Meet Our Team
Austin Applebach (he/him)
Director
Austin Applebach became the Director of Good Shepherd Volunteers in the summer of 2022. He is guided by a call to "serve servants," and he has spent his professional career committed to this vision. Austin previously served as the Director of Enrollment at the New York Theological Seminary where he connected ministry and leadership professionals to equipment for their service. Prior to that, he worked for many years as an area director at a large faith-based service program for college-aged volunteers in New Jersey and Colorado.
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Austin believes deeply that service in community provides fertile soil for personal and corporate transformation. He has a BA in Philosophy from Arizona State University and a M.Div from Princeton Theological Seminary. He lives in the neighborhood of Hamilton Heights, New York.
Contact Austin
(917) 832-7904
Samantha Wirth (she/her)
Communications Coordinator
Samantha Wirth joined Good Shepherd Volunteers as a staff member in January 2022, but her involvement goes back much further. A two-time program alumni, she first served at Collier High School in 2017-2018 and then as Public Policy Fellow at Good Shepherd Services (GSS) in 2018-2019. Immediately following her time as a volunteer, Samantha continued to work on the External Relations team at GSS.
Prior to her volunteer service, Samantha received her BA in Global Studies from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, where she also traveled the country with the University of Notre Dame Band. She is currently pursuing her MSc in Social Anthropology at the London School of Economics. In her free time, Samantha enjoys ceramics, listening to music, and learning new languages.
Contact Samantha
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Elsie Keifer (she/her)
Program Assistant
Elsie Keifer graduated from the Catholic University of America in 2018, earning a B.A. in Media & Communication Studies. She knew that she wanted to pursue long-term service after college and found Good Shepherd Volunteers to be a perfect fit.
In 2018, Elsie began her year of service with GSV at Hands of Hope in Nong Khai, Thailand. Upon returning to the U.S., she remained involved with the organization and joined the Board of Directors as a Junior Director in 2021. In 2023, Elsie was thrilled to join the GSV staff as Program Assistant. She is eager to share her skills and experience with an organization that has offered her so many great opportunities.
Elsie resides in Brooklyn, New York. She enjoys walks around the city, trying every coffee shop she passes, reading and running in Prospect Park, and baking and listening to records in her apartment.
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Contact Elsie
SR. ELAINE
BASINGER, RGS
Director
Sister of the Good Shepherd,
New York/Toronto Province
Member since 2017
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PK
DRAGO
Director
Account Manager,
Lautman Maska Neill & Company
Member since 2020
SR. JUDY
MANNIX, RGS
Director
Sister of the Good Shepherd, New York/ Toronto Province
Member since 2022
CARLOS
PEARCE
Director
Director of Human Resources & Quality Assurance, Martin De Porres Youth and Family Services
Member since 2019
MADDIE THOMPSON
(she/they)
Junior Director
Master of Social Work Candidate '24, Washington University in St. Louis
Member since 2023
VERONICA
BENNETT
Board Chair
Attorney
(Non-practicing)
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Member since 2017
ANNABELLE
DUNCAN
Director
Associate Director,
R/GA
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Member since 2023
SAUL
MARTINEZ
Director
Social Worker (LCSW), Summit School of Nyack
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Member since 2020
REBECCA
THOMPSON
Director
Finance Manager,
Service Oklahoma
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Member since 2019
LORI
BRAMLETT
Board Treasurer
Executive Director, DeNeuville Learning Center
Member since 2017
CLARA
FAGAN, CFA
Director
Senior Vice President,
Ariel Alternatives
Member since 2020
ANNIE
MINGUEZ GARCIA
Director
Director of Government and Community Relations,
Good Shepherd Services
Member since 2020
CHERYL
TIBERIO
Director
Managing Consultant,
State and Local Government,
Guidehouse
Member since 2022