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Parish Staff
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Meet Diane ZbasnikOur New Parish Administrator
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Diane Zbasnik has been named St. Austin’s Parish Administrator. A native Texan, Diane has a BA in Theology and MA in Pastoral Ministry from the University of Portland (a Holy Cross university) in Oregon and has been in ministry for over 20 years. She came into the Catholic Church in 1999 at St. Catherine of Siena in southwest Austin. Prior to being in ministry, Diane worked in the safety field for 12 years and has a BS in Safety Engineering from Texas A&M University.
She's worked in the church in a variety of positions over the years including campus ministry, adult formation, RCIA and adult Confirmation as well as social justice.
Her last role in ministry was as the Director for the Diocesan Social Action Office in the Diocese of Cleveland for 7 years. She was engaged with community organizations on homelessness, infant mortality, and hunger as well as provided opportunities for justice and Catholic Social Teaching education. She also led advocacy efforts for the Diocese working with the Ohio Catholic Conference and United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Prior to moving to Cleveland, Diane worked as the Community Ministries Director for St. Catherine of Siena parish. While there she oversaw the social justice, pro-life, and community development ministries. She worked to provide volunteer opportunities for families that included making and delivering meals for homeless, facilities assistance at a housing project for single mothers, and the local Catholic Worker house and support for an immigration shelter. She also began bi-annual service days which included working with the CRS Helping Hands programs and organized the first Community of Faith and Light community for people with developmental disabilities in the parish.
Her other ministry positions were as the Adult Faith Formation Director at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in south central Austin overseeing RCIA, Adult Confirmation and other faith education. As the Associate Director for Campus Ministry at the University of Portland, she worked with students in a variety of programs including RCIA and student retreats.
Diane and her husband, Dave, lived on a sailboat for the past year cruising the East Coast and recently moved back to Austin. They spent 3 years in China with her husband’s job and spent time traveling around Asia learning the language and cultures of the region. They currently live in the Hudson Bend area and attend
St. Thomas More parish.
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Here to Serve As Together with YouWe Bring God's Word to Life
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Clergy & Staff
- Clergy
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Rev. Fr. Charles R. Kullmann, CSPCKullmannStAustin.orgPastor -
Rev. Fr. Rich Andre, CSPRAndreStAustin.orgAssociate Pastor -
Rev. Fr. Paolo Puccini, CSPPPucciniStAustin.orgAssociate Pastor -
Fr. Bruce Nieli, CSPdbrucecspaol.comPaulist Missionary in Residence -
Rev. Mr. Billy AtkinsBAtkinsStAustin.orgDeacon -
Rev. Mr. Dan WrightDWrightStAustin.orgDeacon - Staff
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Tara CevallosTCevallosStAustinSchool.orgPrincipal, St. Austin Catholic School -
Kristen Dempsey PasykKDempseyPasykStAustin.orgDirector of Social Justice Ministries -
Mitzi Patiño EastmanMEastmanStAustin.orgDirector of Stewardship & Communications -
Frank GarciaFGarciaStAustin.orgFacilities Manager -
Sharon JonesSJonesStAustin.orgOffice Manager -
Stephen KingSKingStAustin.orgTechnology -
Sharon LehtonenSLehtonenStAustin.orgDirector of Community Life -
Pat LucksingerPLucksingerStAustin.orgBookkeeper, Baptism & Wedding Coordinator, Sacramental Records -
Dr. Andrea L. PobanzAPobanzStAustin.orgDirector of Liturgy & Music -
Elberta SmoakESmoakStAustin.orgParish Business Administrator -
Stanley SifuentesSSifuentesStAustin.orgStewardship & Communications -
Rachel VaughnRVaughnStAustin.orgDirector of Faith Formation (Children, Youth, Adult & RCIA) -
Diane Zbasnikdzbasnikstaustin.orgParish Administrator
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Meet KristinaOur New Outreach Assistant
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Hello all! My name is Kristina Priotto, and I am a Sustainability Studies, Geography and Plan II student at UT. Originally from Houston, I was first drawn to St. Austin because of the warm and welcoming feeling I received from the community here. I am very grateful to Fr. Paolo for telling me about Outreach and the Administrative Assistant position. In the short time since I began working here, I have grown to appreciate all the hard work our Outreach volunteers put in to ensure that we can help those who come to us to the best of our ability. God is full of compassion, and there’s no place I see it more than Outreach! I am looking forward to meeting more Outreach volunteers and other parishioners in person.
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We're Grateful forOur Missionary in Residence
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Fr. Bruce Nieli, CSPPaulist Missionary
St. Austin parish is proud to host Paulist missionary Fr. Bruce Nieli, CSP. Fr. Bruce proclaims the Word in missions and retreats all over the country, but resides here in our parish. He also serves as the Spiritual Director of Catholic Charities of Central Texas, serves alongside our
St. Vincent de Paul conference, and assists our parish Thursday Outreach program. Please remember his ministry in your prayers.
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Meet Joy
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Joy MoralesReceptionist
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I’ve attended St. Austin Church since the early ‘80’s, when I converted to Catholicism while a student at UT. Having lived in Austin since graduating, being a parishioner here has meant so much to me. From beautiful Masses and Sacraments, to our daughter’s time at the school, to all the wonderful people, St. Austin Parish has been “home” throughout the years. After working in group healthcare insurance, the auto industry, and pharmaceutical sales, I feel blessed to now serve as part of the parish staff and am excited about the transitions leading to our new buildings. I love spending time with my husband (Joe), our daughter (Christa), and our boxer (Tyson), as well as baking, taking long walks, and reading Pulitzer Prize winning novels.
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Meet Stanley & Stephen
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Stanley SifuentesStewardship & Communications
I first encountered St. Austin during my last two semesters at Texas State. As an intern, I served the parish in a variety of ways from supporting the ordination festivities to web work. As a full time staffer now, my days are rarely the same two days in a row. As we refine and enhance the website, I'm learning much about our various ministries and the people involved in them. I also enjoy translating as needed for the website or on calls for assistance. I graduated last December with my degree in International Relations. I'm a native of Cali, Colombia, and love a good cup of coffee. I lived in New York and Los Angeles before making my way to Austin.
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Stephen KingTechnology
Hi, I'm Stephen. Some of you may be familiar with my parents Judy and David. I came to St. Austin's in 2012, soon after graduating from UT. I started out moving furniture, mopping floors, and other maintenance work. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for me, since we found ourselves in need of a camera operator, which allowed me to utilize my technical skills and also led me to my new role as the general IT guy for the parish. I'm excited to have the opportunity to face new challenges as we plan our migration to the new office on MLK. In my free time, I enjoy writing JavaScript, long bike rides, reading Slate Star Codex, and playing computer games.
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