INTRODUCTION TO THE ANNUAL MEETING

Kerry Robinson Executive Director, The Leadership Roundtable

Yesterday we had a wonderful and very engaging Board of Directors meeting. Much of it was devoted to an important strategic review which is the happy consequence of 10 years of contribution to the Church in the United States and wanting to be ready to be of maximum, efficient and effective service for the next 10 years.

Later, I had the good fortune to have dinner with four of our trustees: Kevin Carton, Charlie Moore, Geno Fernandez, and Father

Jack Wall. At dinner Father Wall reminded us that as Christians we are called to exercise faith-filled imaginations. That is exactly what our founder, Geoff Boisi, did 10 years ago. He imagined a Church that intentionally invited the contributions and talents of all of the baptized; he imagined the restoration of trust in the Church that he loved; and he imagined making a major contribution to advancing ethics, accountability, transparency, and best managerial practices within and for the benefit of the Church. It was a grand experiment that had never before been done anywhere in the world. Now, 10 years later, we are proud to be gathered here with you knowing that collectively we have played a meaningful role in assisting the Church toward a mission-centered goal of exemplifying ethics, excellence, and accountability.

In March of this year, the Leadership Roundtable was invited to address the treasurers of international communities of men’s and women’s religious orders who were invited by Pope Francis to meet in Rome. Following my presentation that outlined the manner and ways the Leadership Roundtable serves the Church I was struck by the palpable hunger, across the globe, for what we are offering very intentionally to the Church in the U.S. How we can contribute to the global Church is going to be an ongoing strategic question for us. Which is why I was encouraged by that hunger. It points us to a future of a global Church where ethics, and accountability and managerial excellence are the norm.

I believe the Leadership Roundtable has an important contribution to make in helping the Church reach those ambitious goals, and I truly appreciate and applaud the tireless work of each of you since we launched our effort. I look forward to the next 10 years with great excitement and even greater expectations knowing what all of us are capable of accomplishing together.