About A Faith That Does Justice

A Faith That Does Justice is an interfaith organization that challenges people to experience God by living their faith intentionally in service to others. We do this by showing how unjust societal structures marginalize people and by acting to help those in need. Our vision is people intentionally living their faith in action.

Our programs fall under our two key strategic areas of focus:

Acting to help those in need with a particular emphasis on immigrant populations.
Showing how unjust systems marginalize people and encouraging our followers to put their faith into action to address injustice.

We invite you to join us in this work through our programs, including:

Fireside Chats: We explore issues of current social justice interest.
The Weekly Word: A weekly email that reaches over 5,000 people and gives voice to faith leaders of different traditions across the country who discuss social justice issues from a faith perspective.
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program: We provide free virtual and in-person instruction for English language learners in greater Boston in collaboration with Jewish Vocational Service (JVS), which has established the standard in Boston for these learning experiences. From 2018 through the end of 2023, we enrolled more than 600 students in the program.
Grab & Go meal program: A food preparation and distribution program for people experiencing homelessness and food insecurity in Boston.
Spanish Community: A weekly gathering for Spanish-speaking immigrants who do not speak English. This gathering includes a Mass followed by a simple dinner.
Newsletter: Includes a spiritual reflection by qualified theologians and social justice and event news circulated weekly by email to about 5,000 followers.
Continual learning opportunities: Virtual connection to our subscribers, through “live” and pre-recorded videos on social media.

Thank you for your interest in A Faith That Does Justice. We hope to see you soon.

Peter W. Gyves, SJ, MD
Founder.

William J. Sheehan

Director & Treasurer

Bill is the retired Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Sonesta International Hotels Corporation. Much of Bill’s career was in the hospitality industry where he held Chief Executive Officer positions with Sonesta Hotels and Omni Hotels and Chief Financial Officer positions with Omni Hotels and Ian Schrager Hotels. Early in his career, Bill was a partner with Arthur Andersen & Co., an international firm of independent public accountants.

Bill began volunteering with A Faith That Does Justice in 2017 after hearing Father Peter Gyves, SJ, MD offer Mass at Saint Cecilia Parish in Boston. Since then, he has served as Director and Treasurer of A Faith That Does Justice, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organization.

Bill’s volunteer experience also includes serving as Chairman and Member of the Nahant MA Advisory and Finance Committee, and Board President and Director of Tower School in Marblehead MA. Bill is a former member of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps where he volunteered with New England Culinary Arts Training, a nonprofit that empowers adults facing barriers to employment through training in culinary skills, social-emotional development, and career-readiness for success and long-term financial stability.

In his free time, Bill enjoys his passions in participating in the lives of his grandchildren, traveling, and sailing with long-time friends.

Thomas Massaro, SJ

Director & Vice President

Thomas Massaro, S.J., is Professor of Moral Theology at Fordham University. A Jesuit priest of the United States East Province, he has taught as professor of moral theology at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at Boston College, and at Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University, where he also served as Dean.

Father Massaro holds a doctorate in Christian social ethics from Emory University. His nine books and over one hundred published articles are devoted to Catholic social teaching and its recommendations for public policies oriented to social justice, peace, worker rights and poverty alleviation. A former columnist for America magazine, he writes and lectures frequently on such topics as the ethics of globalization, peacemaking, environmental concern, the role of conscience in religious participation in public life, and developing a spirituality of justice. His most recent book is Mercy in Action: The Social Teachings of Pope Francis (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018).

Besides teaching courses on many aspects of Catholic social teaching and the role of religion in public life, he seeks to maintain a commitment to hands-on social activism. He served a six-year term on the Peace Commission of the City of Cambridge and is a co-founder and national steering committee member of Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice.

Michael Nilles

Director & Secretary

Michael is a Senior Loan Officer for BlueHub Loan Fund, Inc. where he has worked since 2004. BlueHub is a private, non-profit community development financial institution founded in 1985 to help build healthy communities where low income people live and work.

Prior to BlueHub, he served as Assistant Vice President in the Corporate Banking Division of BayBank Boston, N.A. from 1991 – 1996 and for SAFECO Life Insurance Company in Seattle as a Pension Analyst in their Pension Department for four years.

Michael earned his Master’s Degree in Public and Private Management from Yale University’s School of Organization and Management in 1991. He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Georgetown University where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance. While at Georgetown he studied in Oxford, England in a Comparative Business Program.

Michael was active in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps NW and the Fremont Public Association while living in Seattle. He is married and has four adult children and enjoys spending time in Vermont skiing and hiking.

Damian J. Esparza

Director

Damian has a diverse background with extensive experience in finance, real estate, technology, and non-profit organizations. He is Founder of SmartProperty, a real estate technology startup. Over the past 16 years, he has worked in the real estate industry and served as CEO of Barrera & Co., a reserve study firm that specializes in financial planning for community associations. Prior to working in real estate, Mr. Esparza worked in technology for the investment banking industry in San Francisco. He helped raise over $2 billion in the initial public offering (IPO) process, secondary offerings and private placements. He began his career in the mailroom of a Hollywood talent and literary agency. In college, he served as a congressional intern.

Mr. Esparza has also served in a non-profit capacity as the Director for Stewardship and Development for the Diocese of San Diego. In that role, he helped establish the Catholic Community Foundation of San Diego, the Bishop Flores Scholars Tuition Assistance Program, the Mental Illness Network partnership with San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, the “Strengthening Our Catholic Schools Research Project” with University of San Diego, the Healthy Lunch Program for Catholic Schools in partnership with the Neighborhood House Association, and the Stewardship and Sustainability partnership with San Diego Gas & Electric.

He also served on numerous boards and leadership committees for multiple non-profits, and currently serves on the boards of the Boy Scouts of America for Imperial and San Diego Counties, A Faith That Does Justice, Inc., and the Latino Leadership & Policy Forum.

Damian enjoys spending his time with family including his wife Danielle, young son Oliver and dog Harlow. He likes fishing, mountain biking, surfing and being outdoors. He is a graduate of the CONNECT Springboard Entrepreneurship Program and San Diego Public Leadership Institute, a program of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. He graduated from Boston College (BA, Philosophy, ‘96).

Christine Quistberg

Director of Finance & Accounting

Christine is a CPA with previous experience at KMPG, Peat Marwick and several Fortune 500 companies in the finance and insurance industries. She is currently the Director of Finance & Accounting at A Faith That Does Justice, Inc. and a board member at Boston Cares, Inc., where she is Secretary of the Fiduciary Board and is a member of the Finance and Grant & Fundraising Committees.

While raising three children, she served with numerous non-profit organizations including Holliston Pantry Shelf (Food Pantry) as a volunteer and liaison with Holliston Newcomers, Holliston Cable Access TV as Board Member, Treasurer, and day-to-day accountant. She was also actively involved at St. Mary’s Parish teaching religious education, serving as Treasurer for the WINGS (Women in God’s Spirit) ministry, and as a chaperone for two youth mission trips to New Jersey to help clean up damage from Superstorm Sandy.

Christine enjoys spending time with her family including husband Paul, and their three adult children. In her free time, she likes to play tennis, hike, travel and often enjoys the outdoors in Vermont. Christine has a degree from Fairfield University (BS, Accounting).

Dr. Debora Jackson

Director

The Reverend Dr. Debora Jackson is Dean of the Business School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. As an experienced senior leader in both nonprofit and for profit organizations, Dr. Jackson is also an executive consultant who leads custom, high-impact engagements for non-profit and faith-based organizations. An award-winning author, Dr. Jackson has written numerous articles and two books, Spiritual Practices for Effective Leadership: 7 R’s of Sanctuary for Pastors, which received Illuminations Book Silver Medal Award, and her latest book, Meant for Good: Fundamentals in Womanist Leadership, which was released in January 2020.

Rich Carlson

Since 1973 I have worked in marketing, advertising and public relations with both national and local organizations including a national health institute in Washington, DC, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay in Boston and private land developers in Texas and Massachusetts. My company, Carlson Communications, is a full-service marketing agency specializing in the real estate, senior housing and professional services industries. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations from Boston University and a Master of Communications degree from The University of Texas at Austin.

I learned about AFTDJ from long-time friends who were already involved with AFTDJ. The enthusiastic manner in which they described their volunteer roles and the opportunity to help others inspired me to join them. It’s been perfect for me to combine my marketing experience with my belief that faith is far more enriching when put into action to help others.

As a career marketing professional, I assist AFTDJ with marketing and communications and the development of marketing materials to support their programs. From signs, displays and specialty items to printed materials, photos and videos, I help to facilitate meeting their marketing needs.

When not enjoying the beautiful seasons in his native New England, my wife, Hilary, and I enjoy traveling with, or without, our three sons and three grandchildren. During the last 15 years our trips have taken us to South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Peru, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Denmark, Costa Rica, England, Hungary, Italy and Canada.

Peter W. Gyves, SJ, MD

Peter, a Jesuit priest, is the founder and director of A Faith That Does Justice, Inc., an interfaith organization that challenges people to experience God by living their faith intentionally in service to others. It does this by showing how unjust societal structures marginalize people and by acting to help those in need. Peter piloted the program in San Diego, CA in 2015 and moved the program to Boston in late 2016.

Peter is a Board-Certified Pediatrician (1984) and Pediatric Endocrinologist (1986). His medical career also included scientific research at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD (1985-90). He entered the Society of Jesus in 2003 and was ordained a priest in 2008. He has lived and worked in several countries outside the United States, both as physician and a priest, including El Salvador and Guatemala during their civil wars of the 1980’s and early 1990’s, and in several English and French-speaking African countries.

Peter has degrees from Boston College (B.S., 1973, M.A.-Theology, 1994), Georgetown University (M.D., 1978), Johns Hopkins University (M.P.H., 2005), and Weston School of Theology (STL, 2008).

Christine Quistberg

Christine Quistberg is a retired CPA and corporate finance professional with experience working at KPMG, Household Finance, Equicor and Travelers. She also had roles in educational and cable TV finance and accounting. While raising three children Christine was active in various volunteer roles relating to school, church and community.

Christine and her husband, Paul, live in Boston where they are both active in other community organizations. Christine is member of the Board of Directors at Boston Cares, a nonprofit, and the largest volunteer agency in New England. She enjoys spending time with her three adult children, extended family and friends playing tennis and enjoying the City of Boston.

Bill Sheehan

Bill is President of A Faith That Does Justice and has been a director since 2017. He is the retired Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of Sonesta International Hotels Corporation. Much of Bill’s career was in the hospitality industry where he held Chief Executive Officer positions with Sonesta Hotels and Omni Hotels and Chief Financial Officer positions with Omni Hotels and Ian Schrager Hotels. Early in his career, Bill was a partner with Arthur Andersen & Co., an international firm of independent public accountants. Bill began volunteering with A Faith That Does Justice in 2017 after hearing Father Peter Gyves, SJ, MD, Founder of A Faith That Does Justice, offer Mass at Saint Cecilia Parish in Boston. Since then, he has served as Director and Treasurer, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the organization. He was elected President of A Faith That Does Justice after the unexpected death of Father Peter. He serves in this role to carry A Faith That Does Justice forward in Father Peter’s memory while the Board of Directors begins the search for a full-time replacement. Bill’s volunteer experience also includes serving as Chairman and Member of the Nahant MA Advisory and Finance Committee, and Board President and Director of Tower School in Marblehead MA. Bill is a former member of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps where he volunteered with New England Culinary Arts Training, a nonprofit that empowers adults facing barriers to employment through training in culinary skills, social-emotional development, and career-readiness for success and long-term financial stability. In his free time, Bill enjoys his passions in participating in the lives of his grandchildren, traveling, and sailing with long-time friends.

Carolyn Hollis

Carolyn and her husband sell medical products to Neonatal Intensive Care Units in New England. She previously was President of The Mission of Deeds, a nonprofit organization in Reading MA, that provides furniture and household goods to people in need. She began volunteering with A Faith That Does Justice after going to a meeting at St. Cecilia’s Church where she heard Fr. Gyves speak.

Her volunteer activities include community outreach, volunteering during community meetings and workshops, and helping out with data entry. She recently became a grandmother for the second time!

Adam Studdard

A native of Portland, Oregon, Adam’s career brought him to the Boston area in 2012 while working with Conservation Service Group, an energy efficiency-focused nonprofit organization (now CLEAResult Consulting). Adam has over 10 years of experience in software development and system implementation in the energy efficiency industry. He is Managing Partner of SailOne Solutions, a Brookline-based consulting firm helping local businesses improve their technology.

A member of Saint Cecilia Parish in Boston, Adam attended a Mass celebrated by Fr. Gyves and heard his message of living faith through action, inspiring him to find a way to get involved. When the opportunity arose to use his skills to help amplify the message of A Faith That Does Justice, Adam was excited to jump in.

Adam and his wife Caitlin enjoy bicycle touring and learning about how to be good parents to their first baby Gabriel, who arrived in May 2018.