Plenary Speakers

We have recruited an exciting group of plenary speakers who will address humanitarian crises from different disciplinary and career angles, including:

Celeste Gregory is Technical Advisor - Emergency Program Quality and Management, Humanitarian Response Department at Catholic Relief Services. An international studies and French double major at Scranton (Class of 2001), she has worked for a decade with CRS in developing countries around the world.

Elena Habersky earned her Masters degree in Migration and Refugee studies at the American University in Cairo (AUC) in June 2018 and is now a Research Associate at the Center for Migration and Refugee Studies at AUC. Currently, Ms. Habersky is the lead researcher on a project in conjunction with the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO EMRO) which investigates health financing systems and how such systems cover or don't cover migrants and refugees in the region. After graduating from the University of Scranton (Class of 2013), Ms. Habserky worked with urban refugee communities in Amman, Jordan on a Fulbright ETA Fellowship.   

Dr. John Juliano (orthopedic surgeon), Dr. Mary Juliano (dentist), and Katherine Juliano (nurse) have led several grass-roots Island Impact Ministries medical trips to serve the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

JoAnne M. Kuehner founded Hope for Haiti to help Haitian children access education. She expanded the organization’s focus to include healthcare with the help of a Naples based gastroenterologist, Dr. Keith Hussey. For over 30 years, she has devoted her life to helping connect one of the wealthiest communities in the U.S. (Naples, Florida) to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. (Kuehner received an honorary degree from The University of Scranton in 2001 and the University’s Kuehner Hall of the Loyola Science Center is named in honor of her and her husband, Carl Kuehner ’62, a former chair of the University’s Board of Trustees.)

Andrea Mantione, DNP, MHA, CRNP, Director of the Leahy Community Health and Family Center. She manages and leads the free clinic, recruits volunteer physicians and nurses, collaborates with the University and surrounding community, involves students and faculty and coordinates all funding for the center’s programs. The Leahy Community Health and Family Center includes the Leahy Clinic, the Food Pantry, the Peacemakers program and the University of Success. The Clinic provides free medical, counseling and physical therapy to the uninsured in the community.

Giulia McPherson, Director of Advocacy & Operations at Jesuit Refugee Service / USA. She oversees the planning and execution of Jesuit Refugee Service USA’s advocacy program and institutional operations. Giulia develops and promotes policy positions and advances a community engagement program on issues related to refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced persons.

Ian Rodgers, Innovations & Partnerships Advisor consultant for USA for UNHCR. He is the former director of Emergency Response Unit at International Medical Corps which is the unit responsible for responding to acute humanitarian emergencies.

Michael Sheeran, S.J., President of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU)

Joanna Williams, Director of Education and Advocacy at the Kino Border Initiative. She is the primary coordinator of the educational and advocacy programs offered by the KBI in the United States. She develops and delivers curricula that is attentive to both the Catholic social tradition and the contemporary realities of border and migration policies, as well as the development and realization of an advocacy policy and plan.