PARISH STAFF
CLERGY
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Deacon Kurt has been a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton for over 40 years and has served the parish as a deacon since 2015. He was born in Butte, Montana, and moved to Alaska at the age of 16. Deacon Kurt and his wife Joan were married in 1994, have three children, Matt, Paige, and Danielle, and two grandchildren, Owen and Ema.
Deacon Kurt has served the Anchorage community in the Automotive Industry since 1996. Previously, he has worked in the mineral exploration business, environmental drilling and remediation, and the fishing industry.
Deacon Kurt is a 4th-degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus and a member of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.
STAFF
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Sarah grew up in Anchorage, Alaska. She has been a part the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton community for 30 years and is an alum of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic School. She holds a BS in Psychology from the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Sarah began her current role in 2017, managing parish communications and ensuring our volunteers are well-equipped to carry out their ministry. She enjoys supporting the church through her work.
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Coming soon!
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Kate Bazin serves as the Pastoral Associate for Evangelization at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Anchorage, Alaska. In this role, she works with individuals seeking to help their families grow, guided by the light and love of Christ. Kate completed her Doctorate of Education at the University of Mary’s Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. She previously received a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Dallas and an M.Ed. with an emphasis on Curriculum, instruction, and assessment from the University of Mary. Her studies have focused on the formative capacity of education within the Catholic intellectual tradition. Her research has focused on nurturing healthy family functioning within family-centered catechesis programs.
Dr. Bazin is married to Peter and has one child, John Gregory. She has served on the Board of Directors for Habitat of Humanity Anchorage, is active in Scouting, and coaches a FIRST Lego League Robotics team. In her free time, she enjoys exploring new trails, photography, puzzles, and reading.
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Kellie Thomson was raised in a strong Catholic community in St. Louis, Mo., and graduated in 1991 from Missouri State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Management. One week after graduation, she moved to Anchorage, Alaska, and within a month, was volunteering as a Confirmation catechist at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. During the next 15 years, Kellie built her career in both corporate and non-profit communications and served as an active member and the President of the Alaska Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), while continuing to volunteer at local Catholic parishes in music and young adult ministry and as a catechist sharing her Catholic faith with students ranging from preschoolers through adults. After marrying her husband, Alec “Curtis”, in 2001, and starting a family, Kellie took a professional sabbatical to raise their children, Liam and XinMei. She spent her sabbatical years doing “pro-bono” public relations/promotions management for Saint Elizabeth School and Parish where she served in leadership roles on the School Board, PVO, and as a volunteer director of Catholic Schools Week and Vacation Bible School.
In August 2014, when her children were attending St. Elizabeth School, Kellie began working part-time to manage the Saint Elizabeth Parish K-12 Faith Formation Program. She continues to lead volunteers and guide families through the sacramental preparation process while serving as an active parent volunteer at Lumen Christi High School. Kellie enthusiastically supports our Archdiocesan school community and strives to bring a joyful and compassionate heart to all those she encounters in her work at Saint. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.
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Theresa Austin was born and raised in Southern California with a strong Italian and Irish Catholic background. She went to the California Maritime Academy and graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration in addition to her license to navigate commercial merchant vessels all over the world. In 1993, Theresa married Keith Austin and started sailing for Scripps Institute of Oceanography out of San Diego.
In 2000 Theresa and Keith moved to Anchorage with their children, and she retired from sailing. In 2001 Theresa began teaching Catechism to middle schoolers and in 2002 Theresa started working for the Catholic Church directing youth and young adult ministry. Over time her duties increased, and before she knew it, she was organizing World Youth Day pilgrimages, assisting with the Alaska Catholic Youth Conference and putting on Vacation Bible School along with Faith Formation and Evangelization for the Parish. In her spare time Theresa enjoys working on her YouTube channel, playing golf, pickle ball, hanging out with young people and traveling with her husband Keith.
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A lifelong Alaskan, Amy has been a parishioner at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton since 1994 when she joined the youth group as a teen, and is a Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton School alum where she attended Kindergarten and First Grade.
Amy and her husband Shane have three children: Jeremy, Francesca, and Malcolm, all of whom attended Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton School from Kindergarten through Sixth Grade, and two of the three went on to Lumen Christi High School. The Lockes have run a graphic design business since 2000 that has offered them a platform to gratefully serve the church and school community for many years through many projects.
In both the church and the school, Amy has enjoyed various volunteer and leadership roles with the School PVO, on the Auction Committee and as Auction Co-chair, Youth and Young Adult Ministry, VBS, Faith Formation, the new SPRED program, retreat teams, and more. She and Shane host a weekly Bible Study group, going strong since early 2020. In Spring of 2023, she joined the staff at Saint Elizabeth Parish with great joy and is happy to help the team support the people of the parish in furthering the mission of Christ.
Faith, family, and friends are the cream in her coffee, and she survives the winters to celebrate sunny Alaskan summers. If you see her at church, around town, or out on the hiking trails, please say hello!
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Brogan Lane was born in Ohio in 2001, but soon after moved to Weatherford, TX and remained there for 18 years, claiming Texas as his home and favorite state. He comes from a large military and medical family, most of whom serve in the U.S. Air Force. As a result, Brogan is an experienced and well-traveled person, having visited 42 of the 50 states.
He really enjoys fiction writing and reading as well as any sort of outdoor activities such as camping and hiking. Brogan began discerning the priesthood in his sophomore year of high school and spent the past three years studying philosophy at St. Joseph Abbey and Seminary College in St. Benedict LA as a seminarian for the Diocese of Fort Worth TX. He left the seminary and moved to Alaska in hopes of growing and gaining experiences that will aid him in his discernment and future vocation.
Brogan works in the parish as Pastoral Ministry Intern with a focus on youth and young adults, and utilizes his experiences from seminary to help teach, guide, and walk with those to whom he ministers.
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Janet was born in Houston, Texas. Her family moved to Alaska when she was a young child and continued to move around the states until they returned to Anchorage, Alaska once more in 1982. Her family was registered as parishioners at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church from 1982 – 1992 and was very active within the parish. Janet was one of the first girl altar servers, helped her mother with Sunday School classes, was very active with the youth group, went to Leadership Camp to represent Saint Elizabeth’s and became a youth leader.
After graduating from Robert Service High School, Janet attended college at University of Portland in Portland, Oregon where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education. She taught 5th grade at a local Catholic school and then pursued her love of fitness by teaching a variety of fitness classes for the past 24 years while raising her two boys in Oregon.
Janet has recently moved back to Anchorage to start a new job opportunity and tie her two loves of teaching and fitness together to teach P.E. at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton School and work with Kellie Thomson as a Faith Formation Coordinator for the parish. She is excited to return to Alaska and to work at and attend Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church once again.
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Kathy Gustafson was born in St. Paul, MN and raised in Park Rapids, MN. Kathy has an Elementary Education Degree from Bemidji State University plus two masters, one from Grand Canyon University in the Art of Teaching and a second masters in Administration from UAA.
Kathy moved to Alaska to teach in Sand Point, AK in August of 1990 for one year. Then she taught seven years in Dillingham, AK before moving to Anchorage to teach and become a Principal for the Anchorage School District. She met her husband, Sven, in Dillingham, AK. Sven was born and raised in Dillingham, AK and returned to teach in the same teaching position that his father held at the middle/high school. Kathy and Sven have two children, Steven who lives Anchorage and Julie who lives in North Pole, AK with her husband Kaleb McCarter.
She became the Principal at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton School in June of 2015 after 25 years in public education. Kathy was instrumental in starting the Pre-Kindergarten program with Father Steven Moore. She has guided her staff in providing an excellent faith-based education for students in the Anchorage area for the last eight years. Kathy has created a loving and nurturing environment at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton School among staff, students and families. She was a member of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish for 21 years and taught Catechism for several years for the parish. Her family currently attends Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church since they live in Big Lake, AK. Kathy was raised Catholic and attended St. Peters Catholic Parish in Park Rapids, MN during her upbringing.
Kathy enjoys water activities (swimming, boating, fishing, etc.) and winter activities (ice skating, snow machining, fat tire biking, etc.). She also enjoys sewing, cooking and doing arts and crafts in her spare time, and spending time with her family.
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I was born one month after the 64 earthquake in San Diego as my father was serving in the Navy.
My father was indigenous Alaskan. My mother came to Alaska after WW2 on the lap of my grandmother via the Alcan in a Flatbed truck holding all their belongings. They spent the winter in Copper Center before my grandfather took a job shoveling snow in Valdez.
Raised in Valdez, I experienced the calamity of the Pipeline construction and the 1989 oil spill.
I graduated from UAA in 1987 and have worked in maintenance and real estate/property management since.
I enjoy photography and was one of the original trained professional real estate photographers when the sales industry evolved from print.
I bike 52 weeks a year and build custom mountain bikes.
I have two teenage girls who keep me on my toes!
I enjoy my job, the staff and community at SEAS.
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Born in Jamaica, Prince migrated to Mount Vernon, New York at the age of 13. There, he attended George Washington Middle School and Mount Vernon High School. After graduating, he joined the National Guard. He lived with his aunt until she passed away and then he enlisted in the U.S. Army. First stationed in Germany in field artillery, Prince then changed his MOS duties and moved to Missouri to work in Administration. After completing that, he put in to come to Alaska in 1982 and was stationed at Ft. Richardson. He extended his military service until 1989 and stayed in Alaska for its beautiful people and beautiful scenery.
After leaving the military, Prince worked with the Anchorage School District where he stayed until he retired in 2022. What a blessing that he has agreed to work here at our school and parish!
In his free time, Prince is a radio DJ! He began at KSKA and worked there from 1983 to 1995. He now hosts a Reggae show called “Reggae Mixx” every Sunday from 3-6p on 90.3 fm KNBA. Tune in and give him a listen! He is grateful to use his show as a platform to share the love, respect, good manners and appreciation for others that he was taught by his grandparents, aunt and uncle. An important lesson he learned as a child was formative in his firm belief in God: on a hot, sunny day in Jamaica, he was struggling with great hunger and noticed an orange peel in a garbage bin. God instructed him to eat it to survive, and he says that listening to God in life is why he is here today, giving thanks and praise.
Prince says, “I did not grow up with a mother or father or experience love from them. I choose the right way to live by the trust of God for directions. I taught myself to love and respect others as they are, no matter what. One love!”
Hard work has been an important value to Prince since youth, and he credits his grandfather for setting that example. He really enjoys DJ-ing and visiting Moose’s Tooth, Suite 100, or Long Branch Saloon for a good meal. We enjoy his joyful spirit and the positive attitude he shares with those around him!
Prince Hitchman
Assistant to Facilities Manager, Custodian
prince@akseas.net
