Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ

Brother Guy Consolmagno SJ is an astronomer and Director Emeritus (2015-2025) of the Vatican Observatory, and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he earned undergraduate and masters' degrees from MIT, and a Ph. D. in Planetary Science from the University of Arizona; he was a postdoctoral research fellow at Harvard and MIT, served in the US Peace Corps (Kenya), and taught at Lafayette College before entering the Jesuits in 1989.

At the Vatican Observatory since 1993, his research has explored connections between meteorites, asteroids, and the evolution of small solar system bodies. Along with more than 300 scientific publications, he is the author of a number of popular books including Turn Left at Orion (with Dan Davis), Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? (with Paul Mueller), and A Jesuit’s Guide to the Stars. In 2000, the IAU named asteroid 4597 Consolmagno in recognition of his work.

John Hendrix

John Hendrix is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator. His books include The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, called a Best Book of 2018 by NPR, Drawing Is Magic, and many others. His award-winning illustrations have also appeared on book jackets, newspapers, and magazines all over the world. His most recent graphic novel,  the Eisner nominated book The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis was named a Best Children’s Book of 2024 by The New York Times. John is the Kenneth E. Hudson Professor of Art and the founding chair of the MFA in Illustration and Visual Culture program at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ryan Duns, SJ

Ryan Duns, SJ is a thinker and scholar who is passionate about uncovering the theological depths woven into the fabric of popular culture. Attuned to the presence of the sacred hidden within the everyday, he explores how films, music, literature, and digital media echo humanity’s enduring spiritual questions. Ryan approaches culture not as entertainment but as a text that reveals our hopes, fears, and longings for transcendence. His work invites readers to pause, reflect, and recognize the surprising places where grace and mystery emerge. Blending theological insight and cultural analysis, Ryan seeks to bridge the gap between faith and life, encouraging conversations that are both intellectually rich and deeply accessible. Whether examining a popular horror movie or one of Shakespeare’s sonnets (Number 29 is a favorite), he is driven by the belief that popular culture offers profound opportunities for spiritual reflection and discovery.

Susan Haarman

Susan Haarman, Ph.D., is Associate Director at Loyola University Chicago’s Center for Engaged Learning, Teaching, and Scholarship. She facilitates the university’s service-learning program and publishes on community-based learning. Her real love is her research on the capacity of tabletop role-playing games as formative tools for civic identity and imagination. She serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Role-Playing, is the editor of Routledge's Education and Analog Role-Playing Games series, and is also a professional improviser and a licensed therapist.

Rose John Sheffler

Rose John Sheffler is a Kentucky native and a Catholic convert. She began reading and telling stories at a young age, a passion which has flourished into her adult years. A longstanding Anglophile, she adores clocks, Saint George, Sherlock Holmes, English Breakfast tea (with milk), and almost everything written by the British since Beowulf. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky with her philosopher husband and three children. 

Emily Strand

Emily Strand is Director of Campus Ministry and Liturgical Music at Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio where she also teaches the first-year humanities seminar as well as cultural competence and religion courses for Columbus’ Catholic nursing college, Mount Carmel. Previously she served as Director of Liturgy at the University of Dayton, also teaching courses on Catholicism and liturgy. She is the author of Mass 101: Liturgy and Life (Liguori, 2013) and numerous published essays on religious themes in popular entertainment. With Amy H. Sturgis, she co-edited anthologies on Star Wars and Star Trek for Vernon Press (2023) and, with Kathryn N. McDaniel, an anthology on Harry Potter for McFarland (2024). Emily co-hosts the podcasts Potterversity and Meet Father Rivers and is a proud member of the 501st and Rebel Legions, international, charitable Star Wars costuming associations. Her official website is emilystrand.com; she writes about religion and popular culture at liturgyandlife.com.

Eric Clayton

Eric Clayton is an award-winning author and the deputy director for communications at the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. His books include, 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 more. His writing has appeared in America Magazine, National Catholic Reporter, US Catholic, among others, and he is a frequent contributor to Give Us This Day and IgnatianSpirituality.com. Eric lives outside of Baltimore, Maryland, with his family. Learn more at ericclaytonwrites.com.

Joe Vukov

Joe Vukov is an award-winning author and teacher at Loyola University Chicago, where he serves as the Associate Director of the Hank Center for the Catholic Intellectual Heritage. He is the author of several books, most recently, Staying Human in an Era of Artificial Intelligence. His writing has also appeared in venues including The Chicago Tribune, America Magazine, Religion News Service, Fox Opinion and many academic journals. Vukov serves on the AI Research Group for the Dicastery for Culture and Education and is the President of Philosophers in Jesuit Education. He lives in Wheaton, IL, with his wife and four children. Learn more at www.josephvukov.com.