Meet Our Faculty
At its core, a Catholic university is a community of believers who share life together and pass it on to others. The faculty and staff of Mary College at ASU play an active role in the life of the community, accompanying students through the various stages of their time at Arizona State University. From exploring the great questions of human life to participating in student events and excursions, our faculty and staff strive to offer students the support and encouragement they need as they prepare for their careers and vocations.
Scott Lefor, program director
I was born and raised in Dickinson, ND, and spent time in seminary formation for the Diocese of Bismarck. After receiving a bachelor's degree and a licentiate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, I spent several semesters studying theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. Since moving to Arizona in 2017, I have been certified in health care ethics with distinction from the National Catholic Bioethics Center, studied political economy at the University of Arizona, and earned a master's in business administration with a concentration on business operations from the University of Mary. After two years of teaching philosophy and theology at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale, I became the academic coordinator of Mary College at ASU and the online community coordinator for the University of Mary. I became the program director of Mary College at ASU in 2023 and the University of Mary's director of operations for Arizona in 2026.
Ryan Ayala
I have been fortunate to serve in various capacities within the Catholic Church. Currently, I hold the position of director of campus ministry at the ASU Catholic Newman Center and adjunct professor at Mary College at ASU.. In the past, I had the opportunity to work as the director of campus evangelization and theology teacher at Saint Mary's Catholic High School. Before relocating to Phoenix, I served as a campus minister at the University of Notre Dame. I hold a bachelor of arts in theology from Holy Cross College and a master of education in curriculum and instruction from the University of Mary. I have been happily married for nine years, and I am immensely grateful for my four wonderful children.
Larry Fraher
I hold a doctor of philosophy degree in theology, with a specific focus on art and religion, from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. My dissertation and ongoing research focus on the imagination and human formation in faith, as well as the exploration of the sacramental worldview. I also hold a master of arts in systematic theology and a bachelor of arts in theological studies, both from Saint John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. Since 1989, I have served in a variety of teaching and ministry roles in the Diocese of Phoenix, including diocesan director of youth and young adult ministries, instructor and program coordinator at the Kino Institute, parish coordinator of youth ministry, high school theology teacher, and volleyball and track coach. I am married and have three adult daughters who are married and have blessed us with two grandsons. I currently serve as director of faith formation and education at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Rev. Nathaniel Glenn
I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, and attended St. Mary's High School. In seminary, I studied philosophy for five years and received a bachelor's degree and a licentiate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Following that, I was sent to the North American College in Rome for my theology studies, where I received an bachelor of sacred theology degree from the Pontifical Gregorian University. I was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Phoenix in 2020, and I currently serve as the parochial vicar at St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix. I am drawn to the thought of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, but I also enjoy engaging with secularism, modern philosophy, and the impact of the arts on human flourishing.
Aaron Kushner
I hold a doctor of philosophy degree in political science from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. In addition to serving on the Catholic studies faculty of Mary College at ASU, I am a teaching assistant professor in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at ASU, where I also serve as co-director of the Arizona Constitution Project. My teaching and research interests include Catholic political thought, constitutional law, indigenous politics, political development, and the politics of film. I also hold an a master of arts degree in political science from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, and a bachelor of arts degree in politics from Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Beginning in the fall of 2023, I will be the faculty advisor for the Thomistic Institute at ASU. My wife, daughter, and I are parishioners at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, where we sing in the choir.
Lita Martinez
Originally from the Los Angeles area, I grew up in the East Valley, where I now live with my husband and our two young children. In addition to living my primary vocation as wife and mother, I am also passionate about teaching, reading, and writing in various areas of theology, and am very excited to start my family’s homeschooling journey. I received a bachelor of arts degree in theology and Catholic studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, and a master of arts in theology and Christian ministry from the Franciscan University at Steubenville in Ohio. I served on the religion/theology faculty at Seton Catholic Preparatory High School in Chandler and have experience in various ministries at the parish level, including youth evangelization, adult faith formation and discipleship, infant baptism preparation, and Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA). I have also joyfully served as a catechist for the Kino Institute. In addition to serving as an instructor of theology and Catholic studies through Mary College at ASU, I am the coordinator of marriage preparation at St. Anne in Gilbert.
Sr. Mary Katerina Masek, RSM
I am a Religious Sister of Mercy of Alma, Michigan, and received a doctorate in philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome in 2015. The focus of my studies was the role of natural divine illumination in our knowledge of natural law. Prior to that, I received a licentiate in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in 2004. I taught at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, Colorado, before I was assigned to Phoenix in 2016, where I taught philosophy at Benedictine University in Mesa before joining the philosophy faculty of Mary College at ASU in 2024 to teach ancient and medieval philosophy.
Angelina Nguyen
I hold a juris doctor degree from Arizona State University. My capstone papers explored the application of virtue ethics to the criminal justice system and to contract law. I received my bachelor of arts degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and had the privilege to be steeped in the rich Thomistic Aristotelian tradition through the thought and teaching of the late Alasdair MacIntyre. I am a former associate scholar for the pro-life research organization, Charlotte Lozier Institute, former assistant attorney general and unit chief counsel of the Arizona Attorney General’s Office Civil Rights Division, and I currently conduct employment investigations as a staff member at ASU. My husband Dan and I homeschool our three children in between home-roasting coffee and making pizzas in our homemade backyard brick oven.
Dan Nguyen
I hold an master of arts degree in Catholic studies from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. My master’s essay examined papal influence and teaching on contemporary Catholic education, particularly Pope Paul VI’s exhortation in his encyclical "Gravissimum Educationis", that the education of man needs to find its fulfillment in “proclaiming the mystery of salvation to all men and of restoring all things in Christ.” I received a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy, theology, and Catholic studies from the University of St. Thomas. I am the former department chair of theology at St. Mary’s High School and taught high school theology for a decade, including courses in Old and New Testament, sacraments, and the philosophical foundations of Christianity. I also taught Scripture courses at the Kino Catechetical Institute and Mary College at ASU. My wife Angelina and I homeschool our three children in the Catholic classical tradition in between home remodeling and running a small business.
Rev. Aaron Qureshi
I was born in Tucson and spent my adolescent years in Phoenix. After graduating from Brophy College Preparatory, I took an extended sojourn to the East Coast to study and work, earning a bachelor of arts degree in classics and mathematics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and an a master of arts in mathematics from the University of Maryland in College Park. After working for several years in the finance and tech sectors, I entered seminary in Washington, DC, studying first at the Catholic University of America and then in Rome, where I completed an sacred theology bachelor's degree and licentiate in biblical theology from the Gregorian University. I was ordained to the priesthood at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington in 2014 and served in various parish assignments around the Archdiocese of Washington before returning to Phoenix in 2022. I am thrilled to be home in Phoenix and to be serving (Tucson roots notwithstanding) as the associate director of the ASU Newman Center and as a member of the faculty at Mary College at ASU!
Eric Westby
Originally from Canada, I live with my wife in Phoenix, Arizona. We have five daughters, a son-in-law, and a beautiful granddaughter. I hold a doctor of philosophy degree in theology from Liverpool Hope University and master of arts in theology and Christian ministry from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. In addition to serving as a visiting associate professor of theology at the University of Mary, I head the Institute for Catholic Theology at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Phoenix. My teaching and writing focus on evangelization and catechesis, and so Monsignor James Shea’s "From Christendom to Apostolic Mission" had and continues to have a profound impact on my thinking. I am excited to help establish the first-ever graduate seminary in the Diocese of Phoenix and play a part in the formation of a new generation of priests equipped to serve the Church and transform the culture in this new apostolic age.