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Spiritual Directors

Fr. Leo Markert

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Fr. Leo Markert

Fr. Leo Markert is a retired Catholic priest. He was born in Albany and has been ordained for 58 years. He currently serves 6 parishes and is the chaplain of Notre Dame – Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, NY. During his 58 years of ministry he has happily served as a pastor, hospital and Navy chaplain, teacher at Catholic Central High School in Troy, NY and Spiritual Director for the Journey Retreat Program on 63 retreats. The young people whom he has met (he calls them “saints in training”) have inspired him just as much as he hopes he has inspired them. He feels he continues to become a better priest because of them. Fr. Leo prays that he may have the opportunity to introduce or reintroduce you to Jesus on a future Journey retreat. He is not only our Lord and savior, but our best Friend.

Mark Sabatini

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Mark Sabatini

Mark was born and raised in Schenectady county and currently lives in Rotterdam NY with his wife, Nora. He has three children (all participated in Journey) and one grandchild. Mark graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1982 and currently works in the electrical industry for Graybar Electric as a business development manager. As a parishioner of St Gabriel the Archangel church in Rotterdam, he serves as a cantor, choir member, Eucharistic minister and lector. In the past he has served St Gabriel’s as a parish council member, faith formation teacher and CYO basketball coach. Mark was invited to participate at a Journey retreat as a spiritual director by his pastor at that time, Fr. Leo Markert. He was stunned by how deeply moved our young people were during this weekend. That was 15 years ago and he continues to serve this program however he’s needed.

Fr. Bob Longobucco

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Fr. Bob Longobucco

Father Bob Longobucco was born and raised in Bayville, NY, and attended the University at Albany where he fell in love with both campus ministry and the upstate area. He received a Master’s of Divinity from the Catholic University of America and was ordained to the priesthood on July 3, 1998. Fr. Bob’s first assignment was as Associate Pastor and Sacramental Minister for Campus Ministry at St. Mary’s in Oneonta, NY. After three years in Oneonta he returned to the University at Albany as Campus Minister. Under Fr. Bob’s guidance, the Campus Ministry experienced growth in numbers, service hours, and friendships. It was here that Fr. Bob was integral in the formation of the Journey Retreat experience, initially known as Christian Awakening. He served as Rector on the very first Journey Retreat in 1986 and has been involved ever since! Fr. Bob arrived in Schenectady when he was named Pastor of St. Helen’s Church and Sacramental Minister at Our Lady of Fatima Church. Fr. Bob worked tirelessly on the merger of these two parishes. In 2012, he achieved this goal of Called to be Church with the formation of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish.

Bridgette Shepardson

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Bridgette Shepardson

Bridgette lives in West Oneonta and has been part of the Journey family for 25 years now! She lives with her family in a small farm, and spends her free time dancing and playing with her animals. She homeschools her daughter, is a professional nanny, and teaches dance classes, sign language classes, birthing classes, and faith formation classes.

Fr. Tom Fallati

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Fr. Tom Fallati

Fr. Tom Fallati was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Albany by Bishop Scharfenberger on May 18, 2024. He serves at St. Kateri Tekakwitha parish in Schenectady as associate to the pastor, Fr. Bob Longobucco. A graduate of Union College and Harvard Law School, he practiced law for more than twenty-five years in New York City and Albany. He earned his Master of Divinity degree from St. Bernard’s School of Theology and Ministry, continuing his formation at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary. In addition to his parish work, he serves as an Assistant Vocation Director for the diocese, chaplain to the diocesan Catholic Lawyers Guild and as a board member of the Friends of Our Lady of Martyrs Shrine, Inc. He also authors a column for the diocesan newspaper, The Evangelist. Fr. Tom is blessed as the father to Luke Fallati, a senior at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

Kathleen Kanai

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Kathleen Kanai

Katie first attended Journey as a candidate when she was a sophomore in high school. After her first weekend, she returned on several other Journey weekends and held a variety of roles from table leader to rectora. After attending RPI for college, Katie returned to the Journey Retreat as a Spiritual Director. She is currently an IT Business Analyst NSS (Golub Corporation). In her spare time, Katie likes to play soccer and try new recipes in the kitchen.

Maggie Gifford

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Maggie Gifford

Maggie was adopted from South Korea at age 3 and lived her childhood in Rotterdam, NY. She attended St. Gabriel's Church throughout her childhood and she attended Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School, where she was active in peer ministry. Maggie was introduced to the Journey retreat in 1996 and continued on as a table leader until 1998. She attended Elmira College and received her Bachelor's in biology. She currently works at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and has a husband and 3 beautiful boys. The family attends Christ the King Parish in Guilderland. As her eldest son approached confirmation, she recalled the profound impact Journey had on her in those teenage years and encouraged her son to go! He reluctantly went and came back filled with God's light and inspiration. The call back to Journey was strong and very rewarding!

Lisa Kuban

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Lisa Kuban

Lisa Kuban is the Youth Minister at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish. She has served this community since 2008 and part of Journey leadership since 2014. She has a MA in Professional School Counseling from Sage Graduate School. She lives in Schenectady with her husband, Michael and two daughters, Nadia and Ella. "I believe the Journey experience provides a safe, supportive and faith-filled environment to discover themselves and their relationship with God. They become part of a community that loves them and will be with them for years to come."

Shawn Bushway

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Shawn Bushway

Shawn Bushway and his wife Trisha have been members of St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish for 8 years. They have three daughters who have been active in Journey. In addition to his involvement with Journey, he currently teaches religious education and is a member of the Pastoral Council. He attended the University of Notre Dame (go Irish!) and is a Senior Policy Researcher with the RAND Corporation. Before that he was a full professor at the University at Albany in the College of Public Administration and Policy.

Sr Betsy Van Deusen

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Sr Betsy Van Deusen

Sr. Betsy Van Deusen is a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet. She has served as Parenting Counselor and Shelter Coordinator in the Families in Crisis Program at Unity House in Troy, as Campus Minister at Catholic Central High School in Troy, Director of St. John's Center in Albany's South End, Director of Church Relations for Habitat for Humanity International in Americus, GA, Pastoral Associate for Youth Ministry at St. Helen's in Schenectady/Niskayuna and presently serves as Pastoral Associate for Evangelization there. Her passion is inviting and challenging people to put faith into action and to come into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Sr. Betsy has presented at the diocesan sponsored Spring Enrichment for many years as well as many workshops, days of reflection and retreats. She served as the Spiritual Director of the Cursillo Movement in the Albany Diocese and is presently the Director of the newly established St. Joseph Worker Program, a full time, year long volunteer program for women 21-35 sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Check out the website as www.sjworkers.org. Sr. Betsy believes in young people and serves on the Journey Board to empower young people to embrace life sustaining faith that will transform their lives.

Marie Woodward

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Marie Woodward

Marie has been a Spiritual Director with the Journey Retreat Program for ten years. She first learned of Journey when her daughter, Grace, was in high school and went on the Retreat. After she attended a Journey closing mass, she knew she wanted to be a part of this retreat program. The young people had clearly become great friends with each other and they were so joyful at mass. They had clearly been deeply moved by their weekend. Marie is a cantor, choir member, lector, visitation minister, and adult educator at Christ the King parish in Guilderland. She has recently retired from the NYS Board of Elections. Her husband, John, and she live in Rotterdam.

Audrey Carlton

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Audrey Carlton

Audrey Carlton resides in Rotterdam, NY with her husband, Doug, and their son, Wesley. As a long-time parishioner of St. Gabriel's Church in Rotterdam, Audrey first got involved in the Journey Retreat as a high schooler. Journey 43 marked the beginning of her participation with the program, and she has been hooked ever since! Audrey’s father, Mark, was involved with Journey long before she could participate, and she enjoys going back on the weekend as a Spiritual Director to serve with him. Audrey serves as a cantor and choir member at St. Gabriel’s, and in the past has served as a parish council member, faith formation teacher and member of the Family Promise team. Audrey works for the Office of Financial Aid at Union College and enjoys theater (both acting and watching!), going for walks with Doug and Wes, spending time with family, and having game nights with their friends.

Diane DeDominicis

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Diane DeDominicis

Diane DeDominicis is a member of St. Mary's parish in Oneonta, NY where she works as Administrative Assistant and has served as a high school catechist for more than 20 years. She is currently enrolled in the Holy Ground formation program for spiritual directors through the Consultation Center of Albany. Diane has served her local community as a campus minister, cub scout leader and a 4-h leader for many years and currently serves on the board of directors for the Jail Ministry of Otsego County. She is also a professional dog trainer, has been involved for many years in dog rescue and currently enjoys raising and training Labrador Retrievers. She finds God most readily through the natural world, in the eyes of the people around her, and in the majesty of creation. Her greatest joy has been the privilege to be the mother of 8 children, grandmother of 11, whom she shares with her childhood sweetheart, Tony.

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