Erin McDonald, CSJ

Degrees

• Master of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University New Orleans
• Master of Social Work, West Virginia University
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Wheeling Jesuit University

Biography

Sr. Erin is in the Congregation of Sisters of St Joseph and a social worker. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wheeling Jesuit University, a master’s degree in social work from West Virginia University and a master’s degree in pastoral studies from Loyola University New Orleans.

Sr. Erin was born and raised on Cape Cod, Mass., but she moved to West Virginia for undergraduate studies and lived there for 11 years. For several years, Sr. Erin worked as the Director of the Service for Social Action Center at Wheeling Jesuit University, where she coordinated student volunteers, service immersion trips, campus advocacy campaigns, the Mother Jones House residential service program and lived on campus as a residential chaplain. She left Wheeling Jesuit University to work with the Jesuit Refugee Service in Rwanda as a humanitarian aid worker.

After returning from Rwanda, Sr. Erin entered the Sisters of St Joseph and moved to urban Detroit to work at Freedom House after taking first vows. At Freedom House, a shelter for survivors of torture and persecution who are seeking asylum in the US, Sr. Erin was the social worker who managed the medical, mental health and educational services for the residents.