Annie Linebarger
Annie was born and raised in Austin and attended high school in Bonners Ferry, Idaho where she developed a love of nature, hiking, and camping. She attended UT Austin (Hook-em!) and rowed for Texas Crew, then studied abroad in Sydney, Australia for a year. After receiving her B.S. in Biology in 2008, she backpacked around the world, then spent several months in West Africa volunteering at a hospital. In the spirit of adventure, she settled back in Sydney for medical school where she lived before moving back to Texas and completing Family Medicine residency in Galveston.
Annie is passionate about preventative and integrative medicine, mindfulness/meditation, and educating patients on the importance of mental health in relation to physical well being. She and her husband, Jason, have three children, Twila, Wesley, and Wyatt.
Bailey Harrington
Bailey has over 15 years of entitlement, design, permitting, and construction support experience spanning over $1.5 billion in real estate development projects, and prior to moving to Austin was a commissioned Engineer Officer in the U.S. Army serving a year-long deployment in RC(S) Afghanistan. Bailey holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and is an active member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA), and Leadership Austin.
Carrie Hicks
Development Committee Chair
Carrie Hicks creció en el sur de California y se licenció en Económicas por la Universidad de Vanderbilt antes de dedicarse al diseño de interiores en Nueva York y Los Ángeles. Con el tiempo, ella y su marido, Robert, llegaron a Austin (spoiler: él es de Austin) y actualmente viven con sus tres hijos y un perro a pocos pasos de Pease Park. Carrie se siente muy comprometida con el apoyo a los espacios verdes públicos de Austin, así como con el fomento de la comunidad a través de la divulgación y el compromiso educativo.
Catherine Lucchesi
President Elect
Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion Committee Chair
Catherine tiene una pasión de toda la vida por conectar a diversos líderes y comunidades a través de los movimientos. Graduada por la NYU y la McCombs School of Business, tiene más de 8 años de experiencia en el sector de las organizaciones sin ánimo de lucro. Durante su carrera organizó programas en toda la ciudad que sirvieron a más de 110.000 personas y recaudó más de 57 millones de dólares para la comunidad de Austin. Apasionada por la construcción de la equidad en los espacios verdes y la conservación, está comprometida a apoyar el futuro de Pease Park. Catherine es una joven patrocinadora de Yellowstone Forever y presidenta del comité OWAAT de Austin Speech Labs. Ella y su marido, Tucker, disfrutan de largos paseos por el parque con su perro, Louis.
Charlton Lewis
Charlton is a Senior Lecturer and the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture, where he earned a Post-Professional Master and a Bachelor of Architecture. He has taught continuously at UTSOA since 2006, in design and construction courses, and in seminar courses such as Race and Gender: By Design, which examines the relationship of design relative to narratives of race, gender, equity, and diversity. Over the last several years he has served in various service capacities on both UTSOA and university levels, including as Co-Chair of the UTSOA Committee of Diversity and Equity, and on the University’s Graduate Education Task Force. He is currently the faculty liaison for the UTSOA chapter of NOMAS (National Organization of Minority Architecture Students), and a faculty representative for the Design Futures Public Interest Design Forum. He is also currently serving as the Educator member on the Texas Society of Architects, and on the University’s Faculty Advisory Committee on Budgets.
Cynthia Herrera
Vision Plan Implementation Committee Chair
Cy Herrera es una firme defensora del bienestar de la comunidad a través de intervenciones ascendentes que incluyen la instalación y el desarrollo de Asociaciones Médico-Jurídicas (MLP) e iniciativas de housing first. Cy es una experimentada abogada de derecho de familia con un historial demostrado de trabajo en sectores gubernamentales y sin ánimo de lucro, y también es experta en la puesta en marcha de MLP, la formación y la defensa de clientes que han sufrido violencia de pareja, agresión sexual y acoso. Cy es doctor en Derecho por la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Loyola de Chicago, con un certificado en Derecho de la Salud por el nacionalmente aclamado Instituto Beazley de Derecho y Política de la Salud.
Gerardo Gandy
With a well-cultured background in architecture, interior design, and brand strategy, Gerardo works with some of Austin’s largest developers. He is on the front lines of creating the vision for how the urban, cultural, and architectural landscape is transforming in Austin. As a member of the steering committee for Gensler’s Community Impact Program, Gerardo helps steer the firm’s vision for community impact by focusing efforts and resources on initiatives ranging from non-profit collaborations, mentorship programs, and community engagement events. Gerardo was named the 2018 Associate Member of the year by the AIA Austin and is the recipient of the 2020 Austin Under 40 Awards in the category of Architecture, Construction, and Engineering.
Katharine Wilson Bayer
Board President
Katharine Wilson Bayer es una diseñadora afincada en Austin. A menudo se la puede encontrar en uno de los parques de su ciudad natal, maravillada por la paz y la apertura de los espacios verdes. Su objetivo en la conservación es abordar de forma creativa la creación de soluciones y ampliar la comprensión de los recursos del parque sin perder de vista el contexto, las consecuencias y el valor. Su marco de comprensión está influenciado por la teoría estética, el activismo cultural creativo, la literatura y su relación con el paisaje, y el desarrollo de capacidades mediante la participación de la comunidad. Con deleite y curiosidad, se esfuerza por construir paisajes que enriquezcan y den vida.
Laura Billings Key
Laura Key es directora de ventas estratégicas de la empresa tecnológica Dropoff. Le apasiona utilizar los espacios verdes de Austin como foro educativo. Le encantan todas las especies únicas que alberga el Parque Pease. Ella, su marido, Garrett, y sus dos hijos pueden encontrarse a menudo jugando en el Parque Pease.
Mary Tipps
Mary has been walking the trail at Pease Park since college. She lives in Old Enfield and can be found most weekends at the park walking her dogs.
A Houston native, Mary has a degree in Latin American Studies from the University of Texas. She currently is the Executive Director of a statewide advocacy association.
Previously to the Conservancy, Mary served as Board Chair for Dress for Success and volunteered with the Austin Children’s Shelter in addition to being on it’s Board of Directors.
Melissa Sarkar
Treasurer Finance Committee Chair
Melissa aporta más de 25 años de experiencia operativa diversa, incluyendo la gestión de organizaciones con y sin ánimo de lucro. Pasó 20 años en Busch Entertainment Corporation, culminando en su papel de Vicepresidenta de Operaciones. Después de conocer a su marido en 2007, decidió colgar su sombrero de parque temático y se trasladó a Austin.
Le entusiasma la energía que aporta Pease Park Conservancy a la hora de reimaginar lo que un parque urbano puede aportar a la comunidad circundante.
Micah King
Micah is a shareholder at Winstead. He focuses on land use and real estate development, as well as governmental affairs, with an emphasis on local government. Micah regularly represents clients before city councils, boards, planning and zoning commissions, and other governmental bodies. Previously, Micah served as an Assistant City Attorney to the City of Austin. A Texas native, he earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin.
Michelle Strauss
Development Committee Co-Chair
Michelle es una tejana de quinta generación que creció en Houston y que ahora vive en Austin con su marido y sus tres hijos. Después de vivir en Houston, Nueva York, Dallas y Los Ángeles, Michelle aprendió el impacto positivo que los espacios verdes urbanos pueden tener en la salud mental y física, y le apasiona preservar y hacer que esos espacios sean accesibles para todos. Michelle también forma parte del Consejo de Liderazgo del Hospital Infantil Dell, del Comité de la Gala del Festival del Libro de Texas y, junto con su marido, es una ferviente defensora de Austin PBS / Austin City Limits. Michelle y su familia viven desde hace varios años en las inmediaciones de Pease Park y a menudo se les puede encontrar montando en bicicleta, corriendo y jugando en el parque.
Morgan Burnham
Morgan grew up in Dallas and attended the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with a BA in corporate communications. After working and traveling as a communications consultant for 6 years, she and her husband moved from Washington, DC to Austin to start a family. Morgan, John, and their three children live just above Shoal Creek and love their daily walks through Pease Park with their dog, Banks. Morgan grew up enjoying the park over holidays with her extended family in Austin and believes in the power of urban green spaces to bring families, neighborhoods, and communities together.
Myra Goepp
Myra was raised in Chicago where parks and public spaces are a core component to many neighborhoods and provide programs that redirect young energy in positive ways. When she moved to Austin to attend The University of Texas Engineering program, Myra lived at the doorstep to Pease Park. She found respite in a daily morning run on the creek side trail. Today, Myra is Vice President at Espacio Benchmark Land Development, where she works to find better ways to build complete communities that thoughtfully provide for all the dynamic parts of life, such as where you rest your head, educate, work, shop, eat, play, volunteer, rejoice and collaborate.
Nan McRaven
Secretary Nominations, Governance, Strategy Committee Chair
La Dra. Nan McRaven es la propietaria de McRaven Consulting, una empresa de relaciones públicas y asuntos gubernamentales, situada en Austin, Texas. Antes de crear su propia empresa, Nan ocupó puestos en los sectores privado, sin ánimo de lucro y gubernamental. Su experiencia laboral incluye: Directora del Estado de Texas de The Trust for Public Land; Directora Senior de Freescale Semiconductor; Vicepresidenta de Comunicaciones y Asuntos Públicos de Motorola Inc.; Vicepresidenta de la Cámara de Comercio del Gran Austin; y Directora de Personal y Presupuesto del Condado de Travis.
Raasin McIntosh
Raasin is the Founder of Raasin in the Sun and Director of Parks and Placemaking at Downtown Austin Alliance. She is the community’s creative placemaking gift. She is a visionary, creative, and Track and Field Olympian, whose career spans nearly a decade specializing in community arts initiatives in cross-disciplinary collaborative work.
She attended the University of Texas at Austin where she earned a BA in Communications. She has extensive experience in curating, managing, producing, facilitating and coordinating, public arts, public space activations, creative placemaking, restorations, and community engagement initiatives.
Lead by a humanitarian drive to change the world for the better through the arts, she represents our community to the highest level through the art of storytelling, intentional solution based ideas to strengthen and enhance the city’s cultural identity while promoting/providing economic viability for all artists and creatives alike.
Rob Shands
Rob is a Partner with RedLeaf, where he is primarily focused on capital markets, financing activities, acquisitions, vertical development, and strategic partnerships.
He holds a BBA in Finance from the University of Mississippi. He has been on the Board of Directors for the Hill Country Conservancy, the Board of Directors for the Real Estate Council of Austin (RECA), and the Board of Directors for First Bank, N.A.
Robin Camp
Robin has been a project manager for custom homes, as well as City of Austin public projects, including many city parks. She currently manages construction projects for The University of Texas. She led a series of Habitat for Humanity construction sites, including all women volunteer-built houses and served on the Austin Habitat for Humanity board of directors. Pease Park first came to her attention while in the UT Architecture School when she wrote a research paper on the park. Many years later, after riding through the park as a commuting cyclist and spending countless hours with her dogs in the park, she has brought her talents in design and construction to Pease.
Wendy Dunnam Tita
Past President
Durante más de dos décadas, Wendy Dunnam Tita ha tratado de integrar la innovación y la estrategia de futuro con una calidad de diseño excepcional. Es directora de Page y líder del mercado de proyectos de vivienda y hostelería de la empresa. Como arquitecta, Wendy defiende el diálogo entre el diseño, la artesanía y las personas para avanzar y alimentar esta colaboración esencial, y para enriquecer la experiencia humana de la arquitectura y su realización. Como habitante de Austin desde 1988, Wendy está comprometida con la rica arteria de Pease Park y otros espacios verdes urbanos que sirven como lugares para explorar, jugar y conectar nuestra diversa y creciente comunidad.
Yusuf Bajwa
Yusuf es abogado de Sanders Bajwa LLP, donde asesora en transacciones inmobiliarias comerciales y representa a clientes en complejos litigios empresariales y acciones colectivas sobre valores. Reside en Old Enfield con su esposa Lauren y sus tres hijas.