Meet the Team

Kelly Tolman

Kelly Tolman

CO-FOUNDER
A Massachusetts native, Kelly moved to Florida for college where, during her second year, she became pregnant and struggled under the cultural pressure to abort. After three failed abortion appointments Kelly and her now husband, Fred, chose life for their son, Nic.

The struggle Kelly experienced during her unplanned pregnancy was a catalyst for action. Following a call by the Holy Spirit, Kelly embarked on the journey to start a pregnancy resource center directly beside the local abortion facility. This PRC was designed to be the center she needed so many years before. Kelly served as the center’s Founder and Executive Director until the Army moved Kelly, Fred, and their four children, as the Army tends to do!

Kelly has worked at the Archdiocese of Boston within the Secretariat for Evangelization and Discipleship in the Family Life Office; serves as Co-Founder and Director of Content at The Pelican Project; is  a public speaker on all things Catholic, is a contributing writer at Catholicmom.com; and runs an Outreach Program in the Diocese of Savannah providing assistance to those in living in crisis.

Kelly has been married for 22 years, has 4 children, and holds a B.A. in Homeland Security and a Master of Theology from Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Crystal Comiskey

CO-FOUNDER
Crystal was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. After high school, she began working and pursued studies in Business Administration. In 2000, she married her husband, Greg, became an Army wife, and traveled the continent. Over the years and moves, Crystal developed and refined her business management, marketing, and interpersonal communication skills while transitioning from sales, marketing director, and store manager positions.  

In 2008, Crystal and Greg became parents, and Crystal decided to take time away from outside work to spend with their daughter. Greg retired from the Army in 2013, and the family decided to establish roots in Columbus, GA. In 2015, after much time, discernment, and prayer Crystal entered the Holy Catholic Church. 

Crystal began working with Kelly Tolman at a pregnancy resource center where they served families journeying into parenthood together. The Holy Spirit began to nudge both of their hearts to begin The Pelican Project. Since 2019, Crystal has volunteered full-time to get The Pelican Project off the ground, serving as the co-founder and Director of Operations.

Jordan Schmitz

GRAPHIC ARTIST
Jordan has spent her entire life in the great state of Kansas. She is a cradle Catholic and considers herself a lifelong youth group kid and camp kid. During her years in college at the University of Kansas, she spent her summers serving as a counselor at the archdiocesan youth camp, Camp Tekakwitha. She had truly encountered Christ there for the first time in her elementary school years, and loved being able to walk with young people as they discovered what Pope St. John Paul II meant by, “Life with Christ is a wonderful adventure.” She also met her now husband Justin working at camp. Jordan and Justin married in 2017 and welcomed their first son in 2019 and their second in 2021. 

While she studied journalism in college, she always knew she wanted to be a youth minister. She landed her dream youth ministry job out of college and loved every second of it for almost four years before deciding to stay home to spend more time with her sweet boys. Jordan’s background in journalism, marketing, and graphic design has always inspired her to find modern ways to bring the beauty of the Catholic Faith to the world. This has led her to her current part-time job as the social media / web / graphic design guru for her family’s parish in Olathe, KS. She also owns an Etsy shop, Defy Designs, where she focuses on making the Faith accessible to little ones through Mass and Saint ABC flipbooks, and delivering a modern take on the Saints with colorful illustrations. 

Jordan earned a B.A. in Journalism - Strategic Communications from the University of Kansas, and continues to plant even deeper roots in Kansas City with her husband and two sons.

Lee John Bruno

BOARD OF DIRECTOR
Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Lee John was a cradle Catholic. Before graduating from Auburn University with an engineering degree, he worked as an engineer during the early stages of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), where he was involved in every aspect of production, including editing, satellite uplink, equipment repair, and camera work.    
After college, Lee John spent five years as a consultant before co-founding an animation production company. This led to the creation of the multi-format, award-winning educational series Doodle - a digitally animated program that aired on PBS in 10 states and 8 foreign countries.
During this period, Lee John was called upon to support the establishment of a local crises pregnancy center. As he immersed himself in every aspect of the pregnancy center and eventually took on the role of development director, he swiftly grasped the challenges of fostering a culture of life amidst a prevailing culture of death, especially when striving to reach those who are most vulnerable and in greatest need of the truth. Recognizing the lack of unity in the Culture of Life movement and the absence of innovative media and creative outreach at that time, he founded the United for Life Foundation (Foundation) in 2005.
As a Culture of Life organization, the Foundation initially focused on broadcasting audio and video resources to support individuals in crisis. This initiative expanded into media outreach through commercial campaigns, promotional videos, TV series, theatrical productions, and films.
Over time, the Foundation;s scope has grown to include providing assistance to individuals and organizations engaged in missionary work, who make personal sacrifices to bring hope and healing to people and families worldwide. The Foundation is firmly rooted in the Culture of Life teachings of Popes Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, and actively contributes to the work of the Church by fostering collaborations and forming partnerships with like-minded organizations.
A Fourth Degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus, Lee John served over a decade as the Ultrasound Program Coordinator for the state of Alabama. Married with four children, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Auburn University.

Theresa Spenney

BOARD OF DIRECTOR
Theresa Spenney has been involved in pro-life work since walking in a local March for Life in Columbus, Georgia when her oldest son was just an infant. Someone gave him a model of a 10 week-old fetus. While cradling it in his hands, he said, “Baby.”  She was struck that a child, who was just learning to speak, understood that this was a human being. She felt moved to defend the unborn and immediately signed up to join the organizers of the March, Chattahoochee Valley United for Life, a chapter of Georgia Right to Life. She has been involved in the pro-life movement for over two decades.

At a pro-life gathering, Theresa met a young wife and mother, Kelly Tolman, who had just moved to the area. After several years of praying and offering help outside of the abortion facility together, Kelly and Theresa recognized that the community needed to provide tangible help to women and families experiencing unplanned pregnancies. Together, they opened a pregnancy resource center beside the local abortion facility. 

Theresa has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.Ed. in Community Agency Counseling Psychology, both from Auburn University. She has been married for 29 years to her husband Brad and has 2 children.

Katherine Rudder

BOARD OF DIRECTOR
Katherine is an Army brat, turned soldier, turned Army wife; though, no matter where the military has sent or will send her, Augusta, GA, will always be home. Katherine is a cradle Catholic with a long history of family reunions held at the Knights of Columbus, and the parish priest a regular at Christmas dinner. 

Growing up, the secular view of feminism and society’s definitions of strength often left Katherine conflicted with Church teachings. Despite 6 years of Catholic schooling and the best of intentions, she fell away from the Church for many years. It was not until Katherine and her husband, Brandon, began having children in 2009 that she began to feel a slow pull back into the faith. She has served in multiple roles for various military Catholic Women of the Chapel groups including study leader and president; and for the past 7 years has served as a faith formation instructor.

Katherine has a Doctorate of Physical Therapy and currently lives in Georgia with her husband and 4 children.

I pledge to joyfully reawaken a culture of life in my domestic church!

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