OUR FORMATION TEAM

Paola began her involvement with CGS in 1999. She is a Level 1 Formation Facilitator, has offered CGS formation for the Sisters of Charity Rwanda and currently serves in a francophone atrium at la Paroisse Sacré-Coeur in Georgetown.

Lynda Catalano has been the catechist at Holy Trinity Church in Fillmore, California, for 33 years, and took her first level 1 Formation at Notre Dame in 1991. She has worked weekly in the atrium with groups of 3 to 6-year-olds, 6 to 9-year-olds, and 9 to 12-year-olds. She has led level 1, 2 and 3 formation courses for adults throughout the United States and internationally, has been on formation teams for CGSUSA National Association courses, and leads courses in Spanish. She is a member of the CGSUSA Formation Leader Discernment committee and has been on presenting teams for Formation Leader Training Courses. Lynda is retired from teaching art, science, Spanish, kindergarten and first graders in a public school, and she has four married children and four beautiful grandchildren.

Louise Fillion has been living with Level 1, 2 and 3 children in an atrium since 2005 at Holy Cross Parish in Winnipeg, as the Coordinator for the Paroisse Notre Dame de Lorette Parish atrium and presently at the Paroisse Sainte-Anne-des-Chênes Parish; the latter two being the earliest bilingual atriums in Western Canada. Louise also works in the local French school providing catechesis in an adapted method for grades K-8. She enjoys working with parents and children in Sacramental Preparation and providing support to new catechists and assistants. Serving as a level 1 & 2 catechist remains her main source of renewal and joy and she is grateful to God in this present season of learning as an apprenticing formation leader. Witnessing other adults enter into this work and seeing the awe and wonder in their eyes is a blessed gift.

Maureen has been a CGS Catechist at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Winnipeg
Manitoba since 2001. She was introduced to CGS after completing a diploma in Early Childhood
Education, and during her years at home with her two children. Collaborating with catechists
and parishioners since 2009 in the capacity of Faith Formation Coordinator, she has developed
3 Levels of Atria in the parish to serve the children. Maureen has hosted numerous Level 1 and 2
courses over the years and has experience with material making and building Atrium
environments. She continues to meet weekly in all three levels, with children, catechists, and
assistants, continually growing together in the life of the Atrium.

Rosella has been working with CGS for over 20 years and is a Level 1 Formation Facilitator. She is currently the Director of the Mary Help of Christian's Children's Atrium at St. Benedict's Parish in Toronto and works in the Office of the CGS for the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Marty began her formation in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in 1983 with Sofia Cavalletti, receiving Level 2 formation from her in 1985. That year, she opened the first atrium in the Southwest U.S. at Holy Family Catechetical Center in Phoenix, AZ which became the prototype for atria in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. Maria Christlieb from Mexico City and Rebekah Rojcewicz from the U.S. were also instrumental in her formation as a catechist. Marty continues to work with children in the Toddler, Level 1, 2 & 3 atria and has been facilitating adult formation in Levels 1, 2 & 3 throughout the U.S. since 1991. A retired speech and language pathologist, she holds a Master of Arts degree from Aquinas Institute of Theology in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Marty is a life-long Roman Catholic. She and her husband Bert have four grown sons.

Monica Perry is a wife, mother, and grandmother. She is currently employed by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver as an assistant coordinator for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Before CGS “rocked her world”, she served RCAV as a columnist and an administrative assistant. Monica is a former board member of CGSAC.

Paula Sabatini enjoys the outdoors but often finds herself in the garage building wooden materials for the atriums at her parish at St. Peter’s and at Clear Water Academy. She lives in Calgary with her husband and children, and where she opened the first Atrium in Calgary in 2013.

Heather Skublics Lampman has been involved in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 2006, most consistently at Holy Cross Atrium in Winnipeg. She also set up an Anglican atrium at St. Luke’s parish and has been able to use Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in Holy Cross School, including one year with a proper atrium space. She has been involved in formation in Manitoba, Alberta, B.C. and Quebec since 2011, and is currently mentoring to become a level 2 formation facilitator. Heather teaches religion and music at Holy Cross School in Winnipeg, prepared its students for sacraments, and coordinates the school’s religious life. Heather is a past Chair of the CGSAC Board, and is currently involved on the Formation Committee. She is a mother of 3, and loves to welcome others into her home!

Valérie Valentin lives in London England serving children in a parish offering all 3 levels of catechesis. Valérie has been a formation facilitator for the Catéchèse du Bon Berger (CBB) in France and England since 2019. She is the President of CBB, mother of 4 children, and a coach and consultant for xpand, a European Christian firm.

Anna is a Level I and Level II Formation Facilitator and also has her CGS Infant / Toddler Certificate. She currently serves as a catechist at Corpus Christi Parish in Toronto and is the Coordinator for the CGS Office for the Archdiocese of Toronto.

Murita is the Coordinator for Children’s Ministries (PREP, LWC, CGS) in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver (RCAV) and a recognized CGS level 1 formation facilitator. She has a Master's Degree in Religious Education, is a workshop presenter, a mentor, catechist and archdiocesan consultant who has been training catechists in PREP (Parish Religious Education Program) and LWC (Liturgy of the Word with Children) since 2004. Murita currently serves children as level 1 catechist and atrium coordinator at Reach for the Stars Montessori and at St. Patrick Parish, Vancouver. She is the main catechist for the Saturday CGS session at John Paul II Pastoral Centre's Edith Stein Atrium. Murita took her CGS formation in 2011 and has been promoting CGS since then. She is instrumental in the growth of atria in Archdiocese of Vancouver

Shelley is a catechist and teacher who lives with her husband Jerry in Eagle River, Alaska. She has been a CGS catechist since 2009 and a Formation Leader since 2016. She is an adjunct professor of Christian Education at St. Herman's Orthodox Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska, a special education teacher, and a mother of 5. As one of two Orthodox Christian Formation Leaders in the US, Shelley offers CGS courses at Orthodox seminaries and parishes in the US with both Catholic and Orthodox-adapted content.

Trinka began her CGS formation in 2007 and helped develop atria with two communities in Tacoma, Washington. She currently serves as a formation leader for Level I and as a catechist with the Children's Wisdom Center. Trinka spent many years as a speech-language pathologist in a public Montessori school and has a master's degree in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis on Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

A resident of Montreal, Rebecca Malone has enjoyed the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd for over thirty years. She currently serves in Level 1 and 2 atriums at St. Ignatius of Loyola parish and is studying for a Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies at Aquinas Institute.

Diane Olsen has been involved in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 1990. She became a CGS Formation Leader in 2002. She coordinated the CGS program at Holy Trinity Parish in Lenexa KS for 23 years. Diane has a B.A in philosophy and math from St. John’s College in Santa Fe NM and an M.A. in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis on CGS (MAPS-CGS) from Aquinas Institute in St. Louis MO. She is married, the mother of six and the grandmother of thirteen.

Katy is a Level 1 and Level 2 Formation Facilitator and serves as a catechist in Levels 1, 2 and 3 for her home parish of Our Lady of the Rosary in Boise, Idaho. In May 2017 she graduated from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri with a Masters in Pastoral Studies with a concentration in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd. Katy also received her certification as a Montessori Guide for 3 to 6 year-old children in 2021. She has experience working in both religious and secular Montessori schools. Katy and her husband Jeff have three children.

Ellen Schlosser is a Level 1 Formation Leader and also has her certificate in Infant-Toddler. She is an active catechist in Levels 1, 2, and 3 and the coordinator of CGS for two parishes in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, USA.

Joann has served as a Pastoral Assistant for Children's Ministry in Catholic parishes in the past. She began her involvement with CGS in 1998. She helped to begin the atrium at St. Michael Olympia, Washington, and currently serves as a Level 2 and Level 3 Catechist. Her ministry as a formation leader began in 2007, and she was recognized as a L2 Formation Facilitator in 2015. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies and Psychology, a Master's in Community Leadership and Master's in Pastoral Studies with an emphasis in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.

Kim began her journey in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in 1997. She is a recognized Level l Formation Leader with CGSUSA. Recently "retired" from being Director or Religious Education at St. Patrick Parish in Tacoma, WA, Kim remains in parish ministry as the coordinator of CGS (a role she has held since 2001), serving primarily as a level 2 and level 3 catechist. She is married to Todd and has 3 grown children all married, two grandchildren on the way, and a dog named Bella.

Wife, mother, grandmother, Dorothy is a catechist for Levels 1, 2 and 3 for the atrium at St. James Parish in Okotoks, Alberta. She first discovered the work of Sofia Cavalletti in one of her graduate level courses which included the book "The Religious Potential of the Child"; on the reading list. She thought, “This woman is really on to something."; In 2013, the first Level 1 course was offered in Calgary and within three days she was in love with this work.

At that time she was unable to open an atrium in her parish but started to make materials and use the presentations with teachers and students in her work as Director of Religious Education for Christ the Redeemer Catholic Schools. She helped in the atria opening in Calgary when she could. She even incorporated the Biblical Geography for Levels 1 and 2 into one of her field projects for her Master in Religious Education from Newman Theological College. She opened the atrium at St. James Parish in 2018,
a year after she retired from her teaching career.

She joined the national board of CGSAC in 2015 and served three consecutive three year terms. She is excited to be a part of growing the work of CGS in the diocese of Calgary and to help form more people to listen to God with children.

Kathleen has been part of an Atrium Community in a number of parishes since her initial CGS formation in 1984. While always in the role of catechist, she has also enjoyed the role of Atrium mom and grandma.
Kathleen has been a Formation Facilitator for Level 1 since 1991 and Level 2 since 1996. She served on the International Council for CGS 1999-2007; was the former Coordinator for the Office of the CGS, for the Archdiocese of Toronto and currently serves as a catechist at Corpus Christi Parish in Toronto.

Cynthia Foster is the director of All Saints Atrium in Saskatoon which is blessed to offer levels 1, 2, and 3 to families in the diocese. She has been a teacher with Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools for 24 years and often brings CGS to the students and staff at school. Cynthia is the mother of two young adults and has a husband who lovingly supports her CGS work.

Rhiannon Jensen has been a catechist for 11 years, working in the atrium at all three levels. She has a passion for making materials and building beautiful atrium environments for children to encounter Christ. Rhiannon has led Level I formation courses for adults in California and Alaska. She currently lives in Garden Grove California with her husband and son where she continues to serve in the atrium at St. John Neumann in Irvine CA and as Director of Faith Formation for Children.

Maria Notturno began her journey in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in 2014 at Cloverdale Catholic School, South Surrey, BC. Maria is a certified Level I Formation Facilitator who currently serves as Pastoral Assistant for Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at Mary, Queen of Peace in Sammamish, Washington, and as a catechist in all three levels. She holds a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Toronto, and spent a few years in formation with the Missionaries of Charity. She participated in the seminal infant toddler course in Menlo Park, California in 2018 and hosted the course in Kirkland, Washington in 2019.

Susan is a founding member of CGSAC. She began her journey with The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd over 40 years ago and has been trained by its founders. She opened and directed the atrium at St Benedict Parish, Toronto for 20 years, serving hundreds of children and has been instrumental in opening several atria. She delights in training adults to become catechists knowing that each adult trained means that even more children will have the chance to experience this work.

Paula went uncertainly to catechesis training in 2006 only to fall in love during the first presentation. She helped establish and serves at the atrium at St. Francis of Assisi parish in Kitchener, ON. Paula writes a weekly blog (thebetterpart.net) and records The Better Part Podcast for level 1, level 2, and level 3 children, reflecting on the Sunday Gospel reading (found on Podbean and Apple Podcasts). She and her husband, Jim, have five children and live in Waterloo, ON.

Lynne began her formal journey in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd with training and the start-up of the parish atrium at St. Anthony, Renton, in 2003. She is currently the Coordinator of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd at St. Anthony and is a recognized Formation Leader with CGSUSA.

Jo Thornley Cox has served in Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 2001. She is a Level I and Level II formation leader recognized by CGSUSA. She is grateful to have worked on formation teams in Missouri, Kansas, North Dakota, Texas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Ontario. A graduate of St. Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute, IN, she also earned a primary certificate from the American Montessori Society. She worked as a Montessori directress, a Catholic school teacher, and a parish director of religious education before coming to CGS. As a charter member of the SonFlower Region of CGS, she served on its board many years. She is co-coordinator of CGS at a Catholic school/parish in Kansas City, MO. Jo and her husband have three children and a granddaughter.

Annette began her journey in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd in 1996. She is recognised by CGS-USA as a Formation Facilitator for both Levels 1 and 2. She serves as a catechist in all 3 levels in her local parish and schools.  Annette holds a Masters of Pastoral Studies from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, MO.  She and her husband, Joe, have five children and three grandchildren and live in Grand Rapids, MI.