OUR HISTORY

For Reverend Frank Diaz, the poor and homeless were a constant presence at El Buen Pastor, many of whom were young men asking for baby food. Assuming these men had children to feed, the Reverend quickly found that he was wrong. “[These men] would smile but they had no teeth.”

The local hospital had up to a six-month wait, and many suffering from severe toothaches could not endure the pain. Realizing these individuals felt the only option was to pull their own teeth, Rev. Diaz and Roland Castaneda, an elder at El Buen Pastor, chose to open the doors of Manos de Cristo in 1988, to give the impoverished community a humane, dignified option for dental care. Manos made an immediate impact in the Central Texas community and in 1990 formally opened a Dental Clinic on the central east side of Austin.

Through grants and support from Austin-area churches and organizations, Manos’ founding principle to service by reaching out with compassionate concern, continues today. Manos now has headquarters and programs in north central Austin, serving our community through an 11-chair dental clinic, adult education services and basic needs. Manos’ reach has continued to grow through a Back-To-School program, computer, citizenship and English classes.

CLIENT STORIES

 

OUR BOARD

NATE GROVES, GEM Strategic Consulting
Board Chair

NEAL SHAH, DDS, Austin Dental Arts
Vice Chair

JULIE SCHNEIDER, Community Member
Secretary

GLENN DUKES
Treasurer

GARY MCINTOSH, CPA, CFF, Weaver, LLP
Immediate Past Chair

HEATHER BOBB, DDS, FICOI

AMANDA BONILLA, Bonilla Law Firm

MATT FLETCHER, Santander US Capital Markets

MILTON HIME, AIA, Studio8 Architects

KURT LOCKHART, Charles Butt Foundation

ANNE LYON, DDS, FAGD

RON OLIVEIRA, Oliveira Public Communications

TONY PACHECO, JR., DDS

KRYSTAL PATEL, Meierstone Vineyards

KELLIE RASTEGAR, Rastegar Property Company

JUAN VESGA, DDS, Advanced Prosthodontics

OUR STAFF

JULIE M. BALLESTEROS
Executive Director
(512) 628-4194
jballesteros@manosdecristo.org

KENDRA SANDOVAL, D.M.D.
Director of Dentistry
(512) 628-4208
dds@manosdecristo.org

YAMILEX RUIZ
Director of Dental Operations
(512) 628-4209
yruiz@manosdecristo.org

JESSICA GARDINER
Director of Foundation Relations
(512) 628-4201
jgardiner@manosdecristo.org

CARL FLOTO
Director of Finance
(512) 628-4195
cfloto@manosdecristo.org

DIANE RIEHS
Director of Development
(512) 628-4203
driehs@manosdecristo.org

LILY LOMBARDI
Donor Relations and Communications Coordinator
(512) 628-4202
llombardi@manosdecristo.org

KATHRYN K. HILLHOUSE
Development Coordinator
(512) 628-4205
khillhouse@manosdecristo.org

MARIA PALACIOS
Co-Director of Education
(512) 628-4197
mpalacios@manosdecristo.org

KARIN ZAMORA
Co-Director of Education
(512) 628-4196
kzamora@manosdecristo.org

MARIA GAMEZ
Basic Needs Coordinator
(512) 628-4199
mgamez@manosdecristo.org

Not sure who to contact? Email mdc@manosdecristo.org
We’ll make sure the right person gets it!