Born Catholic, Ashley has been active in her faith for her whole life.  From attending and helping lead interdenominational church camps in the United States and abroad, to leading a Bible study and participating in discipleship through the Fellowship of Catholic University Students, Ashley has had a deep passion for the study of Scripture and the story of Salvation.  After completing her B.A. in Psychology and International Studies at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, she moved to Denver to pursue her M.A. in Sacred Scripture at the Augustine Institute.  Since graduating in 2010, she has stayed active at the Augustine Institute working in the Distance Education program and writing for several projects including Opening the Word Sunday Scripture studies and the FORMED youth ministry curriculum.

Ashley and her husband Alex currently live in Castle Rock with their sons Michael and Liam.  In addition to Scripture and spending time with her family, Ashley loves baking bread and reading.

Denise is Catholic from birth and is deeply passionate about her faith. Denise graduated from California State University Fullerton with a B.A. in Business Administration and shortly after received her teaching credential. Denise spent her career raising two children and teaching part-time in Catholic schools. She spent nine years teaching kindergarten at St. Mary’s of Littleton and retired her post in 2006. Denise began attending the Denver Catholic Biblical School in 2005 and fell deeply in love with Sacred Scripture, prompting her to further her studies at the Augustine Institute. She graduated with an M.A. in Biblical Theology in 2011.

Denise shares her passion for her faith and Sacred Scripture with women inmates in prison ministry. She also catechizes those coming into the Church at the parish level and teaches the sacrament of marriage at the Samaritan House in Denver. Denise and her husband of 34 years reside in Conifer. They have two grown children; their daughter lives in Denver, and their son and his wife reside in Kansas City, MO.

Denise Gustafson

 
Margit McCarthy

Margit Baksa McCarthy is a daughter of immigrants who were refugees from the 1956 Hungarian Peoples Revolt against the Communist Regime. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, in a Hungarian subculture, these immigrants’ daughter learned early about dependency upon God and the power of Faith to endure trials. Graduated in 1993 with a Masters in Theology from Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama. Margit has been active in Faith Formation Ministries for 27 years, working mostly with adults through RCIA, Why Catholic, teaching Bible Studies, working with Women Study groups, giving Retreats and days of Reflections.

Margit is currently working on her second Masters in Biblical Theology from the Augustine Institute. Married to Kelly Thomas McCarthy and blessed with a 14-year-old son, Luke. The McCarthys live in Colorado Springs. Margit enjoys camping, hiking with friends and dogs, visiting and hosting extended family, watching her son play basketball, and eating Hungarian cooking.

 
Connie Pratt

Connie Pratt, a lifelong Catholic, earned a Bachelor of Science in Journalism/ Mass Communication from Iowa State University and has spent 40 years writing, researching, and ‘preaching’ the Gospel of Life. During that time, she held leadership positions in the National Right to Life Committee, Colorado Citizens for Life, Right to Life of Utah, and the Right to Life League of Southern California.

Drawn over the last decade to go deeper in her faith, Connie eagerly shares what she is learning. She co-founded, facilitates, and presents for the Disciples on the Way apologetics group and is involved with the New Evangelization through a door-to-door ministry.

A graduate of the Denver Catholic Biblical School and the Denver Catechetical School, she continues her education through reading (she keeps local Catholic bookstores in business) and independent research. She has also taken a variety of classes including some from West Coast Biblical Studies Conferences and the Augustine Institute. Connie and her husband Phil, married for 43 years, are the parents of Jim, Dan, Debbie, and Sarah.