Staff
Pastoral Staff
Fr. Eric Nielsen
Pastor – Executive Director of Saint Paul’s Catholic Student Center
Fr. Eric has been the Pastor of Saint Paul’s since 2006 and a priest of the Diocese of Madison since 1995. The oldest of seven children, Fr. Nielsen grew up in Oshkosh, graduated in 1984 from the UW in Civil Engineering, and entered Mundelein Seminary in 1990. As a young man he enjoyed a lot of outdoor activity and travel but now spends most of his time at Saint Paul’s encouraging students to focus on study and prayer as a path to know, love and serve Jesus Christ.
Contact Fr. Eric at enielsen@uwcatholic.org
Fr. Tim Mergen
Parochial Vicar
Fr. Tim was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Madison on June 26th 2020. The youngest of four children, Fr. Tim was born in Madison and grew up in McFarland, WI. In 2010 he graduated as an officer from the U.S. Air Force Academy and in 2011 he completed training to become an Air Force pilot. After flying the Air Force Special Operations C-146 aircraft for three years he responded to the call to enter seminary and serve as a priest. He is Co-Sponsored with the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA to serve as both a diocesan priest in Madison and a military chaplain in the U.S. Air Force. Fr. Tim is a lifelong Badger fan who enjoys sports, coffee, reading, aviation, the outdoors, and spending time with students to help them see the truth and beauty of Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith.
Contact Fr. Tim at tmergen@uwcatholic.org
Helena Dziadowicz
Director of Evangelization and Student Housing
Hi I’m Helena! In 2017 I graduated from UW-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences, and then stuck around another year to live in the brand new Saint Paul’s building while I served through AmeriCorps as a high school math tutor in town. After that, I became a FOCUS missionary for two years: first at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ then at Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH. Last year I was a Residence Hall Director at Franciscan when Father Eric called me up out of the blue and asked me to consider coming back to work for Saint Paul’s. I am thrilled to be back here at such a special, thriving, and well led Catholic Student Center! I love coffee, talking, fitness classes, discussing difficult topics, making people feel important, and I would love to meet you!
Contact Helena at helenad@uwcatholic.org
Erin Sullivan
Marketing Intern
Heyooo, I’m Erin! I grew up in East Troy, Wisconsin going to St. Peter’s Church for grade school and Sunday mass. I attended Catholic Memorial High School located in the heart of Waukesha:) I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2021 where I received a degree in Retailing & Consumer Behavior along with certificates in Entrepreneurship and Textiles & Design. I decided to take a gap year from graduate school and strengthen my faith as well as help others grow in theirs by becoming an Intern at Saint Paul’s. I am the marketing intern here, constantly trying to keep students up to date and in the loop about upcoming events where they can learn to know, love, & serve Jesus Christ here at Saint Paul’s.
Contact Erin Sullivan at esullivan@uwcatholic.org
Sam Larson
Freshman Outreach Intern
Hello! I am from Luxemburg, Wisconsin, I was a member at St. Mary Parish growing up and was a student at Luxemburg-Casco High School. I graduated in May of 2021 from UW-Madison with majors in Political Science and Journalism and worked at the State Capitol before becoming the Freshman Outreach Intern at Saint Paul’s Catholic Student Center. In my free time, I enjoy painting, playing guitar, and playing whatever sport I can. (Another fun fact: in 2010 I served for the mass at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in which the location was deemed to be a true apparition site of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the only one in America).
Contact Sam Larson at slarson@uwcatholic.org
Audrey Gabler
Freshman Outreach Intern
My name is Audrey Gabler. I am from Bayside, WI with my home parish being St. Eugene’s Parish in Fox Point. I went to Divine Savior Holy Angels. I graduated with a B.S. in Neurobiology from UW Madison. As I was blessed to be raised in a Catholic family, I have always had a special place in my heart and life for the Catholic faith. It wasn’t until I entered college at UW Madison that I really desired to make my faith my own. Through the friendship and community I found at St. Paul’s I came to know Jesus and desire a deeper relationship with him! Organizing Freshmen small groups allows me to share the same experience I had with other students. A fun fact about me is that I play field hockey!
Contact Audrey Gabler at agabler@uwcatholic.org
Max Rettler
Hospitality Intern
My name is Max Rettler, and I originally hail from the east side of the state- West Bend, Wisconsin. Growing up I went to Holy Angels Catholic Church and attended West Bend West High School. After graduating from high school I entered the Seminary for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, but then transferred to the best university in the nation- the University of Wisconsin- Madison where I studied Community & Nonprofit Leadership as well as Philosophy. I am also a proud mellophone player in the Marching Band. If you know what the mellophone is, I am very proud of you. Now I work at Saint Paul’s as the Hospitality Intern, attempting to make sure that everyone who walks in has a great experience and a full stomach. Come for the food, but stay for Jesus!
Contact Max Rettler mrettler@uwcatholic.org
Carlee Olsen
Alpha Omega and Retreats Intern
I grew up near Plymouth, WI and I graduated from UW Madison where I studied Nursing and Global Health. I hope to become a Nurse Midwife and Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner! I love spending time on the lake, hiking, hammocking, cuddling with my dogs, and playing ukulele. Saint Paul’s has played an instrumental role in my life and I’m grateful to serve here this year. I’d love to meet you, feel free to reach out!
Contact Carlee Olsen at colsen@uwcatholic.org
Mark Schaer
Grad/YP Intern
I’m Mark! I’m originally from Rockford, Illinois and my parish is the Cathedral of St. Peter. I graduated from Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford in 2013 and the University of Illinois in 2017 with a degree in Marketing and Public Relations. I worked in my hometown for two years before applying to the graduate real estate program at UW-Madison. And ultimately graduated from the Wisconsin School of Business in May 2021 with an MBA in Real Estate. I am quite mediocre at basketball but, I’m always down for a game of pickup. Oh, and I also love to sing! Fun fact: I was in an a cappella group in undergrad called No Comment. No Comment was featured on a reality TV Show produced by John Legend called Sing It On. Along with my work as a Grad/YP Intern at Saint Paul’s, I am working with the development team to acquire unique housing opportunities for the community to utilize.
Contact Mark Schaer at mschaer@uwcatholic.org
Margo Tucker
Grad/YP and RCIA Intern
I was raised Evangelical, and attended Blackhawk Church in Middleton until I was a sophomore at Madison West High School. After high school, I completed a B.S in biochemistry at UW-Madison, graduating in May 2021. Throughout college, I spent a lot of time scuba diving, bird watching, serving tables and enjoying the occasional hiking trip. Now, I co-run the Graduate/Young Professional Ministry with Mark Schaer, and RCIA with Fr. Tim.
Contact Margo Tucker at mtucker@uwcatholic.org
Ben Galvin
Liturgy and Service Intern
Hi, my name is Ben. I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and my home parish was Cathedral Parish. I attended Saint Ambrose Academy in Madison and graduated at UW-Madison May 21’. I graduated with a degree in vocal performance. A little fun fact about myself is that I am learning the guitar! So by the end of the year ask me to play you something and hopefully I can!
Contact Ben Galvin at bgalvin@uwcatholic.org
Maria Steigerwald
Director of Music
Contact Maria at msteigerwald@uwcatholic.org
FOCUS Missionaries
Olivia Ring
Team Director
Hi, I’m Olivia and I am from Savage, MN. My home parish is St. Michael’s in Prior Lake, MN and I went to Prior Lake High School. I continued my education and earned a degree in Elementary and Special Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2018! GO BIG RED! For fun I love to rock climb, hike, and read classic literature! Now I work as the Team Director for FOCUS at UW/Saint Paul’s
Luke La Salvia
Campus Missionary
Hi my name is Luke I’m a second year FOCUS missionary. I did my undergrad at Iowa State University and studied apparel product development. This year I look forward to growing in friendship with guys I met last year and deepening my relationship with Jesus.
Camryn Miller
Campus Missionary
Hi! My name is Cam and I am a first-year FOCUS Missionary! I am from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and I graduated from the University of Iowa with a pre-Occupational Therapy degree! I love Jesus, kombucha, the outdoors, & the Iowa Hawkeyes. I am beyond excited to be at UW-Madison bringing souls to Jesus through Saint Paul’s!
Noah Joseph
Campus Missionary
Hey! I’m from Plymouth, WI and my home parish is St. John the Baptist. I went to UW for undergrad and studied Bio Chem. I’m so excited to come back to St. Paul’s Catholic Student Center with FOCUS! I am very passionate about everything: soccer (watching, playing, practicing), reading, exercising, large group events, hangouts (especially bonfires), and day trips! Catch me around the student center to talk about absolutely anything – especially prayer and spiritual reading books!
Erica Nossaman
Campus Missionary
Hi, I’m Erica! I’m from Pella, Iowa and graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Event Management. During college I was blessed with a community that drew me deeper in faith to make Jesus the center of my life. I became a FOCUS Missionary to share this experience with more college students and continue to grow in relationship with Christ myself.
Preferred contact is phone/texting! 641-204-2988
Development Team
KC Daniels
Director of Advancement
KC’s hometown is Madison, WI. He attended Edgewood High School and UW-Madison School of Business where he graduated in 2018. He was one of the first residents at St. Paul’s and even got married here, so St. Paul’s has a tremendous impact on his life. After living in Green Bay for three years, he and his family moved south to work at the best Student Center in the nation. KC is devoted to helping Saint Paul’s raise enough money for the whole formation of the next generation of leaders: spiritual, intellectual, human, and leadership formation. He enjoys running and hiking, as well as brewing his own beer. KC, his wife, Bridget, and their daughter, Zelie, reside in the Madison area. Contact KC at kdaniels@uwcatholic.org
Sophia Madore
Advancement Associate
Contact Sophia at smadore@uwcatholic.org or (608) 422-4818.
Staff
Scott Hackl
Senior Director of Advancement
Contact Scott at scotth@uwcatholic.org
Professor John Boersma
Scholar in Residence
Contact Professor Boersma at jboersma@uwcatholic.org
Kelli Trumble
Director of Operations
Contact Kelli Trumble at ktrumble@uwcatholic.org
