Dennis Biviano, the Diocese of Youngstown’s public relations and media specialist, is the kind of guy who always puts his family first. That’s why, after almost 10 years away, the pull of the Mahoning Valley was too strong to ignore—nowhere else could ever really be home.
Biviano comes from a career in news media that began in Youngstown and took him to Raleigh, North Carolina, then to Columbus, Ohio, and finally back to Youngstown again. The move back to Youngstown coincided with a dramatic career shift—after nearly 20 years of working for Spectrum News, Biviano decided to shift to a public relations role. The move was made with his family in mind—the long and unusual hours were difficult to manage with a young son at home. Plus, he and his wife Jessica wanted to raise their son close to their family, who still live in the Youngstown area. Put it all together, and the choice was clear.
“That is the natural move if you do want to exit from TV news and use your expertise in public relations,” Biviano said. “You understand what the media wants out of a story, so I understand what they’re looking for, what people they want to interview, what angle they want to take with it, so it seemed like it would be a natural transition.”
Leaving his career was scary, but God had a plan for him. Biviano was raised Catholic, and he grew up at St. Pope John XXIII Parish in Niles, where he has volunteered his time working the parish festival at Mt. Carmel, along with his family, since he was young. Biviano jumped at the chance to bring his media expertise to the diocese when, one winter morning, he happened across the job posting for the diocese. He texted Father John-Michael Lavelle—who celebrated Biviano’s wedding and baptized their son—about the role. As it turned out, Father Lavelle had recently been appointed to oversee the Department of Communications and would be the role’s supervisor.
“A couple weeks later, after Christmas break, I interviewed with Bishop Bonnar, Father Lavelle and Monsignor Zuraw—it worked out well, and the rest is history!” Biviano said.
Biviano’s responsibilities include writing press releases, in addition to using his skills in broadcast media to produce original content for the diocese.
“The best part of it is that I get to split my duties in thirds: press releases, videos and doing the podcasts,” he said. “It’s still right up my alley. The podcast—we’ve been able to make that our own and it’s been a pleasure doing that as well.”
Growing the Catholic Echo podcast is one area of Biviano’s work that particularly excites him, and he’s looking forward to featuring the stories and voices of young leaders in the Church who are emerging in our communities.
But above all, Biviano appreciates the fact that his work has allowed him to deepen his faith life and grow closer to God. “It really was a blessing, and it has provided me an opportunity to strengthen and grow in my faith,” he said.
To hear more of Biviano’s work, tune into the Catholic Echo podcast, released weekly on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!
~ By Collin Vogt
