WYOMING CATHOLIC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Office
Mrs. Pendleton is a native of Lander. She graduated as valedictorian from Central Wyoming College in 1995. Since then she has worked for several entities gaining experience in business administration and accounting. Her conversion to the Catholic faith in 1982 has led her to active participation in parish life and a dedication to passing on the faith. She has taught the first communion class at Holy Rosary Parish since 1987. She enjoys sewing, quilting, gardening, and camping.
Job Titles:
- Math and Science Teacher, Jackson Hole Classical Academy
Since graduation, I've worked as a teacher and administrator at a number of classical academies in Texas-spending time in both the Great Hearts and Valor systems-and now, back "home" in Wyoming, I can look back on what I've achieved so far and see how much of it came from my alma mater.
I've worn many hats and developed many skills since my time in Lander, and that growth is tied directly to the way Wyoming Catholic College fed my interests as a student and gave me the freedom and encouragement to explore those interests. Whether it be working in school administration, mentoring and coaching new teachers, creating syllabi, or designing and facilitating workshops for the various educational networks I've called home, my experiences with the original texts and great works of the Western tradition (and the leadership skills I developed in the Outdoor Program) have been vital to my success. Learning how to read well and deeply, how to discuss often-difficult ideas and resolve issues in a persuasive and joyful way-even the appreciation for talking with others face-to-face rather than through the "filtered, curated" lenses of socials media that was cultivated in me by the College's technology policy-have all played a significant part in where I am today.
An educator needs to be a generalist. Even someone who's carved out a career as a specialist must have a love of and appreciation for the deeper, most fundamental questions. Teachers must see and appreciate the connections between disciplines; they must be able to recognize and bring out and pass along those "hyperlinks" to their students. The kernel of my success as a teacher is that is that I love to learn, and you can't be a good teacher if you don't love to learn. But seeing the interconnectedness and integration of thought was vital to my development as a teacher.
Quite simply, my love of learning comes directly from my time at Wyoming Catholic, and I'm forever indebted to her for that.
Born March 19, 1955, in Kansas City, Mo., Bishop Conley is the son of the late Betty and Carl Conley, long-time residents of Overland Park, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City. When he was two years old, his family moved to Denver, Colo., and then two years later moved to Arvada, Colo., where Bishop Conley attended public school at Hoskinson Cottage School. The family moved back to Kansas when he was 8 years old and resided in Overland Park, where he attended public grade school and high school.
In 1973, Bishop Conley graduated from Shawnee Mission West High School in Overland Park and enrolled in the fall as a freshman at University of Kansas. While in college, he studied in the University of Kansas's famous Integrated Humanities Program-the same program attended by Dr. Bob Carlson (one of WCC's three founders and its original Academic Dean), and a program that exerted a tremendous influence on the curriculum, vision, and ethos of Wyoming Catholic.
He converted to the Catholic Church on Dec. 6, 1975, and his mentor and teacher in the Integrated Humanities Program, Professor John Senior, was his godfather. He graduated in 1977 with a bachelor's degree in English literature, and three years later, he entered seminary for the Diocese of Wichita. He received philosophical formation at St. Pius X Seminary in Erlanger, Ky., and his theological formation at Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md., where in 1985 he earned a master's degree in divinity. In 1989, his bishop sent him to Rome, where he earned a licentiate in moral theology from the Accademia Alfonsiana, part of the Faculty of Theology at the Pontifical Lateran University.
On May 18, 1985, Bishop Conley was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Wichita. In 1991, after earning his licentiate in Rome, he was appointed pastor of St. Paul Parish (Newman Center) on the campus of Wichita State University, while continuing his service as director of the Respect Life Office. He had the privilege in 1991 of baptizing both his mother and father and receiving them into the Catholic Church.
Bishop Conley was called back to Rome in 1996 to serve the Holy See as an official in the Vatican Congregation for Bishops. In Rome, he also served as chaplain to the University of Dallas Rome Campus from 1997 to 2003 and as adjunct instructor of theology for Christendom College Rome Campus from 2004 to 2006. Bishop Conley was called back to Wichita in 2006, and 0n April 10, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI announced his appointment as auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver. He was ordained to that role on May 30, 2008, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart.
In September, 2011, due to the appointment of Archbishop Chaput as archbishop of Philadelphia, Bishop Conley was named apostolic administrator of the Denver Archdiocese until Bishop Samuel Aquila was installed as archbishop of Denver in July of the following year. On Sept. 14, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Conley as the bishop of the Lincoln Diocese in Nebraska, and he was installed as the ninth Bishop of Lincoln on Nov. 20, 2012. Himself a convert to the Catholic faith, Bishop Conley chose the same motto as the great 19th-century English convert, John Henry Cardinal Newman, "cor ad cor loquitur," which means "heart speaks to heart."
He was the Commencement Speaker at Wyoming Catholic College's 2014 Graduation ceremony, where he also received her Sedes Sapientia Award, given each year in recognition of "a Catholic who has made an outstanding contribution to articulating and defending the Faith in today's Church."
Brendan graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in 2017. He then followed his interest in outdoor adventure and problem solving and began work at an Internet Provider as a radio tower technician based in Ventura California. There he worked his way up through the company, filling various roles including Tower Climbing Instructor, Safety Adviser, Project Manager, and Network Engineer. He joined the Wyoming Catholic College Advancement team in the fall of 2023, while welcoming his second son into the world. His interests include reading, watching films, fixing broken things, and spending time with his wife and sons.
Brian was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he had absolutely no interest in the outdoors. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he joined the Church at the St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center on campus. Brian then began his career in public accounting at a regional accounting firm in Salina, KS, and went on to earn his CPA license and open his own firm. Brian has served clients in a vast array of industries in both the private and non-profit sectors with the gamet of accounting services. Brian loves a good challenge and digging into complex tax laws.
While on their honeymoon in Jackson, Wyoming, Brian's wife, Amanda, convinced him to spend a couple days in Grand Teton National Park. Brian‘s eyes were opened to the beauty of God's creation and now he spends as much time as possible outdoors. He loves hiking, hunting, biking, exploring 4×4 trails, and running obstacle course races.
Brian loves tackling new adventures with his wife and seven children. They've done everything from living in the suburbs to homesteading, and most recently called a 39 foot RV "home" for two years as they traveled the US seeing as many National Parks, historic, and Catholic sites as possible.
Job Titles:
- Director of Financial Aid
Christina was born and raised in California where she and her family would take frequent camping trips in the mountains or along the coast. After graduating from Thomas Aquinas College, she moved out of the state to live in the Midwest, New England, and then Texas. In 2009 she and her husband moved to Wyoming, where her husband teaches at Wyoming Catholic College. In her free time she enjoys reading, volunteering for the local library, and spending time with her family. She lives in Lander with her husband and four children.
Dave Kellogg resides in Lander with his wife, Carol, after having worked in several marketing and sales positions for computer technology companies IBM Corporation and Lexmark Corporation. He studied electrical engineering at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, as well as electronics technology at Central Oregon College in Bend. He and his wife own and operate DACON Enterprises, a private firm owning and managing real estate property (both commercial and residential) and a log-home building franchise. He is President of LEADER Corporation, a private local economic development organization, and is a member of the local Lions Club and Elks Club. He is also involved in many civic affairs, including the Cornerstone Committee, formed out of the LEADER Corporation, for the purpose of working to locate Wyoming Catholic College in Lander.
Job Titles:
- Residential Life Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Admissions
Francis "F.J." Milligan is a family practitioner in the rural town of Bow, N.H. After graduating from Thomas Aquinas College and Loyola University's Stritch School of Medicine, Dr. Milligan served as a medical doctor in the U.S. Army until 1996, where he achieved high distinction serving in global hot spots around the world (including being assigned to Somalia during the famine crisis in 1993 and serving as the personal physician of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.) Yet in spite of these difficult assignments, Dr. Milligan managed to devote his free time to setting up health clinics for the poor and teaching Natural Family Planning, seeing his deployments as God-given opportunities to put his faith into practice in these remote and troubled regions. Since moving to New Hampshire upon his discharge in 1996, Dr. Milligan has gained a sterling reputation as a family practitioner faithful to the tenets of his Catholic faith. In 2011, the Diocese of Manchester presented Dr. Milligan with the St. Martin de Porres Award for Outstanding Medical Treatment, and he was named as a Senior Fellow at the Concord Hospital for his ongoing contributions to the medical community. Dr. Milligan and his wife, Germaine, have sent ten of their fourteen children to Wyoming Catholic College.
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Administration
Job Titles:
- Assistant Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences
Job Titles:
- Director of Distance Learning
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager, COR Expeditions and Outdoor Leadership Program
Job Titles:
- Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Theology
Job Titles:
- Financial Advisor, Edward Jones
Job Titles:
- Vice President of External Affairs
Job Titles:
- Marketing and Communications Coordinator & Assistant Music Director
Julian has always lived in sight of the mountains: born in the foothills of the Austrian alps, he has lived most of his life in Lander in sight of the Wind-River Mountains. Part of the college community since 2006 (when his father became one of the founding faculty), Julian is enthusiastic to uphold the college's mission and values, particularly its dedication to traditional Christian culture and artistic heritage. He is a fan of John Senior and enjoys expounding the benefits of the College's technology policy.
Before joining the College's Advancement team, he gained experience in the publishing and advertising industry working with The Cenacle Press, and continues to collaborate with Arouca Press as Assistant Editor, and Os Justi Press as Director of Design and Marketing.
Julian writes extensively for various journals and magazines on Catholic culture and the arts, technology, and spirituality; his work has appeared in the National Catholic Register, Catholic World Report, The Catholic Thing, The Catholic Herald, Crisis Magazine, The European Conservative, OnePeterFive, Latin Mass Magazine, Catholic Exchange, The Imaginative Conservative, and Salvo Magazine.
He has studied and directed Gregorian chant extensively, plays the Renaissance lute and Celtic folk harp, runs an Etsy shop, and enjoys various outdoor activities like hiking and canoeing.
Job Titles:
- Outdoor Leadership Program Assistant Director
Job Titles:
- COR Administrative Director
Job Titles:
- Director of Business and Process Administration
A South Florida native, Mike came to Wyoming Catholic College as a student and soon fell in love with Lander and the local community. Working on Flex Team (the college work-study maintenance crew) enabled him to understand the unique work environment of maintaining the facilities, grounds, and fleet of WCC with student employees. After graduating in 2013 and working for the Bureau of Land Management on range projects with local Arapahoe and Shoshone youth, Mike returned to the College as the Maintenance Supervisor. Mike was blessed to marry Lorine (Allen) Sheehan in January 2016, and enjoys exploring the beautiful outdoors of Fremont County, as well as working with Lorine on their new house.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Humanities and Faculty Representative to the Board
Job Titles:
- COR Director of Client Relations
Job Titles:
- Regional Director of Donor Relations
Job Titles:
- Business and Financial Aid Office Controller
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Leadership and Outdoor Education and Director of Experiential Leadership Program
Job Titles:
- Instructor of Theology, Leadership, and Outdoor Education, Assistant Dean for Students
Job Titles:
- Assistant Editor, First Things