NCBC Personal Consultations Fellows & Interns

Cody F. Feikles, MA, MTS, HEC-C, Personal Consultations Fellow, September 2024 - present

Activity area(s): fielding consults, content curation, operations, personal engagement

Cody Feikles served as Director of Ethics for Christus Spohn Health System, a Catholic Healthcare System in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is the Managing Editor for the academic journal, Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics. Cody is currently a PhD student in Bioethics with the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum. Cody is very interested in academic debates within Catholic moral theology and bioethics as well as practical issues within Catholic clinical ethics.

Caitlyn Trader, STD, STL, MS, Personal Consultations Fellow, August 2024 - present

Dr. Caitlyn Trader holds a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (STD) from the University of Saint Mary of the Lake in Mundelein, IL, as well as a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from the same university. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science in Bioethics from the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND, and she completed the National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics in 2017. Caitlyn is the Director of Bioethics at Wisconsin Right to Life where she leads numerous educational initiatives for those of all ages. Her work has led to the development of educational resources for middle and high school students, and she has initiated conferences and other educational opportunities for medical professionals, lawyers, and those who seek to deepen their knowledge of bioethical issues. She is also Lecturer of Systematic Theology at Sacred Heart Seminary and School of Theology (Hales Corners, WI); she has taught numerous courses in dogmatic and moral theology and currently teaches the propaedeutic seminarians in the Diocese of Green Bay. Caitlyn often gives presentations and performs research in the fields of theology and bioethics. Her research interests are in the areas of moral theology (particularly end-of-life issues), Mariology, the imago Dei, the baptismal priesthood, and the theology of suffering. When not teaching, writing, or reading theology (which is one of her favorite pastimes!), Caitlyn enjoys playing the violin and piano, gardening, and baking.

Veronica Mason, Personal Consultations Fellow, August 2023 - present

Activity area(s): operations

Veronica Mason attended Thomas Aquinas College and then George Mason University where she majored in neuroscience. She completed the National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics in 2019. She works as a consultant in healthcare operations, helping everyone from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies streamline their business processes. Outside of work, Veronica is part of the Discipleship and Evangelization team at Sacred Heart of Jesus in Winchester, VA. She also enjoys baking, hiking, and working on her homestead, which mostly involves keeping the pigs and the goats out of the garden.

Madeline McKechnie, Personal Consultations Intern, September 2024 - present

Activity area(s): operations, personal engagement

Madeline McKechnie is studying philosophy and theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville. She is passionate about bioethics and is beginning graduate classes to pursue a master's degree after graduating in May 2025. In between semesters as a student, she has participated in an NCBC seminar and a fellowship at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. She has also served as a counselor for Camp Wojtyla in Colorado. During the school year, she helps lead the Abortion Outreach Ministry as a trained Sidewalk Advocate for Life. Besides her studies, Madeline enjoys running long distances, unicycling, and befriending the saints.

Joanna Cloutier, Personal Consultations Intern, August 2024 - present

Activity area(s): operations, personal engagement

Joanna Cloutier graduated magna cum laude from Belmont Abbey College with a BA in Theology and Bioethics and with minors in History and Theater. During her time at school, she directed four plays (her favorite being A Kind of Alaska by Harold Pinter), volunteered weekly at MiraVia, and completed a summer internship with NCBC in 2023. Her time at NCBC strengthened her desire to pursue bioethics even further, and she will complete the National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics in May 2025. She hopes to get her MS in Bioethics, as she believes she has found her God-given vocation. She now resides with her cat and rabbit in Hendersonville, NC where she also pursues her interests in drawing, writing poetry, reading, and hiking.

Ashleigh-Blaise Mills, Personal Consultations Intern, August 2024 - present

Activity area(s): personal engagement

Ashleigh Mills holds a Law degree and an Arts degree in Philosophy and History from the University of New South Wales in Australia. She has always had a keen interest in bioethics, but it was the birth and death of her son Archie after he was born prematurely at twenty-four weeks which has led to a shift in her focus. Moving from a career in business to pursue a vocational interest in ethics, Ashleigh is currently studying a Masters of Bioethics at the University of Sydney. Ashleigh is also in the process of publishing a book about the life of her son. Her experiences have given her a particular interest in pregnancy and neonatal care and the Catholic approach to these important areas of bioethics. She greatly admires the works of C.S. Lewis and the powerful influence he has exerted over hearts and minds through making Christianity more accessible. Her favorite encyclical is Evangelium Vitae. 

Joleen Schanzenbach, RN, MSN, MS, Personal Consultations Intern, August 2024 - present

Activity area(s): fielding consults, content curation

Joleen Schanzenbach attended the Franciscan University of Steubenville for her BS in Nursing in 1987 and graduated with her MS in Bioethics from the University of Mary in 2023 after completing the National Catholic Certification Program in Healthcare Ethics through the NCBC in 2022. She has been a Registered Nurse for over 20 years working in maternal child health. Joleen has worked with women over the past 30 years to navigate fertility and natural family planning options. She is currently working as a Hospice nurse at Sharp Hospice in San Diego. She sits on the ethics committee for Sharp Hospitals and is passionate about informing and accompanying patients and their families as they navigate beginning and end-of-life decisions. She lives in San Diego, California with her husband of 34 years, she is a mother of 6 and a grandmother of 4. She is an avid music lover, and musician, who enjoys the outdoors and spending time with family and friends. 

Bridgitte Isom, Personal Consultations Intern, August 2024 - present

Activity area(s): operations, personal engagement

Bridgitte Isom is a recent alumnus of Georgetown University, where she earned a BS in Human Science on the pre-medical track. During the summer of 2022, she completed an internship with Fr. Tad Pacholczyk, which compelled her to seek further training in bioethics prior to attending medical school. To that end, she plans to complete the National Catholic Certification in Health Care Ethics alongside the Personal Consultations Internship. Bridgitte aspires to work as an obstetrician/gynecologist or pediatrician and plans to begin medical school in the fall of 2025. She enjoys playing the violin, embroidering, and spending time with her cats and dog.

Courtney Taylor, JD, MS, Personal Consultations Intern, October 2023 - present

Activity area(s): fielding consults, operations

Courtney Taylor received her undergraduate degree from Thomas Aquinas College and earned her juris doctorate magna cum laude from Texas Tech University School of Law with a certificate in Health Law. After completing the NCBC’s National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics, she pursued a master's in bioethics from the University of Mary. She currently works for Tarrant County, Texas, serving as one of the attorneys for the county hospital district. Courtney is the founding president of St. Thomas More Society Fort Worth, a professional association for Catholic attorneys in the Diocese of Fort Worth. She has served in various capacities in the community including as a board member for Chesterton Academy of Fort Worth, Chairman of the Board for Young Catholic Professionals Fort Worth, President of St. Patrick Cathedral Young Adults, and a member of the Executive Committee for the Bishop’s Guild, an organization of lay leaders who support the growth of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Fort Worth. She lives in Arlington, Texas with her husband, stepdaughter, three dogs, two cats, and nine chickens. 

Sophia Bringman, Personal Consultations Intern, September 2023 - present

Activity area(s): content curation, operations

Sophie Bringman is currently in her junior year at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. She is pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Politics with a minor in Economics and will graduate in May 2025. After graduation, she plans on pursuing a joint JD/PhD in bioethics. She aims to work in clinical ethics and research. Outside of academics, she plays rugby for Saint Vincent and is an avid equestrian. 

Phil Tran, MS, Personal Consultations Intern, February 2023 - present

Activity area(s): fielding consults, content curation, personal engagement

Phil Tran is a PhD candidate in Bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome and an alum of the NCBC's National Catholic Certification Program in Health Care Ethics. He earned his MS in Bioethics from the University of Mary in 2023 and his BA in Philosophy and Theology from Saint Vincent College in 2020. During the summer of 2018, he did his first internship with the NCBC, which solidified his desire to work in Catholic bioethics. He is employed full-time at the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame where he helps form students in the Catholic moral and intellectual tradition and contributes to the Center's culture of life initiatives. His pastimes include barbering, road tripping, and sampling beer and bourbon.

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Donors who are willing to contribute $2500 or more in one year can direct these funds to a specific NCBC Personal Consultations Fellow. Benefactors will receive periodic updates from the Fellow they have sponsored and from the Personal Consultations Director.

Click the button to request more information or contact Dr. John A. Di Camillo, Personal Consultations Director, at 215-871-2001 (direct office line) or jdicamillo@ncbcenter.org.

Past Personal Consultations Fellows

Past Personal Consultations Interns