Chapel Leadership

Fr. Lerner was appointed 8th Chaplain for Saint Thomas More in March 2019. He is a native of Manchester, CT. He holds a B.A. in History and Religion and a M.A. in Public Policy from Trinity College. He entered the seminary in 2008, beginning a six-year journey of prayer, study, discernment and ministry through the seminaries of St. Joseph in Yonkers, NY and completed a M.Div. from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Hartford in 2014. He served as Parochial Vicar at St. Margaret Parish in Madison, and recently as Secretary to the Archbishop, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Hartford and priest associate at Trinity College in Hartford.  Contact ryan.lerner@yale.edu

Sr. Jenn, a native of Washington State, is a Dominican Sisters of Blauvelt, New York. She holds a B.A. in Music Education and a Masters in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Portland, Oregon. Before joining the team, she served in campus ministry at Ohio Dominican University where her emphasis was on liturgical music, retreats and developing alternative break programs. Her focus is to engage students in shared leadership and spiritual development. She joined the Saint Thomas More pastoral team in 2013.
Contact Sr. Jenn at jenn.schaaf@yale.edu

Carlene is a native of Southern California. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelors of Arts in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. She received both her M.Div. and S.T.M.  from Yale Divinity School. Before joining the team, Carlene lived and worked in Cusco, Peru; taught at Central High School in Bridgeport, CT and most recently served as the director of religious education for a church in Ridgefield, CT. She joined the Saint Thomas More pastoral team in 2016. Contact Carlene at carlene.demiany@yale.edu

Allan is a native of the Philippines. He holds a B.S. in Philosophy from St. Francis Seminary, Philippines and a Masters in Religious Education from Fordham University, New York. Before joining the team, he facilitated retreats for the youth of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Philippines. He served as a campus minister at De La Salle Lipa College in Lipa, Philippines. He and his wife, Donna have a daughter, Isabella. He joined the Saint Thomas More pastoral team in 2017.
Contact Allan at allan.esteron@yale.edu.