[Silver Spring, MD] The board of directors of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has appointed Sister Carol Zinn, SSJ as the new executive director.
Sister Carol, a Sister of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, brings to the position extensive knowledge of LCWR and the opportunities and challenges facing religious congregations throughout the nation. She was a member of the conference from 2009-2014, and during that time she served as chairperson of Region 3 (2010-2012), and in the LCWR presidency (2012-2015). Currently, she is concluding her employment as a senior vice-president for mission integration at Plante Moran, where her responsibilities included working with leaders and members of religious congregations as they discerned and planned for their mission into the future.
Prior to being elected to leadership in her community, she was the representative of the Congregations of Saint Joseph at the United Nations from 2001-2009, and was the education program director for Global Education Associates from 1996-2001. She also served as a teacher on the elementary, secondary, college, and post-graduate levels, in educational leadership in elementary and secondary schools, and in religious education and music ministry in various parish and diocesan venues.
She holds a bachelor of science degree in education from Chestnut Hill College, a master of arts degree in theology from Saint Bonaventure University, and a doctorate in education foundations and curriculum development from the University of North Carolina. In 1993, she was a research fellow at Harvard University.
In her letter of application for the LCWR position, Sister Carol stated in part, “My deepest sense of call to this particular ministry lies in the awareness I have of the current and critical moment in which religious life and LCWR finds itself…. The main work of religious life and elected leadership at this moment calls for a clarity of vision, a consciousness of transformation, a courage of mind, heart and will, and a concerted, collaborative effort to embrace these times of transformation of the life we live and love and the missions and charisms with which we’ve been entrusted.
“This work focuses on addressing who we are called to be as carriers of our respective missions and charisms into a future that looks nothing like our past or present,” she continued. “It also demands that we step into the creation of how we want to live this life, fully and well, to the space after our last breath. And it calls us to embrace this Paschal Mystery moment with the same courage, creativity and commitment as we have done in our past.”
Sister Carol will assume her new position on July 1, 2018, after Sister Carole Shinnick, SSND completes her term as interim director on June 30.
