Communities In Schools of Central Texas
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Thank you for being #ALLINFORKIDS !
Communities In Schools of Central Texas board members, including (from left): Front row, from left to right: Edie Rogat, Tal Tversky, Laura Bennett, Nicole Treviño, and Gabriella Briceño.
Back row: Kerry Ugarte, Cameron Brown, Felicia Garcia, Martha Bowles, and Simon Brown-Valdez.
Tal Tversky
Board Chair
Dr. Tal Tversky is a Director of Machine Learning at Apple Inc., where he leads teams developing analytic solutions to problems that involve fraud, waste and abuse company wide. Tal earned a B.S. in Physics from Yale and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Texas at Austin specializing in artificial intelligence and vision.As a child, he imagined he would be a spy or a scientist. Today he imagines he fights crime with his mind. Tal has four kids who have all attended various AISD schools, and a wife who has been an educator for more than 20 years. Tal has always been passionate about education and kids and is delighted to be serving on the board of CIS.
Felicia Garcia
Chair-Elect
Felicia Garcia is a public affairs professional working in brand engagement, sustainability, and state and local government relations at The Coca-Cola Company. Felicia has experience with media relations, social impact strategy, sponsorship fulfillment, corporate social responsibility, and regional nonprofit charitable efforts. She is an alumna of the University of Texas at Austin and received a master’s degree in strategic communication from American University.Felicia currently serves as a board member at large of the Austin Ed Fund, Con Mi MADRE, Austin PBS, and Communities in Schools Central Texas. She was a participant in the 2013 class of Leadership Austin Emerge and completed the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Hispanic Austin Leadership program in May 2020. She has served on the board of directors of Shoal Creek Conservancy, the YWCA Greater Austin, YHPAA, and the Young Women’s Alliance – serving as co-chair of the 2017 Austin Under 40 Awards. Her past work experience includes fundraising and community engagement with Central Texas Food Bank and public affairs and philanthropy with H-E-B.
Cameron Brown
Treasurer
Cameron Brown is a Partner in KPMG’s Austin office focusing on clients in the technology, consumer and life science sectors. Cameron began his career with KPMG in 1999 in the Austin office and spent a two-year rotation from 2003 to 2005 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Cameron holds a B.S.M. in Accounting and Finance from Tulane University and is a Texas and New York Certified Public Accountant. In addition to his role on the Communities In Schools of Central Texas Board, Cameron serves on the Finance Committee of SAFE and a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Cameron enjoys traveling with his two kids and is an avid runner.
Martha Bowles
Secretary
Martha Bowles grew up in Houston and earned her master’s degree in education/curriculum and instruction. As a career educator, Martha saw the difference CIS Bay Area made in students’ lives and wanted to support the program. Martha served on the Board of Directors of Communities In Schools Bay Area for seven years, and as president of the board from 2020-2021. In addition to volunteering with CIS, Martha also serves as a mentor with Higher Up Texas and has been a part of Big Brothers and Sisters as well.Martha and her husband Scott love living in Austin with their two pups and have two grown children. In her free time Martha enjoys exploring Austin and spending time with family.
“The difference CIS makes in not only in students’ lives, but their families as well, is powerful and incredible to watch,” Martha says. “I’m so thankful to support and volunteer with an organization of wonderful people creating positive change.”
Shasta Buchanan, Ed.D.
Dr. Shasta Buchanan currently serves as Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management for the Austin Community College District. In this role she works collaboratively across the college to ensure student success in and beyond the classroom. Her work includes ensuring all students have access to a great education, are engaged and have a student experience that enables them to persist and timely complete a degree or certificate to unlock their future goals. She is a strong advocate for working with external and internal stakeholders to make college affordable with an innovative spirit and strategy to evolve how we support students. Previously Dr. Buchanan served as Associate Vice President of College and High School Relations at ACC where she increased dual credit enrollment and expanded partnerships with local school districts and businesses. She has over 25 years of higher education experience as a student affairs and enrollment management administrator, spanning across many institutions in Texas, which include Texas A&M University, The University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Tech University, University of North Texas at Dallas, and Portland Community College (Portland, Oregon). Additionally, Dr. Buchanan is known for her work in enrollment management and has been recognized by Ruffalo Noel Levitz for student success and degree completion in her development of the Century Scholar Program at Texas A&M University (which also was recognized by the Department of Education / Office of Civil Rights). All of her commitments, which includes service on boards throughout the region and country, are centered at the core of advancing any person to reach their highest potential – whether a student enrolls in college directly from high school, an adult returning to education to upskill, a first-generation student, or a student who just needs a second chance – her commitment is unwavering to continue to transform education to be student-ready.
Javier Valdez
Javier Valdez is the CEO of the American Red Cross Central & South Texas Chapter, leading a dedicated team of staff and volunteers serving more than 9.4 million people across 83 counties. Regional services include disaster relief and preparedness, blood collection, lifesaving CPR and first aid training, international family tracing, and support for military members, veterans, and their families. Headquartered in Austin, the region also includes offices in Bryan, Del Rio, El Paso, Kerrville, Laredo, Midland, San Antonio, and Waco.
With more than 25 years of leadership across corporate and nonprofit sectors, Javier has guided several local and national organizations through growth and transformation. His leadership emphasizes strategic growth, operational excellence, and elevating community voice.
Previously, Javier held executive and senior leadership roles at Oracle, ERCOT, and Cisco Systems, where he led enterprise operations, digital transformation initiatives, and customer success strategies – blending business acumen, innovation, and a deep commitment to community resilience.
Laura Bennett
Community Volunteer
Laura grew up in Houston and earned her BBA in Management Information Systems from UT Austin. She was a programmer and a software trainer for Dell before becoming the director of New Product Development at the technology industry research firm, IntelliQuest.
For the past 20 years, Laura has been immersed in the non-profit world as a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters and as a fundraiser for Good Shepherd Episcopal School, American Cancer Society, Trinity Episcopal School, the Nature Conservancy and the Colorado River Alliance. Her most rewarding fundraising endeavor was the seven years she spent with the Jeremiah Program, taking it from a concept to a bustling campus serving under-resourced single mothers who are working toward a college degree. Laura recently joined the Philanthropy Circle of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, an organization that seeks to amplify the female perspective in conflict resolution around the globe.
Laura and her dog, Ella, were a therapy team at Dell Children’s Hospital for many years until her dog reached retirement age. She and her husband, Kyndel, have a daughter currently at UT studying sustainability and a son at University of Southern California pursuing a career in film. She completed the TOWER Fellows program at UT in May of 2023. Laura spends her off-time paddle boarding on Lady Bird Lake, playing pickleball, riding horses, and wrestling with Mother Nature in her vegetable garden.
Gabriella Briceño
Ramirez & Company, Inc.
Simon Brown-Valdez
Co-owner, Salon Vela
Simon Brown-Valdez is a successful entrepreneur and community leader with a deep commitment to education. He is the co-owner of Salon Vela, where he has combined project management expertise, strong business acumen, and a dedication to customer experience to build a thriving Austin business. His ability to manage growth, lead teams, and deliver results has made him a respected leader and voice in the business community.Beyond his professional success, Simon and his husband have an enduring commitment to student success are longtime supporters of Communities In Schools. Simon has a unique blend of entrepreneurial leadership and philanthropic passion, offering the perspective of a business owner and the heart of a community advocate to ensure that students and families have the resources they need to thrive.
Dr. Chris Cervini
Austin Community College District
Dr. Chris Cervini is currently Vice Chancellor for Community and Public Affairs at Austin Community College District (ACC). In this role, he is responsible for engaging ACC’s external stakeholders to create deeper connections between the college and community. Cervini works with local chambers of commerce, community organizations, and elected leaders at the local, state, and federal levels to advocate for the college and its students. In this role, he oversees the Center for Nonprofit Studies (Nonprofit Austin), ACC’s elections and voter registration efforts, and its Community Engagement Office. Dr. Cervini believes higher education is the best strategy for achieving upward social mobility in a society increasingly imperiled by rising inequality. He received his doctorate in higher education leadership at the University of Texas at Austin, has a master’s degree in political science from American University in Washington, D.C., and received his bachelor’s degree in political science and journalism/mass communications from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Andy Esparza
Andy Esparza spent 38 years as a Human Resources professional, including leading the HR functions for Dell Technologies and Baker Hughes as their Chief HR Officer. His experience includes managing global teams in the design and implementation of people strategies to hire, develop, motivate and retain world class talent.
He has served as a Board member for the United Way of Greater Austin, the Andy Roddick Foundation, and the Ann Richards School.
He is now a Community Advocate and pro bono non-profit consultant. His consulting work includes facilitating the creation of strategic plans, recruiting and hiring executive talent, coaching executives, and facilitating organizational team building efforts. He and his wife Karen have been residents of Austin for 27 years and are committed to doing their part to make our community a better place where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Walter Gonzales
Tesla, Public Policy Associate
Walter Gonzales, a native Austinite, is an accomplished government affairs and public policy professional with more than 20 years of experience advancing business and policy goals across multiple industries. He currently serves as Assistant Vice President of State Government Relations for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), where he leads advocacy efforts and serves on key boards supporting the insurance and tort reform sectors.With a robust background in government relations and urban planning, Walter has held leadership positions with Tesla, the Downtown Austin Alliance, Expedia Group, Cresleigh Management, and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). Earlier in his career, Walter held positions with Booz Allen Hamilton and the California State Legislature, contributing to his deep understanding of policy, politics, and stakeholder engagement.
Walter holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree from the UCLA School of Public Affairs.
Melanie Mullan
Education and Community Leader
For more than 30 years, Melanie Mullan has advanced the quality of public education by partnering with educators, nonprofits, and community leaders to strengthen educational systems and outcomes for young people.
During the past decade, she served as Strategic Advisor to the Buena Vista, Tapestry, and Jeanne and Michael Klein Foundations in support of Austin ISD. She also co-founded Austin 2030, a now-thriving, community-based, collective action network working to establish a “College” Promise in the greater Austin area.
Melanie was Chief Program Officer at Turnaround for Children, a New York City-based non-profit that helped translate emerging brain science into school and classroom policy and practice.
Throughout her career, Melanie has focused on the critical connection between students’ social and emotional health and their academic readiness. She has extensive experience in nonprofit leadership, program strategy and operations, philanthropy, and systems-level change, and is passionate about ensuring that young people have the support and opportunities they need to thrive both in the classroom and beyond.
Prior to joining the CIS board, Melanie served on the All In for Kids Capital Campaign Committee.
Edie Rogat
Edie and her family moved to Austin in 2009. She is a board member of Ballet Austin and previously served as Board Chair. She also serves as Treasurer and Trustee for the Ballet Austin Foundation. She was a board member of the Anti-Defamation League Austin and their Education Committee co-chair. She and her husband, Cotter Cunningham, were honored with ADL’s Torch of Liberty award in 2018 in recognition of their leadership in promoting respect and fair treatment. She served as Parents’ Association President and Trustee of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Austin and St. Mark’s Episcopal School in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Her work experience includes planning public programs for the Smithsonian Institution and management consulting for Ernst & Young. She holds an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, and a BA from the University of Virginia. Edie and Cotter have three children.
Devi Shah
Devi Shah is the founder of Consult On Purpose, a boutique consultancy that helps mission-driven organizations strengthen the connection between their development and communications to grow their impact. She brings more than 20 years of corporate leadership and seven years of nonprofit board service, including experience leading digital marketing at Charles Schwab and championing underrepresented customers at Colgate-Palmolive.
Devi combines business strategy and social purpose to help organizations tell their stories effectively, build sustainable fundraising strategies, and increase their impact. She is passionate about expanding opportunity for underrepresented communities and believes deeply in the power of education and community support to create lasting change.
She holds an MBA from NYU’s Stern School of Business and a BS in engineering from the University of Central Florida. Originally from Florida and New York, Devi now calls Austin home.
Ryan Sutton
The University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Ryan Sutton is a licensed psychologist and serves as an Associate Dean of Dell Medical School. He is passionate about creating access, exposure, and opportunities for young people in a way that helps expand and realize their personal narratives and success. His passions are supported through his research, experience working with community programming serving youth and young adults, and his teaching.
Hannah Temple
Hannah Temple is an attorney-mediator and the founder of Nine Dots Mediation, which specializes in divorce mediation. She holds a B.A from Pomona College and a J.D. from Stanford Law School, and was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1999. She previously worked as an attorney in the Travis County Attorney’s Office, the Office of the Texas Secretary of State, and Texas Legislative Council.
In addition to mediation, Hannah is passionate about philanthropy and nonprofit governance. She is the past president of the board of directors of the Dispute Resolution Center in Austin and chair-elect of the T.L.L. Temple Foundation in Lufkin. She previously served as the chair of the board for Breakthrough Central Texas and as a board director for Balcones Resources, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School and the Dell Children’s Medical Center Foundation in Austin, as well as on the steering committee for the capital campaign to build a new children’s museum in Austin (the Thinkery).
Hannah is originally from Diboll, Texas, and currently lives in Austin with her two children Mary Ellen (19) and Robert (14).
Nicole Treviño
Nicole Treviño Consulting
Nicole has spent over 10 years in the nonprofit, government and social sector with specific focus on strategies that incorporate inclusion, collaboration, and high-quality services. Her work has helped address challenges faced by social service systems, organizations, and professionals to improve services for people across a range of diversities and identities. More recently, she has begun working with corporate organizations to support organizational improvement initiatives, including addressing structures that create disengaging work environments.
Nicole provides consulting, coaching and training on overcoming challenges and improving programs, services and organizations at multiple levels. Her work has helped equip professionals and organizations with the tools and strategies needed to best serve others and create equitable environments. She has worked in a variety of locations and settings, from small nonprofits and tribal communities to statewide organizations, large government systems and international corporations.
Nicole is a Founder of the Health Youth Partnership, an organization designed to provide training and development to social service and healthcare professionals. She is also the co-founder of a local Diversity Leadership Conference for youth and adults in Austin, Texas. She is the co-author of EngenderHealth’s Native Youth Adaptation Manual- a guide for creating cultural inclusion into curriculum-based programs and the co-developer of the second edition of the We R Native health curriculum. Through her work in creating inclusion and honoring diversity in youth and health services, she has provided training, development and coaching to professionals and executives across the world to develop their openness and skills for inclusive work.
Kerry Ugarte
Kerry Ugarte is a Wealth Advisor, advising clients in areas of wealth planning and preservation, such as managing their wealth and passing the wealth on to family or charity in a tax-efficient manner. Kerry began her career as a management consultant with a global consulting firm and then became an estate planning attorney. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Kerry was a shareholder at Graves Dougherty Hearon& Moody in Austin, Texas. There she helped clients design and implement estate planning and wealth transfer solutions. She joined J.P. Morgan Private Bank in 2014 as a Wealth Advisor for Central Texas. Kerry is Board Certified in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. She serves on several non-profit boards in the Central Texas community. Kerry received her undergraduate B.B.A in Honors Business and B.A. in Plan II from the University of Texas. She also received her M.B.A. and J.D. from The University of Texas. While not working or volunteering, Kerry enjoys traveling with her husband and their three school-age children.
Steve Visser
Business leader and community advocate
Steve Visser is a business leader and community advocate with deep experience in building strong organizations and teams. As the former owner of Workplace Resource Texas, Steve successfully grew and later sold the company, bringing innovative workplace solutions to businesses across the state.He is deeply committed to education and community well-being, bringing together his business acumen and passion for creating opportunities for young people.
Chronika Winn
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Chronika Winn serves in the Strategic Enrollment Division at the University of Texas San Antonio as an Associate Registrar. She is John H. Reagan High Communities in Schools program alumna. She earned a B.S at Texas A&M and is the proudest member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie c/o 2011! Whoop! She earned a M.B.A from Hallmark University. Her journey in higher education started over 11 years ago at Hallmark University a private non-profit institution. Her desire to serve and support students heightened there and became her mission. Her experience in academics, assessment, student services and registrar provide extensive understanding of the student life cycle. This sparked her interest to help K-12 students explore pathways and enter higher education. She serves as the Vice President, Board of Directors for Black Girls Do Engineer Corporation a membership based non-profit focused on advocating for minority girls in STEM. She developed and oversees the mentorship, college preparation and training programs. She is passionate about education, volunteering and making an impact.
Harry Zimmerman
Circuit of the Americas, LLC
Harry Zimmerman is CFO and General Counsel of the Circuit of the Americas. Prior to that he had been either General Counsel, CFO or both for several companies based in Austin, including Encore Medical Corporation and Pathway Partners (now Thrive Vet Healthcare), each of which were, after significant growth, acquired by large private equity firms. He received his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (cum laude) and his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law (with honors). He is licensed as both an attorney and a certified public accountant in the state of Texas. He currently serves of the Board of the Capitol Area Boys Scouts of America, the Anti-Defamation League and is a director and treasurer of Swan Songs, Musical Last Wishes. He has been a member of the Finance Committee of CIS for the past 2 years. He has been married to Cindy for over 40 years and they have 2 grown children and 2 grandsons that they spend a lot of time with. When not working, volunteering or spending time with his family, he enjoys travel and listening to live music.