Jay was appointed the East Coast director of Following Francis in 2018. He had just retired as NASA's Deputy General Counsel following a twenty-eight-year legal career at the space agency.

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Jay helps organize Following Francis programs on the East Coast, including those in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Washington, DC.

Pete is emeritus professor of mathematics and computer science at the University of San Francisco, where he taught those subjects for twenty-eight years. While there he presented many seminars combining science, art, and religion. He was also director of the university’s Math and Fusion Project, teaching math to middle-school students through studying works of art at the city’s De Young Museum.

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Since retiring in 2011 Pete has focused on supporting nonprofits. He has been staging co-director of numerous Francis in the Schools and White Pony Express events.

Trulie MacLeod 

Trulie MacLeod has had an eclectic professional life. She began her career as a bilingual PR officer and press attaché in the Canadian federal government. After attending theater school in London, she had a twenty-five year career as a professional actor in New York City and Toronto, working in theater, television, film, commercials, and voice-overs. She also has a graduate degree in teaching English as a second language and taught at George Brown College in Toronto.

She has been the outreach and development coordinator for Francis on the Hill since its inception. Currently she is co-coordinator of Francis on the Hill’s Grocery Program.

Bishop Madden is auxiliary bishop emeritus of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He works to improve the safety and self-respect of those living in dangerous communities and supervises numerous schools in Baltimore.

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From 1996 to 2005, he served as associate secretary general of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, a Vatican relief agency. He was co-founder of the Accord Foundation, a humanitarian organization that has worked in the West Bank and Gaza since 1988 to bring peace to the region.

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More recently, Bishop Madden has served as chair of the Committee on Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Tom Smith

Tom is a retired business executive and entrepreneur. A graduate of Stanford University, he taught high school in West Africa as a Peace Corps volunteer. He then served as a recreation director for a Bay Area program for children and adults with brain damage and disabilities. Tom spent thirty years in management positions with a large San Francisco corporation, then worked for thirteen years as a landscape contractor.

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Tom is a full-time volunteer for Following Francis, White Pony Express, and his church.

Patricia Ann Burrell

A native of South Carolina, Pat began serving her community and those in need as a high school student. She received her nursing education in Philadelphia and continued her studies at both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of South Carolina. As a registered nurse for over forty years, her experience in healthcare is varied and extensive – in both hospital and community health.

Pat has been in health administration for several decades, designing programs for hospitals, consulting as a health advisor for Early Head Start, writing grants for maternal/child health programs in PA and SC, and sitting on the PA state Subcommittee on Women’s and Children’s Health (Provisions for Rural and Underserved Communities). She single-handedly designed and petitioned the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) to create recognition and a path to reimbursement for doulas for the first time. Pat continues today to work as a nurse in Myrtle Beach, SC.