Dr. David Dorado Romo is a historian, author, translator, musician, and lifelong fronterizo whose work has profoundly reshaped how we understand the U.S.–Mexico border. Born and raised in El Paso/Juárez, he has dedicated his career to telling the stories of the borderlands with honesty, depth, and corazón. His landmark book Ringside Seat to a Revolution: An Underground Cultural History of El Paso and Juárez, 1893–1923 uncovered hidden narratives of resistance, migration, and cultural exchange, earning praise from Howard Zinn as “people’s history at its best.” Nearly two decades later, Romo brought his passion for accessible storytelling to younger generations with Borderlands and the Mexican American Story, a book that reframes U.S. history through Indigenous and Mexican American voices while encouraging readers to think critically about the past.

 Beyond his scholarship, Dr. Romo is deeply engaged in community activism. He has worked to protect historic neighborhoods like Duranguito and Segundo Barrio from erasure, insisting that preserving cultural memory is inseparable from preserving physical space. His essays and public history projects continue to challenge stereotypes and reveal uncomfortable truths, such as the history of border sanitation practices that influenced Nazi Germany’s racial policies, while affirming the dignity and resilience of border communities.

Dr. Romo often reminds us that remembering is an act of healing: “If we want to heal from these wounds, we first have to learn the truth.” His life’s work embodies this conviction. By illuminating silenced histories and celebrating the richness of border culture, he offers the world a vision of the frontera not as a line of division, but as a place of encuentro, creativity, and hope. 

Isaac's talk will center on immigrant justice activism as Christians put hope into action, bearing witness to the work of solidarity among people with and without US citizenship. Isaac’s biblical, theological, and political reflections will prod our imagination as we consider a holistic vision for life in solidarity with migrants.

Isaac Villegas is an ordained minister in the Mennonite Church USA who is involved in the work of community organizing and activism for immigrant justice. He grew up in the borderlands of the U.S. southwest as a child of Latin American immigrants and lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Rich with life, the Chihuahuan Desert supports thousands of plant species and an astonishing variety of animals, many found nowhere else. By choosing native plants in our landscapes, we help protect this remarkable web of life while creating beautiful, water-wise gardens that support wildlife facing climate and development pressures.

The northern Chihuahuan Desert has undergone rapid landscape change, including loss of native vegetation, woody plant encroachment, expansion of agriculture, and new dust sources. These changes resulted in increased dust activities and accelerated land degradation. Recently, the region has witnessed frequent severe dust storms, affecting regional air quality, human health, dryland ecosystems, and socio-economic conditions of the people living in the US-Mexico borderlands. In Spring (March-May) 2025, an unusually large number of dust events formed in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, with a frequency of dust storms in El Paso, Texas, not experienced since the 1930s Dust Bowl. This talk will address how to understand the drivers of recent frequent dust events across the Chihuahuan Desert by factors such as regional agricultural expansion and perennial cover combined with the strong winds of Spring 2025 resulted in frequent severe dust events. A call to cross-border coordination is needed urgently to mitigate future dust events, associated hazards over downwind communities, and to make sustainable drylands.

Dr. Saroj Dhital is a Research Scientist, at New Mexico State University. He does research on land cover change, dust emissions and transport processes, and their impacts. He holds a PhD, Atmospheric Science, University of Nevada, Reno

Restorative justice practices align with core principles of nonviolence, respect for human dignity, empathy, community, healing and restoration.  The course participants will develop skills in the use of restorative circles of dialogue, peace-building and conflict.  This training is experiential, and together we can discover the transformative power of circles to strengthen relationships, build community and repair harm. The circle creates a space for folks to learn from each other, heal traumas and bring about transformation.

Joanne Blaney is a Maryknoll Lay Missioner in Brazil and, for the last 20 years, has worked with the themes of Restorative Justice, Forgiveness and Reconciliation.   Joanne is co-founder of the Restorative Justice Center at the Popular Education and Human Rights Project in São Paulo.  She is committed to nonviolence, dialogue and peace-building, working with others to find pathways to  heal traumas and working to transform the direct and structural violence that cause so much suffering and polarization in our world. 

Joanne has an M.A. degree in Education from the University of Maryland in the U.S. and worked as a teacher and director of urban schools for many years.  She is a certified facilitator and Trainer of Trainers in Restorative Justice Practices by the International Institute for Restorative Practices and the Ajuris School of the Judiciary (Ajuris) in Brazil.  Joanne works as a facilitator of conflicts and, has given trainings to a variety of groups including the National Prison Ministry Pastoral, as well as worked with and learned from the people of Brazil, Uganda, Finland and Kenya. She gives courses in the community, church, prisons, social-educational projects and the judicial system.

Restorative justice practices align with core principles of nonviolence, respect for human dignity, empathy, community, healing and restoration.  The course participants will develop skills in the use of restorative circles of dialogue, peace-building and conflict.  This training is experiential, and together we can discover the transformative power of circles to strengthen relationships, build community and repair harm. The circle creates a space for folks to learn from each other, heal traumas and bring about transformation.

Joanne Blaney is a Maryknoll Lay Missioner in Brazil and, for the last 20 years, has worked with the themes of Restorative Justice, Forgiveness and Reconciliation.   Joanne is co-founder of the Restorative Justice Center at the Popular Education and Human Rights Project in São Paulo.  She is committed to nonviolence, dialogue and peace-building, working with others to find pathways to  heal traumas and working to transform the direct and structural violence that cause so much suffering and polarization in our world. 

Joanne has an M.A. degree in Education from the University of Maryland in the U.S. and worked as a teacher and director of urban schools for many years.  She is a certified facilitator and Trainer of Trainers in Restorative Justice Practices by the International Institute for Restorative Practices and the Ajuris School of the Judiciary (Ajuris) in Brazil.  Joanne works as a facilitator of conflicts and, has given trainings to a variety of groups including the National Prison Ministry Pastoral, as well as worked with and learned from the people of Brazil, Uganda, Finland and Kenya. She gives courses in the community, church, prisons, social-educational projects and the judicial

• Green Convergence for Safe Food, Healthy Environment and Sustainable Economy A broad coalition promoting development that uplifts communities while protecting land, air, and water. Its flagship programs — Kamayan Para sa Kalikasan, State of Nature Assessment, Philippine Environment Summit, and the Ako Ang Bukas Movement — drive public awareness and action on urgent environmental issues.

• ESI Reforestation Program in the Southern Sierra Madre A 261.5‑hectare project in Tanay, Rizal focused on restoring forests and biodiversity. It integrates Dumagat Remontado traditional knowledge with science‑based conservation to strengthen local stewardship of the Sierra Madre, one of the country’s most critical ecological shields.

The Philippines faces intensifying climate impacts — storms, floods, droughts — made worse by poverty and inequality, placing millions at heightened risk.

Presenting Sister M. Misolas A Maryknoll Sister who has represented her congregation at major UN climate and migration conferences. She now leads the Environmental Studies Institute at Miriam College, focusing on climate change advocacy.

Milagros S. Serrana Program Leader of Ako Ang Bukas and a long‑time educator at Miriam College. Her work centers on environmental education and public awareness, shaped by three decades of academic leadership.

Presentation Title

Preserving the Desert and Lands: Conservation Challenges and Opportunities,

Presentation overview

This presentation explores the need to protect fragile desert ecosystems and surrounding lands, highlighting both the challenges of conservation and the opportunities for collective action through private public partnerships. Participants will learn how deserts—often seen as barren—are actually rich in biodiversity, and vital resources, and how we can make a difference. The work at Keystone Heritage Park will be highlighted as a strategy to promote awareness of the importance of land conservation, water harvesting, native plants, and the interconnectedness of these strategies as part of environmental stewardship.

Joanne Blaney is a Maryknoll Lay Missioner in Brazil and, for the last 20 years, has worked with the themes of Restorative Justice, Forgiveness and Reconciliation.   Joanne is co-founder of the Restorative Justice Center at the Popular Education and Human Rights Project in São Paulo.  She is committed to nonviolence, dialogue and peace-building, working with others to find pathways to  heal traumas and working to transform the direct and structural violence that cause so much suffering and polarization in our world. 

Joanne has an M.A. degree in Education from the University of Maryland in the U.S. and worked as a teacher and director of urban schools for many years.  She is a certified facilitator and Trainer of Trainers in Restorative Justice Practices by the International Institute for Restorative Practices and the Ajuris School of the Judiciary (Ajuris) in Brazil.  Joanne works as a facilitator of conflicts and, has given trainings to a variety of groups including  the National Prison Ministry Pastoral, as well as worked with and learned from the people of Brazil, Uganda, Finland and Kenya. She gives courses in the community, church, prisons, social-educational projects and the judicial system.

Alessandra Harris is a writer, author, wife, and mother of four. She earned degrees in comparative religious studies, Middle East studies, and a graduate certificate in restorative justice and chaplaincy. She has published three novels and her fourth book, In the Shadow of Freedom: The Enduring Call for Racial Justice, is her first non-fiction title, which won first place for Religion in the Public Square in the Catholic Media Association Awards 2025. In addition to co-founding Black Catholic Messenger, her writing has appeared in National Catholic Reporter, America Magazine, US Catholic, The Revealer, Critical Theology, and The Catholic Worker. She currently volunteers as a chaplain at the women’s jail in Santa Clara County, California.

‍Creative Expression: An Intersection of Peacebuilding and Environment for Young People and Adults This interactive, creative workshop will share a global project where the whole world is invited to make a painting together, called the Singing Tree Mural Project. This collaborative art process is a peace building program rooted in the wisdom of native trees and forests and harnessing everyone's innate creativity. Inspired by an 8-year-old girl in 1999, 151 murals have been created by over 27,000 from 64 countries, each one envisioning healing to community heartbreak and solutions to community challenges.  Unity Through Creativity is currently training facilitators in this innovative team building process.

For 35 years, author, innovator and artist Laurie Marshall has empowered youth and adults through creative collaboration. She practices Peace Building through Art, inspired by Nature. A visionary educator, she has served mostly low-income children, families and their schools as an Arts Integration and Project Based Learning specialist. Her mission is to nurture creativity, a love of learning and a collaborative spirit.  She is the founder of Unity Through Creativity Foundation  and the Singing Tree Project.

La violencia destruye vidas.  Uno de los peligros que la violencia presenta para las supervivientes es su capacidad que tiene para destruir su conciencia de las mujeres como imago Dei -imagen de Dios- al inhibir su imaginación y truncar su apertura a la dimensión místico-política de ser seres humanos.  Esta presentación aborda la escalada de violencia contra las mujeres de color, específicamente el feminicidio, como una realidad trágica e insostenible en nuestro tiempo.  Esta presentación argumenta que aunque la violencia inflige heridas graves, la resistencia a la violencia en forma de reinterpretaciones públicas de símbolos y narrativas cristianas puede fomentar el desarrollo de una dimensión místico-política de la vida.

Nancy Pineda-Madrid, Ph.D., es expresidenta de la Sociedad Teológica Católica de América (CTSA) y titular de la Cátedra T. Marie Chilton de Teología Católica en la Universidad Loyola Marymount, donde imparte clases desde 2019. Es una reconocida autora internacional de varios libros, artículos y publicaciones de capítulos en inglés, español, alemán, portugués y francés. Su trabajo académico fue reconocido en 2024 cuando recibió el premio Hearts on Fire Writer's del Loyola Institute for Spirituality, y en 2025 con el premio Elizondo de la Academia de Teólogos Católicos Hispanos de los Estados Unidos (ACHTUS).  Nancy nació en Albuquerque, Nuevo México, y creció en El Paso, Texas, donde su familia aún vive.

This presentation provides an overview of the threats facing the Amazon, actions that Indigenous and other Amazonian communities are taking to defend this fragile and spectacular part of creation, and how their struggle is part of a global web of actions in which Maryknollers around the world are also involved.  Providing 20% of the planet’s freshwater, the Amazon is home to a wide array of both biological and cultural diversity. Yet most of its human residents lack access to safe drinking water, and the basin’s hydrological cycle, which plays a crucial role in regulating the global climate, is threatened by human activities that cause deforestation and ecosystem degradation, exacerbated by climate change. Amid the uncertainty, the greatest hope can be found at the grassroots, where Indigenous people, especially women, stand up courageously to defend their territories, and communities, often involving church people, organize to protect the ecosystems on which all Amazonian life depends.  Following on the topic, Fr. Alejandro will expand on this theme by introducing a model for maintaining the delicate “balances” that sustain life in the Amazon and across the planet. He will highlight the very real threats to these balances and explore how our collective efforts can help counter the challenges facing this vital part of our planet.

A freelance journalist with more than 30 years of experience in Latin America, Barbara Fraser has reported from across the hemisphere—from migrant routes in southern Mexico to Indigenous communities confronting oil contamination in the Amazon. Based in Peru since 1989, she specializes in environmental, public health, and Indigenous issues. Her work has appeared in Nature, Science, The Lancet, National Geographic, Mongabay, EcoAméricas, Discover, and Catholic media outlets.  She holds a B.A. in Communication Arts/Journalism from the University of Dayton and a master’s in environmental studies from Green Mountain College.

Fr. Alejandro Marina, M.M. A Maryknoll priest from Argentina, Fr. Alejandro Marina has devoted his life to mission across Latin America. After joining Maryknoll in 2012, he became the first foreign-born priest to take a permanent oath in 2020. Ordained in 1993, he has served as diocesan mission director, ministered in Cuba, and directed the Maryknoll Missionary Center for Latin America in Cochabamba while teaching anthropology. He currently works in the Bolivian Amazon, focusing on social justice, pastoral ministry, ecological restoration, and mission formation, including reforestation and sustainable development initiatives carried out in partnership with local communities.

When it comes to environmental conservation, maintaining a healthy ecosystem balance is key. Deciding what balance means is more tricky especially in desert ecosystems which are often neglected or lumped in with “problem” areas. Let’s dive into the different ways people think about how we ought to approach caring for our world, how we can work with instead of against natural processes, and answering the question “what does a healthy desert look like?”

Ranger Lydia is an El Paso native who fell in love with nature on camping trips as a young girl. To learn more about these places she loved, she got her bachelor’s degree in Biology from Hope College and latter began working for Texas Parks and Wildlife as an Interpretive Park Ranger. As a Park Ranger, she gets to share the amazing, hidden, beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert with locals and visitors alike and to watch people discover, or re-discover, the joy of the outdoors.