ABOUT

Strategic consulting for Catholic leaders

Catholic Strategies is a service of FAITH Catholic that brings to bear our team's extensive experience in crisis management, strategic communications, graphic design, and digital communications for dioceses and Catholic organizations. As a crisis management team, we help institutions within the Church assess their current status, create integrated strategic plans, train and support staff, and develop response assets. As a general communications consultancy, our services include full-time or temporary staffing, project management and execution, web and digital solutions, and readership surveys. Catholic Strategies offers the entire cadre of expertise from our staff of seasoned professionals, tailored to fit the specific needs of every client.

Consultant Bios

Patrick M. O'Brien
Patrick is founding President and CEO of FAITH Catholic, America's largest Catholic magazine publishing company. From one magazine that reached 80,000 homes in 2000 to what is now a multimedia company that produces 57 print periodicals, 55 digital publications, 35 websites, a weekly television broadcast and 80 products reaching an audience of more than 4 million. He expanded FAITH Catholic's services for dioceses and Catholic organizations to include Catholic Strategies, integrated marketing, and website design. Patrick has served as the head of communications, marketing and technology for the Diocese of Lansing. He advises bishops, dioceses, Catholic organizations and seminaries across the country on their communications. Prior to forming FAITH Catholic, Patrick worked in advertising serving clients such as Case, Caterpillar, Pfizer, Rhone Poulenc and Lincoln Mercury. He graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit with a BFA in 1993 and completed two years of graduate work at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, Mundelein Seminary.

Elizabeth Solsburg
Prior to joining FAITH magazine in the Diocese of Lansing as assistant editor, Elizabeth worked in a parish as its director of religious education and procurator/advocate. As FAITH grew from publishing one magazine to more than 50, Elizabeth became the editorial director and, in 2014, she was named FAITH Catholic’s first corporate vice president. On a daily basis, Elizabeth works with dioceses to help them plan and create content to achieve their goals. Elizabeth received a BA from the University of Michigan, and a Master’s degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. She completed additional studies in graduate theology at St. John Provincial Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan.

Marybeth Hicks
Marybeth joined FAITH Catholic in 2015 to lead the Integrated Marketing service for FAITH Catholic. Previously, Marybeth was a columnist for a major metropolitan daily newspaper, an author of four titles, a national speaker and a freelance marketing consultant. Prior to joining the company, Marybeth was a frequent contributor to FAITH magazine and also led the company’s long-term strategic planning process. Starting her career as a writer and communicator in the Reagan White House, Marybeth later was a marketing communications specialist in the educational, healthcare and corporate sectors. Marybeth holds a BA in English from Michigan State University.

Michael Jones
Mike has spent 12 years helping to grow FAITH Catholic’s technology and digital services departments, beginning in 2006 as an information technology specialist and culminating in his 2017 appointment as Director of Technology and Digital Media. Mike serves FAITH clients with custom websites and structured data applications, digital publishing and client-facing content management solutions. A graduate of Michigan State University, Mike studied Telecommunication, Information Studies and Media, and Technology Management.

Kayla Simon
Kayla is an award-winning art director and graphic designer who is known as a creative problem solver. She joined FAITH Catholic in 2012, was named art director in 2015, and became the company’s Creative Director in 2017. A graduate of Grand Valley State University with a BFA in Graphic Design, she has a fierce ambition to make the world better through graphic design.

Cynthia Vandecar
Cynthia joined FAITH Catholic in 2010 after 20 years as a communications and production coordinator at publishing and advertising firms in Grand Rapids and Okemos, Mich. In 2014, she was named Director of Production and Customer Service, with responsibility for client creative service projects, as well as customer service and sales for FAITH’s parish products online store. Cynthia holds a BA in Communications from the University of Michigan.

Ann Jacob
Ann joined FAITH Catholic in 2013 to manage the publication of FAITH Catholic’s flagship publication, the Diocese of Lansing’s FAITH Magazine. She also is responsible for editing the company’s two longtime products for parishes and priests, Daily Homilies and Daily Universal Prayer and Commentary. Formerly a senior editor at Public Sector Consultants, Ann maintained a longtime freelance editing practice and was a contributor to FAITH Magazine since 2005. Ann holds a BA in History from the University of Notre Dame.

Anne-Marie Welsh
In addition to her work as director of public relations for Penn State’s Behrend College, Anne-Marie Welsh has spent 25 years working for diocesan or Church-related institutions. She has overseen the communications needs of the Diocese of Erie, collaborating with senior administrators since 2004. Her most recent experience includes managing internal and external communications during the 40th statewide Grand Jury investigation of the dioceses of Pennsylvania. Her primary focus has been writing, public relations and strategic planning.

Dawn Doerr
Dawn joined FAITH Catholic in 2015 as a communications and marketing consultant, specializing in diocesan school and ministry marketing campaigns. Previously, she has been a writer, communications professional, and social media consultant in education, health care, and government. Dawn holds a BA in Journalism and an MA in English from Michigan State University.