2023 Distinguished
Communicator of the Year Nominations
The Salesian Guild is proud to announce the winner of the 2023 Distinguished Communicator of the Year Award: Kathleen M. (Katie) Carroll, editor of the Comboni Missions magazine and Communications Specialist for the Sisters of Divine Providence.
The award is presented annually at the gathering of the Salesian Guild, a community of Catholic communicators in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. This year’s event is January 28, 2023.
The Salesian Guild offers Catholic communicators in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky a spiritual connection to each other and their Creator through fellowship, shared faith, and dialogue through community.
The Distinguished Communicator of the Year should be a Catholic communicator who exemplifies the Guild’s core values:
- Integrity
- Professionalism
- Fellowship
- Idealism
The period to nominate someone for the 2024 award opens in Fall 2023.
2022 Distinguished
Communicator of the Year

Susan Vogt
Mrs. Susan Vogt is an author and presentational speaker committed to enriching marriages, inspiring parents, deepening faith lives, and encouraging simple, sustainable living. She has published five books, including Blessed by Less: Clearing your Life of Clutter by Living Lightly, which earned awards from the Association of Catholic Publishers and the Catholic Press Association.
Susan previously served as the editor of the National Association of Catholic Family Life Ministers and content editor for the USCCB website “For Your Marriage.” Her writing has been featured in St. Anthony Messenger, Catholic Update, U.S. Catholic, and Every Day Catholic. For over ten years she has inspired readers to live lightly on planet Earth through her “Living Lightly” blog.
As a Lay Marianist, Susan serves on the International Team of Lay Marianists representing communities in North America, Asia, Australia and Ireland. Susan earned a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from the University of Dayton and a Master of Arts in Counseling and Personnel from Western Michigan University.
Susan resides in Covington, Kentucky with her husband Jim. The couple have four adult children.
Since 1994, the Salesian Guild has awarded the Distinguished Communicator of the Year award to a Catholic communicator who exemplifies the Guild’s core values of integrity, professionalism, fellowship, and idealism.
These Catholic communicators have demonstrated excellent communication skills, have impacted the people in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati through their work, and have exemplified religious values in work and in life.
Past Winners Include:
Year
Name
1994
Dane Kane
1995
Harriet Janszen
1996
Normal Perry, O.F.M.
1997
Charles Carey
1998
Elizabeth Bookser Barkley
1999
Dan Hurley
2000
Scott Barkley
2001
John Kiesewetter
2002
Jeremy Harrington, O.F.M.
2003
Dan Andriacco
2004
Sr. Angela Ann Zukowski, MHSH
2005
Michael Flannery
2006
Melvin Grier
2007
Patricia A. Frey
2008
Brian Patrick
2009
Rev. Greg Friedman, O.F.M.
2010
Judy Ball
2011
Most Rev. Daniel E. Pilarczyk
2012
Nick Clooney
2013
Mark Curnutte
2014
Tom Sparough
2015
Rev. Robert Hater
2016
Maryanne Zeleznik
2017
Michael. D. Pitman
2018
Jeanne Hunt
2019
Lisa Biedenbach
2020
John Feister
2021