Meet Our Team
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Fr. James J. Miracky, S.J., Ph.D. (he/him)
Vice President for Mission Integration & Ministry
[email protected]
(201) 761-6018
Fr. Miracky was born in Milwaukee, WI, and entered the Society of Jesus from Canisius High School in Buffalo, NY. His academic training includes a B.A. in English and Philosophy from Fordham University, an M.Div. and S.T.M. from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in English (in 20th Century British Fiction and Gender Studies) from Rutgers University.
Most of his priestly ministry has been in Jesuit higher education, first as an English Professor (primarily teaching courses in fiction and drama), and eventually as English Department Chair and Associate Dean for Faculty Development, at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. During that time, he published articles on modern and postmodern British fiction, as well as the book, Regenerating the Novel: Gender and Genre in Woolf, Forster, Sinclair, and Lawrence (Routledge, 2003).
Fr. Miracky also served as Dean of Loyola College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola University Maryland, and he was the Provincial Assistant for Higher Education in the USA East Province of the Society, serving as liaison between the Jesuits and the eleven Jesuit colleges and universities on the East Coast, particularly attending to issues of Jesuit mission and identity. Most recently he was Associate Pastor at St. Francis Xavier Parish in New York.
Giulia Baldini (she/her)
Project Assistant – Title V Bienestar Grant
[email protected]
Giulia is an Italian-Brazilian NYC-based media educator (CUNY, NJCU), freelance journalist (Vogue Italia, R29Somos, etc.) independent researcher, and sustainability activist (NYC Fair Trade Coalition). During her college years at Hofstra University, she came across both the fashion industry and the world of journalism. As a grant writer, she helps elevate the projects of nonprofits and academic institutions dedicated to achieving sustainable goals, equitable solutions, and diversity-prompted initiatives. She is the founder of a grassroot digital media hub, Fashion On The Beat (FOTB).
Angelo Jesus Canta, S.J.
(he/him)
Director of Campus Ministry
[email protected]
(201) 761-7396
Born in Quezon City, Philippines, and raised in Bergen County, NJ, Angelo Jesus Canta serves as Director of Campus Ministry at St. Peter’s University. He is a Jesuit scholastic, in formation for ordination as a Catholic priest. A proud product of Jesuit education, Angelo received his B.A. in Theology from Loyola University Chicago, his Masters in Theological Studies from Boston College, and his M.A. in Philosophy and Society from Fordham University. Since becoming a Jesuit in 2020, Angelo has ministered to people in hospitals, hospice care centers, homes for people with intellectual disabilities, Catholic parishes, migrant shelters, indigenous communities, and especially on college campuses. When he isn’t at Saint Peter’s or at home in his Jesuit community, he is most likely spending time at the rock climbing gym.
Fr. Rocco C. Danzi, S.J. (he/him)
University Chaplain
[email protected]
Fr. Rocco C Danzi, SJ was born and raised in Deptford, NJ, a small town in South Jersey. His parents were Rocco and Dorothy, both originally from Philadelphia. It was due to their many stories about growing up in Philadelphia that Rocco chose to attend Saint Joseph’s University. This would be his first experience of Jesuits and it made a profound impression. After teaching Catholic middle school and high school for five years Fr Danzi entered the New York Province of the Society of Jesus in 1989. The murder of the Salvadorian martyrs in his first months of the novitiate and a long experiment as a novice in Crown Heights, Brooklyn had a very profound impact upon Fr Danzi and his ministerial imagination. He desired and was missioned after his Philosophy studies to work as a regent for three years in the multicultural and urban environment of Crown Heights. He would use his novitiate Spanish and begin studying Haitian Creole.
In 1996 Fr Danzi began his Theology studies at Weston School of Theology in Cambridge MA, spending his summers working and living in Haiti. Upon ordination and for six years he ministered as a Jesuit priest in Crown Heights. Fr Danzi would return to Haiti one more time in 2006-2007 as a Tertian to work with JRS at the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. After Tertianship he was missioned as the first vocation promoter of the New York Province for three years and then assigned to Saint Peter’s University in July of 2010.
In his fourteen years in Jersey City Fr Danzi has served as Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry, Vice President of Mission & Ministry and Parish Administrator at St Aedan’s Church. He is presently finishing a yearlong sabbatical that was focused on bettering his Spanish and learning from Jesuits and lay colleagues in Chile, Mexico and San Diego how to offer Ignatian Spiritual Programs to the Latino Community.
Devin A. Heyward, Ph.D. (she/her)
Faculty Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice
[email protected]
(201) 761-7395
Devin is an Associate Professor in the department of Sociology, Urban Studies, and Anthropology, the Faculty Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice, and the Director of the Gender and Sexuality Studies program at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ. She is a graduate of the Critical Social-Personality Psychology doctoral program at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Dr. Heyward has taught a number of interdisciplinary courses including Global Feminism, Women in a Changing Urban World, Urban Anthropology, and the Sociology of Intimacy.
Her research focuses on racial identity development over the lifespan and how it is influenced by chosen experiences, such as course enrollment and genetic ancestry testing. Dr. Heyward’s most recent project uses a Youth Participatory Action Research (Y-PAR) framework to develop a well-being survey and toolkit for and by Black youth and young adults. She currently serves as the Vice Chair for the Bronx Community Research Review Board (BxCRRB), an organization dedicated to the ethical inclusion of Bronx residents in medical and social research throughout the borough.
Yani Horge, M.A. (she/her)
Staff Director for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice.
[email protected]
(201) 761-7372
Yani Horge is the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Student Involvement in the Office of Student Involvement. She promotes a deep commitment to fostering student engagement and creating impactful campus experiences. With experience in both residence life and college admissions, Yani has a well-rounded background in supporting student success and ensuring students are connected, supported, and empowered throughout their academic journey. She has earned a B.A. in Clinical Social Work and an M.A. in Higher Education from Fairleigh Dickinson University. These academic foundations, combined with practical experience in student affairs, equip Yani with a unique perspective on the social and academic needs of students in higher education.
In her role, Yani works to create and maintain student involvement opportunities that help students develop leadership, teamwork, and community-building skills. Her knowledge in student engagement is complemented by a strong dedication to student development, providing guidance to ensure all students have the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.
Outside of work, Yani is passionate about making higher education a more inclusive, accessible, and supportive environment for all students.
Joseph Hill (he/him)
University Director of Music,
[email protected]
(201) 761-7389
Mr. Hill graduated with the Master of Music degree (MM) from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 2008. A native of Arkansas, he earned the Bachelor of Music (BM) degree in vocal performance from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina in 2005, where he also held the post as campus organist at the Daniel Memorial Chapel, presiding over its newly installed C. B. Fisk, Opus 121 pipe organ. Mr. Hill has appeared as vocal soloist with the Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Amherst Early Music, the Choral Arts Society of New Jersey, and has performed operatic roles with the Vertical Player Repertory, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Operamission, and Light Opera of New Jersey. He was selected as a finalist for the National Orpheus Vocal Competition, where he won the Orpheus Handel Award. He has performed with period ensembles La Fiocco (Bucks County, PA) and Vox Fidelis.
He has taught as a member of the faculty of Class Act Performing Arts Studio, where he conducted ensembles, taught private voice and piano, group theory classes, and served as Music Director for the studio’s staged revues and musicals. Mr. Hill served as the Director of Music and Organist at the Community Presbyterian Church of Mountainside, NJ for sixteen years and as the Director of Music Ministries and Organist for the historic First Presbyterian Church of New Vernon, NJ for one program year before accepting the positions of University Director of Music at Saint Peter’s University and St. Aedan’s Catholic Church in Jersey City. He currently serves as Director of Music Ministries and Organist for the Trinity Presbyterian Church in East Brunswick, NJ in addition to his responsibilities at Saint Peter’s. He has maintained an active piano and voice studio for nineteen years. Joseph lives with his husband, Reid and their Chihuahua, Nugget in South Orange.
Dr. Eileen L. Poiani (she/her)
Chair of the Sustainability Council
[email protected]
Dr. Eileen L. Poiani, Special Assistant to the President and Professor of Mathematics at Saint Peter’s University, is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Douglass College with a Ph.D. in mathematics from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The first woman professor in the Saint Peter’s Mathematics Department, she also was the first woman vice president serving for 12 years as the Vice President for Student Affairs. As the assistant to five presidents of Saint Peter’s, her responsibilities have included accreditation, institutional research, strategic planning, trustee matters, and sustainability.
Over the years she held numerous leadership roles in the mathematical community. She chaired or was a member of many committees of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), including Governor of the NJ Section and founding national director of WAM (Women and Mathematics) Lectureship Program, and chair of the United States Commission on Mathematical Instruction for the National Academy of Sciences. Prof. Poiani received the MAA NJ Section Award for Distinguished College Teaching. She was the first woman elected president of Pi Mu Epsilon, the national honorary mathematics society, in its 75-year history. In January 2020, Eileen was inducted as a Fellow of the Association for Women in Mathematics “for her sustained commitment to encouraging women and the underrepresented at all educational levels to pursue their study of mathematics [in order] to keep all career doors open.”
In 2021, Dr. Poiani received the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Award for Lifetime Service to the community. That same year, the American Conference on Diversity recognized her work with the Diversity and Inclusion in Higher Education Humanitarian Award.
Among her other honors are the following: New Jersey Woman of Achievement by the New Jersey Federation of Women’s Clubs; Humanitarian Award from the Hudson Chapter of NCCJ; Sr. Rose Thering Award from the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust and Genocide Education; Douglass Society; Hudson County Woman of Achievement; member of the Italian-American National Hall of Fame; and Honorary Alumna of Saint Peter’s University. A lifelong resident of Nutley, Eileen was inducted into the Nutley Hall of Fame in its inaugural year. Former Charter Trustee of Rutgers, trustee of Saint Peter’s Preparatory School, and member of the Nutley Free Public Library Board, she currently serves as a public member of the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy and a member of the Advisory Board of Hoboken Catholic Academy, the Advisory Board of Douglass Residential College, the New Jersey Italian Heritage Commission, the New Jersey Catholic Historical Commission, and the Joint AMS-MAA Archives Committee. She is also a member of the national NASBA Enforcement Resources Committee.
Chair of the Sustainability Council at Saint Peter’s University, she is active with the New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS) and AASHE. Member of numerous evalsuation teams for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), she has also chaired several teams. Dr. Poiani currently belongs to the MSCHE Committee on Substantive Change.
Erich Sekel (he/him)
Director of Community Service
[email protected]
(201) 761-7395
A lifelong resident of Jersey City, NJ, Erich Sekel is committed to the residents of Hudson County through his work and service. He began his professional ascent working with seventh and eighth- grade students as a social studies teacher at Sacred Heart School in Jersey City. After four years, he moved into a ministry role as the Assistant Director of Campus Ministry at his high-school alma mater Saint Peter’s Prep, before assuming the position of Director of Community Service at Saint Peter’s University in 2009. In 2015, Erich received the New Jersey State Governor Jefferson Award for Volunteer Leadership. In 2021, He was recognized as the National Volunteer of the Year by Rebuilding Together. He serves as president of Rebuilding Together Jersey City, and on the Strategy Team of Jersey City Together.
Erich coordinates all domestic community service programs at Saint Peter’s, including the Campus Kitchen and the Saint Peter’s University Food Pantry and Clothes Closet. Erich holds a M.A. in Secondary Education from Seton Hall University and a B.A. in Classical Civilizations from Boston University.
Fr. Luis Tampe, S.J., Ph.D. (he/him)
University Jesuit Associate
[email protected]
(201) 761-7391
Although Fr. Luis Tampe, SJ was born, and lived briefly, in Chile, he and his three brothers grew up with their parents in the United States, Paraguay, and throughout Central America. Before joining the Society of Jesus, he studied mechanical engineering for six years. Fr. Luis completed a doctorate in systematic theology and teaches theology and physics at Saint Peter’s University. He enjoys going out for walks, teaching, ministering, and watching science-fiction movies. He is grateful to be in Jersey City and is excited to participate in the mission of Saint Peter’s University to educate “a diverse community of learners . . . to excel intellectually, lead ethically, serve compassionately and promote justice..”
Jennifer Thorndike-Gonzales, Ph.D. (she/ella)
Chief Diversity Office
Executive Director of DEIJ
Program Director – Title V Bienestar Grant
[email protected]
(201) 761-7394
Jennifer Thorndike-Gonzales, Ph.D. is an educator, scholar, and writer. Born and raised in Perú, Jennifer is devoted to working on social justice and inclusion in her writing, interventions, and teaching. She received her Ph.D. in Hispanic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research is focused on health equity from a biopolitical and cultural perspective. She taught Latin American and Latino Studies for eight years and then decided to transition to DEI administrative roles.
She has published six books. Because of her work, she won the prestigious Hatch Award for Scholarly and Creative Work, the Team Player´s Award for Inclusion and has been recognized by neMLA as a distinguished educator and writer. The FIL-Guadalajara-México selected her as one of the 20 most outstanding Latin American authors born in the last two decades of the 20th century.