ARLAND K. NICHOLS
President and Founder
Arland K. Nichols is President and founder of the St. John Paul II Foundation. Early in his career, as an educator and non-profit executive, he became a popular speaker and successful writer while he established the groundwork for the initiatives that would become the St. John Paul II Foundation. Arland launched the St. John Paul II Foundation in 2014 and he is author of the 4th edition of the Handbook on Critical Life Issues published in 2024 by the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Arland earned a BA in philosophy from Texas A&M, an MDiv in Theology from University of St. Thomas, and pursued doctoral studies in bioethics at Regina Apostolorum in Rome. With the generous support of his wife, Cindy, and their ten children, Arland is blessed to lead the St. John Paul II Foundation as it serves, educates, and supports medical professionals, married couples, and clergy.
DANIELLE BEAN
Author, Speaker, and Podcaster
Danielle Bean, a wife and mother of eight, is creator and host of The Gist, a weekly Catholic women’s television talk show on CatholicTV and host of the Girlfriends podcast. Danielle is author of several books, including Momnipotent, You Are Enough, and most recent book, Whisper: Finding God in the Everyday. Danielle has a special heart for mothers, and she encourages women of all ages and stages of life to find humor in daily challenges and the joy God intends for every one of us. It is in her primary vocation to marriage and motherhood that Danielle finds the inspiration for all of her work.
LEONORA BUTAU, PhD
Associate Fellow, St. John Paul II Foundation
Dr. Leonora Butau is an Associate Fellow at the St. John Paul II Foundation. Leonora moved to Houston from England, where she taught Christian Ethics and Christian Spirituality at St. Mary’s University, London, for eight years, and where she led efforts to empower Catholic couples, educators and young adults in St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. While in London, she also worked for Caritas Social Action Network, the charitable agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. She earned a B.A. in Theology and Religious Studies and an M.A. in Bioethics and Medical Law from St. Mary’s University, London, and has a Ph.D. in Bioethics from the University of Surrey, (England). Leonora is blessed to be married to Rufaro and to enjoy the gift of their two sons, Jesse and Louis.