Talks and Presenters
Fr. Erik Lenhart, OFM Cap.
Keynote speaker
Fr. Erik Lenhart was born in Hagerstown, MD. Capuchin Youth & Family Ministries (CYFM) was his first encounter with the Capuchins, when he was a cadet at West Point (USMA). He was a CapCorps Volunteer from 2003-04, and joined the order in 2008. Fr. Erik was ordained in 2015 after finishing studies at Boston College School of Theology and Ministry. Prior to his appointment as chaplain at CYFM he served as Parochial Vicar at St. Pius X in Middletown, CT. He also taught preaching and moral theology at Holy Apostles Seminary in Cromwell, CT.
Currently, Fr. Erik is priest in residence at St. Joseph's Parish in New Paltz, NY. He is the chaplain for the Catholic Young Artists of the Hudson Valley and also runs a week long theatre arts camp called CLASP - Catholic Literature & Arts Summer Program.
He enjoys playing piano, writing musicals, hiking, and tennis. He also writes for National Catholic Reporter.
Joanna Connolly
Performing arts Workshop
Joanna Connolly is an actor, singer, music director, and budding producer. She currently serves as Director of Music at Our Lady of Victory Parish and helps run the Life to the Full Book Club for CatholicNYC. Her performance experience spans the spheres of opera, musical theater, and Shakespeare. Joanna trained in the Meisner technique with Barbara Marchant at the William Esper Studio and has studied with renowned acting teachers Jim Calder, Janet Zarish, Patsy Rodenburg, and Olympia Dukakis. In 2021, she started Three Leaf Productions alongside her two sisters. Their debut short film "Accident Prone" is currently in post-production.
Felicia Ann Perez
Visual Arts
Workshop
Painter, writer and performer, Felicia Ann Perez is a Westchester, New York based, Latina Artist and Art Teacher. Better known as “Feli,” her art is informed by vivid dreams, which have been prophetic, and by symbols taken from Catholicism. Her hope in translating her dreams into art is that with time, the viewer of the artwork will reflect and respond with a message that will bring her and possibly the viewer, closer to the truth. She says this is the beginning of discovering new ways to communicate with God. Feli’s eclectic artwork ranges from thick and textured to thin and multi-layered. Her mediums vary from acrylic to watercolor and clay. Felicia is a New York State certified Visual Arts Teacher and currently works at a public high school school in Yonkers. She holds a Masters in Studio Art from Lehman College and hopes to obtain her doctorate degree in the future. Felicia is part of an artist collective called We Art One, a non-profit organization which shares her passion of bringing art to the community and currently has her art studio there.
To Be Announced
Literary Arts
Workshop
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