Resident Ministry

JoAnn grew up in India and Singapore, where she learned the importance of hospitality, inclusion, good food, and how to live in an multifaith and multicultural world. She has been immersed in Jesuit education and formation for the last decade through her experiences at Saint Joseph’s University, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry, the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, and now Seattle University. A transplant to the West Coast, JoAnn loves living near the water again. JoAnn enjoys listening deeply to students’ stories, creating spaces and opportunities for moments of reflection and prayer, sharing meals, chatting about pop culture, and playing six degrees of separation. Having participated in Catholic liturgy on four continents, she marvels at unity in diversity in the church, and is passionate about ritual, prayer, the global church and social justice.

Gina Lopardo was born and raised in Rhode Island and only left that state when she moved to Seattle twelve years ago. She earned both her undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Rhode Island and her doctorate in Educational Leadership from Seattle University. She directs the Education Abroad Office in addition to serving as the Resident Minister in Xavier Global House. Gina is passionate about accompanying students along their journeys and contemplating life’s paths. She is devoted to her two dogs, Lacey and Diego, loves to read, cook, eat good food and spend as much time as possible near bodies of water. Some of her favorite topics of conversation include her home state, life on the other (East) coast, tasty recipes, being a first generation college student, searching for spiritual and religious connection, travel, and her time studying abroad in Siena, Italy.

An alumnus of Seattle University, Dr. Susan Meyers grew up selling corndogs, balloons, and cotton candy on the carnival circuit and has since become an international leader in writing studies. In addition to serving as Resident Minister for South Campus, she also directs the Creative Writing Program in Seattle University's English Department. Her novel Failing the Trapeze won the Nilsen Award for a First Novel, and her field study on education in rural Mexico, Del Otro Lado: Literacy and Migration Across the U.S.-Mexico Border, was supported by a Fulbright Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Association of University Women. When she's not at her writing desk, she's likely out at one of Seattle's many arts events or going for a run through the winding, wonderful parks near Capitol Hill.