About

Our Staff

1. 

   Fr. Dan Groody, C.S.C.

   Rev. Daniel Groody, C.S.C., associate professor of theology and global affairs, is the vice president and associate provost for undergraduate affairs. You can learn more about his administrative roles and background at the provost's website.

   An internationally recognized expert on migration and refugee issues whose papers and books have been translated into seven languages, he is the author of Globalization, Spirituality, and Justice: Navigating the Path to Peace and Border of Death, Valley of Life: An Immigrant Journey of Heart and Spirit. He has edited or co-edited four books on poverty, justice, and migration. Father Groody’s expertise in and passion for refugee and migration issues has also been applied as executive producer of several acclaimed films and documentaries, including One Border, One Body: Immigration and the Eucharist and Dying to Live: A Migrant’s Journey.

   Father Groody has worked with the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the World Council of Churches, the Vatican, and the United Nations on issues of theology, globalization, migration, and refugees. In 2007-08 he was a visiting research fellow at Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Centre.

2. 

   Fr. Alan Hilliard

   Father Alan Hilliard is a Catholic priest of Dublin Diocese. He taught for seven years in Ringsend VEC and spent time in parishes in Templeogue and Lucan South where he worked with the community to build a new church which opened in the year 2000.

   Alan has a long a varied association with migration. In 2000 he set up a pastoral center for Irish Backpackers in Sydney. He was later appointed Director of the Irish Bishop’s Commission for Emigrants and the Irish Commission for Prisoner’s Overseas. The work involved the coordination of emigrant services in Great Britain, Australia, United States and support services for Irish prisoners across the world. He led campaigns to highlight the plight of the ‘Forgotten Irish’ in Britain and he canvassed for immigration reform in the United States on behalf of the ‘Undocumented Irish’. During this time he completed his research Masters in Applied Social Policy entitled 'Mind the Gap': Social Cohesion, Migration and Integration. He also has a Diploma in Counseling and Psychotherapy.

   He returned to Dublin in 2010 when he is the third level Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy Coordinator at TU Dublin. He remains a board member of the Irish Catholic Bishops Council for Emigrants. He has authored an number of books, including Dipping into Life – 40 Reflections for a Fragile Faith.

3. 

   Lauren Fox

   Lauren is the Program Director for ND Leadership Initiatives at Notre Dame. She collaborates with Fr. Dan Groody and his team on several strategic projects. She also leads the recruiting, marketing, and communications for the Inspired Leadership Initiative (ili.nd.edu). Lauren is married to her high school sweetheart Joel and they have four children: Charlotte (5), Finn (4), Stella (2), and Henry (born Nov 2020).

4. 

   John Groden

   John is the Pedagogical Coordinator at the Heart's Desire & Social Change. Formerly, he was the Assistant Director of Pedagogical Development at the Global Leadership Program at the University of Notre Dame. In that role, John advanced Fr. Dan Groody's initiatives through research, pedagogical development, and implementation. He redesigned and co-taught the Heart's Desire course before starting law school to focus more on the "Social Change" aspect of the program. John now works part-time to produce the Heart's Desire by managing the research, strategy, and communications of the program.

5. 

   Richard Leider

   Richard Leider is founder of Inventure – The Purpose Company, where the mission is to help people to “unlock the power of purpose” and answer that question. Along the way, Richard has written ten books including three best-sellers which have sold over one million copies. The Power of Purpose and Repacking Your Bags are considered classics in the personal growth field.

   Richard was the co-host for Season 1 of the podcast.