Staff

Kelly Swan joined the Ignatian Solidarity Network staff in 2016 and is a graduate of Wheeling Jesuit University. Kelly began her career in northern New Jersey with children experiencing homelessness and in family ministry for an Episcopal parish. She then returned to her childhood mountains of West Virginia and coordinated a religious education and service immersion trip program at a parish in Charleston, WV. With her husband and young children, she then spent a year working and living in community at Nazareth Farm in Doddridge County, WV, and most recently spent six years in Wheeling, WV, engaged in projects related to holistic family life, community education, Appalachian advocacy, sustainable agriculture, and mothers’ spirituality.

Kelly served as interim director of Wheeling Jesuit University’s Appalachian Institute in 2010, co-founded Black Swan Organics, a precursor to Grow Ohio Valley, a food justice non-profit in Wheeling, WV, served as interim director of the Children’s Museum of the Ohio Valley, and most recently worked as a writer and the production editor for INWheeling and Metroburgh Magazines in Wheeling and Pittsburgh.

Kelly lives in the Cleveland area with her husband and four children.

Lena Chapin joined the Ignatian Solidarity Network in 2016. She loves meeting new people, forming relationships, and sharing her passions for humanity, faith, and social justice. She grew up in the Appalachian foothills of Southern Ohio spending time exploring both her faith and the wilderness.  After graduating from John Carroll University with Bachelors of Arts degrees in both English and Communications,  she spent a year in Immokalee, Florida with the Humility of Mary Volunteer Service. There she built homes, tutored second graders and teenage girls, and worked at a shelter for people experiencing homelessness. She also joined the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in their fight for fair wages and farmworker rights. In 2013, she earned the title of Master of Science in Journalism and Public Relations from Ohio University in Athens where she developed a love of craft beer, historical research, and chili cheese fries.  Most recently she served as the Director of Development for Rose-Mary, a Catholic Charities Diocese of Cleveland organization which provides housing and care for children and adults with developmental disabilities and behavioral support needs. Lena lives in Cleveland Heights with her dog, Tuna and her cat, Hamster.   

Brenna Davis joined the Ignatian Solidarity Network in February 2019. Originally from Tennessee, Brenna graduated from Boston College in 2010 with a B.A. in theology and Spanish. After graduation, she moved to Cleveland as a Jesuit Volunteer and served at The West Side Catholic Center, a multiservice center for people experiencing homelessness. In this role, she started holistic wellness classes such as yoga and creative writing for center patrons. At the end of her JV year, Brenna began working at Saint Martin de Porres, Cleveland’s Cristo Rey High School, as a theology teacher and cross country coach. After four of the most joyful and challenging years of her life as a social justice teacher, Brenna transitioned to the role of main office coordinator at the school and focused on not only administrative functions but also developed initiatives to promote joy and self-care for faculty and staff. More importantly, she was the self-proclaimed assistant to the director of facilities in all sustainability initiatives on campus. She is a certified spiritual director, Cuyahoga County Master Recycler, and is a member of NCR’s EarthBeat Advisory Panel. In her spare time, Brenna enjoys reading, running, bullet journaling, speaking Spanish, writing letters, and digging through trash cans to properly sort recycling.  

José Arnulfo Cabrera was born in a small village in Mexico and grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. Growing up, Cabrera remembers his mom organizing undocumented workers in Cincinnati for a just wage and safe working conditions. During this time, he learned organizing tricks and skills to keep people engaged and hopeful during disappointing moments. It wasn’t long until Cabrera started organizing for immigration reform issues, sharing his family’s story and how he would benefit from legislation like the DREAM Act. After high school, Cabrera, a DACA recipient, studied at Xavier University, while at the same time working at the Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center (IJPC) in Cincinnati where he started a group called Youth Educating Society (YES).

Cabrera envisioned YES as an immigrant youth-led group working to empower other immigrant youth in Cincinnati, working towards pro-immigration policy, and connecting immigrant youth with each other. Through his work at IJPC and YES he became an advocate for DACA recipients across Cincinnati, particularly at Xavier, by training and working with staff members on making Xavier a DACA friendly campus. In 2017 Cabrera attended his first ISN program, the Ignatian Justice Summit on Immigration, where Cabrera fell in love with ISN’s mission. He spoke at the Advocacy Day Public Witness during the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in 2017 and the 2018 Ignatian Justice Summit, and has contributed to ISN’s online content. After graduation, Cabrera served as a government relations associate at NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice in Washington, D.C. where he enhanced his understanding and knowledge of furthering pro-immigrant policy.

Elizabeth Cross joined the Ignatian Solidarity Network in May 2018. She graduated from John Carroll University with a degree in English. In what seems like a previous life, she had a career with a major cellular service carrier as a customer service and retention manager, where she also had statewide training duties and became a special project coordinator for its market in Puerto Rico. Eager to leave the corporate world after 12 years, she became a full-time mom to her daughter Emily and twins, Joey and Sophie. Elizabeth re-entered the workforce some years later as a substitute teacher, a job she loved, particularly at her children’s’ school, St. Francis of Assisi in Gates Mills, Ohio, where she is also an active parishioner.

Elizabeth is particularly happy about the papacy of Pope Francis and how he calls for Catholics to respond to the modern day needs of our world community with St Ignatius’ ideals in mind. She feels very fortunate to be part of ISN and finds her small role in supporting the Jesuit mission to be gratifying. She is also grateful for the many blessings she has in life: her family, love of cooking and the outdoors, dogs, and SiriusXM radio.