Who We Are
Our Story
We know that the story of ministry to and with young adults, as well as their formation as leaders, is inextricably linked to the landscape of the Church in each moment. Therefore, the story of ESTEEM begins long before the program took flight.
In the wake of the sexual abuse crisis of the early 2000s, Leadership Roundtable was founded following a series of roundtable discussions aimed at addressing the crises of governance and accountability in the Church. Focused on promoting best practices and accountability in the management, finances, communications, and human resource development of the Catholic Church in the United States, Leadership Roundtable engaged in partnerships with a variety of organizations and entities interested in addressing the same concerns.
A few of those concerns included the question of retention of young adults. Why do young people disaffiliate from the Church, or simply let it fade away as a factor in their lives? How could young people engage their myriad gifts in service to the Church, especially while working in secular fields?
Thus, in the 2010-2011 academic year, ESTEEM was founded as a joint partnership between Leadership Roundtable and Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University to develop the next generation of Catholic leaders to serve in roles of meaningful leadership in the Church.
The project was also piloted at five other campuses across the United States, and over time expanded to eleven campuses total. While factors such as resource scarcity, declines in campus ministry staffing, and the COVID-19 pandemic caused ebbs and flows in the programmatic offerings of ESTEEM, the value of such a leadership formation opportunity for students preparing to transition from campus ministry to parish life remained constant.
In the wake of the sexual abuse crisis of the early 2000s, Leadership Roundtable was founded following a series of roundtable discussions aimed at addressing the crises of governance and accountability in the Church. Focused on promoting best practices and accountability in the management, finances, communications, and human resource development of the Catholic Church in the United States, Leadership Roundtable engaged in partnerships with a variety of organizations and entities interested in addressing the same concerns.
A few of those concerns included the question of retention of young adults. Why do young people disaffiliate from the Church, or simply let it fade away as a factor in their lives? How could young people engage their myriad gifts in service to the Church, especially while working in secular fields?
Thus, in the 2010-2011 academic year, ESTEEM was founded as a joint partnership between Leadership Roundtable and Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center at Yale University to develop the next generation of Catholic leaders to serve in roles of meaningful leadership in the Church.
The project was also piloted at five other campuses across the United States, and over time expanded to eleven campuses total. While factors such as resource scarcity, declines in campus ministry staffing, and the COVID-19 pandemic caused ebbs and flows in the programmatic offerings of ESTEEM, the value of such a leadership formation opportunity for students preparing to transition from campus ministry to parish life remained constant.
