Ali Mumbach

Ali Mumbach is a Research Assistant at the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA). She received her bachelor’s in sociology with a minor in journalism at Texas State University. She went on to earn her master’s in sociology from Howard University, one of the nation’s premiere historically black colleges/universities. Her master’s thesis explores Black young adults’ engagement with religion and spirituality.

Ms. Mumbach previously worked in campus ministry, serving as a missionary at Seton Hall University in New Jersey for two years then later as the Catholic campus minister at Howard University for three years while she studied there. Ms. Mumbach is also working towards a master’s in theology from the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana. She serves as a board member on the Catholic Evangelical Missionary People of Color (CEMPOC) Grant, Inc., which provides financial assistance to missionaries of color who are required to fundraise in order to serve in their ministry. Ms. Mumbach has helped organized national listening sessions for Black Catholic young adults, and has been a speaker at Black Catholic conferences such as the National Black Catholic Conference, the Lyke Conference, and the National Black Catholic Women’s Gathering.

Father Maurice J. Nutt, C.Ss.R., D.Min.

Father Maurice J. Nutt, C.Ss.R., D.Min., is a Redemptorist missionary priest and preacher. He earned a doctorate in preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis (the first African American to receive a Catholic doctorate in preaching), a Master of Theology Degree from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans, Louisiana, a Master of Divinity Degree from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, Illinois, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy and Communication from Holy Redeemer College in Waterford, Wisconsin. As a Danforth Fellow he completed the Leadership Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Additionally, he completed his certification in Spiritual Direction from the Hesychia School of Spiritual Direction in Tucson, Arizona. In 2021, he founded Copiosa Care: A Spiritual Direction Practice. (www.copiosacare.org)

Father Nutt has served as pastor in St. Louis and Memphis and has served on the Redemptorist (Denver Province) Provincial Council. He is a former Director of the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. He is a past Convener of the Black Catholic Theological Symposium. In 2018 the Diocese of Jackson appointed Father Nutt to undertake the initial research on Sister Thea Bowman’s life and holiness that culminated in opening the diocesan phase of her cause for canonization. In June 2020 he was appointed as an adjunct professor of preaching and evangelization serving as a doctoral thesis advisor in the Doctor of Ministry of preaching program at Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO. From 2022-2025, he served as an instructor and consultant for Aquinas Institute’s New Frontiers in Preaching for Black and Hispanic Catholic communities.

He was inducted into the prestigious Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta in 2022.

Father Nutt is an award-winning author. He has published several books, including Thea Bowman: Faithful and Free (Liturgical Press, 2019), Down Deep in My Soul: An African American Catholic Theology of Preaching (Orbis Books, 2023). He co-edited Preaching Racial Justice (Orbis Books, 2023). He contributed the chapter, “Lay Preaching in a Time of Liminality” in the first-place Catholic Media Association award recipient book, Lay Eucharistic Preaching in a Synodal Church (Liturgical Press, 2025) edited by Gregory Heille, O.P. Additionally, he has published many

Mr. Christian Bentley

Christian Bentley serves with the Josephites (Saint Joseph Society of the Sacred Heart) and the Josephite Pastoral Center, where he works at the intersection of evangelization, community engagement, and Catholic Social Teaching. Rooted in the traditions of Black Catholic ministry and community organizing, his work emphasizes dialogue, accompaniment, and synodal participation, creating spaces where people can listen deeply, share lived experiences, and build stronger communities through faith-informed action. He collaborates with parishes, national Catholic organizations, and grassroots leaders on initiatives focused on justice, formation, youth engagement, mental health awareness, restorative practices, and strengthening the Church’s witness in public life.
Christian currently serves on and collaborates with several national and regional organizations and initiatives, including the CENTERS: Synodality Advisory Committee, the Salt and Light Advisory Council at Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, Catholics In Communion and the Season of Faithful Witness Executive Board, the Archbishop Lyke Foundation & Conference Board, the Executive Board of VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement), Restorative Arlington, the Collaborative for Catholic Organizing, The Just Power Alliance, the Institute for American Policing Reform,