Owen Phelps

Dr. Owen Phelps is Director of the Yeshua Catholic International Leadership Institute and author of "The Catholic Vision for Leading Like Jesus: Introducing S3 Leadership—Servant, Steward, Shepherd," as well as two other books: "The Believer’s Edge" and "The Secret of Wealth."

He has been a consultant on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Communications Committee since 2003. In 2008 he was accorded the papal honor of Knighthood in the Order of St. Gregory the Great. Owen is an adjunct faculty member in Cardinal Stritch University’s College of Business & Management and on the faculty of the Rockford Diocesan Theological Institute.

From 1983-2007, Owen served as Director of Communications & Publications for the Catholic Diocese of Rockford, where he was also associate publisher of the diocesan newspaper, The Observer. For several years he was a member of the diocese’s Justice & Peace Commission and an ex officio member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council. He continues to co-host a weekly live, call-in radio program with Bishop Thomas G. Doran, head of the Rockford Diocese. Owen was certified as a master catechist by the Rockford Diocese in the 1980s and was awarded the Bishop O'Neill Award in Catechetics for “distinguished service to the Word of God in religious education programs.”

Owen has offered programs to faith-based professional organizations in Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Burlington, Cleveland, Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, Lexington, Little Rock, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Rockford, Santa Clara, Wichita and several other smaller cities in the U.S. He has written several articles and contributed to two books dealing with faith-based organizational performance: "Mission, Marketing & Management: Development Guide for Diocesan Newspapers" (1991) and "The Mission and Future of the Catholic Press" (1998). He currently writes a leadership column for The Catholic Journalist, a general interest column for The Observer, and he serves as publisher of The Catholic Leader e-newsletter.