Jessica Donabó de Ford

I started my career in ministry when I moved to Tyler, Texas and began working for the Catholic Diocese of Tyler. I started as a front desk receptionist and got promoted very quickly to the finance office. From there, I was promoted again to work directly with the Vicar General, who was right under the Bishop. The Vicar General was also the president of the Catholic school system here in Tyler, Texas, so my role involved administration and admissions for the Catholic schools. When Father was transferred to the University of the Holy Cross in Italy, I was transferred to the Catholic schools to continue the job, and I stayed there until 2021. Now I'm the adult ministry administrator at South Spring Baptist Church, a large church with over 2,000 members in South Tyler. I handle all logistics for adult ministries, from ordering books for over 13 classes with 60-plus people in each class, to coordinating large events like our men's weekend retreat with 250 registered men. I work directly under the executive pastor for adult ministries, managing all the behind-the-scenes details. I'm also a mom of three and a spouse, and I sometimes carry my kids around the whole campus to complete tasks. Before all this, I was born and raised in Guatemala where I helped my dad with logistics for his personal business. I've been in administrative work since 2007 when I graduated, and in my current field on and off since 2016.