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
Virginia, Manos Patient
Dental Clinic
Ruben, Manos Student
Education
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
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
KARIN ZAMORA
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!