NCPD's Board of Directors includes Bishops, diocesan directors of disability ministry, people with disabilities and family members, pastoral workers, and other concerned individuals. The Board determines policies that guide NCPD in its work and passes resolutions on current issues relevant to the Church and Disability. Elected members can serve up to two consecutive three-year terms. The Board has the Executive and Development & Promotions Committees, and three ministry-specific committees (Education, Ethics and Public Policy, and Mission).
Bishop Burbidge
Episcopal Moderator
Most Reverend Michael F. Burbidge is the Bishop of Arlington (VA) and the Episcopal Moderator of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. Before being announced by Pope Francis as the fourth Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Arlington in 2016, Pope Benedict XVI named Bishop Burbidge the fifth Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh (NC) in 2006.
Bishop Burbidge was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia by John Cardinal Krol in 1984. In 1998 he was made Honorary Prelate to His Holiness Pope John Paul II, with the title of Monsignor. Monsignor Burbidge was appointed Rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in 1999. In 2002 he was ordained an Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia. As Auxiliary Bishop, he oversaw the Office of the Vicar for Clergy and the Office of Communications.
Bishop Burbidge currently serves the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as Chairman of the Communications Committee; and as a Member of the Religious Liberty Committee; and a Member of the Administrative Committee. He also currently serves as Chairman of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Finance Committee.
Bishop Burbidge holds a B.A. in Philosophy and an M.A. in Theology from St. Charles Borromeo, an M.A. in Education Administration from Villanova University, and a doctorate in Education from Immaculata College.
Leo Zanchettin
Board Chair
Leo Zanchettin is editorial director for The Word Among Us magazine, a monthly Catholic devotional, and NCPD Board member. He has overseen the editorial content of The Word Among Us since 1996 and he has published a series of devotional commentaries on the books of the New Testament. Zanchettin serves on the NCPD Council on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and is an associate member of the Catholic Biblical Association. He has written extensively about his life as the father of six children, all of whom are on the autism spectrum and who live with other emotional and cognitive disabilities. He has a Master of Arts in Theology from the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC, and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Philosophy from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, MD. He is active in his parish, St. Katharine Drexel, in Frederick, MD, as an officer in the pastoral council, a member of the adult faith formation team, and a youth minister and catechist.
Richard A. Spencer, III
Treasurer
Rick Spencer serves as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer of The Baltimore Life Insurance Company. Prior to joining Baltimore Life, Mr. Spencer served as the Senior Vice President, Finance InsLogic Corporation, a private label insurance broker. Prior to that, Mr. Spencer also directed the delivery of audit and strategic risk management consulting services in the Washington, DC offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Rick started his career with Berman, Goldman and Ribakow, LLP, (now UHY LLP) providing tax, audit and accounting services to its middle-market clients in the Baltimore-Washington corridor. Mr. Spencer is a life-long resident of Maryland and currently resides in Kensington, Maryland with his wife and three children and is a member of Holy Redeemer parish. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Mount Saint Mary’s University and is a Certified Government Financial Manager and Certified Public Accountant. He also serves as a board member for the Catholic Disability Foundation, which raises funds to support the National Catholic Partnership on Disability. Rick has been a member of the Knights of Columbus since 1980.
Colleen McCoy-Cejka, Ed.D.
Secretary
Colleen McCoy-Cejka, Ed.D., is the owner of Inclusion Solutions, LLC and Ed-21 Solutions, companies dedicated to creating student-centered learning environments where all students can be successful. Colleen is the mother of a child with autism. Her work is built upon her experiences as a parent, teacher, elementary and high school principal, assistant superintendent, and curriculum director for the Diocese of Phoenix, and several nonprofit volunteer roles. Colleen co-founded The Matthew 19:14 Project with Dr. Lisa Fischer in Phoenix in 2014, is a founding member of the Arizona Inclusion Network (2021) and is an executive board committee member for the National Catholic Partnership on Disability.
Colleen previously served as Director of Professional Learning at the National Catholic Educational Association. She can be heard on the Loyola Press Podcast The Catholic Teachers’ Lounge three days per week.
Aracely Baeza
Aracely Baeza is a case manager at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. She works in the Family Support Services Department, where the focus is to assist low-income families and individuals in working towards self-sufficiency to maintain a healthy, safe, and secure lifestyle. Baeza was also the Oklahoma State Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association during 2017 and 2018. She represented NCPD at the V National Encuentro of Hispanic/Latino Ministry in 2018, which is a process of ecclesial reflection and action in Catholic parishes across the United States. She also assisted NCPD in facilitating a 2016 diocesan review about participation of individuals with disabilities within the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.
Father Fred Cabras, OFM Cap.
Licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), Director of Social Services for the Capuchin's Soup Kitchen, Detroit, MI. Fr. Cabras is a Roman Catholic priest, ordained in 2019, and a member of the Capuchin Franciscan Province of St. Joseph since 2011. Fr. Cabras is a Capuchin Franciscan. Before relocating to Detroit in 2020, Fr. Cabras worked as a licensed inpatient and emergency room psychiatric social worker at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he worked with a multidisciplinary team. He also previously served as coordinator of a social justice program providing regional resources for the homeless, as assistant staff member for a day program for adults with developmental disabilities, as case manager for persons experiencing homelessness while also offering sacramental ministries to a local Catholic community. He received his Master of Divinity Degree from the Catholic Theological Union, a Master of Social Work with a specialization in Mental Health from Loyola University, and a Bachelor of Psychology from the University of Illinois, in Chicago, IL. Fr Cabras is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) for the State of Illinois and Michigan. Fr. Cabras serves on the Governance Board of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) and as the Board Liaison to NCPD's Council on Mental Illness (CMI)
Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, S.T.D.
On June 29, 2015, Daniel Cardinal DiNardo ordained Bishop Brendan as the third Bishop of Victoria. Bishop David Fellhauer and Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza were Co-Consecrators. Since becoming the Bishop of Victoria, Bishop Brendan has served as a Member of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops’ (USCCB) Sub-committee on African-American Affairs and as a Consultor for the USCCB’s Pro-Life Committee. He joined the Communities of Faith in Victoria with other Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders and has been an active supporter of the Gulf Bend Center Coalition for Mental Health. He serves on the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops’ Accreditation Commission (of Catholic schools) and is a Member of the Advisory Board of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas. He joined the Board of Directors of Catholic Rural Life and accepted to be the Associate State Chaplain for the Texas Knights of Columbus in 2016. Effective July 1, 2017, he began to serve as the Bishop Promoter for the Apostleship of the Sea in the United States.
Marie T. Hilliard, MS, MA, JCL, PhD, RN, DM
Dr. Hilliard holds graduate degrees in maternal–child health nursing, religious studies, canon law, and professional higher education administration. She has been recognized for her involvement in health care advocacy at the state and national levels and was honored at the Second Annual International Nurses Day at the United Nations for her exemplary practice in the global delivery of health care. Dr. Hilliard has been a board member of several state and national organizations, including the Canon Law Society of America and the Catholic Medical Association, which awarded her the Distinguished Guardian of the Faith Award. She has served as a resource on the implementation of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services as well as Church–state relations. She is the former chair of the National Advisory Council of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Dr. Hilliard has published extensively and is an awardee of the Catholic Press Association.
Dr. Hilliard is an Army colonel (ret.), serving for more than twenty years, including as an acting deputy commander for a United States Army Reserve Brigade responsible for nursing and medic training for the northeastern United States. She has been recognized by the Army for her contributions with the Meritorious Service Medal.
Kevin C. Johnson
Executive Director, Bishop Grady Villas.
Kevin C. Johnson’s career in the field of developmental disabilities began in 2001, when he and his wife, Amanda, moved to Florida as AmeriCorps volunteers through Catholic Volunteers in Florida. They started as live-in direct support professionals at group homes operated by Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Kevin and his wife were promoted to co-administrator of the program. In 2004 Kevin joined Magnify of Central Florida, a ministry of the Diocese of Orlando as the Resident / Staff Development Director where he also provided supported employment services to residents of Bishop Grady Villas. By 2008, he was appointed Executive Director, a role he has held since, significantly expanding the program to serve over 600 individuals annually.
Throughout his career, Kevin has been an active participant on several boards that focus on disability services. He has served on the Catholic Disability Foundation, chaired the Florida Association of Rehabilitation Facilities, and led Catholic Volunteers in Florida. His deep expertise in the field was recognized through appointments to the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council by Governor Rick Scott and later reappointment by Governor Ron DeSantis, during which he was elected chair for two terms. Kevin is also an active board member of Morning Star Catholic School and a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Kevin is a founding member of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Celebration, where he resides with his wife and two children.
James W. Polis
James is a marketing and analytics professional specializing in digital media. He graduated from The Catholic University of America in 2013. His background is primarily in advertising and fundraising strategy for nonprofit clients, ranging from think tanks and trade associations to political advocacy.
Mary O'Callahagn, Ph.D.
Mary has a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology. She is a member of the faculty for an interdisciplinary master’s program in autism studies at St. Mary's College. Sheis also an Adjunct Assistant Teaching Professor, for the Department of Information Technology, Analytics and Operations Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. She is the parent of a son with Down syndrome.
Mary assisted with legislative bans on disability-selective abortion, presented talks about the inclusion of children with special needs in Catholic schools, and helped develop materials on human sexuality for individuals with disabilities and their families.
Father Paul Zirimenya
Father Paul Zirimenya, a native of Uganda, who is deaf, received his M.Div (Master of Divinity) from St. Patrick's Seminary & University in Menlo Park, California. He also has a bachelor's degree in Administration from Makerere University, Uganda, and a postgraduate diploma in Rehabilitation from Kyambogo University, Uganda. Following his priestly ordination on June 9, 2007, Father Paul was assigned as Chaplain to the Deaf Community at St. Benedict Parish for the Deaf at St. Francis Xavier Church in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, California. Father Paul also served on the Board of Directors for the National Catholic Office for the Deaf (NCOD) from June 1, 2010 until April 30, 2016. On August 1, 2019, he began his two-year term as the International Catholic Deaf Association (ICDA) - United States Section Chaplain. In addition, he has led retreats for Catholic Deaf Communities in the US and Canada.