Center for Religion and Culture Advisory Committee
Laura Auricchio, Ph.D.
She was named dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 2019, coming to Fordham University from The New School, where she served as vice provost for curriculum. She is a native New Yorker and art historian whose most recent book is The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered.
Beatriz Diaz Taveras
She served as executive director of Catholic Charities Community Services of the Archdiocese of New York since 2008. She guided the agency’s response to nearly every crisis that confronted New Yorkers during that time, including the housing crisis, Superstorm Sandy, the opioid epidemic, and immigration reform.
Mary Karr
She is the author of the critically-acclaimed memoirs The Liars' Club, Cherry, and Lit, as well five poetry collections. She is also a songwriter, having collaborated with Rodney Crowell, Norah Jones, Lucinda Williams, and others on the country album KIN. Mary Karr is a convert to Catholicism and lives in New York City.
Jim O'Hara
He is the Chief Operating Officer at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. He came to that post in 2020 after serving as chief financial officer at the 92nd Street Y. Jim O’Hara volunteers with several community and faith organizations, and serves on boards for Calvary Hospital, the Catholic Faith Network and the Diocese of Rockville Centre.
Rafael Pi Roman
He has been an Emmy-winning host and producer of public affairs and political news programs at Thirteen and WNET since 1992. A native of Cuba, his work has been honored by the Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences as well as by the Latino Coalition for a Fair Media.
Mario Powell, SJ.
He is president of Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, a Catholic middle-school serving low- income families of diverse races, ethnicities, and faiths in the East Flatbush neighborhood. He is an experienced educator and has undergraduate and graduate degrees from Boston College and Saint Louis University. Fr. Powell was ordained to the priesthood in 2014 at Fordham University Church.
Kerry Alys Robinson
She is a trustee of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities and was the founding executive director of the Leadership Roundtable, an organization dedicated to promoting excellence and best practices in the management, finances, and human resource development of the Catholic Church. From 1997 to 2007 she was the director of development for Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University.
Bishop Paul Tighe
He is secretary of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture. A native of Ireland, he was head of communications for the Dublin archdiocese from 2004-2007, when Pope Benedict XVI appointed him to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Pope Francis named him a bishop in 2015 and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture in 2017.
David Ushery
He is an Emmy-winning news reporter and anchor at WNBC-TV in New York, and is currently co-anchor of the 4 PM and 11 PM editions of “News 4 New York.” He has reported on breaking stories around the city and the world, including Europe, the Middle East, and the Vatican.
Michael C. McCarthy, SJ
He is Fordham’s vice president for mission integration and planning and presidential assistant for planning. He is also an associate professor of theology. Before joining Fordham, he served as executive director of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education at Santa Clara University, where he was the Edmund Campion Professor in the religious studies and classics departments.
