Below are brief bio sketches of the Founding Officers of CAPPA
President: Kristine (Kris) Correira, DScPAS, MA Theology, MHP, PA-C, DFAAPA. Kris has been a PA since 1993 working in emergency medicine and family practice. She also has an MA in Theology with a concentration in Bioethics attained after completing the National Catholic Bioethics Center certificate program. She does advocacy work against the legalization of assisted suicide and helping people navigate end-of-life decisions. She has been married since 1998 and has three 3 adult sons that she homeschooled. She is a revert to the faith who was Confirmed in 2008.
Vice President: Carrie Huebner, PA-C, CFCP, Carrie is a PA who currently works in orthopedic surgery. She also founded Santa Casa Center, where she does family, integrative, and restorative reproductive medicine. Through this practice she teaches the Creighton model and is a medical consultant for NaProTECHNOLOGY. Carrie obtained her MMSc from Emory School of Medicine and also has a masters degree in integrative medicine from George Washington School of Medicine. Her most prized role, however, is wife to her husband of almost 20 years and mother to her 5 children.
Secretary: Lisa Higgins, PA-C is a cradle Catholic, born and raised in NC. She graduated from North Carolina State University in 2008 with bachelor degrees in Biochemistry, Chemistry and Spanish. Lisa then went on to graduate studies at Stony Brook University in New York state, and obtained her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies in 2011. Upon completing her studies, she married her husband and began her career working in Primary Care in Southern California. A few years later, they moved back to NC, where she has been working in Inpatient Cardiology ever since. As a PA, Lisa knows that her profession has unique ethical challenges! She wants to help other APPs navigate these many complex issues and encourage them to keep the faith through her work with CAPPA. She is also a homeschooling mother of 5 children and considers family life her greatest vocation. She is fortunate to spend the vast majority of her time at home with them learning, swimming, baking and camping.
Treasurer: Micala Abbiati, PA-C is a physician assistant who currently practices in gastroenterology and urgent care settings. She also has experience in women’s health and cardiology. In addition to clinical practice, Micala has a passion for education and enjoys working with physician assistant students in the academic setting. She feels most blessed to be a wife to her wonderful husband and a mom to her 2 beautiful children.
Chaplain: Rev. John Gavin, SJ, earned his B.A. from Boston College, his M.A. from Fordham University, and his M.Div. from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. He received his Sacred Theology Doctorate in Rome and was a lecturer at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Gregorian University for three years. Fr. Gavin entered the Society of Jesus in 1991 and was ordained as a Catholic priest in 2002. He is the author of several books, the latest being Mysteries of the Lord’s Prayer: Wisdom from the Early Church (Catholic University Press, 2022). He is active in his college and local pro-life community.
