The Culture Project

Originally from Santa Cruz, California, Olivia Buak moved to Berkeley to earn a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of California. When attending a bible study, Olivia first heard of the Culture Project. A year later, in prepping for her own study, she encountered a CP blog and was struck by their initiative to living fully alive amidst the culture of death. Olivia’s heart was drawn deeper through witnessing the joy and freedom of chastity in the living testimonies of the CP missionaries she met at a FOCUS conference. “I am so excited Christ has invited me to serve His children with the CP where I can respond to my generation’s cry to be known and set free.”

Genesis Gutierrez is a 2017 graduate from Kent State University with a BA in American Sign Language to English Interpreting. While she was heavily involved in the deaf community and her church’s local youth group, she felt called to do something more. After being recommended to apply to The Culture Project through her sister and others, she gave in and took the plunge. She felt called to pursue something beyond the ordinary work she had done, and to dedicate a year to speaking the true she so longed to hear in her high school years. She said “yes” to devoting her time to make sure our youth of today know their worth is not found in this world, and a life fully alive in virtue is a life well lived. “The message of our dignity as people is what drew me to this mission. I want to speak to younger versions of myself, to give them the hope I searched so long for”

Malcolm MacDonald was a former director of youth and young adult ministry for the American River Deanery in Sacramento, California. He grew up in Central Massachusetts, and became a competitive bagpipe player with the Worcester Kiltie Pipe band. During college, he felt called by Christ to become a Net Ministries missionary for 2 consecutive years headquartered in West St. Paul, Minnesota. After stepping down from his most recent position in youth ministry, and several months of prayer and discernment, Malcolm was asked by a CP missionary to pray about joining the Culture Project organization. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, he answered the call to missionary life, drawn by the message of love and hope through JPII’s theology of the body. Malcolm loves all outdoor activities including backpacking, biking, running, and anything related to sports.

Erick Marquez graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2018 with a BA in Media & Cultural Studies. Erick first encountered The Culture Project while researching Pope Saint John Paul’s Theology of the Body (TOB) for a ministry talk. Soon after, he fell in love with the teaching of TOB and it changed his life! As his journey unfolded, he felt God calling him to mission and was soon presented an opportunity to both serve and educate himself further about one of his passions through TCP. “Knowledge of the Theology of the Body is a beautiful gift that God gave me when I needed it most. As a missionary, I hope to share this gift and the joy that it has brought me to those who may be experiencing what I went through.”

Brianna Massey is a 2016 graduate from U.C. Berkeley. She grew up in Santa Clara, California and played softball in both high school and college. Post college she worked in sales for a tech start up in the Silicon Valley. After a conversion to the Catholic faith in 2018 she began to deeper her faith and see where God was leading. In 2019 she was struck by the mission of the Culture Project and answered the call. “I desire to share the freedom and goodness I’ve found in the Catholic Church with those who have not yet discovered its beauty.”