THE WITTE WORKSHOPS

A Weekend with No Brakes!

Those accepted into the program will spend an immersive weekend discussing a broad range of topics connected to the theological, philosophical, and practical dimensions of vocation, including:

• The meaning and purpose of work in the Old and New Testament
• The importance of cultivating a Biblical model for work and rest
• Vocation as rooted in God’s design and Christian mission
• Philosophical components relating to, e.g., leisure and burn-out culture
• Engagement with co-workers and clients as a product of faithful presence
• Applications of legal stewardship

Those are just some of the topics. As John Witte, Jr. writes, the law stands “at the center of the city, at the center of matters spiritual and temporal, at the center of everyone’s life.” We will have a lot of ground to cover! With special guest facilitators, we will navigate discussions toward the transformative aims of the program. Each participant will play their role in changing the trajectory of our time together.

Meet the Director of the Witte Workshops

Jeff Ventrella (Ph.D.) is a visiting professor at Trinity Law School, who directs its Center for Public Legal Theology and teaches constitutional law and jurisprudence. Following a successful career as a partner serving clients in “Big Law” for 15 years, Jeff then served for nearly 23 years as Senior Counsel and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Training at Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), including serving on ADF’s Executive Team for many years.

After joining ADF in 2000, he designed and developed the curriculum for a number of ADF training programs, including the Blackstone Legal Fellowship and ADF International’s Areté Academies in Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

As an approved speaker for the Federalist Society, he serves as an appointed member of the Society’s executive committee—guiding its Religious Liberties Practice Group. Jeff is also an elected member of The Philadelphia Society.

He has practiced law since 1985 and is a member of the state bar of Idaho serving on its Professionalism & Ethics Section, as well as its Diversity Section. He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Married since 1986, he and his wife enjoy their five adult children and one granddaughter.

Jeff received a bachelor’s degree in music education, magna cum laude, from the University of Northern Colorado, where he specialized in trumpet performance. He holds a Doctorate (Ph.D.) in church and state studies from Whitefield Theological Seminary and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of California Hastings College of the Law, where he served as Production Editor of the Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly.