Staff

Fr. Albert Felice-Pace – Director – fr.albert@unlvnewman.com
David Zeamer – Development Director – zeamer@unlvnewman.com
Robert Oliver- Development Assistant – oliver@unlvnewman.com
Kyle Mefferd – Evangelization Peer Minister – mefferd@unlvnewman.com
Mike Kershaw – Music Coordinator Peer Minister – kershaw@unlvnewman.com
Nicole Danelson – Social Justice Peer Minister – danelson@unlvnewman.com
Valerie Lawdensky – Social Events Peer Minister – vlawdensky@unlvnewman.com
Melissa Blanco- Office Assistant – blanco@unlvnewman.com
Brittany Uy- Office Assistant – uy@unlvnewman.com
Brendan Karagiozis – Sacristan – karagiozis@unlvnewman.com
Tom Howerter – Maintenance Manager – thowerter@unlvnewman.com

Fr. Albert Felice-Pace

My name is Fr. Albert Felice-Pace, O.P., a Dominican priest of the Western Province.  I was born, raised, educated and ordained a priest on the Island of Malta.  I came to  this country in 1961, one year after I was ordained.  For 44 years I have been a campus minister.  I started in 1962 as a part time campus minister at Occidental College, Los Angeles.  After that I became a full time campus minister at UC Riverside, Arizona State University, University of Oregon, University of Arizona, and now at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  It has been a great experience to minister to young people. These young people have been a blessing to me. Now, through Facebook, many alumni have found me.  It has been exciting to hear from them after 40 or 30 or 10 years.  I enjoy reading, classical music, the opera and sports.  I say Mass for the UNLV football team.  I attend football games, volleyball, men and women basketball, baseball, softball and hope to watch tennis.  I am a great fan of the 49ers.  I love to play racquetball.  So, if anyone is interested to play a game, call me.  I am glad to be in Las Vegas and more excited to be on campus.  As a campus  minister I have worked on local, regional and national committees.  In 1995 I was award the Charles Forsythe award for outstanding leadership in campus ministry.  Go Rebels!

David Zeamer

I first came to Las Vegas to finish my Bachelors degree in English at UNLV. The whole time I was in school I was counting down the days to when I could move back to the Northwest. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Now through the grace of God, I am able to give back to an organization that has done so much for me because if it weren’t for the Newman Center, I wouldn’t be a practicing Catholic today.

 

 

David Lawdensky

Hi my name is David Lawdensky, the Development Assistant. I am only this serious when I am working. My work ethic is Protestant but my faith is Catholic. I enjoy working in a positive laid back environment where everything is fun. One of my biggest hobbies is to meet new people and make them friends so please come by to say hi. Being from Illinois I am a politician at heart and can talk up a wind storm. I live my life by three rules: Statistics, Physics, and Faith. Through these rules I do my best to be as best I can.

 

 

 

Kyle Mefferd

I’m a true Vegas native – born and raised! I attended Advanced Technologies Academy for Architecture and now continue my education at UNLV working on a degree in Kinesiology – Allied Health. I enjoy Chinese and Italian food, not mixed, and my favorite color is red. Currently, I wait for the zombie apocalypse, but in the meantime aside from being the Evangelization Peer Minister, I’m a youth minister for Youth for Family and Life and love to relax and pray!

 

 

Mike Kershaw

Born and raised in Vegas, I graduated from the Las Vegas Academy where I majored in Vocal Performance. This will definitely come in handy as the Music Coordinator at the Newman Center. I love God, music, Rebel Basketball, Packers Football, and Celtic Basketball (in that order). I am a Secondary Education major at UNLV and I hope to teach US History at the collegiate level someday.

 

 

Nicole Danelson
My name’s Nicole, and I’m the Social Justice Minister here at the Newman Center. I’ve got six years of social work under my belt and really excited to use that experience to expand Newman’s Social Jutice program. I’m from the far north–Montana, to be exact. I moved to Vegas to seek my Master’s ddegree in History and have been complaining about the heat ever since. I love God, punk music, camping, saying the rosary, video games, and playing poker.

 

 

 

Valerie Lawdensky

Hi everyone! I’m Val, the only minor to ever work here. I was born in Illinois, raised in Arizona, and finished growing up in Pahrump. I love to sing, act, play my trumpet, read, and be an all-around nerd. I love Psychology and Math, and am perpetually trying to decide between the two! I also love to bake, use my imagination, climb stuff, and plenty of other random things! Come say hi!

 

Melissa Blanco

Hello! My name is Melissa Blanco. I’m one of the Office Assistants here at the Newman Center. I was born in Queens, New York, and I moved to Las Vegas in 2004. Last year I graduated High School at Desert Oasis and I’m currently studying Pre-Nursing at UNLV. Outside of my work at Newman, I also serve in a youth ministry called Youth for Family and Life. I have three brothers. My favorite color is purple. I enjoy trying to laugh without smiling. I am right-handed, but I play billiards with my left hand as my dominant hand. I like to dance. I like to go bowling. Also, I believe Tropical Smoothie is a great place to get smoothies! If you have any questions about me or the Newman Center, come by the front desk on Tuesday and Thursday from 10am-5pm and ask!

 

Brittany Uy

Hi! I am the new office assistant here at Newman. I like going to the gym, the Los Angeles Lakers, and being a Filipina. Being from Southern California, I love running on the beach and doing yoga! My favorite color is purple and gold. I was once allergic to cheese and fish and now I’m not.  I am currently studying Health Care Administration at UNLV. My goals are to one day graduate UNLV and run/own a Senior Living Facility.

 

 

 

 

Brendan Karagiozis
I’m the sacristan here at the Newman center. I was born in Reno and moved to Las Vegas when I was 11. Graduated from Coronado high school in Henderson and now I am a Biology major here at UNLV. Eventually my goal is to become a Cardiologist. I enjoy movies, games, sports and spending time with friends.