Meet our Founders

William and Alexis Haughey are seasoned entrepreneurs and devoted Catholics from the Boston area. After serving in the United States Marine Corp, Bill pursued studies at Boston College and started his own development and construction company, consulting for Church properties world-wide. Alexis, an MIT engineering alumna and current PhD student in the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurial group at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, explores the development and commercialization of cutting-edge university research in her doctoral studies. During her time at the MIT Technology Licensing Office, Alexis filed numerous patents for MIT entrepreneurs, reviewed research agreements, and provided mentorship to dozens of startups.

Bill and Alexis both saw the need for Catholics like themselves to have a strong presence in the field of science and technology, as more groundbreaking advancements are being made. They discovered what is now our campus on a trip to Castel Gandolfo and realized that a place where people could receive a rigorous education in STEM while being formed by the truths of the Catholic faith could be a reality. When discussing their motivation for the opening of CatholicTech, Bill and Alexis said, “The initial inspiration emerged years ago out of our personal frustration with the secularization of academia, the sciences, and ‘big tech.’ Catholic scientists and engineers have always been leaders in these fields, from founding the first universities to coining the term ‘the Big Bang.’ Yet in our modern world, being a devout Catholic and a scientist are perceived as being in contradiction. Somehow, the great legacy of Catholics in science and engineering has been forgotten.”

So many Catholics feel the frustration of being divided between their love of the Church and their God-given talents in STEM. The problem is that there is no place where Catholics can be well-formed while being educated to become leading researchers, entrepreneurs, and scientists. This was the reason for founding Catholic Institute of Technology—to train and equip the best and brightest to evangelize the spaces that have been closed off to Christ and the Church and to form the next generation of saints, scholars, and scientists.

Alexis and Bill shared this vision with Bishop Emeritus Arthur Kennedy, who agreed with the importance of founding CatholicTech for the Church and the world. Our President, Bishop Kennedy, attended St. John’s Seminary College in Boston and received a B.A. in Philosophy in 1963. He was then sent to the North American College and the Gregorian University in Rome, where he received an S.T.L. in 1967. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Boston at St. Peter’s Basilica in December 1966. His Excellency is very happy to reside once more at Villa Santa Caterina, where he stayed as a seminarian with the North American College.

The connection between the Catholic Church and STEM is not only vital but transformative in our world today. CatholicTech aims to be a powerful example of how the Church can engage with the rapidly evolving world of STEM, fostering a future where technological advances are grounded in ethical principles and driven by a higher purpose.