Jesuit Conference Staff

Fr. Thomas R. Slon, SJ, is the Executive Secretary/Socius for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Most recently, he served as the rector of the Canisius Jesuit Community, in Buffalo, New York. Before that, he was the Socius for the New York Province and then the U.S. Northeast Province. He has also worked as an intern architect at the University of Scranton and at Hemmler + Camayd Architects in Scranton. He later worked as a licensed architect at Arthur John Sikula, Associates in New York City. His architectural interest stemmed from his studies in the liturgical renewal advanced by the Second Vatican Council.

A native of Cheektowaga, New York, Fr. Slon entered the Society of Jesus in 1979 and was ordained a priest at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo in 1990.

For more than a decade, Suzanne has served as special counsel to the president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States and is also its operations manager. Suzanne serves as a member of the executive office team for strategic planning and the coordination of Conference projects. She is responsible for overseeing all legal matters related to the Conference as well as being liaison to outside legal counsel. Suzanne oversees corporate governance of the Conference, consults on financial operations and planning, and oversees facility management for Conference office property.

Previously, Suzanne enjoyed a long career as an attorney for the United States government and was a small business owner. Suzanne holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Baylor University and a Juris Doctor from Quinnipiac University Law School.  Additionally, she earned a certificate of Ignatian Spirituality from the Boston College of Theology and Ministry; a certificate in Servant Leadership from Cornell University; and a graduate certificate in Ignatian Tradition from Creighton University.  She also published “Family Structures and Spiritual Freedom” in The Way, Vol. 6 No 1 January 2022.

Suzanne has been on the board of directors of American Jesuits International since 2021 and has served as chairperson of the board since 2023. Suzanne also serves on the board of Alpha Sigma Nu, the honor society of Jesuit institutions of higher education.

Fr. David A. Godleski, SJ, is the Treasurer for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Fr. Godleski has served as vocation director for the (former) Chicago Province, worked in campus ministry/mission and identity at Loyola University Chicago (LUC), coordinated the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life at LUC, and previously worked for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States in Washington, D.C., as the Delegate for Formation and Jesuit Life. Prior to his return to the Jesuit Conference, he served as the minister and treasurer of the Jesuit Community at LUC.   

 A native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Fr. Godleski completed a Ph.D. in applied mathematics at Northwestern University and taught math at LUC for a few years. He entered the Society of Jesus in 1988 and was ordained a priest at St. Ignatius Church in Chicago in 1998.

Kristin Austin has served as Secretary for Safeguarding since 2023. Prior to coming to the Jesuit Conference, she spent 15 years working with the former Maryland and USA East Jesuit Provinces.

After attending Saint Joseph’s University for undergrad, she volunteered with JVC Northwest and later earned a master’s degree from the University of Maryland.  She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional and serves as survivor assistance coordinator for several male religious institutes. She presents regularly at various conferences and workshops, nationally and internationally, and has been a part of the team representing North America at the International Safeguarding Conference for the past several years.

Kristin lives in Maryland with her family and multiple pets.

Fr. Ronald A. Mercier, SJ, is the Delegate for Formation for the Conference, helping coordinate the various programs from novitiate through tertianship. Originally from Massachusetts, he has served in many different localities. He received his doctorate in Christian Ethics from Regis College / University of Toronto. He taught ethics at Regis and was dean for 10 years, with special interest in the relationship between spirituality and ethics as well as questions of justice in health care.

After assisting in the spirituality ministry for the New England Province, he became rector of the First Studies community at Saint Louis University and was on the faculty there. He was named the first provincial of the new U.S. Central and Southern Province. After a sabbatical, he became Delegate in 2021.

Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, is Secretary of Justice and Ecology for the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Originally from Arlington, TX, he studied at Texas Tech University, the University of Dallas, and Regis College at the University of Toronto. From 2020-2022 he served as visiting fellow and then interim director at the Jesuit Social Research Institute at Loyola University New Orleans where he engaged in research, education, and advocacy on issues related to racial and environmental justice. Kellerman regularly gives talks to Catholic audiences on the history of the Church and slavery, Catholic social teaching, and healing our polarized divide in the Church and the United States. He is the author of All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Catholic Church. 

Harrison Hanvey is the Manager of Outreach and Partnerships for the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology. He joined the team in 2023 and works with members of the Jesuit network within the Conference and beyond to raise their voices in the public sphere, impacting federal policy for the common good.

Born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas, he graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Christian University. Soon after graduation, he moved to Central America to work with vulnerable populations in rural communities. Before joining the Jesuit Conference, he worked at the Catholic University of America in the Office of Campus Ministry as the Associate Director of Community Engagement, Social Justice and Catholic Social Teaching Initiatives.

Thomas Mulloy is the new Director of Government Relations for the Jesuit Conference Office of Justice and Ecology (OJE). He builds relationships with the U.S. Congress and Administration in order to develop and implement OJE’s policy agenda.

Previously, Tom was the Director of Poverty Programs for the National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul, where he oversaw the Society’s public policy advocacy and systemic change initiatives. In 2019, St. John’s University (NY) awarded him the St. Vincent de Paul Medal, given to a layperson who embodies the values of its namesake in serving people living in poverty. Before the Society, he worked for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a domestic economic, labor, housing, and social welfare policy advisor. He began his public policy career on Capitol Hill, on the staff of a former Member of Congress.

Tom holds a Master of Science in Social Administration from the Mandel School at Case Western Reserve University, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in English and Spanish from John Carroll University. After graduating from John Carroll, Tom joined the Jesuit Volunteer Corps and lived in Casa Celina Ramos in San Diego, CA. He worked at the Sherman Heights Community Center, managing the seniors program and afterschool homework center.

Tom resides in Philadelphia with his family.

Fr. Bob Reiser, SJ, serves as Secretary for Pre-Secondary and Secondary Education for the Jesuit Conference of Canda and the United States and executive director of the Jesuit Schools Network of North America (JSN). JSN is a network of 91 member Jesuit schools located throughout Canada, the United States, Belize and Micronesia. JSN schools serve approximately 55,000 young women and men under three models of Jesuit education — Nativity schools, Cristo Rey high schools, and Jesuit middle and high schools.

Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, and a graduate of Canisius High School, Fr. Reiser entered the Society of Jesus in 1986 and was ordained a priest at Fordham University in 1997. He has served 25 years in Jesuit pre-secondary and secondary education. He worked 10 years at Saint Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City, teaching mathematics and Latin as a scholastic from 1990 to 1993 and then serving as president from 2006 to 2013. He worked for nine years at McQuaid Jesuit in Rochester, serving as assistant to the president from 2004 to 2006, and then teaching mathematics and theology and serving as president from 2013 to 2020. He also was a member of the faculty and director of campus ministry at Canisius High School from 1997 to1999.

In addition to his direct work in Jesuit schools, Fr. Reiser has served on the boards of trustees of several Jesuit high schools, colleges and universities, as well as the board of directors of the Jesuit Secondary Education Association, the predecessor member organization of the JSN. From 1999- 2006, he was director of vocations for the New York and Maryland Provinces of the Society of Jesus.

Fr. Michael Graham, SJ, served as president of Xavier University from January 2001 through June 2021, and prior to becoming president, he was both a faculty member and senior advancement officer at Xavier.

After retiring as president, Fr. Graham deepened his appropriation of Jesuit spirituality and has led the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises in a variety of ways at a number of midwestern Jesuit retreat houses. For several years, he also worked with the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, especially assisting Jesuit university trustees to better understand the Jesuit mission and identity of their schools. In September 2024, he transitioned to working with the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States in issues regarding higher education. He is active on a variety of boards of Jesuit ministries, including several university boards.

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Fr. Graham holds degrees from Cornell College, the University of Michigan and the Weston School of Theology (now the Boston College Clough School of Theology and Ministry). He entered the Jesuits in 1978 and was ordained in 1988.

Mike Jordan Laskey joined the Jesuit Conference communications team in 2018. He leads a team responsible for the Jesuits.org website, social media and vocation promotion. He also serves as the host of the AMDG Jesuit podcast.

Previously, Mike was the director of Life & Justice Ministries for the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, and worked in Catholic parish and nonprofit ministry. A writer and speaker, he is the author of the book “The Ministry of Peace and Justice” (Liturgical Press), and he’s the sports columnist for the National Catholic Reporter, where he also contributes to the Young Voices section. His work has also appeared in America, Give Us This Day, Millennial, US Catholic, Vice and other outlets. He has an MA in theology from the University of Notre Dame, where he also earned a BA in English. He lives with his family in Maryland.

Eric Clayton is the deputy director of communications at the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States where he writes the weekly column “Now Discern This,” guest hosts “AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast” and produces a range of multimedia content on Ignatian spirituality and storytelling. He is also the award-winning author of “Finding Peace Here and Now: How Ignatian Spirituality Leads Us to Healing and Wholeness,” “My Life with the Jedi: The Spirituality of Star Wars” and  “Cannonball Moments: Telling Your Story, Deepening Your Faith”.

In addition to his books and weekly column, Eric writes frequently for a variety of outlets, including National Catholic Reporter, Busted Halo, U.S. Catholic, America Magazine and more, on topics ranging from pop culture and parenting to Star Wars and Disney LEGO. He is a regular contributor at IgnatianSpirituality.com and for the daily prayer book Give Us This Day. In addition to his spiritual writing, his speculative fiction has been published by Black Hare Press, Air and Nothingness Press, Small Wonders Magazine and more. He is a sought after speaker, retreat leader and workshop facilitator.

Eric has previously worked with and for a variety of faith-based organizations, including Catholic Relief Services, Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Sisters of Bon Secours. He was an adjunct professor in the Mass Communication department at Towson University.

Eric has a BA in creative writing and international studies from Fairfield University, an MA in international media from American University and a graduate certificate in the Ignatian tradition from Creighton University. He lives in Towson, MD with his wife, two daughters and two cats.

Learn more about Eric at his personal website (ericclaytonwrites.com) and subscribe to his Substack (ericclayton.substack.com) .