Carol Atwell Ackels, Director
Carol is Director of the Ignatian Spirituality Institute. A spiritual director in the Ignatian tradition she serves as retreat director of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius in various formats. She offers weekend retreats, the Exercises in Everyday Life, and one-to-one directed retreats at Jesuit retreat houses across the United States. Carol regularly gives programs and days of reflection to parish and Church groups. She launched and continues to give workshops to shape persons, Jesuits and lay, who are moving into retreat ministry and spiritual companioning in the Ignatian tradition. Appointed by the Provincial, Carol served six years on the bi-province Commission on Ministry--the group that discerns long-range planning for apostolic work of the Jesuits and their colleagues. Carol co-authored with Joe Tetlow, S.J. the twelve week Ignatian retreat Finding Christ in the World, and worked with Anthony Borrow, S.J. developing the Toward Greater Freedom retreat for parents at Jesuit College Prep of Dallas. Carol holds a J.D. from SMU Dedman School of Law, Dallas and a Master of Art in Theology and Leadership from Gonzaga University, Spokane. She and her husband reside in Dallas and are the parents of five adult children.
Sheila DeSantis - ISI Board Chair, Companions of Grace Coordinator and ISI Formation Team
Sheila is an Ignatian spiritual and retreat director. She helps others make the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday life, as well as serving as companion for the Toward Greater Freedom retreat at Jesuit College Prep in Dallas, and Finding Christ in the World retreat in various parishes and churches. She has continued serving the retreats for many years while also helping form and train new Companions. Sheila is also the Chair of the ISI Board of Directors. Sheila was in the first group to make both the Toward Greater Freedom retreat and the Finding Christ in the WorldRetreats. She participates in days of reflection and retreats at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House including both personal and couples retreats, and numerous ISI workshops. Sheila made the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday life and completed the ISI Spiritual Companioning program in 2015. Sheila is an architect, and enjoys traveling, viewing art, and painting. She and her husband live in Dallas and have two adult children.
Cyndy Mathews - Spiritual Exercises Retreat Coordinator and ISI Formation Team
Cyndy has worked with ISI since its inception in 2013. Prior to that, she served for many years in parish ministry and leadership, including spiritual companioning. Cyndy completed the spiritual director formation program at Our Lady of Divine Providence School of Spirituality in
Clearwater, FL. She meets with individuals in ongoing spiritual direction and serves as a guide for the 19 th Annotation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Cyndy has experience in facilitating faith-sharing groups as well as ISI courses on prayer and Ignatian spirituality. She regularly attends retreats and workshops and participated in the Foundations program led by Fr. Joe Tetlow, SJ. Cyndy also serves as a spiritual director for one-to-one directed retreats at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House, and has offered days of reflection there as well. She and her husband, Jack, are parents of wonderful adult sons, an amazing daughter-in-law, and take great delight in having entered the joyous season of grandparenting.
MK Simion - Spiritual Companioning Coordinator and ISI Formation Team
MK began her Ignatian journey with the Toward Greater Freedom retreat at Jesuit Dallas in 2008. Soon after her initial experience she continued her journey by making the 19thAnnotation of the Spiritual Exercises. She served as the director of the TGF retreat for Jesuit parents and continues to serve as a companion for groups making the Spiritual Exercises in everyday life in various parishes and churches in the Dallas area as well as working one on one as a spiritual director. MK is married to Steve Simion and they are the parents of four grown children.
Susie Andrews
Susie experienced the Towards Greater Freedom retreat at Jesuit Dallas seven years ago and has served as a companion for groups in TGF and the 12-week retreat Finding Christ in the World since then. She made the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises two years ago. She has attended various retreats and workshops at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House and classes at the Ignatian Spirituality Institute. She felt invited to enroll in ISI’s two-year curriculum to train companions to take others through the 19th Annotation retreat. Susie earned a Bachelor of Journalism and J.D. from the University of Texas at Austin and had careers with the Associated Press and a Dallas law firm before “retiring” to raise her two sons, now in their 20s. She and her husband David Andrews reside in Dallas. She enjoys laughter, jogging, PGA Tour golf and vacations in the Oregon Cascades.
Anthony Borrow, S.J.
Anthony is a Jesuit priest of the UCS Province. He completed his theological studies at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Since Anthony's ordination in 2010, he served as campus minister, school counselor and theology teacher at Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston, Texas. He also served as the Associate Pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is the author of Toward Greater Freedom, an adaptation of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Anthony has a Master of Arts in Counseling and Family Therapy from St. Louis University and has worked with gang members in Honduras and those incarcerated in prisons, jails, and detention centers. Anthony enjoys playing racquetball, cooking and promoting the use of open source software.
Billy Huete, S.J.
A native of New Orleans, Fr. Billy was the first-born of six sons. After graduating from Jesuit High School of New Orleans in 1970, he entered the Society of Jesus at Grand Coteau. He received his undergraduate degree from Spring Hill College, double-majoring in philosophy and English. He then taught English and geometry at Strake Jesuit in Houston for three years as a scholastic. He studied theology in Rome at the Gregorian University for three years, was ordained a priest in 1982, and followed up with one more year of theology studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After receiving his degree from Fordham University in Educational Administration, he was appointed principal of Strake Jesuit, a post he held for six years. From 1991 until 2008 he worked at the Jesuit Novitiate in Grand Coteau, first as the assistant to the Novice Director, and then as Director of Novices for thirteen years. Fr. Billy has served on the boards of Strake Jesuit, Jesuit College Prep of Dallas, and Cristo Rey Jesuit College Prep of Houston. Former rector of the Jesuit Community at Jesuit College Prep, Fr. Billy now teaches freshman theology at Jesuit New Orleans and serves as rector of the Loyola Jesuit Community. He enjoys movies, reading, and music.
Barb Mack
Barb holds a Bachelor of Science Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing degrees. Barb teaches yoga, speech, and exercise classes to Parkinson’s patients and others with movement disorders, and tutors middle- and high school-age students in vocabulary and language arts. Barb has served on the Greenhill School Board and numerous school committees. Her initial Ignatian experience was the Toward Greater Freedom retreat at Jesuit Dallas six years ago. Since that time she has served as a companion in TGF, and has participated in various retreats and workshops at Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House. Barb made the 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises four years ago. She is now helping form other companions serving the TGF retreat at Jesuit Dallas. Barb is married to Dr. Michael Mack and they are the parents of five adult children.