Women Of Grace Retreat – 2026

Johnnette B. Williams is Founder and President of Living His Life Abundantly® International, Inc., a Catholic evangelization apostolate with outreaches in television, radio, print, and internet communications.  She is also Founder of Women of Grace®, a Catholic apostolate for Christian women that features a number of outreaches including conferences, curricula, study groups, and more.

Johnnette is the host of the Women of Grace television program and Women of Grace Live, a one-hour, call-in radio talk show, which both air internationally on EWTN. Johnnette is also a popular conference, retreat, and seminar presenter, and is the author of several books including Full of Grace: Women and the Abundant Life, on which the Foundational Study Series for Women of Grace is based, in addition to newly released books, Graceful Living: Meditations to Help You Grow Closer to God Day by Day and TheRosary: Your Weapon for Spiritual Warfare.

Johnnette was married to her husband, Anthony, for nearly 34 years and became widowed in 2007. After 11 years of widowhood, Johnnette married in 2018 to Mr. Jack Williams. She is the mother of three adult children, two living, and two adult children through marriage, and has ten grandchildren.  

Gary Zimak is the author of fourteen books, including the best-selling Give Up Worry For Lent.

After a 30-year career as a software developer, he has spent the last 15 years as a full time Catholic speaker and author. Gary is a frequent speaker at parishes and conferences across the country and is recognized as the leading Catholic speaker on the topic of overcoming anxiety. In addition, he is a regular guest on Catholic radio and hosts a weekly podcast.

He lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife Eileen and daughters Mary and Elizabeth.

Dr. Robert Enright is a member of the Catholic Church. He is a Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, a licensed psychologist, and the founder of the International Forgiveness Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to disseminating knowledge about forgiveness and community renewal through forgiveness.

His International Forgiveness Institute organized the Jerusalem Conference on Forgiveness for the Renewal of Individuals, Families, and Communities at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center, 2017; the Rome Conference on Forgiveness at the University of Santa Croce, 2018; and the International Educational Conference on Love and Forgiveness in Madison, Wisconsin, 2022.

For his innovative research on forgiveness, he received the American Psychological Association’s Gold Medal Award for Impact in Psychology.

Vivian M. Akel LCSW is a Clinical Social Worker and Ignatian Spiritual Director. She is a lifetime Maronite Catholic and serves the Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn as the Safe Environment Coordinator for the Protection of Children and Youth, Pre-Cana facilitator and seminary formator.

Ms. Akel serves on the USCCB’s National Review Board serving as secretary. She has been in private practice for over 30 years combining her therapeutic clinical skills and Ignatian spirituality to foster insight into the movements of the heart, healing and prayer. She is a regular contributor to the Maronite Voice on topics of spirituality and prayer.

Ms. Akel has been married for 40 years and has two adult children.