Seminar for Friends and Cooperators of Opus Dei - at Yuma Center!

APRIL 25, 2026 | 09:00am - 12:30pm

Yuma Center: 4101 Yuma Street NW, Washington D.C., 20016, USA

Join us for a morning with friends to explore the topic of friendship. There will be a keynote address followed by 3 Breakout Sessions. You will choose one session when you register.

A detailed flow of the day is below. If you have any questions, please email Terri Collins: terricoll@gmail.com

Register Today

Detailed Flow of the Day

8 a.m. Mass in the Yuma Chapel (optional) - use the Yuma Street Entrance

Confessions available afterwards for those who wish

9 -9:15 a.m. Check-in - use the lower level entrance

9-9:40 a.m. Coffee and Breakfast in lower level- Metzger Hall

9:45- 11:00 a.m. Welcome Remarks followed by Keynote speaker: Rosa Elmetti

  • Rosa will speak on “How Authentic Friendships Can Lead to a Fulfilling Life!’

  • There will be 15 minutes for Q and A

11 - 11:10 a.m. Shift to one of 3 Breakout Sessions

11:15- 12:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions/Q and A/Survey

  • Session A- What it Means to be a Cooperator of Opus Dei. Understand St. Josemaria Escriva’s vision and explore next steps if you wish to become a Cooperator - Dorothy Maloney and DeeDee Maloney

  • Session B- Friendship in the Family - Three panelists will discuss friendship between parents and their children and how to foster friendship among siblings. - Terri Collins, Christina Kilmer and Ceci Royals

  • Session C- Exploring the Philosophy of Freedom in Friendship - Edwina Maksym

12:30 p.m. - Program Ends - Farewell!

Our Speakers

Keynote Address:Friednships can lead to a fuller life

Rosa Elmetti

Her career at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has been dedicated to promoting the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy of the nation’s nuclear weapons program and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.

Prior to her work at DOE, Mrs. Elmetti worked at the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations, providing oversight, investigations, and evaluations of issues and programs relating to the federal budget at the request of the Committee Majority and Minority members to support congressional budgetary decisions.

Mrs. Elmetti also contributed to collaborative research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, WA, as well as Florida International University’s Applied Research Center in Miami, FL.

Rosa earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering with a minor in Mechanical Engineering from Florida International University, as well as a Master’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the same institution.

Rosa channels her creativity into her passion for baking, often filling her Potomac, Maryland home with the aromas of fresh-baked goods for her husband and two daughters.

Session A- What it Means to be a Cooperator of Opus Dei.

Dorothy Maloney

As all young people of her generation, Dorothy Maloney grew up believing that God had created us for a special role and that we had to find what it was. At the suggestion of her parish priest she decided to look into Opus Dei. She and four friends travelled to Boston in December 1959 to make a retreat. She wrote: “I was impressed. The retreat message was so positive and uplifting. I had made other retreats in the years before. They were beautiful, but the one offered by Opus Dei in Boston had a special quality that struck me.”

She invited a good friend to go with her to visit Washington DC and meet with some women at a Center of Opus Dei. The friend didn’t know anything about Opus Dei, but she was also wondering what role God had for her. All the way down in the bus, Dorothy wrote down her questions and was prepared to ask them.

They arrived in humid DC on the afternoon of Saturday, April 2, 1960 on a day that hit 95°F! Dorothy was from New York, at that time, they never had 95°F days in April. Dorothy had a conversation with one of the numerary women of Opus Dei. Dorothy said: “She explained what Opus Dei was, and I clearly saw that this was something that God was calling me too. Like love at first sight. I joined Opus Dei that very afternoon, and never asked any of the questions that I had prepared. If this was what God was calling me to, then He would help me live whatever might be asked of me. He did and still does.”

Dorothy’s mother knew that she was looking into Opus Dei. Dorothy wrote: “When I came home my mother knew I had joined Opus Dei because she knew me so well. I gave her St. Josemaria’s book The Way, and she read it from cover to cover that night and told me ‘He wrote this book for you!’ She understood and loved Opus Dei from the first moment she met it through me.”

In response to St. Josemaria’s apostolic goals to expand Opus Dei, Dorothy moved to help in Rome for four years and then returned to the USA to work in Chicago, NY and DC. For most of the years, she served in positions of leadership in the centers of Opus Dei and worked on the Boards of the Corporate works of Opus Dei. Over the last 66 years she has accompanied numerous women of all ages to discover their path to holiness in the middle of the world.

Dee Dee Maloney

DeeDee Maloney, a native of Ohio, studied architecture in college, worked as an architect, and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Benin, West Africa, where she met her husband Matt. After the birth of her first child, she chose to dedicate herself full time to the work of the home.

While raising six (now grown) children, DeeDee has participated in, and been a leader at, many formational activities which promote marriage, family life, home management, and Catholic faith formation. DeeDee has also formed and led three girls’ clubs in her local area which aimed to equip middle school girls with beginner cooking skills, and to inspire them to find joy in the home arts.

Not yet retired, she continues to manage the business end of her husband’s law practice, assists with grandchildren near and far, and promotes ongoing faith formation by leading a Cooperator Circle.

Session B- Friendship in the Family

Terri Collins

Terri Collins grew up in a large and loving Navy family which entailed moving to multiple states along the east coast and Hawaii. An avid nature lover, Terri worked for several veterinarians and assisted in nutrition research of endangered animals at the Conservation Research Center in Front Royal, VA and at the National Zoo. While working as a subcontractor to the EPA, she met her husband. She was overjoyed to have the opportunity to stay at home for 14 years to nurture and “go on adventures” with their six children. Terri returned to the work force and over 15 years undertook various roles in the administration at Oakcrest School. She treasures the professional growth and friendships with her colleagues and the families at Oakcrest.

About one year ago, she decided to pivot from work outside the home and focus her time on doting upon her 3 grandchildren, caring for her aunt, and traveling with her husband. In gratitude for all she received, and inspired by the teachings of the Catholic Church, she provides talks on Christian formation and develops workshops for Cooperators of Opus Dei with Yuma Center.

Christina Kilmer

Christina Kilmer grew up in Rockville, MD and was the oldest of eleven children by the time she was twelve years old! She is a graduate of Oakcrest School and received a Bachelor's degree in History, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of Dallas in 2020. Christina served as a mentor and character education teacher at Metro Achievement Center in Chicago, where she discovered her love for mentoring. After college, she moved to New York City to work in Hospitality Management, and to help with the Avenue Leadership Program, for two years. She then moved to Wisconsin to help open a new Opus Dei center in 2023, while working full time in finance.

Christina now teaches theology, works closely with the Student Council leaders and coaches soccer at Oakcrest. She also volunteers on the Board of Directors for Camp Kittimaquundi in West River, Maryland. She is passionate about empowering young girls to grow in their prayer, friendships and spirit of service.

Ceci Royals

Ceci Royals has been married to Tom Royals, the Assistant Headmaster at The Heights school, going on forty-nine years. They have 8 children and 25 grandchildren. Their firstborn is a priest for the Archdiocese of Washington, pastor of St. Joseph’s in Southern Maryland. Two daughters and three sons are married and have launched wonderful families. Their remaining 2 adult daughters are gifted with Down’s Syndrome and live with their parents. Tom’s 99-year-old mother rounds out the family at home these days.

Before this busy season in her life, Ceci was the founder and president of The National Institute of Womanhood (NIW) until its closing in 2005. She led NIW to participate in several United Nations International Conferences and Summit meetings, and she was a guest speaker at many conferences worldwide.

Closer to home, she was the force behind the 87 Coffees Initiative, an effort to safeguard marriage between one man and one woman in Maryland. Following the change in marriage laws in 2013 she established the ad hoc non-profit called Families Excel, in order to host a conference entitled “We Still Believe in Marriage…Now What?!”

The following years, she led various mother’s groups on topics related to motherhood and family life. She was also a speaker at the 2023 Parenting With Purpose conference sponsored by the Family Institute of Washington, D.C.

Session C- Exploring the Philosophy of Freedom in Friendship

Edwina Maksym

Download the Flyer for the Workshop
 

Previous Cooperator Workshop

We are delighted that over 135 women attended the November Workshop! You can read some of the survey results and read the bios of our speakers below.

  • —“It was excellent. The Mass, followed by the keynote, breakouts and lunch was the perfect schedule. Timing and location are also very well done.”

    —“They all were wonderful! I loved how everyone shared tangible advice and highlighted St. Josemaria’s teachings.”

    —“I loved it all…Can’t wait to summarize and share with my circle.”

    —“This was a reminder that every day/task is an opportunity for sanctification.”

    —“Both presentations were a great balance of high level spiritual advice and practical implementation.”

    —“All of them were great. As a full-time employee and mom, the talks really spoke to me.”

  • —“... her talk was very engaging, she gave wonderful real life examples of how to sanctify your work and respond to stress.”

    —“Keynote because the speaker inspired me to live my faith more deeply through prayer and sanctification of work.”

    —“The keynote was so helpful and uplifting. It gave me so many practical ways to sanctify your ordinary, daily work and really have prayer fuel your work and let your work become a prayer. Really captured the spirit of Opus Dei.”

    —“Rosa’s talk- her confidence and sincerity deeply inspired me.”

    —“Rosa was amazing. Dynamic and full of gems of truth.”

    —“Rosa- Girl on Fire! Loved her!”

  • —“Loved the stories and advice”

    “—...to help me and my spiritual daughters become closer to Christ in our families.”

    —“I loved the panel for Sanctifying Family and that there were different perspectives shared.” (This was the most common comment- they appreciated the perspective from different walks of life.)

    —“...because I would like to invite my children and husband to be more close to God and me.”

  • —“What helped me most was seeing and hearing how other women practice their faith in the world.”

    —“Love the stories about meeting the Work! I absolutely loved this! Thank You!”

    —“Fills my cup with inspiration!”

  • —“The friendship breakout session was amazing!”

    —“The talk was great- the Q and A invited an opportunity to integrate it in daily life!”

    —“I learned about different stages of friendship, some (new) good ideas and similarities with other women in the room.”

    —“I liked the Friendship session because I came from another culture and people think about friendship in different ways.”

 

Questions? CONTACT TERRI

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