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Our founding team was developed because of passion and interest in this mission. The team consists of Bill Zerrusen, Matt Zerrusen and Randy Pifher. As a team, we are all very excited about the chance to help our youth on campuses nationwide. We know how important the undergraduate years are in terms of personal and spiritual development, and we feel the Lord is calling us to help do what we can to make sure as many students on campuses throughout the country have the grace of a strong and positive Catholic formation during their student years.
This prayer represents our mission and is one we pray regularly as a team.
Bill Zerrusen
President, Co-Founder
bzerrusen@newmanconnection.com
Bill is the President and Spiritual Leader of our team. Over the years, Bill has been involved with numerous projects involving chaplaincy and undergraduate students, including the work of St. John’s Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Bill has a long history of helping those within the church. In addition to Managing and supporting Newman Connection, he also runs Three Z Printing with his 2 brothers located in Teutopolis, IL.
Matt Zerrusen
Vice President, Co-Founder
mzerrusen@newmanconnection.com
Matt is Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of the Newman Connection. He provides the infrastructure that Newman Connection needs to reach out to all Newman Centers, students and Chaplain’s throughout the US connecting them to their alumni and supporters. Matt manages the day to day operations and marketing for Newman Connection. He has the responsibility for creating and maintaining our interactive website that allows Newman Centers to connect, communicate and share best practices.
Randy Pifher
Director Of Operations
rpifher@newmanconnection.com
Randy is the face of the Newman Connection, on the road meeting and visiting with every Newman Center throughout the United States. He is responsible for understanding the needs of the Newman Centers, gathering critical research and data to allow us to create the right programs that will drive growth and success for Newman Centers and Newman Connection. Randy also handles growth strategies for the company and identifying the right opportunities for continued growth.
Martin Alves
Director of Development
malves@newmanconnection.com
Martin Alves is the Director of Development. He handles all of the development work and philanthropy for Newman Connection. He has spent the last 15 years working as a fundraising consultant for many Catholic Diocese, churches, schools, and other non-profit organizations.
Chad Michael Cunningham
Director of Institute and Catechetics
ccunningham@newmanconnection.com
Chad Michael Cunningham, an Ohio native, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Formerly the Director of Campus Ministry for the Diocese of Nashville, Chad Michael helped steer development and intellectual formation for Vanderbilt Catholic.
Chad Michael studied philosophy and political science at The Ohio State University, where he received his B.A. in 2005. In 2008, still at Ohio State, he received his J.D. after studying law. Then in 2009 he moved to Nashville to begin graduate coursework in theology at Vanderbilt Divinity School where he received his M.T.S. During his studies, Chad Michael worked as a pipe-fitter and mechanic, as well as served in elected office.
A passionate convert, he is excited to be joining the team at Newman Connection where he hopes to engage a nationwide audience into a more profound understanding of the Faith and its practical integration into our daily lives. Living an authentic Catholic faith, he believes, is the single-most important lesson for young people to learn—a lesson that will not only evangelize this world, but sav
Michele Niebrugge
Executive Assistant
mniebrugge@newmanconnection.com
Michele is in charge of the day-to-day office operations. She handles most of our data entries, mailings, and accounting bookwork. Michele works in collaboration with the rest of the team to promote Newman Connection through newsletters and direct mail campaigns.
