Casa Marianella Staff

Jennifer Long

Co-Executive Director

Originally from Dallas, TX, Jennifer Long has been the director of Casa Marianella since 1998. Jennifer's initial training and inspiration in homeless services was a year of service with the Los Angeles Catholic Worker in 1978. She received a degree in Social Philosophy from UC Santa Cruz and a Masters degree in ESL from UT Austin.

Patti McCabe

Co-Executive Director

Patti is from Austin, Texas. She attended Boston College and studied Psychology. She has traveled to Spain, Mexico and Italy. Her favorite destination so far is Mexico City. She decided to work at Posada to return the gift of hospitality to newcomers in need.

Melissa Buhrt

Managing Director

Originally from Indiana, Melissa started her journey at Casa Marianella in 2009 as a Keep Austin Housed Americorps member. Before coming to Austin, Melissa earned a degree in International Studies and Spanish from Indiana University Bloomington. She also attended Lauterstein Conway School of Massage and is a licensed massage therapist. She has studied in Barcelona, Spain and Costa Rica. She has traveled throughout Europe and Mexico. Melissa enjoys learning from Casa residents and community members and is constantly inspired by their strength and resiliency. She continues to to work at Casa because she loves the community that continues to grow and change. She wants to be a part of a community focused on welcoming immigrants.

Paula Blaha

Paula Blaha grew up in many places and came to Austin after high school to pursue a music degree from U.T., where she studied organ with Frank Speller and eventually received degrees in computer science and linguistics. She has lived for a month or two at a time in Tunisia, Egypt, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, and Mexico, and has traveled through many parts of Europe and Mexico.

Mercedes Wanguemert-Peña

Chapman College
Political Science – such a long time ago!

Julian Root

Julian grew up in Philadelphia, and worked as a musician and bicycle messenger. He later moved to Guatemala, where he spent four years managing a used bookstore and playing in the country's only bluegrass band. He began volunteering and later working at Casa Marianella after returning to the US in 2019, keenly aware of the social divide in Guatemala which privileged his life there.

ESL Coordinator

At Casa since 2014, our ESL Coordinator brings a background of teaching English, Spanish, ESL, and intercultural studies in public and private schools (high school & middle school, college, adults), corporations, and nonprofits in the US, Latin America, and Spain, as well as working with international students and volunteer teams, leading cross-cultural service projects, and coaching. Has multiple teaching certificates and graduate degrees and is a Qualified Administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI). Our ESL Coordinator loves working with and equipping our dynamic, dedicated, and creative teachers, as well as contributing to all of Team Casa!

Laura Smith

Housing Coordinator

Laura has been advocating in shelters, with immigrants, and in Latin America since 1989. A former newborn specialist and postpartum doula of 20 years, she joined Casa's housing team in 2019. She loves working alongside Casa's determined, caring, multilingual community and sees each day as an adventure to contribute and grow.

Karen Dale Wolman

Grants Manager

Originally from New York, Karen Dale Wolman's activism started in L.A. during the ACT-UP and Queer Nation days. She then went to work for a mostly gay Latino AIDS organization, wrote a couple of novels, taught college and found grant writing as a way to support nonprofits. As her grandparents and great-grandparents left Eastern Europe when it was very unsafe to be Jewish in that part of the world, the work of Casa Marianella is dear to her heart. Karen earned a Master of Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Communication Arts and Media from Queens College, City University of New York.

Katie Tallman

As a child, Katie traveled to other far off places in the world through books. Her curiosity about the world led her to study International Studies and spend a year in Mexico studying Spanish in university. After graduating, she traveled to South America where she lived for five years and worked as an English teacher. Having found her way back to the U.S., she is grateful to be a part of the Casa community and part of immigrants' and new community members' lives

Lina Franco

Lina grew up in Colombia and became an Asylee in the United States at the age of 13. She is a case manager at Casa Marianella and has a deeply strong connection to Casa's purpose, staff, and residents.

Glenda Sanchez

Glenda is originally from East Texas (Nacogdoches) and she studied at Texas State University, where she earned her bachelors in social work and is now pursuing her masters in legal studies. She plans to use her educational background in social work and legal studies to work with migrant populations in any way she can. She always had an interest to work with immigrants and refugees as she comes from a family of immigrants herself. She found Casa Marianella through Texas State and she began to intern at Casa in Spring of 2022. She enjoyed the work so much that she stayed and is currently taking on the role of Donations Coordinator and Case Manager.

Emelly Carvajal

Emelly is a first generation Mexican American, and she received her bachelors in Social Work from Texas State. She is currently enrolled in the Masters program in Legal Studies at Texas State. She started at Casa Marianella as an intern, but her love for immigration grew and inspired her to enter the legal studies program to learn more about immigration law and reform.

Gabriel Salgado

Gabriel has been part of Casa, working in the benefits office, since the summer of 2022. He graduated from Lafayette College in 2020, volunteering in refugee resettlement during his time there while majoring in film and media. He loves watching and analyzing movies, playing ultimate frisbee, reading comics, and whenever it's even a slightly clear night sky he'll go through yet another bout of wishing he knew more about astronomy. Born and raised in Austin, Texas, he is grateful for the ability to do the work of the benefits office.

Alexandra Fowler

Alexandra was born and raised in Texas, growing up in Dallas and spending most of her adult life in Austin. When beginning her undergrad in international relations at UT Austin, she decided to specialize in Arabic and Middle Eastern Studies because it had always intrigued her. To her surprise, she fell in love with Arabic and wound up majoring in the language before spending a year in Morocco. Her studies throughout college and her experiences abroad further solidified her passion for social justice, immigration reform, and human rights. She started at the Benefits Office in early 2025 and is happy to be using her language skills to help immigrants and asylum-seekers at Casa Marianella. Outside of work, Alexandra loves cooking, Broadway musicals, and spending time outside with her friends.

West Cosgrove

West has worked for most of his adult life with immigrants and immigration related issues. After living in Venezuela with his family for seven years, West lived and worked on the U.S.- Mexico border for 22 years, before moving to northern New York, where he worked with farmworkers. In 2023 he began working with Casa as a case manager. West loves to spend time on his bicycle, including a solo bike ride from Canada to Mexico on his 50th birthday. West has three beautiful children and three equally wonderful grandchildren.

Bailey Barlow

Bailey Barlow was born and raised in Austin. She graduated from Southwestern University in 2023 with a BA in Spanish & French after studying abroad for two semesters. She works as a legal assistant as well as in the main office, plus managing intakes and whatever else needs doing. She is taking classes to become an accredited representative as well as beginning Arabic and Portuguese classes. In her free time, she enjoys making jewelry, sewing, and cuddling with her cat.

Lucy Schmidt

After graduating from Santa Clara University in 2023, Lucy moved to Yatsushiro, Japan to teach English to elementary and middle school students. There, she cultivated her love for cultural exchange and developed a deep gratitude for everyone who helped her build a life in Japan. After returning home to Austin, she hoped to find a job where she could learn from people from around the world, foster her love for languages, and pass along that help she received to others. She is thrilled she gets to do that in the Benefits Office everyday!

Posada Esperanza Staff

Abri Lumiere Staff

Diana Piña

My name is Diana Piña. I was born in Mexico City but have lived most of my life in Austin, TX. I study psychology and social work at ACC and love going to the gym and hanging out with my fur babies outside of work. I have a passion for helping others and think this career is a great way for me to pursue that goal.

Grecia Arpi Nano

Grecia grew up in a small town in Peru and spent her first 12 years there before moving to the capital to pursue her studies. She graduated with a bachelor's in Business, but it was during her time working with a non-profit that she really found her passion for social justice and making a difference in her community. In 2021, Grecia moved to the U.S. to continue her studies and earned a degree in Social Work. When she's not working, Grecia can usually be found watching Real Madrid games, playing soccer with friends, staying active with Pilates, or catching a good movie. She's deeply committed to the mission of Abri Lumiere, feeling grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such a meaningful cause.

Mary Richardson-Perez

Mary has always had a passion for new experiences and places, given that her family was quite nomadic before settling in Nashville, TN. In her 20s, she backpacked around the world twice, pausing in India for extended stays, which is when she fell in love with Eastern philosophy, Indian culture and yoga. Upon returning to the United States, she moved to Austin and finished a BA at the University of Texas focusing on Studio Art (painting). She continued her studies at UT in the South Asian Studies Department focusing on Indian Philosophy/Culture and Sanskrit. Alongside teaching yoga and meditation, Mary has always been fulfilled by advocacy and social justice work. She is currently enrolled in a graduate program for social work and will complete her degree in May, 2025. She is eager to support Casa Marianella's mission. She feels deeply for the families at Abri Lumiere and is passionate about combating the injustices they face with Abri's amazing team and resources.