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Meet the 2025 Awardees
HEARTS ON FIRE AWARD
Mary Ellen Burton
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Mary Ellen Burton is the Vice President of Work Readiness Training at Homeboy Industries. She directs the team that accompanies trainees working in one of the Homeboy social enterprises. She is also the program lead for Healing Hearts Restoring Hope - a restorative justice organization serving those affected by homicide.
For nearly 20 years, Mary Ellen has accompanied the staff and community of Homeboy as they have grown and transformed into a dynamic force of radical gospel values in the world - based in relationship with each other and living out the fundamental belief in each person’s belovedness. She has held numerous jobs throughout her tenure at Homeboy, originally serving as CFO and later overseeing Homegirl Cafe. She is a gifted spiritual director who has spent her career serving others in faith while discerning with God what is hers to do. Mary Ellen holds graduate degrees in economics and pastoral theology. She embodies the Ignatian ideal of a contemplative in action.
WRITER'S AWARD IN SPIRITUALITY
Eric A. Clayton
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Eric Clayton is an award-winning writer, speaker, storyteller and sought-after retreat leader. He is the author of My Life with the Jedi: The Spirituality of Star Wars and Cannonball Moments: Telling Your Story, Deepening Your Faith, both from Loyola Press. His next book, Finding Peace Here and Now: How Ignatian Spirituality Leads Us to Healing and Wholeness, is due out from Brazos Press in 2025.
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Eric is currently the deputy director of communications at the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. He joined the team in 2019 and produces content that invites audiences to reflect on how to integrate Ignatian spirituality in their everyday lives. He guest hosts “AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast” and writes an award-winning weekly newsletter entitled “Now Discern This” for an audience of nearly 30,000 subscribers.
He has a BA in creative writing and international studies from Fairfield University and an MA in international media from American University. He also has a graduate-level certificate from Creighton University’s program in the Ignatian Tradition.
LOVE IN ACTION AWARD
Aida Ocampo and Aurelio Castillo
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Aida Ocampo and Aurelio Castillo have been beloved members of the Loyola Institute for Spirituality community since 2016. Aurelio was introduced to Ignatian spirituality as a child. He invited Aida to join him for a class at LIS when they were dating. Their love for each other and Ignatian spirituality began around the same time. They have been married since 2017. Aida works as an interpreter for students with special needs in the Garden Grove School District and Aurelio works as a tax and mortgage loan preparer. Both are graduates of the LIS Ignatian Spirituality Formation Program and continue to be students and teachers of Ignatian spirituality. Aida and Aurelio served as spiritual companions and retreat leaders for our 9-month 19th annotation of the Spiritual Exercises (EEVD in Spanish) as well as the 5-week 18th Annotation. They are currently part of the LIS team of facilitators who provide spiritual formation for the Diaconate program in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. In their spare time they enjoy hiking with family and friends and regularly meeting up with many of their LIS friends.