Affiliated Spiritual Directors

Margaret (Meg) Albertini is new to Georgia having recently moved from Long Island, N.Y. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother. Her personal spiritual journey has led her on many wonderful and life changing adventures throughout the years. She was awarded a Master of Theological Studies from Augustine Institute, a Bachelor of Arts in Family Life Studies from Empire State College, and a Certificate in the Art of Spiritual Direction in 2011 from the three-year study program in Ignatian Spirituality offered through St. Joseph Renewal Center in Brentwood, N.Y. Over the years, she has enjoyed a vibrant retreat ministry, presenting weekend retreat experiences for parishes in both the Brooklyn and Rockville Center Dioceses for youth, young adults, men, and women. She had the privilege of presenting the annual weekend retreats for the New York Police Department, the Fire Department of New York, and an organization of lawyers, judges, and politicians serving New York City. Meg feels very blessed to have seen the face of Jesus hidden in all those she has ministered to and with, through the years while living in New York. Meg, who has deep charismatic roots, is a Cenacle Associate and is presently in formation within the Secular Order of the Discalced Carmelites Oklahoma Province. Her greatest joy is helping others experience more deeply the love and freedom of being a child of God. Hide

Sister Susan Arcaro, r.c. shares the Mission of the Cenacle Sisters with adults at Ignatius House and in parishes of the Archdiocese of Atlanta as a spiritual director, retreat director, educator and facilitator of faith enrichment programs. She serves as an adjunct lecturer in Spring Hill College’s Certificate in Spiritual Direction program, a two-year program for women and men discerning a Call to the ministry of spiritual direction. Her special interests include RCIA, church history, children’s spirituality and sacred liturgy. She holds a B.A. in Education from Assumption College in Worchester, Mass., and M.A. in Spirituality and Spiritual Direction from Fordham University, and a diploma from Association Montessori Internationale. Hide

Michele Berrell is a theology teacher at St. Pius X Catholic High School in Atlanta, Ga. and has been at there since 2002. She teaches the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament. Michle received a B.S. in Education from Georgia State University, and a Masters of Theological Studies and Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Spring Hill College. Her approach to being a spiritual director/companion is a combination of Franciscan and Jesuit spirituality. This approach shares both the intellectual gift of the Jesuits and the simplicity of the Franciscans. Her ministry welcomes people of all faiths and offers workshops for various denominations. Michele is also involved in prison ministry, reaching out to the most marginalized of our society and works with the National Incarceration Association for greater awareness that justice should be restorative and not retributive. Prior to teaching scriptural theology at St. Pius, she was director of religious education at St. Marguarite’s Parish in Lilburn, Ga. She has served in various pastoral and parish roles and has also worked for Gwinnett Co. school system. Michele knows that it is through relationship with one another and with God that we truly find our purpose in life, and grow in the love of God. She considers herself more of a companion on the way, and walks beside you in your journey. Hide

Catherine Crosby is a spiritual director/companion, retreat leader, and registered yoga instructor with a lifelong interest in body, mind, and soul connection, bringing all of our God-given selves into whole and holy integration. After almost 30 years in Atlanta, Cathy moved to Greensboro, GA, where she continues to offer spiritual direction, teach yoga, and serve in her new rural community. She has master’s degrees in religious education and pastoral studies as well as Hatha Yoga certification in the Anusara (translated “open to grace”) tradition. She enjoys both adventure and quiet time with family in equal measure. Cathy is experienced in remote spiritual direction and is therefore available to meet people via FaceTime, Skype, or phone, in addition to in person. Hide

Mark is the founding director of the Mindfulness Center of Atlanta (2009). He is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher, a licensed professional counselor, a certified spiritual director, a commissioned presenter of the Centering Prayer method, and a registered yoga teacher. Mark holds the Master of Arts Degree in Counseling Psychology from Montclair University, the Master of Arts Degree in Pastoral Studies from Spring Hill College, and the Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Ramapo College. He has worked in parish ministry, addiction in-patient and out-patient treatment programs, public and private school counseling, and as the program coordinator for Contemplative Outreach International. Mark’s professional interest is in working at the point of intersection between mind-body practices and healing, especially in the areas of trauma (including religious trauma), substance use disorder, prolonged grief, anxiety, depression and chronic stress. Mark offers mindfulness retreats and spiritual direction at the Ignatius House. Hide

Bob Fitzgerald served as executive director of Ignatius House from 2002-09, following a distinguished career in corporate law. His stewardship of the Atlanta Jesuit Community and Catholic causes has included establishment of Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, the expansion of Mercy Care in Atlanta, and more. Hide

Brad Hamrlik has served as a spiritual director since 2004 while earning his Certificate in Spiritual Direction at Loyola University in Chicago as a Jesuit in formation. He made the 30-day Silent Retreat form of the Spiritual Exercises and has led others through the 19th Annotation Retreat in Everyday Life form. Brad has served Ignatius House as a member of the Board of Directors. He also co-directed the Contemplative Leaders in Action program for young adults through Ignatius House. As a young adult “seeker”, Brad experienced God in may ways; but only after beginning spiritual direction with Sr. Pat Thompson did he begin to communicate with God in a two-way dialogue. “In all my Catholic upbringing, I never learned how to develop an actual relationship with God—I learned that from Sr. Pat and all the wonderful Jesuits I have encountered, as well as from all the beautiful lay folks dedicated to this ministry.” Brad is open to working with anyone seeking a deeper relationship with God. He has particular experience working with young adults; former, prospective, and current religious; and those in recovery. Brad lives in Roswell with his wife, two children, and two dogs. He enjoys sailing and nature. Hide

Suzie Hawkins is a wife and mother of four. She holds a B.Ed. and a M.Ed. from the University of Georgia. Additionally, she has a Masters degree in Christian Spirituality and a certificate in Spiritual Direction from Loyola University Chicago. Suzie attends St. Michael Catholic Church in Gainesville where she meets with directees both in-person and on Zoom. In Suzie’s own spiritual journey, she has experienced going through the motions in her faith life as she struggled with finding God in institutionalized religion and the faith life that served from childhood. She has seen first-hand how big questions, frustration, and perseverance can renew religious practice and deepen one’s life of faith and prayer. Hide

John has been a Spiritual Director since 2005, He received his training as part of a 5-year program at Our Lady of Peace in Narragansett, RI, with emphasis on Ignatian discernment and spirituality. He journeys with others as they seek to deepen their awareness of and relish in the experience of God in their lives, and how they wish to respond. John is also an experienced adult faith formation and retreat leader. He is also a trained Spiritual Director supervisor, and leads retreatants in the Ignatian exercises. John resides in Charleston, SC, where he is available both in person and by Zoom. Hide

Kathy Hoffman began her vocation as a high school teacher, and after taking a 20-year break from classroom teaching to raise three sons, she sensed a call to return to the profession she loves. In the time away, her passion for teaching and her love of the scriptures found expression in ministry as a lector and a catechist in her parish. With more than 20 years of experience in RCIA, Kathy enjoys the privilege of witnessing God at work in the lives of others. Parish ministry ultimately led her to pursue an M.A. degree in scripture and theology and a certificate of spiritual direction from Spring Hill College, where she discovered Ignatian spirituality. Kathy taught scripture and world religions at Blessed Trinity Catholic High School from 2003-2014 and continues to be active in interfaith education with a course that she developed for adults on the Abrahamic religions. Since 2013, Kathy has served as an instructor for the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s diaconate formation program. Kathy and her husband have been married for 45 years and are blessed to have their three adult sons, their wives, and seven grandchildren all living nearby. Hide

Rizza Bella Hohenstern has a Certificate of Spiritual Direction and Masters of Pastoral Studies from Spring Hill College. Her family immigrated to Milledgeville, GA where she grew up in a traditional Filipino home. A “cradle Catholic,” she first encountered spiritual direction through her own discernment journey in her mid-20s. Because of spiritual direction, Rizza Bella’s faith grew beyond just trying to determine God’s will for her life and doing it. A life of faith became a way of living in communion with God, knowing God’s active presence in her day-to-day, and surrendering in trust and courage to act out of that foundation of loving grace. Through spiritual direction, she encountered the deep, personal, unconditional love of God which offers great joy and healing. Thus, her heart is open to people of any or no faith tradition. Rizza Bella shares the joy of God’s love as a volunteer with the St. Vincent de Paul Society, offering hope to people in need, and she served as a catechist at her parish for several years. Rizza Bella and her husband Joe also enjoy international missions. She is passionate about the listening and companioning ministry of spiritual direction and feels honored to provide a safe, compassionate, encouraging space for a person to encounter and wrestle with God and grow in an authentic, life-giving relationship with God. She sees such power and grace in recognizing for oneself that Divine presence does in fact radiate within oneself. She has accompanied both young and older adults. Rizza Bella finds it a true joy to witness the unique, intimate, patient, and tender ways that God loves, heals, communicates with, and interacts with each individual. Hide

Kathy Holman is a retired Deacon in the Episcopal Church. She has a B.A. in Philosophy of Religion from the University of Georgia and a Certificate of Completion in the Graduate Program in Christian Spiritual Guidance at the Shalem Institute (1993-95). Kathy has taught and lead clergy and lay retreats and quiet days throughout the Atlanta Episcopal Diocese. She has also taught meditative and contemplative prayer models in differing faith communities. Kathy’s diaconal ministry includes serving the homeless, spiritual friendship with prisoners, and companionship with the ill and dying. It is with a grateful heart that Kathy returns in retirement to her first love of one-on-one spiritual guidance. Hide

Maureen and her husband, Bob, have 6 adult children and 12 beautiful grandchildren. As a stay-at-home mom raising her young children, Maureen embraced the spirituality of “the little way,” recognizing the holy in the “ordinary”. In 1998 she returned to school, receiving a Masters in Theological Studies from Spring Hill College in 2001 and a Certificate in Special Direction in 2006. Deeply rooted in Ignatian spirituality, Maureen has guided others through the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life. Presently, she is in formation as a Lay Cistercian of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers. As a member of the Ignatian Spirituality Project team, she helps to facilitate overnight retreats and days of reflection for women in recovery from addiction. Although most of her directees are women from all seasons of life, she is passionate about sharing the good news of God’s unconditional love with men and women alike. She delights in reminding them, “You are the Beloved Child of God!” Hide

Beth Laury is a second-career minister after leaving physical therapy/quality management at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to serve full time for the Lord. Instead of helping restore the body’s ability to function, the Lord asked her to help restore souls. Beth served as adult discipleship pastor for a metro-Atlanta Church for seven years. She cares deeply for the sick, the broken, and the imprisoned. She is passionate about journeying with people one-on-one or in groups. Beth loves leading retreats and seminars to build up others to know and experience God. She often mentions that she has a “front row seat to Christ’s transformative work in people’s lives.” Beth has a Masters in Spiritual Formation and Direction from Richmont Graduate University and is a graduate of the Renovare Institute. She and husband Michael have two daughters. She loves reading, walking, cooking, and traveling. Hide

Mary Maio, MTS, CSD, graduated from Spring Hill Jesuit College in 2019 with a Master of Pastoral Studies and Certificate in Spiritual Direction. In 2022 she earned certification as an Enneagram Coach under the guidance of Ginger Lapid-Bogda, PhD. In Mary’s private practice, she accompanies others through the Spiritual Exercises, leads group spiritual direction, and recently began offering an introduction to the Enneagram of personality. As a member of the Ignatius House Ignatian Spirituality Project team, she helps facilitate overnight retreats and days of reflection for women in recovery from addiction. Mary is a convert to Roman Catholicism and a member of St. Brigid in Johns Creek, GA. Hide

Paula Whatley Matabane is a spiritual director and ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). She is minister of prayer and visitation, and coordinator of church archives at Turner Monumental AME in Atlanta. She researched and wrote an expansive history of that church. Paula’s experiences in ministry include teaching and preaching, evangelism in East and South Africa, practicing contemplative prayer, working with homeless women, seeking racial reconciliation and social justice, producing films on the Black presence in the Bible. Paula is professor emerita of the Howard University School of Communications, and director of publications for the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society. One of her great loves is researching family history and genealogy, which has led to genuine friendships with descendants of former enslavers of her ancestors. Paula holds an M.Div. degree from the Howard University School of Divinity and the Certificate of Spiritual Direction from Springhill College. An Atlanta native, she has one daughter, Mashadi, who is an educator and writer. Paula enjoys biking, hiking, swimming, fishing, gardening, reading, cooking, travel, family reunions, southern history and culture. She loves cats and getting to really know people outside her usual circles. Her favorite scripture is Romans 11:29 – The gifts and call of God are irrevocable. Hide

Julia Maloney is a native of Georgia. She has been a Registered Nurse for 37 years and currently works with Impaired Professionals who are in recovery. Julia is a graduate of Kennesaw State University with her Nursing Degree and Spring Hill College with a certificate in Spiritual Direction. As a Lay Cistercian from The Monastery of our Lady of the Holy Spirit, Julia offers spiritual direction for women who come to the monastery to work their steps in Alcoholic Anonymous, and her gift is the Fifth Step. She enjoys teaching about liturgy, prayer, and Ignatian Spirituality. She teaches Christian Mindfulness practices, forms of prayer and can also be found leading nature walks and pollinator counts. Julia’s home is a pollinator habitat, a monarch way station, and a certified Audubon Bird Sanctuary. She gardens with native plants to support the butterflies and other wildlife who find respite on her property. Julia finds God in the ordinary and lives close to nature, often sharing with others all the tiny, amazing ways God has created us to live well with nature. Hide

Carl McColman is a contemplative writer, retreat director, and spiritual teacher. His books include The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, Answering the Contemplative Call, Befriending Silence, and Unteachable Lessons. He blogs about the spiritual life at carlmccolman.com and co-hosts the Encountering Silence podcast. Carl and his wife Fran co-direct the RCIA program at St. Thomas More Church in Decatur. Carl is a life-professed Lay Cistercian of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit — a layperson under formal spiritual guidance with the Trappist monks. He also studied with the Shalem Institute in Washington, DC, and received his formation as a spiritual director through Dr. John Westerhoff’s Institute for Pastoral Studies. Carl is a commissioned presenter of centering prayer through Contemplative Outreach Atlanta. He travels widely as a retreat leader, and has directed retreats and days of reflection at Ignatius House since 2015. Carl is a graduate of James Madison University (B.A., English) and George Mason University (M.A., professional writing and editing). He loves music, books, icons, and just about anything related to Ireland and Scotland (except for haggis). He and Fran live near Clarkston where they are the devoted servants to several rescue cats. Hide

Marian Monahan is a spiritual director and retreat leader. She has a BA in Religious Studies, a graduate level certificate in Pastoral Ministry from Loyola University, New Orleans (LIMEX) and a certificate in spiritual direction. She has also gone through life coaching training. Marian maintains a vibrant ministry of spiritual direction, enjoys life-giving and stimulating conversations with other adults in small faith groups and is grateful for her role in the Ignatius House Spiritual Direction Formation Program. She is care partner to her husband Bill, a retired Deacon, and cherishes time with their children and grandchildren. Marian also enjoys movies, plays, reading, walking their golden doodle Beau, and visiting and sharing with her wonderful friends. Hide

Frank Mulcahy has a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and a Masters in Theological Studies from Spring Hill College, Mobile, Ala. Much of his spiritual formation has been in the Ignatian tradition but he is also very familiar with Cistercian / Benedictine spirituality. Frank provides spiritual direction to a number of individuals and has given 5- and 8-night directed retreats at Ignatius House. He has directed individuals in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and is an adjunct instructor in spiritual direction for Spring Hill College. Frank has been Executive Director of the Georgia Catholic Conference since 1999 and regularly speaks on Catholic social teaching to many groups. He also has a certificate in Catholic social teaching from University of Dayton. Frank has a bachelor’s degree from St. Joseph’s College (now University) in Philadelphia and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He has previously been active in the Cursillo Movement. Along with his wife, Claudia, Frank has been a member of St. Thomas Aquinas parish in Alpharetta since 1978. He has one adult son, David. Hide

After a health scare in 2018 that demanded a radical shift in her lifestyle, including doctor-prescribed meditation and yoga to calm the effects of chronic accumulated stress and reconnect her with an overworked, ignored mind and body, Kimi found herself diving back into the prayerful practice that once profoundly connected her to God. Within five transformative years, she obtained numerous certifications in yoga, meditation, and spiritual direction. She is currently nearing the end of a master’s in theology and beginning another in pastoral care. Combining the healing wisdom lent along her journey, she passionately extends God’s embrace to others. Kimi Nettuno has gathered over 1000 hours of yoga and meditation training; she holds a Certificate in Spiritual Direction, a Bachelor’s in Theology and Business, and a Master’s in Theological Studies from Spring Hill, Alabama’s Leading Jesuit Catholic Liberal Arts College. She leads retreats and workshops combining yoga and prayer at Ignatius House in Atlanta, GA. In 2023, she began teaching Discernment and Direction and Prayers and Psalms in the Diaconate program for the Catholic Archdiocese of Atlanta. When she’s not sharing her love of God with others, you’ll find her on her farm amidst the peace and joy of God’s Creation with her husband, three daughters, son-in-law, and a mess of critters. Besides teaching and farming, she enjoys reading, gardening, and cooking. Hide

Lisa Persons graduated from Candler School of Theology with a Master of Divinity in 1996 and then worked as a hospice chaplain and with the mentally ill in downtown Atlanta. An associate of Green Bough House of Prayer since 1996, she delights in companioning others as they seek to deepen their experience of the Holy in daily life. Lisa’s background includes earning a spiritual direction certificate from Moravian Seminary. She studies Focusing, a way of embodied listening to the inner life, and leads people through the Ignatian Exercises, when she gets the chance. As a spiritual director she meets with both men and women, young and old, and has a special interest in twelve-step spirituality. Lisa lives in the Oakhurst neighborhood of Decatur with her husband, Bob, her dog, Emma and two young adults, Robert and Sophie, when they are home from college. She meets with people at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Ignatius House, or virtually. Hide

John and his wife Alice-Marie moved to Decatur from Virginia in 2019. He trained as a spiritual director in a two-year program called Ruah at Richmond Hill, an ecumenical monastery in Richmond, Va. He was a member of the faculty for the following six years, leading retreats on discernment, spiritual growth, and handling shame. John’s approach to spiritual direction is best summarized in this passage from The Practice of Spiritual Direction by William A. Barry & William J. Connolly (pp. 130-131): Spiritual Directors will also need a deep faith in the desire and ability of God to communicate with people, not only as a community, but as individuals. This faith, if it is to be firm enough to sustain them in their work, must spring from their own experience of God. Such experience-based faith will be the ground for their working assumption that there is no one with whom God does not desire to communicate. Spiritual Directors have experienced God as communicating with them in all their reality, and this experience grounds their assumption about all other people. This experience-based conviction leads to a contemplative attitude in directors that is open and eager to discover God’s ways with all kinds of people. Their own experience of God’s saving love and challenging presence makes them wonderers – wondering how God has communicated with and is communicating with other people. Aware that their own experience of God is limited, they want to know more about God and expect to learn more by listening to other people’s experience of God. Hide

Alison Umminger Mattison is a writer, professor, wife, mom, and ecumenical Catholic whose mid-life spiritual crisis led to her vocation as a spiritual director. She loves the arts, and works individually and in retreats to bring imaginative meditation, collage, photography, and other artistic media into the faith lives of her directees. God’s creative energy, shared with and through us, never ceases to amaze her. She has an MA in Christian spirituality and spiritual direction from Loyola University’s Institute for Pastoral Studies, as well as an MFA in creative writing. If you are creatively or spiritually blocked, she would love to work with you to find greater connection and generativity. And if the arts are not your thing, she would love to learn how God speaks in your life. In her down-time, she likes watching birds and movies on the Criterion collection, or just baking cookies for her friends and family. Hide

Terrie Thamer was called to be a spiritual director after retiring from a career in public accounting and as a college professor. She received her Certificate of Spiritual Direction from Spring Hill College. After serving in her parish as a Stephen Minister and Stephen Leader, she finds that listening to God’s voice in the world and other people to be a key element of Ignatian Spirituality which is “to find God in all things”. She has received training from the Catherine of Sienna Institute in both Ananias (accompanying another on their spiritual journey), and Called and Gifted (identifying the gifts or charisms from the Holy Spirit and discerning where or how God is calling one to use or share them with others). A widow, Terrie also is an aspiring potter and gardener, and enjoys time with friends and family, including her grand and great-grandchildren. She provides spiritual direction in person or on zoom. Hide