2020 COLLEGE COUNCILS CONFERENCE

SPEAKERS

Carl A. Anderson

Supreme Knight

As supreme knight of the Knights of Columbus, Carl A. Anderson is the chief executive officer and chairman of the board of the world’s largest Catholic family fraternal service organization, which has over 2 million members.

Mr. Anderson has had a distinguished career as a public servant and educator. From 1983 to 1987, he served in various positions of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, including special assistant to the President and acting director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. Following his service at the White House, Mr. Anderson served for nearly a decade as a member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

From 1983 to 1998, Mr. Anderson taught as a visiting professor of family law at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. In 1988, he became the founding vice president and first dean of the Washington, D.C., session of this graduate school of theology now located at The Catholic University of America.

Mr. Anderson served as assistant supreme secretary and supreme secretary of the Knights of Columbus until he became supreme knight in October 2000. Prior to that, he served as the Order’s vice president for public policy from 1987 to 1997. He has been grand knight, district deputy, state advocate, state secretary and state deputy for the District of Columbia. 

Since Mr. Anderson assumed the responsibilities of supreme knight in 2000, the Knights of Columbus has achieved new heights in charitable giving, providing in 2018 alone over $185.6 million directly to charity and more than 76 million hours in volunteer service.

He is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers, including, A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do To Transform The World.

Mr. Anderson holds degrees in philosophy from Seattle University and in law from the University of Denver. He is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia and is admitted to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court.

He and his wife, Dorian, are the parents of five children.

Harrison Butker

Kicker and Super Bowl LIV Champion
Kansas City Chiefs 

Harrison Butker is the starting placekicker for the Kansas City Chiefs, in his 4^th NFL season.

Harrison was drafted in the 7th round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Carolina Panthers, before ultimately being signed by the Chiefs.

Harrison set rookie records for field goals made - and is second in NFL history in career field goal percentage. Currently ranked as the number 2 kicker in the league, he played an important role in seeing the Chiefs to victory in their first Super Bowl in over fifty years.

Harrison is an alumnus of the College Councils program, having joined the Knights in Council 14496 at Georgia Tech University. 

While at Georgia Tech, Harrison made school history as the leading scorer as their placekicker, converting 208 of 210 extra point attempts and 43 of 60 field goals. He was in a class taught by Georgia Knights of Columbus Past State Deputy Jim St. John – who noted that he was one of the best student athletes that he ever had the privilege to teach!

Despite all his on the field accomplishments, Harrison’s greatest joys are being a husband and father, with his Catholic faith being the bedrock of all that he is and does.

Patrick E. Kelly

Deputy Supreme Knight

Patrick E. Kelly, a past state deputy of the District of Columbia, became deputy supreme knight on Jan. 1, 2017, following appointment by the Knights of Columbus Board of Directors. He previously served as the Order’s Vice President for Public Policy and as the first executive director of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Kelly was elected to the Order’s Board of Directors in 2013. In 2016, he retired with the rank of Captain from the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps Reserve, where he specialized in international and operational law and served as the Commanding Officer of the international law unit at the United States Naval War College. Previously, Mr. Kelly had a long career of public service that included advisory roles to Congress and the Department of Justice. Mr. Kelly also served as Senior Advisor to the Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom at the State Department. His responsibilities included serving as the Department’s principal interlocutor with the Holy See and other nations on religious freedom issues.

As executive director of the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, he oversaw the renewal of that facility, previously known as the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center, which was purchased by the Supreme Council in 2011. During his tenure, the Shrine developed a world-class permanent exhibit, called “A Gift of Love: The Life of Saint John Paul II,” and created two new worship spaces that feature the mosaic artwork of Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik — the Redemptor Hominis Church and the Luminous Mysteries Chapel, which enshrines a first-class blood relic of St. John Paul II.

He holds a law degree from Marquette University Law School and a master’s in theology from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at The Catholic University of America. While a student, Mr. Kelly joined the Knights of Columbus at Marquette University Council 6883.

He and his wife, Vanessa, have three young daughters.

Jonathan Reyes

Senior Vice President
Evangelization and Faith Formation

Jonathan Reyes has been an outstanding and dynamic leader and national speaker in the fields of Evangelization, Higher Education, Catholic social teaching and charitable programs.

Dr. Reyes is the Senior Vice President for Evangelization and Faith Formation for the Knights of Columbus.  He recently assumed this role after spending 7 years with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as Assistant General Secretary for Integral Human Development and Executive Director for Justice, Peace and Human Development.

He came to the role from his work as President and CEO of Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Denver.  Serving as Director of Social Ministry for the Denver Archdiocese simultaneously with his Catholic Charities position, Dr. Reyes oversaw an organization serving 45,000 persons annually, including five homeless shelters, six child-care centers and 22 affordable housing properties, among dozens of other charitable programs.

Dr. Reyes also founded Christ in the City, a national volunteer and formation program for college students, and the Augustine Institute of Denver, a graduate program devoted to Catholic Theological studies and leadership training. 

Dr. Reyes came to his work in charity and social justice ministries after a distinguished career as a history professor and academic administrator in higher education having taught at Christendom College and served as its Vice President for Academic Affairs. He continues to serve as a trustee for numerous organizations in the fields of higher education, seminary formation, evangelization and charitable work.

Dr. Reyes studied European history as a Rackham Fellow at the University of Michigan, earning a PhD in European Intellectual History at the University of Notre Dame. He and his wife have seven children.

Damien O’Connor

Senior Director
Evangelization and Faith Formation

Damien O’Connor has a MA in Religious Education from Fordham University.  His career has consisted of working for the Church in various capacities over the past 25 years.  Formally a religion teacher and Assistant Headmaster at Iona Preparatory in New Rochelle, NY, Damien learned his love for teaching.  He also served as the Campus Minister for Catholic Evangelization at Villanova University. Damien was hired to be the Director of Adult Formation for the Diocese of Bridgeport in 2008 and was subsequently asked by Supreme Chaplain Archbishop Lori in 2009 to join his senior staff by directing the Faith Formation office for the Diocese of Bridgeport.  In 2011, Damien was appointed to the National Advisory Council (NAC) of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).  In 2012, he was elected to the Executive Board as Chairperson. 

Damien was hired by the Knights of Columbus in the fall of 2017 as the Director of Catholic Information Service.  In 2018, he was promoted to Senior Director of Evangelization and Faith Formation for the Fraternal Mission Department.  His primary responsibilities include developing programs to position the Knights of Columbus as the premier Catholic organization committed to strengthening Catholic family life and men’s spirituality.

Damien has been married to his wife Monica for 23 years, and together they have 3 children. He is a 4^th Degree member of the Knights, in Council 5806 in Trumbull, Connecticut. In his free time, Damien enjoys golfing, doing projects around the house and spending time with his family.

Daniel Schachle

General Agent
Knights of Columbus Insurance 

Daniel Schachle FICF, PGK is the General Agent for Tennessee & Kentucky as well as parts of Arkansas and Virginia. He began his career with the order in 2005 and quickly became a Million Dollar Roundtable Table (MDRT) agent. MDRT qualifying agents represent the top 2% of insurance agents worldwide. He was made General Agent of Tennessee in 2008. He has built the agency from scratch to a trip qualifying and MDRT culture. He was named Agency Builder of the Year for the order in 2015. In 2018, he was given responsibility for the half of the State of Arkansas, and in 2019 all of the State of Kentucky. He currently has 18 agents including one Assistant General Agent and is working to build these additional two states into a culture that resembles the Tennessee agency. Daniel is a USAF Veteran and private pilot; he continues his service mentoring youth as the Commanding Officer of the local cadet program at the Dickson County Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol which is the official Auxiliary of the USAF.

He and his wife Michelle live in Dickson, TN. They have 13 children. Three of their children are married and they have given them four grandchildren. They will have three in college this fall studying for vocations as a teacher, a priest, and an occupational therapist. The remaining seven children are homeschooled and involved in various activities which keep his wife very busy. His youngest child, Michael, was healed through the intersession of Fr. McGivney leading to his approval for beatification.

David St. Hilaire

National Growth Director
College Councils

Originally from the small town of Dwight, Nebraska, David graduated from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, in 2015, with a degree in political science. During his time in college, he completed two Congressional internships; one in the U.S. Senate, and one in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A 5th generation Knight, David is former deputy grand knight at Benedictine College Council 4708, former district deputy #2 in Connecticut, and past grand knight of the Rev. Michael J. McGivney Council 10705 at St. Mary’s in New Haven.

David started working at the Supreme Office in 2015 as a participant in the Management Development Program and began working with college councils as College Councils Coordinator in 2017, and now as National Growth Director for College Councils. In this position he manages the Knights of Columbus College Councils Department and oversees the 150 active college councils in North America. He has been fortunate enough to travel all across the US & Canada in this role and has visited over 100 college campuses in the last several years. 

David recently got engaged and is excited to be starting the wedding planning process with his fiancée, Emma. They are both hoping and praying that a vaccine will be developed before the wedding!

When he’s not working or volunteering with the Knights of Columbus, David enjoys playing sports, rooting for the Nebraska Huskers and the Chicago Cubs, and John Wayne movies.

Nicholas Holoman

Assistant Regional Growth Director
College Councils

Nick is originally from Bellefontaine, OH, and is a 2020 Graduate of John Carroll University where he studied Theology and Philosophy with a concentration in law and politics. He is a past Grand Knight of the John Carroll University Council 8320, and a member of the 2019 College Councils Advisory Board.

In the summer of 2019, Nick worked as an intern in the Fraternal Mission Department and, in July of 2020, Nick began his position as an Assistant Regional Growth Director for College Councils. He has enjoyed meeting with the council leaders in his territory, the Midwestern and Southeastern U.S., and he looks forward to further collaboration with them in the days and weeks ahead. 

As of August 22^nd, Nick is newly married to his wife Rebekah. They live in Cincinnati, Ohio where Rebekah attends the School Psychology program at the University of Cincinnati. After a year of many new beginnings, Nick and Rebekah are looking forward to exploring their new home – Cincinnati.