In the more than thirty-eight years of the Center's existence, we have grown from 5 to a group of almost 20 and then consolidated to a core of 7 plus an Adjunct Associate, several consultants, volunteers and interns. All together we represent a variety of cultural backgrounds and faith traditions. This strengthens the work of the Center. The following is a list of current staff organized by department. Clicking on the name will jump to the detailed bio and contact information below.

James E. Hug, SJ (Jhug@coc.org), President
Jim Hug came to the Center from the Woodstock Theological Center in 1985 and became Director/President in 1989. He focuses on research and education on issues of faith and economic justice and has lectured and directed workshops throughout the U.S. and in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. He is the editor of the Center's best selling Catholic Social Teaching: Our Best Kept Secret, principal author of Social Revelation: Profound Challenge for Christian Spirituality, published by the Center of Concern, and the editor of Tracing the Spirit: Communities, Social Action, and Theological Reflection, published by Paulist Press. In addition, Jim has written chapters for Globalization and Catholic Social Thought: Present Crisis, Future Hope and The Pastoral Circle Revisited: A Critical Quest for Truth and Transformation.  He has served as member of the boards of the Religious Task Force on Central America and Mexico, the United States Catholic Mission Association, the Center for Mission Research and Study at Maryknoll, Maryknoll Lay Missioners, the International Jesuit Network for Development, and on the Mission and Ethics Advisory Committee of Christus Health System.  Currently he serves on the board of CIDSE and the National Council of Pax Christi-USA.  He has an M.A. in Philosophy from Springhill College, an M.A. in Christian Spirituality from St. Louis University and a Ph.D. in Christian Ethics from the University of Chicago.

Education for Justice

Sr. Katherine Feely, SND (Kfeely@coc.org), Director, Education For Justice Project
Sr. Katherine Feely, SND is a Sister of Notre Dame from Cleveland, Ohio. She joined the Center of Concern staff in the fall of 2006 as a Senior Program Associate. She is directing the Education for Justice Project as well as working with the Engendering Economic and Social Justice Project at the Center. In the early 1990's she served as an intern with the Global Women's Project at the Center of Concern, helping to prepare and take a group of grassroots women from across the U.S. to the Fourth UN World Conference on Women in Beijing. She recently completed a Masters Degree in Theology combining joint studies of Catholic Social Teaching and Economics from Boston College. Her background includes work in the field of social justice, advocacy, community organizing, programming, and teaching theology. She is currently consulting for the National Catholic Education Association (NCEA) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) on a global solidarity project.

Jane Deren (Jderen@coc.org), Senior Advisor, Education for Justice
Jane Deren is currently part time with the Center, part time teaching social justice "in the field" at Georgetown Visitation High School. Jane is the author of best-selling Center of Concern workbooks Catholic Social Teaching and Human Rights and Celebrate Jubilee and Justice!, both of which have been cited as important catechetical resources by educators. Jane taught in Catholic schools in Philadelphia before she received her doctorate in 1977 from Temple University, where she also served as a faculty member. While working in Washington DC-based national non-profit organizations, she developed a variety of national popular educational programs for adults during the 1980's. Before joining Center of Concern, Jane was with the University of Maryland, where she taught and directed a state-wide graduate-level program for educators.

Global Women's Project

Julia Wartenberg (jwartenberg@coc.org), Director, Global Women's Project

Julia Wartenberg holds a MA in sociology from American University and is currently completing her PhD in sociology at the University of Virginia. Her concentration and research is in Gender and Development and her dissertation focuses on the use of mass rape in the genocidal context. Additionally, she is currently examining gender roles in the Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Uganda and the relation of gender and kin systems to ethnic conflict in a number of African and Southeast Asian cultures. Prior to joining the Center, Julia was a Program Administrator at the International Law Institute where her work focused on legal and technical infrastructure issues in development. She has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at George Mason University in the Department of Global Affairs and has served as a guest lecturer on a variety of issues and topics.

Maria Riley, OP (Mriley@coc.org), Senior Advisor, Global Women's Project
Maria Riley, an Adrian Dominican Sister, founded the Global Women's Project at the Center of Concern. She joined the staff in 1979 and has been active in global women's issues since 1975 attending the UN World Conferences on Women in Copenhagen, Nairobi and Beijing. Maria has taken leadership in founding several coalitions of women working to bring women's experience and women's perspectives to macro-economic issues, including Alt-WID (Alternative to Women in Development), Women's Economic Alliance which worked to influence the economic agenda of the Beijing World Conference, and U.S. Women Connect, a U.S. initiative to monitor the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. In the face of growing global economic integration, Maria, working with DAWN Caribbean sponsored a strategic planning seminar on gender and trade which launched the International Gender and Trade Network. She is also a recognized author and public speaker on women's human rights, spirituality, a feminist revision of Catholic Social Thought and other related topics. She is the author of Transforming Feminism , Wisdom Seeks Her Way: Liberating the Power of Women's Spirituality , In God's Image , Women Faithful for the Future and I Am Because We Are . She has a M.A. and Ph.D. in English literature and has taught at Florida State University and Barry University, Miami, Florida. She received the NETWORK "Woman of Justice" award in 1997 and is listed in Who's Who in the East, 23rd edition.

Rethinking Bretton Woods

Aldo Caliari (Acaliari@coc.org), Director, Rethinking Bretton Woods Project
Originally from Argentina, Aldo Caliari has a Master of International Policy and Practice from George Washington University (2007), with a focus on economics and finance. He also holds a Masters Degree from the Washington College of Law, American University, on International Legal Studies (2000), where he was honored with the Outstanding Graduate Award. He earned his first law degree in Argentina, at the Universidad Nacional de Tucuman Law School, in 1997. Before graduating, he represented his University at the II Inter-American Human Rights Moot Court competition, held at the Washington College of Law, American University (Washington DC, 1997), winning several awards. Since 2000 Aldo has been staff at the Center of Concern’s Rethinking Bretton Woods Project where he has focused on an array of issues such as global economic governance, debt, international financial architecture, human rights in international economic policy and linkages between trade and finance policy. He has done considerable public speaking for a variety of audiences that range from popular workshops to academia and closed government briefings. His writings have been published in books, academic and specialized journals and the media. He has been a consultant to several intergovernmental organizations -- such as UNCTAD, UNDP, UN DESA, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights— in addition to governments, civil society networks and foundations.

Chief Operating Officer Ann Finch (afinch@coc.org) joined the Center in March 2010
after more than 30 years in medical journal publishing.  She brings experience in operations, finance,
HR, database management and publication design. Having successfully shepherded
her previous company through an asset acquisition and dissolution, she returned
to college and graduated in 2009 with her BA in Religion. As Chair
of the Committee on the Millennium Development Goals in the Episcopal Diocese
of Washington, Ann is committed to social and economic justice as an expression
of faith, and is particularly interested in the education of the laity to see
these issues as Christ’s call.