A graduate of Fordham University at Lincoln Center as of May 2010 where she double-majored in Sociology and Visual Arts with a concentration in painting and drawing, Luisa is the daughter of Bruno and Antoinette Abballe and is from Long Island, New York. While finishing her degree at Fordham she lived the past year and a half in Midtown Manhattan where she became an active student and artist in social justice awareness. She was involved in many student organizations, became an ardent supporter of women’s rights, and received a certificate of accomplishment for student leadership by the end of her undergraduate career. It was at Fordham that her passion for social justice came full circle. For spring break of 2009 she came to New Orleans for the first time on a service-immersion project and was so impacted by her experience that she led her own team in March of 2010 back to New Orleans. Contemplatives in Action (CIA) had been an organization that worked with Fordham on numerous occasions, and she really felt connection with its ministry of hospitality and its roots in Jesuit teachings. With a desire to empower those affected by Hurricane Katrina, she also felt a spiritual hunger and a desire to explore what it really means to be men and women for and with others. She hopes that through CIA she can be a catalyst for growth and change on a personal, local, and national level.

I came on my first service trip to New Orleans in March 2010 and absolutely fell in love with the city! I had rediscovered my faith down here and insisted on coming back. I wanted to come back here so that I could begin understanding my faith a little more in depth, and I thought where could be better place than New Orleans. So here I am, just a month after I graduated from Wheeling Jesuit University and I am currently on my way to the University of Pittsburgh to study my Masters of Social Work. New Orleans is where I rediscovered my faith, and I wanted this to be the place where I begin building my foundations of life. Here, with Contemplatives in Action, it is helping guide me in the right direction.

Michael Navarette, Summer Intern
Dallas Jesuit '09, Loyola University Chicago '13

I’m from Dallas, Texas. I graduated from Jesuit College Preparatory School in 2009 and am about to enter my sophomore year at Loyola University Chicago, where I am majoring in Philosophy and Psychology. I came to be an intern at CIA through pure chance. Originally, I had planned on going down to the San Lucas Mission in Guatemala to work as a volunteer for 5 weeks. However, due to natural disasters like a volcano and a hurricane, I was unable to go. Attending an ordination of one of my friends, I heard from others about the many areas to volunteer in New Orleans, a city which I had never been to before. Once I had heard about CIA, I checked out the website and felt its intern program would provide the experiential learning that I desire. So after applying and talking to Jocelyn, I’ve been able to experience various types of service and aspects of New Orleans’ culture, both of which have given me unique perspectives to appreciate.

Jen Sackowski, Summer Intern
St. Francis Prep '09, University of Pennsylvania '13

I’m from New York City, specifically a town called Whitestone. I am currently a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania (Go Quakers!) in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. I am studying Bioengineering and hope to one-day work in the cancer research field, although this might change. I am involved in the Penn Band, where I play alto saxophone, and the synchronized swimming team. The first time I visited New Orleans was with my high school, St. Francis Prep, on a Franciscan Immersion Experience. I spent a week busting up concrete, pulling nails out of plywood, and most importantly, hearing the stories of those affected by Hurricane Katrina. I left feeling much different, much more in tune to the suffering in the world around me. After all, I hadn’t seen anything like the Lower Ninth Ward in my town. I knew I wanted to continue to come down to New Orleans to make a difference, and to continue seeing a positive difference in myself. I applied the next year while I was a senior to do service again, and this time I was blessed with the responsibility of leading the group along with another friend. Again, I spent a week working, and this time I got to not only share my thoughts with the group and have them look up to me, but I got to see how this wonderful city changed them. I feel that the people down here are entirely different from any I have met before. Nowhere else can you walk down the street and have a full conversation with someone you’ve never met before, and that is something I love about this place. Besides the music and food, of course. And now I have been blessed with the opportunity to intern with Contemplatives in Action. I couldn’t imagine my summer going any differently. I love the balance between doing service and running a non-profit that the internship provides, as well as the focus on faith formation. Throughout the past few weeks, I’ve been able to explore my faith more and listen to God’s plan for me. I am so happy to be here!

Tony Mazza, Program Director

Tony served as the advisor to the Mother Jones house, an intentional Christian service community for students at Wheeling Jesuit University.  His first trip to New Orleans was as an undergrad at Wheeling which led him to the Jesuit Volunteer Corps.  He worked to rebuild New Orleans during his year of service, then continued to recruit for the JVC. Tony is a "handy-man" whose deep commitment to a faith that does justice allows him to be present with those in most need.

Jocelyn A. Sideco, Executive Director

A graduate of St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco, CA, Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, CA and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (CA), Jocelyn comes with a life's worth of education within the Jesuit Network and brings Ignatian Spirituality to the work of recovering New Orleans and our own human dignity in every nook and crannie we find ourselves in the world.  She spent time working and teaching at the University of San Francisco, St. Agnes Parish (San Francisco, CA), Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI), Loyola University New Orleans and the New Orleans Province of the Society of Jesus.  A few highlights: She is a certified diversity and cultural competency trainer through the National MultiCultural Institute and most recently a certified Lay Health Advocate through the McFarland Institute; Jocelyn enjoys listening to others as they discern where they ought to follow God and where God is leading them; and she loves to cook for anyone who is over and is especially skilled with creating new meals with leftovers!