1998. She comes from international-educator stock, and so has lived in Afghanistan, Greece, Costa Rica, Russia, Canada and various states in the US. Tami is currently working as an adjunct composition professor, a writing tutor, a home schooling mom, a writer with essays in a few places (one in a book), and an amateur poet and painter.

Catherine Kniaz holds a double bachelor's summa cum laude in philosophy and theology earned 100% online from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, CT. Catherine transferred nearly half of her college credits to Holy Apostles from Angelicum Academy, where she had completed the four-year Great Books Program. Moderating Great Books discussions since 2020, she loves listening to and leading her students into discovering the wisdom of the Great Books. Among her favorite books in the program are Consolation of Philosophy, Huckleberry Finn, and, of course, the Summa Theologiae. In addition to reading and discussing the Great Books, Catherine enjoys gardening and playing with her goats, singing Gregorian chant, knitting hats and socks, and playing piano and violin.

John G. Trapani, Jr., Ph.D., is an emeritus professor of philosophy at Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio (1974 – 2018). During his 44 years at the university, he served as Chair of the Philosophy Department, of the Philosophy-Theology Division, and of the Humanities Division. Dr. Trapani was twice named “the Outstanding Educator of the Year,” first in 1990 and then again in 1995. In 1976, he founded Walsh University's Annual Philosophy-Theology Symposium, and he remained its Director until his retirement. In March of 2018, the name of the Annual Philosophy/Theology Symposium was changed to honor him; it is now known as “The Annual Dr. John Trapani ‘Great Ideas’ Symposium.” Dr. Trapani served as President of the American [Jacques] Maritain Association (AMA) in 2000-2001, and then again from 2006-2012. In the fall of 2012, Dr. Trapani was the inaugural recipient of the AMA’s “Anthony O. Simon Distinguished Service Award.” In addition to his over 40 scholarly articles, essays, and book chapters, Dr. Trapani has published two books: he is the editor of the book, Truth Matters: Essays in Honor of Jacques Maritain (2004), and the author of the book, Poetry, Beauty, and Contemplation: The Complete Aesthetics of Jacques Maritain, published by Catholic University of America Press, 2011. Email address: jtrapani@walsh.edu John also is a professional musician and trumpet player. In 1977, he founded and, for the past 43 years, he continues to direct, the 17-piece John Trapani Big Band. Cf. www.johntrapanibigband.com

Amanda Charron holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and a Master’s degree in English from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. During her time as an undergraduate, she pursued minors in Catholic Studies and English and served as president of the Philosophy Club. As a graduate student, she presented her work at various academic conferences (including the British Women Writers Conference) and wrote a prize-winning essay in which she discussed Willa Cather's My Ántonia as a modern coming-of-age tale. She also had the opportunity to be a tutor and assistant-teacher. She has been moderating discussions for Angelicum Academy since 2015 and continues to attribute her love for the liberal arts to the Great Books Program, which she herself completed during high school. She loves to write, to teach, and to read books both old and new (but especially ones by Plato or Cather). She lives with her family in Buffalo, MN.

Matthew Zimmerman earned a Bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in Philosophy and History from Holy Apostles College & Seminary, graduating as Salutatorian of his class. In 2022, he completed his Master’s degree summa cum laude in Philosophy with a concentration in Ethics, also at Holy Apostles. Matthew loves to study the Great Books and to explore them alongside the students in the classroom. Among his many favorite works to discuss and share with the students are Homer’s Odyssey, Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, and the Summa Theologiae of St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as Gulliver’s Travels and The Brothers Karamazov. He is very grateful to be a part of such a fascinating adventure into the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. In addition to being in the classroom, Matthew enjoys visiting with friends and family, spending time outside in nature, plane spotting, driving on dirt roads, praying the Rosary, and embarking on still further adventures through reading. He lives in Vermont.

Marissa is a lover of philosophy. She has been teaching since her senior year of high school, and loves working with students. Having completed her bachelor's in philosophy and theology, she is currently pursuing her graduate studies in philosophy with a concentration in ethics. In addition to great conversations with friends and family, she loves reading, writing, cooking Italian dinners, knitting (especially socks and lace), and baking with her sourdough starter.

Dr. Verónica A. Gutiérrez is the Director of the Great Books Program en español. A Latin American historian, she has spent her career studying the past and has come to understand that though the past teaches us about brokenness and sin, it also reveals our salvation. Specializing in the origins of Mexican Catholicism, her research focuses on Franciscan-indigenous partnership in the development of local Christianity in sixteenth-century Mexico. While pursuing a B.A. in creative writing at the University of San Francisco, she took classes with Fr. Fessio at the St. Ignatius Institute; as part of her Great Books experience, she spent a formative year abroad at Oxford University. Wishing to write family history, she obtained a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) degree in Creative Nonfiction at Penn State, where she produced a spiritual memoir. Desire to understand why she was Catholic prompted her to pursue a Ph.D. in colonial Mexican History from UCLA, during which she spent her research year in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico on a COMEXUS Fulbright García-Robles. A trained writer, award-winning scholar, and sought-after speaker, Dr. Gutiérrez has provided keynote addresses in both the U.S. and Mexico, given a TEDx talk about Cholula, co-led a faculty development tour through Mexico, “From 1519 to 2019: Indigenous Christianity in Mexico 500 Years after Cortés,” and has published in English and Spanish. She is currently writing a Vision Book about Juan Diego for Ignatius Press, introducing readers to the beauties of Nahua culture and the Nahuatl (Aztec) language. She spent 10 years at Azusa Pacific University (APU), attaining the rank of Associate Professor of Latin American history. Serving six of those years as Director of Undergraduate Research, she awarded competitive research grants and travel funds for students to present at academic conferences across the globe. She also spent a year directing APU’s NEH-HSI-funded Summer Bridge Program for incoming Gen1 students and serving as faculty mentor to APU’s Catholic Student Ministry. Her most important role, however, is as a wife and mother of four – one of whom is in Heaven.

An alumna of the Great Books Program, Alicia Arango works as a grader and part-time Moderator for the program. Having grown up in the beautiful countryside of the state of Alabama, she first worked as an Assistant ESL teacher in Colombia, South America and is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in Business and Chinese at NYU Shanghai in China. Some of her 'favorite things' include an active interest in gemology (obtained her GIA Certification in Pearls and Diamonds), singing in her local choir and schola, conversing on anything related to Chinese literature and media, making memories with her friends from all over the world, and exploring different countries and cultures (especially the food!).