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

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

Grace is a Rhode Island native who graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Spanish and a Master of Education. She taught high school in Mississippi before returning to Notre Dame to earn a Master of Divinity, while working extensively with undergraduate students in residential life. Before coming to STM, Grace taught theology and coached a cross country team at a Catholic high school in the Boston area. She joined the Saint Thomas More pastoral team in 2021.
Contact Grace at gracecarrollstm@gmail.com

David was born and raised in the Bay Area in California, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with Bachelor of Arts degrees in History and International Peace Studies. After working as a social worker at the Farm of the Child in Honduras for two and a half years, he moved to New Haven where he has lived ever since. He worked at St. Martin de Porres Academy in the Graduate Support Department and as their Director of Spiritual Development and Student Support. Simultaneously he earned his Master of Arts in Religion degree at Yale Divinity School. He and his wife, Rosabelle, have two daughters and a son.  He joined Saint Thomas More pastoral team in 2021.
Contact David at d.rivera@yale.edu

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