DAMON AND MELANIE OWENS
Co-Founders of Joyful Ever After
Married 27 years, Damon and Melanie Owens are founders of Joyful Ever After and hosts of The Catholic Marriage Summit 2020. Since 1993, Melanie, full-time homeschooling mother of eight, and Damon, first executive director of the Theology of the Body Institute, have trained over 20,000 couples in marriage, NFP, and Theology of the Body.
Melanie earned her BA in Sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and her MSW at the University of California at Berkeley. Presenters at the 2015 World Meeting of Families and the 2017 USCCB Convocation of Catholic Leaders, Damon and Melanie keep a full international speaking schedule at conferences, seminars, universities, high schools, seminaries, and parishes on the good news of marriage, sexuality, Theology of the Body, Theology of the Family, adoption, and NFP.
Damon has published numerous articles, appears regularly on many radio and television programs (EWTN, Catholic Answers, Ave Maria, Relevant Radio, Immaculate Heart Radio, ABC World News Tonight, CBS News, NPR), and has hosted and produced three 13-part television series for EWTN. He is also an accomplished gospel singer honored with a solo during the 1995 NJ Papal Mass at Giants Stadium presided by Pope St. John Paul II.
In 2018, Pope Francis honored Damon with the papal Benemerenti Medal in recognition for his service to the Church in support of marriage and family. Damon and Melanie are the parents of eight and live outside of Philadelphia.
MOST REV. FRANK J. DEWANE
Bishop of Venice in Florida
Most Reverend Bishop Frank J. Dewane serves as the spiritual leader of more than 227,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Venice in Florida. Bishop Dewane was named Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Venice by Pope Benedict XVI on April 25, 2006, and on January 19, 2007, he was installed in his current role as Bishop of the Diocese. In addition to holding a degree from the University of Wisconsin, Bishop Dewane also completed studies at The American University in Washington DC, as well as from Pontifical Gregorian University and Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas, both in Rome. Bishop Dewane currently serves on several committees at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops including the Committee for Domestic Justice and Integral Human Development (past Chair), Committee for International Justice and Peace, Ad Hoc Committee against Racism, Subcommittee for the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers. Further, Bishop Dewane is a member of the Board of Directors of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land.