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After 33 years as a pastoral assistant in parishes and at the archdiocesan level as a director and executive director in pastoral ministry, Michelle Montez ’24 MS enrolled in the Certificate in Church Management Program to grow her skills and expand her horizons.

“That year-long experience was like water for my soul,” she says. “I found it to be truly life giving—offering new perspectives and challenging me to grow in my understanding of the Church.” Soon after completing the program in 2021, like many certificate participants, she applied to the Master of Science in Church Management program—a common next step for many certificate participants.

Montez is set to earn her master’s degree through the program in 2024, but she’s already settled into a role as executive director of Pastoral Ministries for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, where she oversees the day-to-day administrative work of seven Archdiocesan offices and their staffs.

“In this graduate program, I am growing as an administrator, as a minister and as a disciple,” Montez says. "It has provided me with the practical and spiritual tools to link my many years of pastoral experience with sound church management principles that are needed to enhance Church environments—professionally, ethically and respectfully.”

Through courses such as The Spirituality of Administration, Human Resources and People Management, and Budgeting and Allocating of Resources, Montez has been able to apply new learnings and theories to her work in real time.

“As our archdiocese moves out of a very difficult bankruptcy, these classes are providing me with new perspectives and skills that will only aid in the rebuilding of our local Church as we look to the future,” she says.