Mission Staff

Diarmuid Rooney, M.S.Psych., M.T.S., D.Soc.Admin. currently serves as the VP, Sponsorship and Mission Services at the Catholic Health Association of the United States. In service to our members, Diarmuid provides leadership and oversight to the Mission Services department through coordination of Mission Integration, Leadership Formation, Theology and Ethics, Ministry Formation and Sponsorship, to promote a vision and understanding of Catholic health ministry as an essential ministry of the Catholic Church. Diarmuid serves as a spokesperson for CHA on Sponsorship and Mission issues, in conjunction with President/Chief Executive Officer, and maintaining effective relationships with other national organizations and CHA members. In addition, he serves as a member of the association’s core leadership group and senior management.Prior to joining CHA in 2018, Diarmuid served for eight years as vice president, formation and communication technology, at the Ministry Leadership Center in Sacramento, Calif. The Ministry Leadership Center was established in 2004 to expand and enrich executive health care leaders’ commitment to the Catholic tradition’s mission, vision and values. His key focus was co-designing and facilitating innovative leadership formation programs that transformed leaders personally and professionally, enabling them to deliver cultural transformation for their organizations. Previously, Diarmuid was regional director of mission formation for Providence St. Joseph Health & Services in Oregon (16,000 associates), where he provided organizational leadership for cultural transformation to sustain the work of the founders and ensure the presence of core values in all aspects of today’s ministry.During his active role in ministry since 1991, he worked with the Christian Brothers and was a Benedictine monk in Ireland. He trained as a clinical psychotherapist at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin. He co-founded and directed a community-based counseling and psychotherapy center, where he provided individual and group therapy, facilitation and organizational consultancy. He subsequently served as director for the Mercy Conference and Retreat Center in Burlingame, Calif., sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy.His professional experience includes cultural analysis, organizational development, clinical psychotherapy, retreat direction, pastoral counseling and program development specific to adult education. He holds master’s degrees in both theology, from the Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University, and clinical psychotherapy, University College Dublin, School of Medicine. Diarmuid is particularly interested in how these disciplines impact the culture of spirituality in the workplace. He also holds degrees in business and social administration (University College Dublin); philosophy and politics (University College Dublin) and is a member of the Alpha Sigma Nu, The Honor Society of Jesuit Institutions of Higher Education.Contact

Dennis Gonzales, Ph.D., is senior director of mission innovation and integration at the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). Based in CHA’s St. Louis office, Dr. Gonzales oversees the design and production of numerous CHA programs, meetings and member convenings in addition to the development of formation and mission resources for use across the Catholic health ministry.Most recently, he served as the regional vice president for mission integration at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System and The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Initially joining CHRISTUS Health in 2008 as a quality and performance improvement facilitator, he soon moved to director of the organizational development department, and then vice president for mission and spirituality at CHRISTUS St. Vincent Health System in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dr. Gonzales is a graduate of the prestigious CHRISTUS Leadership & Ethics Academy, which recognizes and prepares promising leaders for the future of the Catholic health ministry.Prior to joining CHRISTUS Health, he served as associate dean for academics at a small, private university where courses in health care administration, computer technology, business and general education were offered. He has also served as a regional director and senior consultant for a multi-site medical case management company based in Southern California. A former De La Salle Christian Brother, he was a high school instructor of ethics, theology, church history, Christian and Hebrew Scriptures, government and economics.At CHA he authors bi-monthly columns for CHA’s journal, Health Progress, and is responsible for oversite of CHA’s Mission Leader Advisory Committee, as well as a variety of task forces, seminars and forums sponsored by CHA.He holds a doctoral degree in organizational development from the University of New Mexico; a master’s degree, earned Magna Cum Laude, from San Diego State University’s Department of Educational Technology, with an emphasis in organizational development; and a bachelor’s degree in political science and education, earned Magna Cum Laude, from Loyola University in New Orleans, with a minor in Spanish. Dr. Gonzales is certified in Conflict Management and Workplace Mediation and is fluent in Spanish.Contact

Jill Fisk, MATM, is director of mission services for the Catholic Health Association of the United States (CHA). In her role based at CHA's St. Louis office, Ms. Fisk provides resources and facilitation to the Mission Services department, specifically in mission integration, spiritual care and well-being. Together with CHA's senior director of mission innovation and integration, she collaborates with CHA members to address key ministry priorities by convening and creating content to support ministry leaders in the areas of spiritual care, well-being, and workplace spirituality, integrating their work as mission.Prior to joining CHA, Ms. Fisk served Mercy Health Ministry in St. Louis as a mission and formation specialist. She holds a master's degree in theology and ministry from Fuller Theological Seminar, a certificate of spiritual direction from Aquinas Institute of Theology and a bachelor's degree in music education from Illinois Wesleyan University. She maintains a commitment to  offer whole-person care through spiritual direction, Christ-centered yoga classes and contemplative retreats.Contact

Karla Keppel serves as the Associate Director of Mission Services at the Catholic Health Association.Contact