What's Happening

January 29, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Adrian Dominican Co-workers Jennifer Hunter and Sara Stoddard – Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively – represent a trend among lay workers in religious congregations who take on executive roles. 

Jennifer and Sara – and their counterparts in other congregations of women religious – are filling leadership positions that once belonged to the vowed Sisters themselves.

“It’s a real gift to have these incredible, dedicated women in these pivotal leadership roles in our congregation,” Prioress Elise D. García, OP, told Dan Stockman in an interview for Global Sisters Report. “We couldn’t do it without them.” She noted in the article that lay people are “filling positions we no longer have an abundance of candidates among sisters to fill.”

Like other lay leaders interviewed in the article, Sara said that the culture of the Sisters is different from that of corporations. While the Sisters are good stewards of their money, she noted, their focus is on doing what is right. 

Many of the lay leaders in the article spoke of the satisfaction they have found in working with women religious. “We’ve grown to love this work and the congregation we serve,” Jennifer told Global Sisters Report. “The sisters are part of our family.”

Read the entire article by Dan Stockman and a related article about Adrian Dominican Co-workers experiencing the Dominican heritage.

Caption for above feature photo: Jennifer Hunter, Chief Operating Officer; Sara Stoddard, Chief Financial Officer