VMMeet Rhonda
Rhonda Gruenewald is known as the โVocation Ladyโ. She is a native Texan and a convert to Catholicism. Rhonda started volunteering in the field of vocations at Saint Cecilia Catholic Church in Houston, Texas. This newfound passion became a Vocation Ministry of 20 members promoting, affirming, and bringing awareness to vocations in every way possible. Then, she formed the nonprofit Vocation Ministry to increase vocation promotion internationally.
Rhonda has written books and launched Vocationministry.com to give tools to all who want to build up His Kingdom on earth. She is speaking to priests, laity, and educators who want to create a culture of vocations.
Meet Leticia
Leticia Ramirez is a wife, mother, grandmother, and educator born into an immigrant Catholic family. That family was the seedbed for the growth of her faith and began her passion for sharing with families about the importance of supporting and promoting vocations in their parishes. In her early marriage, and for the last 42 years, she and her husband have worked in youth ministry, as catechists as well as on staff for youth retreats. Throughout those years, Leticia and her husband have encouraged youth to discern their vocation and to be open to listening to Godโs call for their lives. She has been a part of the Vocation Task Force in a large parish in Houston for years.
Leticia is the mother of two priests and a daughter who is married with children. She is also the sister of Bishop Cantรบ from Dioceses San Jose, California.
Leticia helped bring the message of Hundredfold: A Guide to Parish Vocation Ministry to a Spanish-speaking audience by consulting with us for our book, Sembrando Semillas. Then, she started presenting in Spanish to parishioners and priests at our workshops in 2017. After The Harvest: A Guide to Vocation Ministry in Education was published in 2021, her vast experience in education led her to give workshops for catechists, teachers, principals, and catechetical leaders.
Meet Andrew
Andrew Brueggen has spent more than two decades forming disciples and accompanying people in their response to God's call. For three years he directed the Propaedeutic Year for the Diocese of La Crosse, guiding men through the foundational stage of priestly formation as they grew in prayer, self-knowledge, and friendship with Christ.
He taught theology at a Catholic high school for eight years, has served as an adjunct professor, and spent fifteen years in youth ministry and as a Director of Religious Education.
Andrew speaks across the United States at parish missions and youth events, and today coaches pastors and parish leadership teams with Amazing Parish. He lives in Holmen, Wisconsin, with his wife Jenna and four kids, Ollie, Barry, Nora, and Miles.
Meet Stefany
Stefany Cortes is a wife, mother, author, marriage prep minister, and speaker with a passion for helping couples grow in unity and faith and live their vocation with greater intentionality. Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, she has lived in Houston for more than 15 years. She and her husband have been married since 2016 and are the parents of a young daughter.
Although a cradle Catholic, Stefany experienced a profound deepening of her faith following a personal conversion in 2018. Since then, she and her husband have served couples through parish-based groups, retreats, and formation programs. Together, they founded Finanzas en Pareja, a ministry that helps engaged and newlywed couples strengthen their marriages by learning to communicate and manage money together through a Catholic perspective.
Professionally, Stefany has more than 15 years of experience in corporate communications and marketing across global industrial organizations, academia, and mission-driven nonprofit organizations, with a focus on North America and Latin America. She holds a bachelorโs degree in Marketing from Tec de Monterrey and an MBA from West Texas A&M University. Her experience communicating across cultures and organizations has shaped her ability to craft communications and stories that people can understand, trust, and connect with.
Stefany has shared her testimony and experience through parish programs, retreats, Catholic media, and speaking engagements throughout the Houston area. As a bilingual presenter with Vocation Ministry, she brings together her experience as a communicator, speaker, wife, and mother to help Catholics recognize the importance of fostering a culture of vocations in their families and parishes.
