Clergy
The Very Rev. Dr. Tom Smith
XXI Dean & Rector
tom@episcopalcathedral.org
The Rev. Kate Smith
Associate Priest
kate@episcopalcathedral.org
Mother Kate spent her childhood in Canada and Israel, where her parents were church planters. At Saint Paul’s in Prosper, she has served as an Associate Priest since 2021. During her time there, she has been involved in pastoral care, women’s ministry, small group ministry, youth ministry, and spiritual direction. She also teaches a number of spiritual direction classes at the Stanton Institute as well as being a spiritual director for postulants in the discernment process. Prior to serving at Saint Paul’s, she served as a hospital chaplain and was the Fellows Director at Church of the Incarnation for four years. She was a member of the bishop’s search committee and also currently serves on Executive Council.
The Rev. Canon Victor Lee Austin, Ph.D.
Theologian in Residence
vaustin@edod.org
Father Austin is Cathedral Theologian-in-residence as well as Theologian-in-residence for the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas. An Oklahoman, he went to college in Santa Fe and then seminary in New York, where he got stuck and served parishes in the Hudson Valley for nearly two decades. He was then Theologian-in-residence at Saint Thomas Fifth Avenue before finally returning to the Southwest and coming to Dallas in 2016. He has written about his late wife’s brain disease in Losing Susan. His theological interests concern how theology makes a difference to everyday life (he has written on friendship, for instance). He has two adult children and nine grandchildren. 
The Rev. Mark Hall
Deacon Mark coordinates the Cathedral’s pastoral care ministries and is involved in various outreach ministries. He received a BA in Political Science from Drake University, a JD from the Georgetown University Law Center, and a Diploma in Ministry from the Stanton Center for Ministry Formation. He was ordained as a Deacon of the Church and came on staff at the Cathedral in June 2014.
Program & Administrative Staff
Sarah Shafer
Director, Cathedral Montessori School
sarah@episcopalmontessori.org
I am a passionate Montessori Mom of three beautiful children, gifts from God, and have been entrusted with the great honor of being the Director at Cathedral Montessori School. I strive for excellence while gently giving myself permission to be human. I love people and their stories. I love serving our families and I believe that the Montessori-Method with its innate spirituality provides an enriching way to love and care for our children well.
Keith Franks
Organist and Choir Director
kfranks@episcopalcathedral.org
Keith Franks received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music and his Master’s Degree in Music at the University of North Texas in Denton. He sang in the St. Matthew’s Cathedral Choir from 1975 to 1976 and again in 1985. As a young adult, he sang alto in the Grace Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys in San Francisco. Upon returning to Texas, he sang in the St. Mark’s School of Texas Evensong Choir and participated in two residency tours with the St. Mark’s Choir in 1988 and 1990 to Westminster Abbey, Magdalen College, St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh, and York Minster. He served as Assistant Organist at the Church of the Incarnation from 1996 to 2012 and accompanied the Incarnation Choir as organist on six residency tours in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2009, and 2011 at Westminster Abbey, Chichester Cathedral, Wells Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, Southwark Cathedral, St. Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral (Edinburgh), Lichfield Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral, and St. George’s Chapel (Windsor) and for several CDs. Keith has served as Assistant Organist at St. Matthew’s since January 2014 and now serves as the Interim Director of Music and Organist of St. Matthew’s. He has previously taught class piano and choir in the Dallas Independent School District and currently enjoys teaching World History and Advanced Placement Macroeconomics at North Dallas High School.
Paul Demer
Music Minister – Agape Service
pdemer@episcopalcathedral.org
Paul has been helping congregations sing together for over 10 years. He and his wife, Trisha, started leading music at the Cathedral in 2020 and helped to start the Agape Service. Paul also works as a singer-songwriter, record producer, and outreach musician. He has released several albums of original music, played over 1,500 concerts in hospitals and nursing homes in partnership with the local non-profit Texas Winds Musical Outreach, and regularly produces records for other artists.
Erin Sullivan
Director of Lay Ministries,
Minister to Families with Children
erin@episcopalcathedral.org
Erin Sullivan directs the Cathedral Kids ministries, serving children from birth through fifth grade. She attended Texas A&M University and Dallas Theological Seminary, from which she received her master’s degree in counseling. Prior to joining the staff of St. Matthew’s, Erin worked as a licensed professional counselor. She is passionate about teaching the stories of our Christian faith to children and generating fellowship opportunities for families of the Cathedral. Born and raised in San Antonio, Erin is devoted to The Spurs, H-E-B, and properly made flour tortillas.
Kathy Shackelford
Youth Ministry Leader
kathy@episcopalcathedral.org
Kathy is a Dallas native and returned home in 2001 after fashion design school in New York, NY and Paris, France and a fashion-industry career in San Francisco, CA. After finally finishing her bachelor’s in business at East Texas A&M University, she earned a master’s in dispute resolution at Southern Methodist University while working for the State of Texas as a Child Support Officer. In 2015, she was encouraged to pursue a Master of Divinity, which she completed at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, CA. She enjoyed her studies at Fuller because it allowed her to integrate her dispute resolution background with Islamic and theological studies. She currently utilizes this background daily at Gateway of Grace where she is the Director of Operations, serving refugees from all over the world, but mostly the Middle East. She has been married to Roger since 1992 and has a son, Brennan, who is a paralegal and professional drummer and a beautiful tortoiseshell calico cat named Lailah, named after the Hebrew word for “night.”
Sarah Nolan
Controller
sarahnolan@episcopalcathedral.org
Sarah comes to St. Matthew’s with twenty years of corporate accounting experience and her degree from UNT. She maintains, tracks and analyzes our financials, ensuring accurate and timely reporting. She manages our budget and audit processes, along with the daily accounting of the Cathedral.
Sarah and her husband, Patrick, have three sons. She loves to read, hang out with her family, and play pickleball.
Veronica Bobadilla
Receptionist
veronica@episcopalcathedral.org
Veronica provides office management and administrative support, hospitality for visitors and assistance with general inquiries. She is in the office Monday through Friday from 9:00am to 1:00pm.
Joseph Bobadilla
Retired Clergy
The Rev. Canon Diana Luck
Deacon for Outreach Emerita
The Rev. Canon Pam Dunbar
Deacon for Christian Education Emerita