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Mary-Rose & Ryan Verret are internationally recognized speakers, authors, television hosts, and the co-founders of Witness to Love. Together Ryan and Mary-Rose speak on issues regarding evangelization, marriage, and discipleship.

In June 2021 the Verret’s were invited by the Vatican to present at the International Forum: Where do we stand with Amoris Laetitia? – on the impact of mentor couples in evangelization. They have been interviewed by: Rome Reports, The National Catholic Register, EWTN, The Catholic World Report, Catholic News Agency, The Gus Lloyd Show, Aleteia, and secular media outlets.

They are the authors of Witness to Love: How to Help the Next Generation Build Marriages that Survive and Thrive, published in 2015. In 2021, they co-hosted the 12 episode TV show ‘Family’ with Shalom World. Mary­-Rose is a featured presenter in the series “Doors of Mercy” released by St. Benedict Press for the Year of Mercy.

In December of 2023 the Verret's were appointed as Consultants to the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life by His Holiness Pope Francis.

Ryan completed graduate studies in Theology, Clinical Psychology, and Medical Ethics and worked for several years in the field of healthcare administration. Prior to co-founding Witness to Love, Ryan has worked primarily in the development of legislative and educational efforts that develop the Culture of Life both in Louisiana and throughout the United States and Canada.

Witness to Love is a virtues-based, Catechumenate model of marriage renewal and preparation that integrates modern principles of psychology and the virtues to help couples facilitate an authentic dialogue about their relationship. The Verret’s reside in the heart of Cajun Country in Louisiana with their six children. Their passion is teaching couples to share their marriage with others and to understand that their home is a missionary outpost of the local parish.

David and his wife, Kate began to serve marriages while David was working at a parish in Lake Charles. In 2009, on an unexpected trip to Poland, they encountered a lay movement called “Domestic Church,” which they brought to the U.S. and is now serving over 550 couples across 15 dioceses! Since then, he has served as the Family Life Director in the Diocese of Lake Charles and Family Life Director for the Archdiocese of New Orleans. While there, David also served on the boards of both the Catholic Family Life Association (formerly NACFLM) and Witness to Love. In 2020, God led David to serve as the Director of the newly formed Office of Parish Support for the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux and oversee the growth and improvement of all pastoral ministries. After three grace-filled years, God revealed that he had new plans for how he was calling the Dawsons to serve. At the invitation of Ryan and Mary-Rose Verret, David and Kate discerned that God was calling him to work full-time with Witness to Love and join the Verrets in the awesome mission that had grown from a cool new marriage formation movement to an international marriage catechumenate. David and Kate have nine gorgeous children and currently reside in Thibodaux, LA.

Raymond Hebert is the VP for Philanthropy for Witness to Love as of February 2024. He served as a member of Governor-Elect Jeff Landry’s Transition Team, One Team Louisiana. Prior to this, and since 2000, Raymond served as the organizing President & CEO of Community Foundation of Acadiana (CFA).

Having served as the public face, manager, business/donor development expert, and civic leadership champion for our region and state, Raymond positioned CFA to be one of Louisiana’s premier philanthropic organizations, including its recognition among the Top 100 U.S. community foundations, and its status as Louisiana’s 3rd largest community foundation (behind the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the Greater New Orleans Foundation), counting gifts exceeding $360 million and grant distributions exceeding $190 million.

He forged, cultivated, and managed hundreds of critical stakeholder relationships, including staff, directors, geographic Parish Affiliate Advisory Boards, non-board committee members and other volunteers, donors, members, financial advisors, local, regional, state and national public officials, civic organizations, and university and community leaders.

Lafayette Central Park, Inc. (established to design and develop Moncus Park), SOLA Giving Day, The William C. Schumacher Family Foundation, Louisiana Real Estate Foundation, Louisiana Parks Foundation, Louisiana Leaders in Law Enforcement Awards, Emmy Noether Awards, Parish Affiliates for CFA’s eight parishes, and the assumption of the Lafayette Civic Cup Award are among the entities and endeavors established under Raymond’s leadership.

An alumnus of St. Joseph Seminary College, where he served as President of the Student Government Association, Raymond has been involved with, and on the boards of, several community organizations and currently enjoys his service on the Advisory Boards of Catholic Vitality 360, St. Joseph Seminary College Alumni Association, and the Lafayette International Center Advisory Board, and membership in the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Choir.  Among other accolades, Raymond was inducted into The Daily Advertiser Business Hall of Fame, and was invited to participate in Chevron’s Management Institute.  Raymond and his wife, Allyson, reside in Lafayette and are parents of three daughters, Olivia, Amelia, and Camille.

Daniela was born and raised in New York City to immigrant parents from the Dominican Republic. She had a major conversion to the Catholic faith as a teenager through the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the gift of good friends. She served as a youth minister from her late teenage years through her early twenties.

In 2011, she began working in the Family Life Office of the Archdiocese of New York with the Sisters of Life, where her passion for marriage, family, and pro-life ministry was nourished. A majority of her work included serving the hispanic community and forming them in the Church’s teaching on marriage and family. During her time in the Archdiocese, she was also involved with Catholic Voices USA, an organization that trains leaders to present the Church’s case in the public square. Daniela made live appearances on CNN Español and FoxNews.com, and was a regular contact for radio interviews.

Daniela and her husband Jeff reside Fredericksburg, VA with their two daughters and son!

Norma Alzamora is originally from San Luis Potosi, Mexico. She immigrated with her family to East Texas where she met her husband Mike from Peru. They were married in 2012 and are blessed with two beautiful children.

Norma has been working as a Spanish teacher in grades 6 through 12 private and public schools, and has worked/volunteered in the marriage formation ministry since 2018. She serves as the Spanish Marriage formation coordinator at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception parish, where she practices her faith. She also serves as the Spanish Marriage Formation Retreat Coordinator and Marriage Formation Specialist for the Diocese of Tyler, TX. The fruits of Witness to Love in her parish and diocese have inspired Norma and her husband to continue sharing their marriage as they have witnessed a strengthening in marriages and growing in holiness together.

Norma is truly blessed to join the Witness to Love Team where she will provide parish support in Spanish and English.

Izabella Nagle was born and grew up in Poland. When she was a teen, her family emigrated and moved to the New Jersey/New York region. Izabella has been married to Bill Nagle since 1998. Bill is an Ironman (Izabella insists that makes her Ironwoman!), a Pro-Biker for Life, Exodus group leader, and founder and organizer of Men’s Ministry in his parish. Izabella and Bill are a regional couple for the Domestic Church, serving the New York Metro/New England area. They have two daughters and a pony-sized Swiss Mountain Dog named Zhuko. Their oldest daughter just started her freshman year at the University of Dallas – go Crusaders! They live in Connecticut.

Izabella has been involved in marriage ministry for 18 years, first (with Bill) as a presenting couple for the Worldwide Marriage Encounter, and then for the Family Life Office of the Archdiocese of New York. Her work at the office focused on marriage enrichment and that is how she was introduced to Mary-Rose and Witness to Love in 2014, when WtL printed their 1st edition of the workbook and conducted its first training. Izabella immediately perceived the Holy Spirit driven potency of the WtL, answering the need to evangelize the engaged and the married, and saw the transformation of parishes which adopted WtL. She presented her findings to the Archdiocese of New York’s Priest Working Committee on Marriage Preparation/Ministry and subsequently assisted with the pilot of WtL in NY.

Izabella is so excited to now join the efforts of what has become a “marriage movement” as a Diocesan Liaison! She hopes to bring her experience and passion for marriage and family to her work with diocesan coordinators and directors, and help and support their efforts on behalf of the engaged and the married in their diocese.

Stephanie Rapp was born in California and raised in New Jersey where she attended Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church. While attending Young Life Camp during high school, Stephanie had a powerful encounter with Jesus, which profoundly deepened her faith. She has been heavily involved in service and ministry ever since. While in college, Stephanie served as a Young Life Leader and worked at a homeless shelter for families, where she felt a strong call to a career in helping others. She received her master’s degrees in both Social Work and Public Policy & Management from The Ohio State University and has worked in anti-human trafficking efforts and providing mental health services to children and families.

Stephanie then worked in ministry as the Director of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Columbus (2016-2022), where she was introduced to Witness to Love. She believes that this ministry is a work of the Holy Spirit and knew that she had to share it with others. Through her promotion of Witness to Love throughout the diocese, Stephanie was then able to witness first-hand the fruits of a ministry that shares the love of God and truth about His plan for marriage through authentic relationships and presence. She is now thrilled to continue to share this beautiful ministry through her role as Witness to Love’s Lead Ambassador.

Finally, and most importantly, Stephanie has been married to her husband, Craig, since 2009, and they have three precious children.

Jude was born and raised in Houma, Louisiana. After graduating high school in 2017, he joined Regnum Christi Mission Corps and served as a missionary for two years in Atlanta, GA where he served high schoolers and families in the region. He spent a year living in Maryland before returning to the land of his longing, South Louisiana, where he met his now wife, Abby. After spending a few years working in construction, he began to feel that the Lord had a different path for him. It was around this time he came in contact with Witness to Love and realized the Lord was inviting him to build homes from within. He is a passionate advocate for marriage and family life, and a product of the Witness to Love program. He currently lives in Breaux Bridge, LA with his wife and their firstborn daughter, Denver Clare.

Alma was born in Piedras Negras, Mexico. She moved to Kaplan, Louisiana as a child and was raised and educated there. After high school, she attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to pursue a career in Business Administration. Alma had a successful career with Walmart as the Accounting Office Manager for 12 years then transitioned into the Asset Protection Manager role for 6 years before retiring. Her most recent job had been working for an organizing company before joining Witness to Love. Alma received all of her sacraments at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Kaplan and loves her Catholic faith. She now resides in Cankton, Louisiana. St John Berchman Catholic Church has been her new parish church for the last 18 years. She has always had a servant’s heart and enjoys helping her family and friends in her spare time. Her love for Jesus Christ has compelled her to live a spiritual life.

Lisa Becerra is married to Erik, and they currently home school 5 amazing children including their oldest two who were adopted through the foster care program.

Lisa converted to our Catholic faith shortly after she and Erik made the commitment to raise their marriage from a civil contract to a Sacramental bond and fondly looks back at the time she and her husband spent in marriage formation. Their family found their parish home at The Immaculata in San Diego in 2014, where Lisa volunteered in the Religious Education program and Sacramental Preparation for the children to receive their First Reconciliation and Eucharist.

She was introduced to Witness to Love as the Wedding Coordinator of The Immaculata, and got to experience San Diego Diocese’s onboarding of our programs first hand through diocesean MPC coordinator meetings. It was very apparent, early in bringing WTL into The Immaculata, how much the program shifted the culture of marriage prep, and the tremendous impact the program had on the mentor couples.

Lisa now serves as the California Lead Ambassador for our team. She works with Diocesean Directors, Parish Pastors, and marriage champions and engaged couples throughout California in order to share the fruits of Witness to Love to throughout the state. She’s excited to connect with you and hear your interest in our ministry and help you discern how Witness to Love can best serve you, your couples, your parish or your diocese.

Annie is originally from Québec City, Canada. She moved to Louisiana after college to teach French and found herself falling in love with (first) the culture of the state, and four years later with her true love, Craig. Craig is a native of New Orleans and deeply rooted in his Catholic faith. They have been married almost 20 years and have four children together.

Growing up in Québec in the 80s, everyone was Catholic, including the public schools! Being catholic was the norm, and it was not until she moved to the United States that Annie realized how her catholic identity shaped her values and the way she interacted with the world. She has since been intrigued by the cultural and historical aspects of her faith and enjoys all discussions relating to this topic.

Annie has been teaching French and Social Studies in grades K through 12 for public, private and online schools. She has been involved in church ministries such as teaching Children’s Church, a member of the school board, ACTS retreat board, marriage ministry, and others. Craig is also a teacher and has been involved in many aspects of their church community as well.

Her involvement with Witness to Love started with preparing couples for the Sacrament of Matrimony for her home parish, as well as assisting other mentor couples in other parishes across the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Annie also worked with the translation of documents and materials from English to French, which helped her to better understand how to assist parishes wishing to implement Witness to Love.
Craig, Annie, and their children currently live in Hahnville, Louisiana.