MATTHEW PINTO
President

Matt is the founder and president of Ascension Press and the author or co-author of a variety of best-selling works, including the teen question-and-answer books Did Adam and Eve Have Belly Buttons?, Did Jesus Have a Last Name?, and Do I Have to Go: 101 Questions about the Mass, the Eucharist, and Your Spiritual Life. He is also the co-creator of the Friendly Defenders Catholic Flash Cards and the Amazing Grace Series. Matt also co-authored A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions About the Passion of the Christ, which went on to sell more than a million copies and hit #6 on the New York Times Best-Seller List.

Matt has appeared on numerous television and radio programs explaining and defending the Catholic Faith, and he has conducted seminars on a variety of Catholic issues throughout the country. Matt and his wife, Maryanne, live in Pennsylvania, and are the parents of five boys.

SUSAN ECK ALLEN
Director of Production

Susan handles all aspects of the production and printing of our books and printed materials. She has a wealth of production experience and has been responsible for sheet fed, web, gravure and out-of home projects for various companies including The National Football League, Border’s Inc. and Doner Advertising, a multi-billion dollar advertising agency. She has been responsible for multi-million dollar advertising budgets.

A graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Susan studied advertising & communications and fashion buying & merchandising. She now lives in Florida with her daughter Montana, a championship Irish dancer. Susan is also a core team member of the Life Teen program at her local parish.

PAT BEACH
Accounting

Pat works in Ascension's finance department as an accounting associate. She resides with her husband and two children in Thornton, PA. After graduating from college, Pat spent five years in the investment industry, then found a calling in the entertainment industry for ten years acting as the director of finance for six corporations.

TARA CABRAL
Sales Representative

Tara joined Ascension in the fall of 2003. She is involved with the seminar, sales, and marketing departments. She travels year round, handling events, and providing assistance to event contacts and speakers. A graduate of Eastern Kentucky University where she played collegiate tennis, Tara earned her bachelor's degree in speech communication, a master’s degree in human services, and also studied theology at St. Meinrad Seminary. Tara and her husband Jason are parents to daughter Gianna and live in Indiana.

SARAH CHRISTMYER
Program Director, Great Adventure Bible Study

Sarah Christmyer is program director for The Great Adventure and Editor of The Great Adventure Bible Study series. She also is author or co-author of the studies on The Bible Timeline, Matthew, Acts, and James and is author of The Bible Timeline Guided Journal. Sarah has thirty years of experience leading Bible studies and has taught them in her parish since 1999. She helped launch Catholic Scripture Study and is co-author of two Bible studies on Genesis, published by Emmaus Road. Sarah has a BA in English literature from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. Raised in a strong evangelical family, she was received into the Catholic Church in 1992.

CHRIS COPE
Director of Marketing

Chris Cope joined Ascension Press in the spring of 2004, rising to the Director of Marketing position in 2007, where he manages all aspects of product marketing and promotion. He also handles rights management for foreign licensing contracts. Chris has a background in retail management and public relations, and is a 2002 graduate of James Madison University with degrees in communications and theology. He was also an acclaimed Division I golfer. Chris and his wife, Jennifer, live in suburban Philadelphia with their daughter, Susannah, and son, Nicholas.

ELIZABETH DOERR GORNEY
Managing Director, The Great Adventure

Since February of 2006, Elizabeth Doerr Gorney has served as the managing director of The Great Adventure division of Ascension Press, bringing to the position a background in development and sales. Elizabeth is a founding member of the Frassati Society of Young Adult Catholics, serves on the board of directors for the O’Connor House, an organization providing services for mothers facing a crisis pregnancy. In her rare spare time, she coaches cheerleading at her parish in an effort to impact the lives of young Catholic women, helping them navigate through the challenging teen years. A lifelong Catholic, she is one of six children and sister to Fr. Richard and Fr. Brian Doerr. Elizabeth is a Purdue University graduate and an active member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church chairing their yearly Development Dinner. She and husband, Brandon, reside just north of Indianapolis with their young daughter, Isabella.

JANENE DIBLASIO
Seminar Coordinator

Janene graduated from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia with a degree in Politics and a minor in History. Before joining Ascension Press, she worked in the Culinary Industry as a Recruiter. Janene is actively involved in her parish as an Extraordinary Minister of Communion. In her spare time, she is an avid dancerand enjoys the outdoors and traveling. Janene will be getting married in November, 2008. She and her future husband Conrad Montlouis will be residing in the Philadelphia area.

MICHAEL FLICKINGER
Managing Editor

Prior to joining Ascension in 2002, Mike taught English as a second language at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Over the past six years, he has felt privileged to be a part of Ascension's growth and the development of its line of popular Catholic books. Majoring in music and journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Berklee College of Music, Mike went on to earn a master’s degree in theology from St. Charles Seminary and recently completed graduate studies in counseling at Villanova University. For several years, he and his wife, Eileen, served as relief house parents at the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Mike, Eileen, and their two children, Julia and Sam, live in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

AMY FONTECCHIO
Registration Coordinator

Amy is the wife of Mike, Ascension’s lead graphic designer, and a stay-at-home mother to their three children, Serena, Anthony and John Paul. She also serves Ascension as the registration coordinator for the Called to Lead and National Catholic Bible Conferences and as local program director for God’s Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage. A graduate of Franciscan University, Amy brings with her many years of conference planning experience. She also teaches The Great Adventure Bible Timeline and Theology of the Body for Teens to local youth.

MIKE FONTECCHIO
Graphics Department

Mike Fontecchio works as the lead designer in Ascension’s graphics department . He has more than ten years of design experience in Catholic book publishing. Mike obtained his bachelors degree in theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville, with a marketing minor. He also has earned a digital design diploma from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, where he graduated with a 4.0 average. A native of Wisconsin, Mike is the father of three children, Serena, Anthony, and John-Paul. Mike and his wife, Amy (also a graduate of Franciscan University), live in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Mike enjoys sports and the outdoors, and taking bike rides with his family.

JOHN HARDEN
Marketing Assistant

Before joining Ascension Press, John served as the marketing assistant for Current USA, in Colorado Springs. John received his bachelors in religious studies from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS, and his masters in theology from Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH. In his spare time, he studies Latin, the writings of the saints, and web development. John is an active member of St. Michael the Archangel Byzantine Catholic Church in Phoenixville, PA as well as a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus. John, his wife, and their three children live in Phoenixville, PA.

LYNN KLIKA
President, Catholic Word

Lynn Klika is the founder and president of Catholic Word, Ascension's sales team. She has served as Ascension’s director of sales from the company's inception, heading a sales team that sold more than a million copies of A Guide to the Passion, along with the other successful Ascension books and programs. She has served in marketing, editorial, and other varied capacities and is a contributor to Amazing Grace for Mothers. Lynn has been featured on Catholic television and radio, including Sirius Satellite Radio. She has served as a speaker and retailer consultant for the Catholic Marketing Network. Lynn and her husband, Scott, live in Wisconsin with their five children and a menagerie of pets.

STEVE MOTYL
Managing Director, Theology of the Body

Steve joined Ascension Press in January 2007. He brings more than fifteen years experience producing, writing and engineering Catholic television and radio, eleven of them as the director of production for Living His Life Abundantly. He also served for more than eighteen years as a high school and middle school parish youth minister prior to joining Ascension. Steve is a graduate of the University of Florida (go Gators!), with a degree in journalism and communications and a minor in business. Steve was born in New Jersey but lived in Florida until receiving the call to spread John Paul II's Theology of the Body with Ascension. He then moved north to southeastern Pennsylvania with his wife, five daughters, and Lady, the family's golden retriever, where they are all loving life in the four seasons.

DAMON OWENS
Diocesan Sales Representative

As the diocesan sales representative for Ascension Press, Damon focuses primarily on the God's Plan for a Joy-Filled Marriage and Theology of the Body for Teens programs. In addition to providing sales, training, and support for dioceses, Damon is a nationally-recognized speaker on Theology of the Body, Theology of the Family, Natural Family Planning, and other topics related to marriage and the family. Damon is a member of the Speakers Bureau of the Theology of the Body Institute. He has appeared on numerous national television and radio programs, including hosting two thirteen-part series for EWTN television. Damon and his wife, Melanie, live in New Jersey with their six daughters.

BARRY PINE
Chief Operating Officer

Barry brings to Ascension 25 years of experience in various management and executive management positions with two Fortune 500 companies and one multimillion-dollar retailer. He is a CPA with his BSBA in accounting from Michigan Technological University and his MBA from Portland State University in Oregon. He and his wife, Regina, own Salve Regina Catholic Books and Gifts in suburban Philadelphia. He has a love for the Catholic faith and a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother. Barry, Gina, and their four children live in the Philadelphia area.

KELLY WAHLQUIST
Director of Community Relations, Great Adventure Bible Study

Kelly Wahlquist is the director of community relations for The Great Adventure Bible Study Systems, where she provides marketing and organization support for Great Adventure group leaders. After serving as a nursing supervisor for ten years, Kelly began working for Jeff Cavins and has coordinated Great Adventure Bible studies at various churches in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. She is the editor of Catholicism 101 and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute in Denver.

JAY WONACOTT
Director of Family Life Programs

Jay previously served as the director of the Marriage and Family Life Office of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon for seven and half years. He is a 1994 graduate of the College of Idaho with a degree in religion, and he holds a Master of Theological Studies degree in Marriage and Family from the John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C. (1997). Jay has been a board member of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers (NACFLM), a lay advisor for the Committee on Marriage and Family for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the host of his own Catholic radio program, The Domestic Church Today, for Portland Catholic radio station KBVM. Jay is currently serving on the U.S. Catholic Bishops' ad hoc committee for the implementation of the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage. Jay loves to read, ride his bike, play the guitar, and fish. He and his wife, Michelle, have been married for thirteen years and have four daughters, Mary, Cathleen, and Lucy and Teresa.