Our Board and Leadership

A deeply committed Catholic, Jim Cavnar cofounded Cross Catholic Outreach to follow Christ’s command to care for the poorest of the poor. Jim’s career spans more than four decades in ministry management and leadership. He has traveled around the globe to speak at conferences, parishes, and has been called upon to minister to church-based humanitarian programs. Representing Cross Catholic Outreach, Jim has traveled to the Vatican on numerous occasions, meeting St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict, and most recently, Pope Francis.

Brian Schutt is Cross Catholic Outreach’s vice president of marketing and was a founding member of Cross. He has held public relations and marketing positions since 1982, beginning in commercial marketing and leading his own commercial marketing firm before transitioning into the non-profit sector in 1991. Brian is responsible for founding the creative and marketing aspects of Cross, including launching a radio program, web and print communications, and creating a Catholic speakers’ bureau called Outreach Priests. Fifteen years later, Brian’s marketing initiatives continue to successfully attract funding for Catholic poverty relief projects, now spanning dozens of countries around the globe.

David Adams’ desire to integrate his faith into his work brought him to Cross Catholic Outreach in 2006, after years of service in the United States government, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Since joining Cross Catholic, David has overseen the expansion of the ministry’s work to about twice as many countries as when he started, while also cultivating new partnerships within those countries. Today, he continues to make strides in enhancing the ministry’s ability to collaborate with partners for better accountability and reporting and the promotion of Christian values formation

Michele answered the call on her life to begin fundraising for various charitable organizations, including: Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and Food for The Poor. In 2004 she began contracting with Cross Catholic Outreach. The next year, Michele joined the Cross Catholic team as international development manager. Today, as Vice President for Development, Michele leads a staff of 135 people engaged in multiple areas of outreach: major donors and middle donors, special events, parish and community services, marketing, planned giving, donor care, donor program services and foundations. Her philosophy is to pursue long-term relationships with benefactors, serving as the link between them and what God is calling them to do for the poor.

Wade Crow brings to his role over 25 years of finance and operations experience. His move into fulltime Christian ministry came in 2001, when he began serving as chief financial officer for a large Christian media organization. He joined Cross Catholic Outreach in 2012 and, after a short hiatus, returned in 2018. Today, Wade oversees multiple departments including Accounting and Finance, Technology Services, Donor Operations and Care, and Human Resources. His passion is facilitating greater collaboration, cross-functionally within organizations, toward achieving organizational goals, for the purpose of providing greater opportunities to care for those in need overseas.