Meet the CALLED Curriculum Team!
From left to right: Gary Maccaroni, Nina Laubach, Kathleen Lorentz and program director Fr. John Gribowich.
Fr. John Gribowich, CALLED Program Director
Fr. John Gribowich is a Catholic priest, theology teacher, and campus minister at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School in San Francisco, CA. He previously taught at Allentown Central Catholic High School in Allentown, PA and played an instrumental role in founding and coordinating the Central City Project, which enabled students to engage in social justice initiatives in the city of Allentown. John has been active in the Catholic Worker Movement and is the co-owner of the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker Farm in Harveys Lake, PA. He earned his undergraduate degree in history and theology at DeSales University and studied theology at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, PA and St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, NY. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Brooklyn, NY in 2015 and has been an adjunct lecturer at DeSales University, Immaculata University, and St. John’s University (Jamaica, NY). Additionally, John has graduate degrees in art history and library science from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He has contributed articles and interviews to Magnificat, The Tablet, America Media, and The National Catholic Reporter. Along with theology and art history his personal interests include meditation, reading, running, and the music of Bob Dylan.
Nina Laubach
Nina Laubach has a Masters of Divinity with a Concentration in Theology, Ecology, and Faith Formation from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS). Nina’s varied career path as a structural engineer, meditation teacher, and community leader informs her understanding of vocation as a lifelong journey. She embraces how a nourished contemplative life in conjunction with an active life of service fuel the faith journey, and she believes companioning one another in joy and suffering is central to an ever deepening relationship with God. She is the PTS recipient of the 2023 Jagow Award in Preaching, 2023 Asian American Ministry Award for leadership, and the 2024 Paul Rech Memorial Award in Practical Theology. She studied contemplative dialogue with a Benedictine oblate for four years and she has taught yoga to all age groups, including teachers in training, for over a decade. Nina’s home soils are New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, including Swarthmore College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She lives with her husband and two teenage children at The Lawrenceville School, a boarding high school in central New Jersey.
Kathy Lorentz
Kathy Lorentz has served as an educator, campus minister, counselor and spiritual director for over 40 years. She worked for ten years as a Pastoral Associate at St. Brendan’s Catholic Church in San Francisco, CA. Since 1996, she has been the Associate Director of Campus Ministry at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School in San Francisco, where she also coaches the speech team and moderates the TEDx program, which hosts an annual event for Bay Area schools. Kathy has an MS in Counseling with specializations in both Marriage, Family, Child and School Counseling from San Francisco State University. She is certified by the Compassion Institute and Stanford University as a Compassion Teacher and is a certified MBSR-T Teacher. Kathy has an extensive knowledge of Eastern and Western mysticism and has participated in retreats and conferences with Thupten Jinpa, Thich Nhat Hanh and other spiritual masters. She has developed courses for high school students entitled “Mindfulness and the Contemplative Tradition” and “The Search for Human Meaning.” She, her husband David, and their five sons regularly serve as liturgical ministers at various parishes in the Bay Area.
Gary Maccaroni
Gary Maccaroni has served the Church of Saint Ann in Lawrenceville, NJ as a Pastoral Associate since 1996, providing pastoral leadership in a variety of ministries, and as Director of Religious Education since 2019. Gary has an MA from Princeton Theological Seminary and taught religious studies on the high school level for several years prior to coming to Saint Ann. Consistently recognized by leaders and colleagues in his diocese for his work and achievements, Gary developed and led a regular formation workshop, Ministry in the Parish Setting, for the diocesan Office of Lay Ministry, and taught a mini-course, The Documents of Vatican II, for deacon candidates in formation. Gary is a regular presenter in his parish, and diocese and recently designed and implemented a one-year program for adults on contemplative living called, The Christian Spiritual Journey. Throughout his career, Gary has been committed to creating and sustaining healthy church cultures that foster positive change. Gary currently lives in Ewing NJ, and balances his time and commitments with his ministry, love of the outdoors and trying to keep up with and be father to his five children still in their formative years of life.
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