Symposium on Transforming Culture

Ali Ghaffari, M.A. is the Director of Apostolic Expansion for His Way at Work. He oversees a parish formation program for Catholic Business owners designed to bring Christ's love into the workplace. Additionally, he works with senior leaders to assess their skills and personality using various assessment tools, including 360s, behavioral interviews, and personality assessments. He builds up organizations by measuring follower engagement and designing interventions, including training, seminars, and teambuilding initiatives. For the last five years, he has conducted leadership development initiatives and coached executives from Colorado to Atlanta - CEO's, company Vice Presidents, attorneys and mid-level managers.

Additionally, Ali is the founder and Board President of Divine Mercy Academy, a Classical K-8 school that has proliferated to become a leader in the Classical Education world under his leadership. Before this, Ali spent 20 years in the Navy flying F/A-18’s off the decks of the nation’s aircraft carriers and into combat operations. Additionally, he spent time as an admiral’s aide, an instructor pilot, and an instructor at the United States Naval Academy, where he taught leadership and ethics to midshipmen as well as provided leadership training and mentorship to faculty, staff, and coaches across the Yard. Ali is a certified Executive Coach, having graduated from the University of Buffalo’s School of Management program in coaching. He is also certified in several assessments that are integral to leadership coaching. His passion is for assisting Catholic leaders and organizations to become more effective and achieve their goals. He is married with three daughters and lives in Maryland.

Kenneth currently serves as Vice President-Human Resources for Performance Food Group-Temple, Texas. He is responsible for leading the efforts of PFG around talent management, leadership development, succession planning, diversity-equity-inclusion, benefits, compensation, training & development, and workforce planning. He is a member of PFG’s Leadership Team.  Prior to joining PFG, Kenneth served as Managing Director-Human Resources for UTIMCO, which is an investment management firm which services the University of Texas and Texas A&M University systems. Kenneth has approximately 28 years of experience in HR and has led the human resources function for the last 14 years for organizations such as International Nutrition and Wellness Manufacturing (Rosewood Private Investment company), Freese & Nichols, Bell Helicopter and RadioShack.  Kenneth was in the Six Sigma Black Belt Program at Bell Helicopter and also held the role of Vice President of Human Resources for another Textron company, E-Z-GO in Augusta, Georgia. Prior to RadioShack, Kenneth spent 12 years in the energy industry with organizations that included, Dynegy Inc., Enron, and Reliant Energy where he served in various corporate HR roles.

Kenneth received his BS and MS from Texas A&M University, and has completed most course work towards a Ph.D. in Human Resources Training and Development. Kenneth is married to Lysette Reeves, 28 years, and they have two children, Kenneth II (24) and Moriah (16). Prior to his corporate career, Kenneth spent seven years in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Cleveland Browns.

Kevin Scherer is the Director of Chaplain Services for Tyson Foods – the largest Fortune 100 workplace chaplaincy program in the country. Tyson’s chaplaincy network includes more than 100 chaplains across 25 states who provide pastoral care, counseling, and support to team members in 150+ facilities. Kevin has served as a chaplain in a variety of contexts outside of workplace and industrial chaplaincy, including healthcare, and mass trauma incidents (9/11 Attacks, Virginia Tech, and Northern Illinois University shootings). Before his chaplaincy role at Tyson Foods, Kevin served as a pastor in the Evangelical and Eastern Orthodox Church for a combined 22 years. He is the author of Truly Human: Recovering Your Humanity in a Broken World (Ancient Faith, 2017). He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Theology from San Diego Christian College in El Cajon, California, and his Master of Divinity from St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, New York. He is currently studying at Bellevue University toward a graduate degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Kevin is married with 5 girls and lives in northwest Arkansas.