Speakers’ Bureau
Welcome to the LGW Speakers’ Bureau! Below you will find a robust list of trained team members who can be booked to speak on various topics for various kinds of audiences.
Each speaker can be booked to speak on a suggested topic listed below as it relates to the suffering and healing of adult children of divorce, separation, and family brokenness from a Catholic perspective. However, speaking engagements are not limited to these topics. These talks are great for parishes, colleges, conferences, marriage enrichment events, young adult events like Theology on Tap, etc.
Speaking engagements could be online or in-person if the speaker is willing to travel to the area. They are also available for podcasts.
Contact each speaker for speakers’ availability and rate.
Our Speakers
Dr. Daniel and Bethany Meola
Bio: Daniel Meola is an adult child of divorce who earned his Ph.D. in Theology of Marriage and Family from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. He has been leading retreats and support groups for adult children of divorce or separation since 2015 in the Archdiocese of Washington, and in 2020 he co-founded Life-Giving Wounds with his wife Bethany to spread retreats, support groups, and other ministry to adult children of divorce or separation around the country. He currently serves as the President of Life-Giving Wounds.
Bethany Meola has a master of theological studies degree from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C. She and Dan met there and married in 2011. Bethany served the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for seven years in the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. Among other tasks, she managed the website For Your Marriage, and researched and wrote on various topics related to marriage and family. She currently serves as the Vice-President of Life-Giving Wounds, but her most important “job” is being a stay-at-home Mom.
In 2017, Dan and Bethany welcomed their daughter Zelie-Louise through the gift of adoption. And in 2019, Grace joined their family, also through adoption.
Traveling from: Bowie, MD
Topics:
Life-Giving Wounds: redemptive suffering and the healing of wounds from broken homes (suitable for a general audience)
What every Catholic needs to know about adult children of divorce or separation (suitable for a general audience)
Life-giving discernment and love: relationship advice for the brokenhearted from broken homes (suitable for either those dating, engaged, or married where one partner is an ACODS)
From broken to beloved: how one adult child of divorce found healing through the Catholic faith and Sacraments (Dan’s personal journey of healing and witness; suitable for a general audience)
Pastoral workshop or training: accompanying and healing the wounds of adult children of divorce or separation (best for leaders)
Forgiveness
Request Dr. Daniel or Bethany Meola for a Speaking Engagement
Art Bennett, LMFT
Bio: Art Bennett is a board member of Life-Giving Wounds and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with more than 30 years of clinical experience. He has spoken to Catholic groups about marriage, temperaments, parenting, leadership, and the integration of spiritual and mental health growth. He was President and CEO of Catholic Charities - Diocese of Arlington, and co-founder and Director of the Alpha Omega Clinics in Virginia and Maryland. With his wife, Laraine, he is the author of six books, including The Temperament God Gave You. They have been married for 45 years have four adult children and eight grandchildren.
Traveling from: Arlington, Virginia
Topics:
Temperaments
Understanding our past to change our future
Anxiety/ depression
Understanding and encouragement in our relationships
Parenting challenges
Jennifer Cox, RN
Bio: As an adult child of divorced parents, Jen is passionate about Life-Giving Wounds. After attending her first LGW retreat in 2018, Jen followed the Lord’s prompting to get involved! Currently, she serves on the traveling retreat team, assists the National Leadership team and occasionally contributes to our Instagram and the LGW blog. She is also a contributor to Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak. Professionally, Jen is a Catholic Wellness Coach, using a whole-person, Christ-centered approach to health, wellness and healing supporting Catholics get unstuck and gain clarity towards the life they desire and God’s wills one little way at a time. Connect with Jen via Instagram or her website.
Traveling from: Southeast Michigan
Topics:
Acknowledging the wound and grieving the loss
How the wound can lead to anxiety, anger, temptation and sin
Work and identity
Is it possible to be grateful for our wounds?
Sarah Hart, MTS
Bio: Sarah Hart is a wife and a mother of three little boys (with one due in January 2022). Sarah is a graduate of Christendom College and has a Master of Theological Studies from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C. She also served as a missionary in the Dominican Republic and taught at a Catholic school in Maryland, where she helped develop a classical curriculum. Sarah is an alumna of the Life-Giving Wounds retreat and is a member of the traveling retreat team. She is also an occasional contributor to the Life-Giving Wounds blog.
Traveling from: Strasburg, VA
Topics:
Forgiveness
Boundaries
Marriage
Navigating the holidays
Anxiety
Fr. John Baptist Hoang, OP
Bio: Fr. John Baptist Hoang, OP, is a Dominican priest of the Province of Saint Joseph and an adult child of divorce. Fr. John Baptist currently serves as the Chaplain at the University of Louisville. He grew up in the Diocese of Arlington and attended the University of Virginia with a degree in Religious Studies and Sociology. He entered the Order of Preachers right after college and was ordained a priest on May 21, 2016. Following his ordination, he was assigned to New York City, where he served as a parish priest and chaplain at New York University.
Traveling from: Louisville, Kentucky
Topics:
Identity and relationship with God (for college students and young adults)
Advice for ACODs discerning religious vocations
The Christian meaning of suffering
Alexander Wolfe, MTS
Bio: Alex Wolfe grew up in western Pennsylvania and studied Theology at DeSales University. Through the experience of seeing his parents get divorced while he was in college, Alex decided to study at the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C. He completed the Master of Theological Studies degree and coursework for the Ph.D. program.
In 2018, Alex was employed as a Program Specialist by the Office of Marriage, Family, and Respect Life at the Diocese of Arlington, and, in 2022, he was promoted to Assistant Director for his leadership in establishing Arlington as a regional chapter of Life-Giving Wounds. Alex is the Content and Support Group Advisor for LGW and a member of the traveling retreat team.
Traveling from: Washington, D.C.
Topics:
The wound of silence / grieving the loss
Identity and faith
Forgiveness
Siblings
Confronting this wound as a man (especially good for a men’s conference!)