RICHARD I. LYLES, PH. D

For the past several decades Dick Lyles has devoted a significant amount of his life’s energies into projects that will make a positive difference for Catholics and our culture. As CEO of Leadership Legacies, LLC, he spearheaded the development of a comprehensive leadership development program for Catholic priests that is being delivered through the Catholic Leadership Institute in Exeter, PA. More than 1000 priests in 36 dioceses around the country are benefitting from this program. In support of the program he wrote a popular parable to introduce priests to the concepts of day-to-day leadership entitled, Good Leaders, Good Shepherds, published by Ascension Press.

As a founding member of the Board of Directors of The Act One Program in Hollywood, Dick has worked alongside Barbara Nicolosi for the better part of a decade to train Christians for writing careers and executive careers in television and movie making. The Act One Program is having a powerful positive impact on both Hollywood and the broader culture.

Dick is past CEO of Relevant Radio, a thirty-three station Catholic radio network serving parts of the Midwest, South and Eastern portions of the United States.  Relevant radio played a key role in these markets in evangelizing, education, and nurturing Catholic values in support of our bishops. 

Dick has been a member of Legatus, an international association of CEOs and their spouses for more than a decade, having served as president of the San Diego Chapter for two years. He is a sought after speaker on the Legatus circuit, having addressed more than three dozen chapters and delivered a keynote at their International Summit.
All of these experiences point to Dick’s commitment to causing positive changes in the culture that are rooted in Catholic teaching and true Christian philosophy. This is a point of view that has been lost in Hollywood, where 75% of the world’s media is produced.  Dick is thus an excellent person to lead Genesis in its goal to re-establish Catholic values and world view as a normal and accepted element in mainstream movie making.

DAVID FISCHER

Impassioned by his pursuit of faith in the work place, David Fischer has raised millions of dollars in donations and investments to support innovative efforts aimed at transforming culture through faith-based initiatives. David began his career in a unique environment surrounded by the arts and entertainment. With aspirations to perform, David pursued professional theatre in the early 1990’s where he acted in hundreds of performances at the nationally acclaimed Guthrie Theatre and Children’s Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. David was educated at the University of St. Thomas and in 2000 on a year’s stay in Rome, Italy, David was contacted by the Vatican to personally sing for His Holiness, Pope John Paul II at a private audience in His Holiness’s personal chapel.

After earning his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, Catholic Studies and Classical Language and Literature, David enrolled in law school and joined the Minnesota State Bar in 2006. Shortly after earning his Juris Doctorate, David was offered a position with the largest community Foundation serving Catholic philanthropy in the United States. From 2007 through 2011 David worked and ultimately served as the Director of Gift Planning and Legal Affairs for the Catholic Community Foundation in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Here David began to specialize in fundraising and investment opportunities. With over 200 million dollars in capital raised at the Foundation, David directed the gift planning and strategic legal analysis that helped to sustain a distribution of nearly 10 million dollars annually though endowment funds and other tax sheltered charitable vehicles. David helped hundreds of people with their philanthropy, crafting estate planning techniques and charitable intentions that not only aligned with their faith based values but also created the best financial returns for their investments and donations.

With a well-developed sense for raising capital, an outstanding network and a strong desire to impact the culture through the arts, David joined The Genesis Initiative as its Executive Director. This dynamic mission will help to leverage the investment and fundraising experience that David brings to the table. His experience in the Church, law and entertainment make for a wonderful calling to serve The Genesis Initiative and create exciting new possibilities for national exposure to the unique and transformative entertainment The Genesis Initiative is proud to present. David resides in Woodbury, Minnesota where he and his wife Laura are raising five children. David is actively involved in several non-profit organizations including: Serra International, where he serves as the President of the St. Paul – Midway chapter; Saint Paul’s Outreach, where he consults the board on alumni affairs and development; NET Ministries; University of Saint Thomas School of Law; the Alliance Defense Fund and the Archdiocesan Office of Marriage and Family Life.

MARTHA LYLES

Martha brings a vast amount of experience and knowledge to the Genesis Initiative team. Martha has been a long-time advocate for Catholic causes, and has worked in various political campaigns and media drives to bring Catholic values and traditions to the forefront of our culture. Martha was Catechist at St. Gabriel’s parish in Poway for 13 years before serving as Director of Religious Education for another 9 years. She currently serves as Director of Development and teaches adult Bible study. She and her husband Dick have three grown children who have brought five grandchildren into the world. It is for them that she and Dick are volunteering their time and committing their resources to the success of The Genesis Initiative.