The Diocese of Texas, through Bishop C. Andrew Doyle, is pleased to announce the hiring of Jennifer Scariano as the next Dean of Administration for the Iona School for Ministry. Scariano will replace the Rev. Francene Young, Dean of Administration since 2021, who retires at the end of August. She will work collaboratively with the Rev. Dr. Andrew Benko, current Dean of Formation for the Iona School.
Jennifer Scariano graduated from the Seminary of the Southwest in 2020, with an MA in Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care. She has worked for a variety of non-profits in human resources, development, curriculum building and training. She served as the board President of Trinity Center, was a founding board member of Magdalene House Austin and is currently on the program committee of El Buen Samaritano. She has been a parishioner at St. David’s Austin for almost 20 years and has served as a lay minister, Jr. Warden, small group leader and discernment committee member.
Since graduating, her focus has been on providing trauma informed care and advocacy to crime victims in Travis County. She lives in Austin with her husband George and has two grown sons. She is an avid reader, cook and traveler.
The Iona School for Ministry provides low residency programs of formation to prepare candidates for the diaconate and bivocational priesthood and lay persons for a variety of ministries. Founded in 2004, the Iona School of Texas is a member of the Iona Collaborative of Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. In addition to its traditional programs offered in person at Camp Allen, Iona School of Texas introduced a hybrid lay preaching certificate program in Spanish in 2025, Módulo de Formación de Predicador Laico, and will launch a new hybrid certificate program in Christian Formation this fall. For more information about the Iona School for Ministry, please consult ionaschool.com or contact Iona Administrator, Laura McAlister at lmcalister@epicenter.org.
