ELIZABETH BUSBY
Elizabeth Busby, MTS, MS, LMFT, is co-founder with her husband Ross of Discerning Marriage Ministries and the Next Step program, a parish-based course written for seriously dating couples who want to discern more intentionally.
Elizabeth has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University (whoop!), and a Master’s degree in Theological Studies from Ave Maria University, where she wrote her thesis on how St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body can aid in the discernment of a vocation to marriage. Additionally, she holds a Master’s degree in Counseling with a focus on marriage and family therapy from Southern Methodist University, and she works as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She has a passion for helping people fall in love with Jesus and helping people discern and live God’s joyful plan for holy marriages. She currently works with the TOB Institute in Pennsylvania.
Elizabeth loves living the liturgical year with her family, the fact that the leaves change color in autumn, watching the Aggies BTHO everybody (ha!), and traveling.
STEVE POKORNY
Steve Pokorny holds an MA in theology and a specialization in catechetics from Franciscan University of Steubenville, as well as an MTS from the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family Studies in Washington D.C. Steve is a Certified Life Coach from the Life Coach Training Institute and is the founder of Freedom Coaching. Author of “Redeemed Vision: Setting the Blind Freed from the Pornified Culture,” Steve also is an internationally-known speaker, speaking with a wide variety of audiences on many topics (for a list, click here). He is married and lives with his family in San Antonio, Texas.
MONICA BRAUN
Monica Braun was single and dated the wrong men for 17 years before finding her husband. Inspired by the lessons that she learned from dating, she became a relationship coach who works with single men and women, helping them successfully engage in the dating process by teaching them how to connect on a mental, emotional and spiritual level. She is a speaker and author of the book From Toxic to Soulmate Love. She is currently being mentored by bestselling author and speaker, Marianne Williamson.
KATERI BEAN
Kateri Bean, a lifetime resident of the great state of New Hampshire can typically be found conducting a photoshoot of her dog for Instagram, spending time in Adoration, enjoying lattes in coffee shops, or exploring the great outdoors. She currently serves as Content Manager for CatholicMatch.com.
MARY BETH BONACCI
Mary Beth Bonacci has been giving talks on love and relationships across the United States and internationally for . . .well . . . her entire adult life. She was among the first Catholic speakers to introduce audiences to St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. Her book Real Love, based on the Theology of the Body, has been translated into ten languages. She is also the author of We’re on a Mission from God and contributes regularly to the Catholic Match Institute blog. She spoke to 75,000 people at World Youth Day in Denver, Colorado, and 22,000 at the TWA Dome during the St. John Paul II’s visit to St. Louis. She was recently featured in the PBS documentary Colorado Experience: Pope John Paul II about the Holy Father at Denver’s World Youth Day.
Mary Beth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication from the University of San Francisco, a Master’s degree in Theology of Marriage and Family from the John Paul II Institute, and an honorary doctorate from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She can be found via her web site at www.reallove.net.
DR. JOHN VAN EPP
John Van Epp, PhD, President and Founder of Love Thinks, LLC is the author of How to Avoid Falling in Love with a Jerk (or Jerkette)-top choice for singles by Christianity Today; Becoming Better Together: the RAM plan for growing together when life is pulling you apart; and Endgame: The Church’s strategic Move to Save Faith and Family in America (co-authored with JP DeGance).
· He has previous experience as
· For over 20 years, he has trained military personnel and contracted with the military as a subject matter expert (SME) in relationship health, psychology, religion, suicide and resilience.
· He has developed relationship programs that have been taught by over 10,000 certified instructors to over one million participants in every branch of the military, social agencies, marriage and family coalitions, high schools and universities, and in all fifty states and eleven countries.
· Van Epp and his innovative Relationship Attachment Model, and his relationship courses were awarded the Smart Marriage Impact Award, the National Association of Relationship & Marriage Education Impact Award, and have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Psychology Today, O Magazine, and Cosmopolitan; he has appeared on the CBS Early Show, Good Morning America, Fox News and Focus on the Family.
· Van Epp has a B.S. in Biblical and Pastoral Studies; a M.A. in Pastoral Psychology and Counseling; a M.A. in Church History; and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology.
· He has been happily married for over 40 years and is the proud father of two daughters and four grandkids.
ANASTASIA NORTHROP
Anastasia Northrop has been studying and promoting St. John Paul II’s message on love and the human person for over 20 years. Founder and Director of the National Catholic Singles Conference, she has been particularly involved in applying John Paul II’s message to the single life since 2005. Inadvertently single herself, she has had much more practice living the theology of the body as a single woman than she ever anticipated.
Along with organizing various other events, writing articles, and networking internationally with those disseminating John Paul II’s work, she has given talks and promoted study groups internationally. She completed her Masters in Catholic Applied Theology with an emphasis on Marriage and Family through Maryvale Institute in Birmingham, England. She is the author of the study guide for the text of the Theology of the Body entitled The Freedom of the Gift, and a contributing author to Freedom: 12 Lives Transformed by Theology of the Body (Ascension Press, 2009).