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Speakers
The Catholic Leadership Conference 2026 is dedicated to forming, uniting, and empowering Catholic leaders for their mission. Our purpose is to provide personal formation and professional networking opportunities while serving as a public witness of faith and leadership in the community. By fostering collaboration among leaders, we aim to strengthen the Catholic presence in various sectors.
2026 Speakers
Youth Leadership Programs
Austin Ruse spent many years in the New York magazine world, working at senior levels at Fortune, Forbes, The Atlantic Monthly, even Rolling Stone. After a religious and political conversion, Austin left that world and volunteered his time with a Catholic priest in New York City, waiting for the main chance to combine religion and politics in his professional life.
Austin quickly rose to the office of president of C-Fam, a position he has held since 2000.
Austin is a writer. He has published four books and more than 1,000 columns and essays, mostly at Crisis Magazine where he is a contributing editor and he has lectured all over the world and given hundreds of interviews on radio, podcast, and television.
Austin’s books include:
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Littlest Suffering Souls: Children Whose Short Lives Point us to Christ (Tan Books, 2017)
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Fake Science: Exposing the Left’s Skewed Statistics, Fuzzy Facts, and Dodgy Data (Regnery Publishing, 2017)
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The Catholic Case for Trump (Regnery Publishing, 2020)
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Under Siege: No Finer Time to be a Faithful Catholic (Sophia Institute Press, 2021)
Austin is a Knight in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and is a founding member of the Diplomatic Society of St. Gabriel.
Austin is a member of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, and the Society of Catholic Social Scientists.
Because his ancestor fought in General George Washington’s army, Austin is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution.
In addition to receiving an honorary doctorate from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Austin has received numerous awards including:
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Legatus John Cardinal O’Connor Pro-Life Hall of Fame,
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Eagle Forum Leadership Award,
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Students for Life of American Defender of Life Award,
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Institute of Psychological Sciences John Paul II Award,
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Society of Catholic Social Scientists Blessed Frederic Ozanam Award,
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International Solidarity and Human Rights Institute “Father Paul Marx Award,”
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SpeakOut Illinois Henry Hyde Leadership Award.
Austin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri, and an honorary doctorate from Franciscan University of Steubenville.
Austin is married to the former Cathleen Cleaver, who was chief counsel to the U.S. House of Representative Sub-Committee on the Constitution. She currently practices estate law, teaches dyslexic children to read, and works on local Virginia politics. Austin and Cathy have two daughters, Lucy and Gigi. They live in the state of Virginia where Austin family first colonized from England in the early 1700’s.
Monsignor Eugene Morris has been a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis since 1996. For two years, he served as the parochial vicar of Saint Gabriel the Archangel Parish in South St. Louis City before moving to St. George Parish and teaching at St. Mary’s High School.
In 1999, Msgr. Morris was invited to study at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm in Rome. He completed a license in sacramental theology and returned to St. Louis where he began work at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary. In 2005, he was named director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate and the Vicar for Deacons in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis. In 2006, under leadership of then Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, he established and served as director of the St. Maximilian Kolbe House of Discernment. Monsignor was named a member of the Papal Household in 2008. From 2009-2010, he was pastor of St. Mary Magdalen in St. Louis. In late 2010, he began work at the Pontifical College Josephinum as the Director of Sacred Liturgy and Assistant Professor in sacred theology. Msgr. Morris was permitted in 2014 to work full time on the completion of his doctorate in Mariology at the International Marian Research Institute writing on the Mariological contributions of Cardinal Carberry, former Archbishop of Saint Louis.
Msgr. Morris has served as an assistant professor of Sacramental Theology at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, a lecturer for the Paul VI Catechetical Institute, and the spiritual advisor to the Marian Catechists in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. He has been a visiting lecturer at the Liturgical Institute at St. Mary of the Lake University, Mundelein Seminary. He has hosted a weekly radio program on WRYT, Catholic radio in St. Louis and is a spiritual director for the Inner Life, a program on Relevant Radio. Msgr. Morris is also a commentator on Catholic affairs for the Son Rise Morning Show on Cincinnati's Sacred Heart Radio. Msgr. Morris has worked with Saint Gabriel Catholic Radio in Columbus and also serves as chairman of the Advisory Board for Newman Connection. Msgr. gives talks, retreats, and days of recollection throughout the United States.
Msgr. is the Rector of the Oratory of Saints Gregory and Augustine in St. Louis, MO.
Dr. Pia de Solenni is a theologian, ethicist, and cultural analyst. She serves as the Associate Dean of the Augustine Institute – Orange County, located at Christ Cathedral. She is an expert in issues relating to women’s health, life issues, the new feminism, Catholicism, and culture. Her work has appeared in various publications including The Wall Street Journal Europe, The Washington Post, National Catholic Reporter, Our Sunday Visitor, and National Review Online.
Dr. de Solenni has participated in many radio and television talk shows on various topics. She has appeared on MSNBC, “Hardball with Chris Matthews”, “The O’Reilly Factor”, CNN, ABCNews, among others. Dr. de Solenni has been quoted in newspapers nationwide, including The New York Times, The Washington Times, and The Associated Press.
Dr. de Solenni received her doctorate in sacred theology summa cum laude from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome. Her dissertation was published in the university series Dissertationes. On November 8, 2001, she received the 2001 Award of the Pontifical Academies for her doctoral work. The award was presented by John Paul II.
In addition to the doctorate, Dr. de Solenni holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts-Great Books from Thomas Aquinas College, California; a Sacred Theology Baccalaureate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome; and a Sacred Theology Licentiate from Holy Cross, Rome.
Dr. de Solenni resides in Orange County, California.
Leadership Formation
Dr. Greg Bottaro is a Catholic psychologist, founder of the CatholicPsych Institute and creator of the CatholicPsych Model of Applied Personalism (CPMAP). He received his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, and works to integrate Catholic philosophy and theology with relevant psychology. He leads the CatholicPsych Institute's mission to, "Create a Catholic Standard for Mental Health."
Before becoming a psychologist, Dr. Bottaro discerned a religious vocation with the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (CFRs). He lived in the Bronx for four years following the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi. Under the mentorship of Fr. Benedict Groeschel, this experience formed him in the spirituality of Abandonment to Divine Providence, which he now integrates with his model of psychology, along with the discernment of God's will he learned from Fr. Benedict.
In 2012, Dr. Bottaro returned to New York as a psychologist and founded the CatholicPsych Institute, which has continued to grow and serve clients around the world. Most recently he launched the CPMAP Certification to train others in their model of integrated accompaniment.
He currently lives in Connecticut with his wife Barbra and their eight children.
Christopher Check is president of Catholic Answers. A graduate of Rice University, for nearly two decades he served as vice president of The Rockford Institute. Before that he served for seven years as a field artillery officer in the Marine Corps, attaining the grade of captain. He lectures on Church and military history. He and his wife, Jacqueline, have four sons. The Checks show and breed Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, famed companions of the Stuart kings, under the kennel name Top Meadow Cavaliers, named for G.K. Chesterton’s Beaconsfield estate.
Dr. Edward Sri is a theologian, author and well-known Catholic speaker who presents to tens of thousands of people from around the world each year, including clergy, parish leaders, catechists and laity.
He has written several best-selling books. He is also the presenter of several Ascension Press and the Augustine Institute faith formation film series.
He is a founding leader with Curtis Martin of FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), where he currently serves as Sr. Vice President of Apostolic Outreach.
Dr. Sri leads pilgrimages to Rome and the Holy Land each year and is the host of the acclaimed podcast “All Things Catholic.” He holds a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome and is an adjunct professor at the Augustine Institute. He and his wife Elizabeth reside in Littleton, Colorado. They are blessed with 8 children and one grandchild.
Dr. Tim Gray is President of the Augustine Institute and a well-known Catholic speaker and author. Under Dr. Gray's leadership, the Augustine Institute has established the largest Catholic graduate school of theology in the country and has created best-selling programs, including Symbolon, a comprehensive program of faith formation for adults; The Search, a celebrated evangelization series; Formed, a digital platform with a vast array of Catholic films, eBooks, and audio talks; and Word of Life, a robust K-8 curriculum. Dr. Gray has a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Catholic University of America, and is the author of several books, including Peter: Keys to Following Jesus and Praying Scripture for a Change: An Introduction to Lectio Divina. He and his wife, Kris, live in Florissant, Missouri. They have one son, a daughter-in-law, and three granddaughters.