Who We Are

Originally ordained for the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, in his years as a priest, the Most Reverend James D. Conley has served the Catholic Church in a wide variety of ways—as pastor, college campus chaplain, director of Respect Life ministries, theology instructor and a Vatican official.  On April 10, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI named him auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Denver and he was ordained on May 30, 2008.   On September 14, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Conley as the ninth bishop of the Lincoln Diocese in Nebraska. Bishop Conley was installed on November 20, 2012, in the Cathedral of the Risen Christ in Lincoln.

Katie Patrick was named executive director for Catholic Social Services in 2021. Previously, Patrick was CSS regional director since March 2019. She is the first woman, wife, and mother to lead the organization. A member of the Cathedral of the Risen Christ Parish, Patrick graduated from Pius X High School in Lincoln in 2002. She earned a bachelor's degree in international studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2006. She then received a master's degree in diplomacy and international relations in 2010 from Seton Hall University, a private, Catholic university in South Orange, N.J. Patrick then spent a year volunteering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the Canossian Daughters of Charity. Her experience also includes two years at CSS as a refugee case manager, four years at the Colorado African Organization in Denver, and work at the Asian Community and Cultural Center in Lincoln. In 2014, Patrick started Totonga Bomoi, a non-profit organization, which provides sewing training and business education for female entrepreneurs in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Since then it has helped more than 600 men, women, and children. She is married to Ryan Patrick and has twin daughters, Keria and Saoirse, who were born in November 2021, and a daughter, Imogen Rose, in heaven. Click here to learn more about Katie by listening to Hope in the Good Life Podcast episode 101.

First and foremost, I am a child of God...and so blessed with a wonderful wife, Debi and four outstanding children.  Each has been blessed with a wonderful spouse and the gift of eleven grandchildren that occupy much of my time, thoughts and prayers!  I am a retired optometrist having provided forty years of eye care.  St. Joseph Parish in Auburn has been my spiritual home for all but a handful of years and I am blessed to help out there in multiple ways.  With Newman Center friends, we helped start SKY Camp which prompted the establishment of Camp Kateri where so many powerful spiritual experiences have transpired.  I play the guitar for Mass and golf for fun.  Debi and I enjoy camping, kayaking and reading.  Our hearts are connected to our CSS, parish and Newman Center friends and we feel most blessed to be a small part of the good being done by all.

Stacie Hooks and her husband Bill own the local Slim Chickens restaurants in Lincoln, NE. Stacie loves serving her community both in volunteer work and being on different boards of directors in Lincoln. In addition to being on the CSS Board of Directors, she is also involved with The Lighthouse and the Junior League. Stacie and Bill have three children and she is active at their school as well.

Jay Landell is the Regional Manager for Ag Resource Management, a Ft. Worth, TX-based specialty agricultural lending and risk management company. He oversees 8 locations in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, and part of Kansas. Ag Resource Management (ARM) provides a variety of loan products as well as crop insurance for ag producers throughout the farm belt.

Jay has worked in the Ag and Commercial lending field for the last 20 plus years at several regional banks as well as ARM. His background also includes over 13 years in the ag equipment field, working both for a large manufacturer and later running a retail dealership. He has served on several boards, including the United Way, Hastings Chamber of Commerce, and the Lochland Country Club. He is currently serving on the Hastings Economic Development, Warren and Velda Wilson Foundation, as well as Catholic Social Services boards.

Jay has been married for over 33 years to his wife Barbara. Together they have three children, Paige, Johnny, and Sydney. Between the three, Jay and Barbara have three granddaughters and a grandson.

Tracy Lockwood is the CFO for the Catholic Bishop of Lincoln and is responsible for the overall financial operations for the Bishop’s office as well as the Diocese of Lincoln.  She oversees the finance office, human resources, and donor relations. 

Tracy grew up in Gering, Nebraska, and earned a Master of Professional Accountancy from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  She began her career in the audit department at KPMG LLP. In 2008, she and her husband David relocated from Omaha to Indianapolis where Tracy continued her career at KPMG, ultimately becoming a Senior Manager. Her many clients included non-profits, hospitals, and public software companies. In 2012 after nearly 10 years at KPMG, she became the Controller for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis where she was responsible for their overall accounting operations. In 2015, Tracy, David, and their two children, Landon and Austin, moved back to Nebraska and she joined the Diocese of Lincoln soon thereafter. Tracy appreciates the incredible work CSS does to show people the love of God by serving those most in need. 

I am originally from St. Paul, Nebraska, and have lived in Hastings since 1978. I am a member of St. Cecilia’s Catholic Church, have been in the choir, and have been one of the organists for our church for many years. I first became a part of Catholic Social Services when I was asked to be on the Bountiful Harvest Committee well over 12 years ago. That was when I became aware of CSS's incredible work for so many in our community and our diocese. That is why, when asked, I accepted the request to serve on the CSS Foundation Board. I am also now serving on the boards of the Catholic Foundation of Southern Nebraska, The Hastings Community Foundation, and the Hastings Catholic Schools Foundation. I am currently one of the General Chairpersons on our Hastings Catholic Schools renovation project called “Our Faith, Our Future, Our Time. I have worked on this with others in Hastings for almost 11 years, and now we are finally in full swing with the groundbreaking ceremony to take place on May 3, 2022. I am a Knight Commander in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a fourth-degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus, and serve on committees in many other organizations in Hastings. I had a strong Catholic upbringing but have never been stronger in my faith as I am today. I love to attend daily Mass and have been blessed by the Holy Spirit in so many ways. My main hobby is traveling, and I have been fortunate to have been able to travel around the world throughout my life. I also love to golf, even though I’m not good at it, and spend as much time as possible in the Rocky Mountains in the summer hiking. My life is devoted to our Lord, and I find blessings in being involved with those who are.

Nicole Simon is originally from Toronto, Canada. She's lived in Lincoln since 1982. Nicole and her husband, Doug Simon, have 3 children (Bennett, Zachary & Madeleine) and 3 Grandchildren (plus one on the way!). She is a State Farm Agent in Lincoln. When asked how she feels about being a CSS board member, Nicole replied, "I’m incredibly humbled to serve on the Board of CSS where God’s work is being done every day!"

My history with CSS goes back to the final few months that Fr. Joe Walsh was the executive director. At the time CSS was doing what was called rolling thrift stores. Our parish Sacred Heart in Crete was planning to host a rolling thrift store. Fr. Walsh met with those of us on the parish council to work out the details. Unfortunately Fr. Walsh was reassigned before we were able to host the rolling thrift store.  Fr. Kubat took over only a month or so before the rolling thrift store was to take place. Kay and I invited Fr. Kubat out to the farm to assure him the parish could pull off the rolling thrift store. It turned out to be a great success and we were able to distribute five semi loads of household items and started a long relationship with Fr. Kubat.

My next venture with CSS was to start the donation trailer program for rural parishes. At the time the Hastings office would occasionally take an enclosed trailer to a parish in their area for donations. I had hoped to start a regular rotation of dropping off trailers at the 40 rural parishes in the eastern part of the diocese. Initially, I used the Hastings trailer and started the program. After a few months, I arranged to purchase 2 new 16’ enclosed trailers to use for the project. The trailers at the Lincoln parishes were a result of the success of the rural parishes. When the CSS Lincoln office moved to the current location I was able to use those 2 trailers plus several others I was able to borrow to help complete the move. After a few years of running the donation trailer route weekly, we needed a permanent warehouse. By this time I had joined the Board of Administrators. I helped review a number of locations before the current location was purchased. The warehouse worked but it was not the most efficient so I was able to help with the design of the current configuration. I have been part of many more projects like fireworks, mowing, and snow removal. My expertise as it relates to CSS is in the facilities and equipment areas.