BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Meet the Members of our Board of Directors
Click on each photo for the board member's bio.
JOSEPH CURRO, Jr.
Board Chair | Send an Email
The year 2019 was full of milestones for me. I was marking 25 years of marriage, 20 years of service with my employer, and preparing to send my oldest daughter away to college. It was also a period of intense spiritual discernment.
My daughter, Savannah, and I left for Europe the day after her high school graduation. We walked from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela, Finisterre, and Muxia. A piece of brick from Savannah's high school found its final resting place at Cruz de Ferro.
Before embarking on that first Camino, I attended my local American Pilgrims chapter’s annual potluck dinner and shell ceremony, ordered credentials from the national organization, and became a member. In Spain, I was very proud to see the plaque on the Albergue Monte Irago, thanking American Pilgrims on the Camino for their support.
Upon returning home, I volunteered with La Concha, participated in local and national Zoom talks, and attended the 2021 St. James’ Day Celebration. I became a coordinator for the Boston Chapter, and a couple months later, in 2022, I joined the board of directors.
As a board member, I have had the opportunity to work with our chapters around the country and on our communications and technology efforts.
JOSEPH A. CURRO, JR.
MARTIN PEÑA
Board Member | Send an Email
MARTIN PEÑA
Corrine Dougherty
Board Member | Send an Email
CORRINE DOUGHERTY
Ruben Mendoza
Vice Chairman | Send an Email
A few months after retiring in 2017, I embarked on a journey along the Camino Francés from St. Jean Pied de Port with my wife and daughter and arrived safely and full of gratitude on June 30, 2018 in Santiago. The experience on the Camino was full of positive and rewarding human kindness from pilgrims on the Camino and servers.
As I walked through the classroom of Silence, Simplicity, Gratitude, Community and Service resonated loudly in my mind. The human kindness observed and experienced propelled me to find ways to give back to the community of pilgrims on my return.
I enjoy volunteering for an organization that sponsors values aligned with my own and a vision that looks forward to inspiring pilgrims. I have now served five years, and have been Secretary and Vice-Chairman for the Board. I also lead the Grants, External Relations, Cultural and Governance committees.
I currently volunteer with the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Catholic Church activities, and Fort Bend Master Gardeners and Knights of Columbus. On the personal side I have three adult children and have been married 38 years to Guadalupe R Mendoza, enjoy sports and I am an avid supporter of the University of Texas at Austin. I have been hiker and a runner for most of my life, enjoying the outdoors and travel. I enjoy serving on the board as we work together to connect the global community of pilgrims and improve the value of our members’ memberships.
RUBEN MENDOZA
RACHEL GANZON
Board Member | Send an Email
I became interested in learning about the Camino when a priest at my church walked the Camino Portugués in 2014. I discovered my local chapter and joined them on walks and was grateful to get so many of my questions answered by experienced pilgrims. I gained knowledge of American Pilgrims through my chapter and absorbed so much from the discussions in the Facebook group. I enthusiastically explored the many Camino groups on social media. Through these interactions, my excitement to be on the Camino grew, and I felt inspired and, in due course, prepared for my Camino. I promptly became an American Pilgrims on the Camino member when I requested my credential in advance of leaving on my Camino.
I was able to walk on the Camino Francés in 2017. Upon my return, I savored the opportunity to continue to meet with others, now having this shared experience. In 2019, I was honored to become a coordinator with my chapter, and over time, I have also had opportunities to volunteer for the national organization.
It’s a joy to work with and on behalf of pilgrims. I am humbled to have been selected to serve on the Board and am committed to advancing and supporting the mission, vision, and values of the American Pilgrims.
RACHEL GANZON
BILL ARTZ
Treasurer | Send an Email
As many other American pilgrims have, I discovered the Camino from watching the movie, “The Way.” I completed my first Camino in 2014. After walking the first day from St. Jean Pied de Port to Roncevalles, I cycled from Roncevalles to Santiago de Compostela.
American Pilgrims on the Camino played a key role in helping me prepare for my Camino and enriching my overall Camino experience. After committing to do the Camino, I joined and became a member. The information provided on their website helped me to learn more about the Camino and to plan and to prepare for my trip.
Through my local chapter, I participated in monthly hikes, which helped me to prepare for the physical part of the Camino. More importantly, I found other pilgrims who were willing to share their Camino experiences and guide me and answer all my questions. Their willingness to share their experiences and guide me truly helped to enrich my first Camino experience and embodies the Camino Spirit.
I am honored to serve on the Board of an organization that provides me with an opportunity to give back to the Camino and to work and to interact with so many amazing pilgrims who share common goals and values in support of the Camino de Santiago in so many ways. I never imagined my own Camino experiences would lead me on this path.
I have come to view my board service as a Camino. I am having a great experience, especially the relationships I have forged within the organization along my way. Oh the places I have gone! Buen Camino.
BILL ARTZ
LUIS GUSSONI
Board Member | Send an Email
I first heard of the Camino de Santiago 30 years ago. After many years of considering the idea, my wife and I decided to plan a Camino in which we would arrive in the Praza do Obradoiro on the day I turned 60. The lessons the Camino taught us along the way resulted in us arriving in Padrón, one stop from Santiago, on my birthday.
From that point forward, excluding the pandemic, we’ve walked a two-week Camino every year, totaling six different paths. I discovered the American Pilgrims on the Camino Gulf Coast Chapter in 2022, before my fifth Camino. We now attend social events masterfully hosted by Linda, Jack, Maddie, Jenny and several other awesome chapter volunteers.
When I retired, we planned a Camino taking advantage of the extra time I now found myself with: we planned to walk the Camino Francés, but with an extension through the Via Podiensis. We started in Le-Puy-en-Velay, France in May 2023 and ended in Praza do Obradoiro 67 days later, having walked over 1,500km.
The words “service” and “gratitude” became a huge part of my everyday life during this Camino so after it was over, I decided to apply to the board. I’m delighted to give back, serve, and collaborate to fully support American Pilgrims on the Camino's Values Statement.
LUIS GUSSONI
ALLISON VENUTO
Secretary | Send an Email
I dreamed of walking the Camino for many years after learning about it while reading a travel memoir. My husband, John, and I walked the Camino Norte in 2018, the Ingles in 2022, and from Santiago to the sea in 2024. The Camino provided me opportunities for renewal, freedom, and friendship. I am involved with the North Texas Chapter and became a lifetime member because I believe in supporting the spirit of the Camino. Next, my husband and I plan to walk the Baztan. Thankful for the lessons learned and friendships made through the Camino, I look forward to continuing to serve other pilgrims.
ALLISON VENUTO
PAULA JAGER
Board Member | Send an Email
Like many pilgrims, I first heard of the Camino de Santiago when a friend suggested I watch “The Way” and get back with her; she wanted me to accompany her mom from Sarria to Santiago! It took me several days after watching the movie to tell her I wanted to start in St. Jean Pied de Port, France. I didn’t know why I was going, just that I needed to go. I started in April 2015 with a friend who would walk with me for ten days and then I was on my own until meeting up with my friend and her mom in Sarria. I learned about “Camino angels” and that the Camino really does provide. After arriving in Santiago and spending a couple of days there, I continued on to Finisterre where I foolishly thought that would be “the end.”
Upon returning home I knew I wanted to do something more to stay connected to the Camino and give back however I could. I found the South Bend, Indiana Chapter and drove three to four hours each way to attend their hikes to be around other pilgrims! In 2018, I trained to become a hospitalera and became a local chapter coordinator with the newly formed Southeast Michigan Chapter that same year. Serving as a hospitalera in 2019 only increased my desire to give back to the Camino. Being a chapter co-coordinator has given me the opportunity to share about the Camino through chapter events and to help connect past and future pilgrims. I am deeply humbled to have been selected to serve as a member of American Pilgrims on the Camino Board of Directors and look forward to this new chapter of my Camino!
PAULA JAGER
TOM COLEMAN
Board Member | Send an Email
After years of curiosity and longing, I took my first step on the Camino Francés on the Ides of March, 2017. I had prepared myself the best I could and was awed by and grateful for the lessons and gifts I received on the Road to Santiago. Like many Pilgrims, I returned home with joy, elation, humility, feet one shoe size permanently larger, and that space in my newly acquired Pilgrim Heart that only the Camino could fill. That space was filled in 2019 with memorial Caminos for a family member.
These Caminos brought about a series of odd circumstances that led me to the midst of a remarkable choir of Camino Angels and secular saints. Inspired by these gentle and generous souls, I returned home to seek how I could also help others discover, and continue to live, the quiet miracle that is pilgrimage. I have since been blessed and privileged to work alongside you in American Pilgrims, a singular group of talented and dedicated people promoting pilgrimage - a force that can only improve our lives in today's and tomorrow's world. I am humbled and honored to be a member of this community, this organization, and our Board of Directors.
THOMAS COLEMAN
TOM LABUZIENSKI
Board Member | Send an Email
The Camino has been one of the most transformational experiences in my life and I have dedicated the better part of the past 10 years to the service giving back to this powerful pilgrimage. Since 2018 it has been a privilege to be a member of the American Pilgrims on the Camino Board of Directors. Having non-profit membership experience as a recently retired NPR Station Development Director I have led successful American Pilgrim membership teams. In 2021 I helped lead the St. James' Day Celebration in South Bend, IN with an impressive all-volunteer team. Since 2021, I have also created and led the annual Virtual Open House (Zoom) on the second Saturday of December. Guests during the Open House have included Martin Sheen, Rick Steves, John Brierley, Johnie Walker Santiago, Dan Mullins and many others. The sessions have been watched by thousands of pilgrims. Camino pilgrimages have included several on the Camino Francés starting in St. Jean Pied de Port, a couple of Primativo routes, the Chemin de St. Jacques starting in Le Puy and even the Kumano Kodo in Japan to be a Dual Pilgrim. I have taught over a dozen semesters of ten-week Camino Classes at the Forever Learning Institute in South Bend, IN, motivating hundreds of students to walk the pilgrimage. I helped start the South Bend local chapter of the American Pilgrims in 2017. Now as a recently-ordained Deacon in the Catholic Church the Camino connects well with my ministry of service. Serving in the Santiago Pilgrim's Office provided me the opportunity to communicate personally with thousands of pilgrims when presenting them their Compostela. At the Santiago Cathedral I was honored to be one of the Botafumeiro “rope pullers” and Deacon at daily Mass at the altar above the remains of St. James. Another highlight has been serving as an Hospitalero and Deacon at the unique donativo in Grañón and St. John the Baptist Church.
TOM LABUZIENSKI
Our hardworking, all-volunteer board of directors helps members of American Pilgrims on the Camino give back to the Camino by ensuring that we fulfill our mission to support the Camino, gather pilgrims together and inform and encourage past and future pilgrims.
Board members serve a three-year term that is renewable once. The board meets four times per year. Board members serve in leadership positions on a variety of committees including finance, grants, governance, chapters, Gatherings, membership, communications, hospitaleros, external relations and technology. Follow this link to view an organizational chart.
The board works with members to
- develop and help local chapters thrive
- identify recipients of grants
- publish La Concha, our quarterly magazine
- maintain a vibrant website
- grow membership
- connect pilgrims in our Facebook community
- host the annual Gathering of Pilgrims
- develop the financial resources needed to accomplish our mission.
Rev 10/19/2024