Board of Trustees

Jennie Weiss Block, OP
Member, Board of Trustees

A Dominican laywoman and a practical theologian, Dr. Block is a Senior Advisor on Health and Policy at Partners in Health and is the author of Copious Hosting: A Theology of Access for People with Disabilities and Paul Farmer: Servant to the Poor. She resides in Miami, Florida. She has served on the Aquinas board since 2015.

Fr. Wayne Cavalier, OP
Member, Board of Trustees

Regent of Studies for the Dominican Province of St. Martin de Porres and a member of the Provincial Council, Fr. Cavalier has served as the founding Director of the Congar Institute for Ministry Development since 2005, and he is the Doctorate of Ministry Program Director and Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. He has served on the Aquinas board since July 2022.

Fr. Vincent Dávila , OP
Member, Board of Trustees

A 2017 graduate of Aquinas Institute with an MA in Theology and a Master of Divinity, Fr. Dávila is the Regent of Studies for the Dominican Friars, Province of St. Albert the Great. He is Assistant Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Aquinas, and he holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Notre Dame with a focus in Patristics, Medieval Theology, and Systematics. He has served on the Aquinas board since 2023.

Angie Doerr
Member, Board of Trustees

A St. Louis native and 2006 graduate of the MAPS program at Aquinas, Angie served as Director of Religious Education at St. Francis Xavier College Church for more than 10 years. She continues to actively volunteer at multiple Catholic organizations in St. Louis. She has served on the Aquinas board since 2020.

Steve Givens
Member, Board of Trustees

A 2014 graduate of the Spiritual Direction program at Aquinas, Steve Givens is a retreat and spiritual director, a widely published writer on issues of faith and spirituality and a retired administrator of Washington University, where he served as Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief of Staff. He serves as Executive Director of Bridges Foundation, which offers the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola in the greater St. Louis region. He has served on the Aquinas board since 2016.

Fr. Patrick Hyde, OP
Member, Board of  Trustees

A 2016 graduate of the Master of Divinity (MDiv) and MA programs of Aquinas Institute of Theology, Fr. Hyde is a member of the Provincial Council of the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great. Since 2016 he has served the St. Paul Catholic Center in Bloomington, Indiana, both as Director of Campus Ministry and pastor (beginning in 2019). He also serves the National Eucharistic Revival as a National Eucharistic Preacher.  He has served on the board of Aquinas since 2023.

Fr. Roberto Merced, OP
Member, Board of Trustees

A 2006 graduate of the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program at Aquinas Institute, Fr. Merced serves as Prior Provincial of the Dominican Province of St. Martin de Porres, United States. After ordination to the priesthood in 2005, his first assignment was as the Parochial Vicar of St. Anthony of Padua parish in New Orleans, Louisiana (2006-2009). He then became the Parochial Vicar at St. Edward parish in Dallas, Texas (2009-2011). More recently, he served at Holy Ghost parish as Parochial Vicar (2011-2012) and Pastor (2012-2022). He has served on the Aquinas board since July of 2022.

The Very Reverend Fr. Louis Morrone, OP
Member, Board of Trustees

Deacon Michael Meyer
Member, Board of Trustees

Deacon Michael A. Meyer is currently Senior Deputy General Counsel and a member of the Executive Leadership Team at UnitedHealth Group, where he provides legal counsel to the Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Language from the Georgetown University School of Languages and Linguistics, a Master of Arts in Theology and a Certificate in Diaconal Ministry from Saint Elizabeth University, and a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching degree from Aquinas Institute of Theology. Meyer is an ordained permanent deacon in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen, New Jersey. He is the co-author of The New Rules of Global Trade, A Guide to the World Trade Organization (Carswell, 1997), a contributing author in Preaching Racial Justice (Orbis, 2023), and the author of numerous articles on law and theology. Deacon Meyer has served on the Aquinas Board since 2024.

Fr. Carl Paustian, OP
Member, Board of Trustees

Fr. Carl Paustian, OP,  is the Director of Vocations of the (Southern) Province of St. Martin de Porres and is an appointed member from his province. Fr. Paustian is originally from Houston, Texas, and he is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He also holds the MDiv and MA from Aquinas Institute. He previously served as the Parochial Vicar of St. Elizabeth University Parish in Lubbock, Texas, and as Chaplain to Raider Catholic, the Catholic Student Center at Texas Tech University. He currently lives at the Southern Province Novitiate community of St. Albert the Great Priory in Irving, Texas. He has served on the Aquinas Board since 2025.

Brian Reardon
Member, Board of Trustees

Vice-President of Communications and Marketing for Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA), Brian previously served for 14 years in various communications and advocacy roles with Springfield, Illinois based Hospital Sisters Health Systems. He has also served in public relations roles with the state of Illinois and for Illinois political candidates. He began his career as a radio reporter in Chicago, Illinois. He has been a member of the Aquinas board since 2021.

Kathy Sommers
Member, Board of Trustees

Kathy Sommers is a graduate of Santa Clara University and holds the Masrer's of Physical Therapy from Washington University. She has had a career as a physical therapist centered on pregnant and birthing women. A familiar face at Aquinas Institute, Kathy regularly audits classes in Aquinas's residential programs. She is a volunteer active in Catholic organizations throughout the region, among them the Campion program at Saint Louis University, the Lourdes Bernadette's women's association, and Washington University's Newman Center, where she received the 2023 Newman Award of Service with her husband, Dr. Tom Sommers. Kathy and her husband have six children.

Deacon Patrick Toole
Member, Board of Trustees

Deacon Patrick Toole serves as the Chancellor and Secretary of the Curia in the Diocese of Bridgeport; he is also the parish deacon at St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Trumbull, Connecticut. Before taking on various diocesan ministerial roles in January 2018, Deacon Toole worked for the IBM Corporation for more than 33 years.  He served as IBM’s Global Vice President and Chief Information Officer among other roles. Deacon Toole holds a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching degree from Aquinas Institute of Theology, an MBA from Queens University of Charlotte (formerly Queens College), and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Notre Dame.  He was also named an honorary alumnus of Fairfield University in 2023. Deacon Toole has served on the Aquinas Board since 2024.

Br. Joseph Trout, OP
Member, Board of Trustees

A 2015 graduate of Aquinas Institute, he serves as the Socius to the Provincial for the Province of St. Albert the Great. He is a member of the International Theological Commission on the Vocation of the Cooperator Brother in the Church, as well as the Board of Fenwick High School in Oak Park, Illinois. He has served on the Aquinas board since 2023.

Kristin Tucker
Member, Board of Trustees

A Managing Principal of TDK Technologies in St. Louis, a technology consulting firm specializing in custom software development. She is active in the business community, with memberships in Greater St. Louis, Inc. and TechSTL. She has served on the Aquinas board since 2023.

Fr. John Rogers Vien
Member, Board of Trustees

A St. Louis native, Fr. John is a priest in the Archdiocese of St. Louis, where he has served for 30 years in parish ministry. Fr. John has served many parishes as pastor, including the parishes of St. Pius V and Mary, Queen of Peace, and he is currently the pastor of St. Margaret of Scotland in St. Louis. He was honored with Aquinas Institute's Great Preacher Award in 2016. He has served on the Aquinas board since 2018.

Fr. Mark Wedig, OP
President, Aquinas Institute
Member, Board of Trustees

Since 2019, Fr. Mark has served as the 10th President of Aquinas Institute of Theology. He is a Dominican friar of the Province of St. Martin de Porres (Southern). For more than 25 years, he has ministered in Catholic higher education, serving much of it at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, where he was a professor of Theology, Chair of the Department of Theology and Philosophy and Associate Dean for Graduate Students in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Carolyn Wright
Faculty Representative, Board of Trustees

A member of the faculty at Aquinas Institute teaching in areas of ministerial formation and Christian spirituality, Dr. Wright also serves as the Director of Theological Field Education and the Director of the Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry - Catechesis of the Good Shepherd degree program. She has served on the Aquinas board as the Faculty Representative since August 2022.

Brian Yanofchick
Member, Board of Trustees

The Chief Sponsorship Officer for assigned markets within the Bon Secours Mercy Health System (BSMH), Brain also serves on the board of Roper St. Francis Health System, a joint venture between the BSMH and the Medical Society of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina. He has served on the Aquinas board since 2021.