an interactive reflection session with tUrn Global Advisory Council members Bob Dueweke, OSA, former U.N. delegate for Augustinians International, and Dr. Jean Ponder Soto, Religious Studies
RSVP for the zoom only session
JEAN PONDER SOTO is a native of El Paso. For over 30 years she has been involved in lay ministry, social justice work, and adult faith formation in the U.S., Mexico, and Europe. She received an M.A. in Philosophy from Boston College and a Ph.D. in Theology from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. She has taught at universities in California, Texas and New Mexico and is currently adjunct faculty at Santa Clara University, CA. Jean is the mother of four daughters, and the grandmother of 10 grandchildren.
A native of Detroit, Michigan, ROBERT DUEWEKE joined the Augustinian Order (O.S.A.) with the intention of living in a religious community and of having the opportunity to work in the overseas mission apostolates. After completing a Masters of Divinity with Mission Specialization degree at Catholic Theological Union (Chicago), he worked as a missionary for fifteen years in the northern Peruvian Diocese of Chulucanas. Ministry in this diocese was unique for its implementation of the pastoral program, the New Image of the Parish, from the Better World Movement. Parish and diocesan structures were redesigned with the emphasis on basic Christian communities and implementation of the vision of Vatican II (1962-1965): communion, participation, and dialogue. He pursued studies in Ignatian spirituality at Creighton University (Omaha) and received a Ph.D. in Theology/Spirituality from St. Paul University (Ottawa, Canada) in 2004.
In May, 2016, Dueweke became the Order's NGO representative to the United Nations. In this position, he gave input on human rights and climate refugees at the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). His term at the UN ended in July, 2021, and lives in Eastern Kentucky. Dueweke's focus is on promoting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and designing a ministry on the environment and promotion of Pope Francis's Laudato Si Action Platform within the Lexington Diocese.