President
Paul Kraus, BCC
President - Rev. Dr. Paul D. Kraus, BCC (Since 1999)
Dr. Kraus has spent over three decades in pastoral ministry and pastoral care & counseling serving parishes, healthcare facilities and academic institutions. He is currently the director of pastoral care services at the Austin State Supported Living Center within the Health and Human Services Commission of Texas (HHSC-TX), and adjunct professor at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Seminary of the Southwest, and didactic instructor for the CPE Center at Austin State Hospital, Austin, Texas. Dr. Kraus is a board member with Humanitarians in the Arts, member of the state chaplains’ association advisory committee of HHSC of TX, and member of the seminary of the southwest master of chaplaincy and pastoral care and spiritual formation advisory council.
Dr. Kraus came to Austin nine years ago from San Antonio where he was the director of pastoral care and CPE coordinator for the Baptist Health System, as well as a faculty member and administrator with the Baptist University of the Americas for eight years. While in San Antonio, he held the position of partnership coordinator/ professor for the Texas-Mexico Pastoral Care and Counseling Conferences for fourteen years. Before moving to Texas he held a range of ministerial positions in Presbyterian and Baptist churches in the Philadelphia and New Jersey areas.
Dr. Kraus authored and peer reviewed over 20 professional publications in his career highlighting three distinct national and international publications – (1) Author - “Pastoral Care” A Computer Assisted Instruction for Nursing and Allied Health, A.S.K. Data Systems, Paul D. Kraus. (2008); (2) Reviewer - “The Practice of Community Nursing”, A Computer Assisted Instruction for Nursing and Allied Health, A.S.K. Data Systems, Battey, B.W. (2006); (3) Academic Journal Reviewer - “New Zealand nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care: qualitative findings from a national survey” Religions, 2017.
+Ordained and Endorsed by the American Baptist Churches (ABC-USA)
+ACPE-Clinical Pastoral Education – 1,600 clinical hours
+BA, Eastern University, St. David’s, PA
+M.Div., Palmer Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA
+D.Min, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, Texas
Daniel Dávila, Executive Director
Executive Director - Chaplain Daniel Dávila, M.Div., MAR, BCCC
Chaplain Daniel Dávila is the Interim Director of Spiritual Care at Austin State Hospital and supervisor/trainer of chaplain interns at Austin State Hospital. Chaplain Dávila is a Board Certified Chaplain with the International Associaiton of Christian Chaplains and a Board Certified Clinical Chaplain and Diplomate with CPSP (College of Pastoral Supervision & Psychotherapy). Chaplain Dávila also serves on the Austin State Hospital Spanish Language Interpreter Program.
Chaplain Dávila is ordained and endorsed by the Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.
Chaplain Dávila received his BA at Evangel University, M.Div. at Philipps University Graduate Seminary, MAR at the Iliff School of Theology and he also did graduate work at St. Thomas Catholic Seminary in Denver and Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. His clinical pastoral education was done in Tulsa Hillcrest Medical Center, Corpus Christi Memorial Medical Center and Driscoll Children’s Hospital.
Chaplain Dávila has made presentations at the San Antonio Ecumenical Center, Austin State Support Living Center and the Austin State Hospital on “Principlism and Ethics” to physicians, social workers and clergy and has also made presentations to physicians, social workers and clergy on “Awareness of Cultural and Interfaith Diversity” at Memorial Medical Center in Corpus Christi. Daniel also has his pastoral counseling private practice at the African American Harvest Youth Foundation in Austin.
Chaplain Dávila has taught pastoral care and counseling in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America. He has served as President in the Weslaco Ministerial Alliances and in the Austin Latin Ministerial Alliance. Most recently, Spring 2016, he served as adjunct professor of Pastoral Counseling at the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
Chaplain Dávila came to ASH as a volunteer serving Spanish speaking persons in 2004; then as full time temporary in May 2005-2006, while Chaplain Ron was on US Army duty in Afghanistan. He was hired as permanent employee in Sept 2006 and has been essential to serving the persons and staff at ASH since.
Board Member - Chaplain Jeannine Caracciolo, APBCC
Jeannine is a graduate of Austin Presbyterian Seminary where she completed her MDiv with a focus in pastoral care. During seminary, she served as chaplain intern at the Del Valle Correction Complex under Chaplain Tommy McIntosh. She became further involved at Del Valle by volunteering as an instructor with Truth be Told, a nonprofit which provides supportive classes to incarcerated women.
After graduating, she completed the chaplain residency program at Seton hospital which provided valuable experience with crisis care and led her into a career in hospice chaplaincy, where she has served several years with Silverado Hospice. She also holds a Bachelors in Design and Communication from University of Texas - Austin. Chaplain Caracciolo is also an Advanced Practice Board Certified Chaplain with the Spiritual Care Association.
Board Member - Chaplain Cari Fowler
Cari has served as a minister and chaplain for 17 years. Some areas of passion are spiritual growth, outreach and working with people who have mental health challenges both adults and youth. She is a bi-vocational minister and has worked for Child Protective Services and currently teaches at a residential treatment center. She serves as Minister of Pastoral Care at First Christian Church in San Marcos. Cari has directed/participated in hundreds of youth and adult retreats, camps and mission trips over the years. Currently, she serves at Treasurer for Texas Bible Chair with Disciples of Christ. She obtained a BS in Education from Southwest Texas and Masters of Divinity from Texas Christian University and has taken 4 units of CPE. She and her husband Dale, have 3 sons, they raise sheep, chickens and cats. Cari enjoys many activities including hiking, swimming, fitness, cooking and photography.
Matthew Hoffman
Board Member
Board Member - Rev. Dr. Matthew Hoffman, MDin, BCC
Matthew Hoffman, DMin, BCC presently serves as the Director of Faith In Action Initiatives for Baylor Scott and White Health. Through his work with Faith In Action Initiatives he oversees the humanitarian aid and medical missions arm of BSWH that aids nonprofit organizations within the United States and to countries all over the world to acquire the necessary resources to establish their care for impoverished people groups. In his role as he oversees the mentoring of Chaplains, training of pastoral care volunteers and the establishment of spiritual care/staff care programs in hospitals and clinics.
Chaplain Hoffman has a B.S. in Social Sciences from the University of Houston and an M.A. in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary and a DMin, in Christian Spirituality & Healthcare Chaplaincy from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. His doctoral work was in the area of the spirituality of work among healthcare professionals. His published dissertation is entitled, “Pandemic Theology: Listen, Lament and Labor - A Spirituality that Emerged from Those Who Worked Directly with COVID Patients.” He presently serves the Christian Journal of Global Health as a theological adviser doing peer-review of articles for publication. Prior to being a Healthcare Chaplain, he served as a local church pastor and church planter for twenty years, serving churches in Houston, Texas, Pasadena, CA, Lenexa, KS and Sharp, Texas. He is an ordained nondenominational minister and has ecclesiastical endorsement through InFaith Ministries (formerly American Missionary Fellowship). He is married and has two adult children and three grandchildren.