McBee Fellowship

The McBee Fellowship

Act as stewards for the greater common good.

The Frank McBee Jr. Fellows Program is a rigorous, 13-month program for civic leadership development. Frank McBee Jr. Fellowships offer exceptional Central Texas leaders first-hand, practical experience working with regional civic entrepreneurs on a variety of public policy issues to improve the long-term economic and social quality of life for all Central Texans.

The Fellowship is designed to seed Central Texas with leaders who think regionally and act as stewards for the greater common good. Like AARO members, McBee Fellows:

Lead with integrity - individually and collectively.

Establish and nurture relationships of trust.

Think and act systemically, considering the interdependency of issues.

Engage in collaborative, non-partisan efforts that honor the wisdom inside and outside of AARO.

During the program year, Fellows actively engage with many of the region’s most influential business and community leaders through AARO committee and membership meetings. In addition, each Fellow meets regularly with two AARO mentors throughout the year. AARO carefully selects the mentors for each Fellow to maximize their growth as leaders and enhance the quality of the Fellowship experience.

Fellows are expected to repay the privilege of participating in the Fellowship year by contributing to the region as future leaders. AARO hopes McBee alumni will inspire others in their spheres of influence to think and act in the long-term best interest of the region.

Application Information

The application for the 2019 Class of Frank McBee Jr. Fellows will be available in summer 2018.

Application Preview

Contact Diana Barton at (512) 477-4000 or dbarton@aaroregion.com for more information.

2022 APPLICATION WINDOW CLOSED.

The application window for the Class of 2022 McBee Fellows is now closed. Please check back in May or June of 2022 for the 2023 application information.

For the next class we will be looking for early to mid-career leaders working to enhance the social and/or economic well-being of Central Texans. Individuals giving their time in more than one sector, policy area or community and are interested in engaging in similar work at a regional level are well positioned to get the most out of this Fellowship. Scholarships are available for candidates needing financial assistance.

Contact Christie Bradow at cbradow@aaroregion.com with any further questions about the McBee Fellowship program or application process.

2021 McBee Fellows

Current AARO McBee Fellows

A.J. Bingham

Founder and CEO
The Bingham Group, LLC

Eric Bustos

Manager of Government Relations
Capital Metro

Ramiro Diaz

Senior Software Engineer
Under Armour

Kate Garza

Director of Advocacy and External Affairs
Ascension Texas

Nhat Ho

Vice President
Civilitude Engineers & Planners

Karen Magid

Director of Sustainability and STEM
Huston Tillotson University

Shuronda Robinson

President/CEO
Adisa Communications

Sharon Vigil

Chief Operations and Equity Officer
Communities In Schools of Central Texas

Deirdre Walsh

Director of Global Marketing and Communications
Silicon Labs

Lourdes Zuniga

Executive Director
Financial Literacy Coalition of Central Texas

2020 McBee Fellows

2020 AARO McBee Fellows

Andrew Levack

Sr. Program Officer
St. David's Foundation

Lonnie Limón

Managing Director
Dieste, Inc.

Leah Meunier

Chief Strategy Officer
Workforce Solutions Capital Area

Karen Ranus

Executive Director
NAMI Central Texas

Christopher Rios

Community Development Officer
Texas Capital Bank

Missy Strittmatter, CFRE

Director of Development and Engagement
Leadership Austin

Meme Styles

President
Measure

Andy Webb

Agent/Shareholder
Watkins Insurance

Meghan Weller

Director of Government Relations
HCA Texas/St. David's Healthcare

Ashley Wilson

Chief Strategy Officer
Seton Foundation

McBee Fellow Alumni

2007 - 2019 McBee Fellows

Name	Title	Affiliation	Year
Rodney Ahart	Executive Director	Keep Austin Beautiful	2013
Theresa Alvarez	Senior Vice President of Community Relations for Central Texas	Wells Fargo	2013
David Anderson	Director of Land Use Policy	Drenner Group	2009
Zach Anderson	President	TicketCity	2011
Stacy Armijo	Chief Experience Officer	Amplify Credit Union	2016
Becky Arreaga	President, Partner	Mercury Mambo	2010
Tamara Atkinson	Executive Director	Workforce Solutions – Capital Area Workforce Board	2015
Writ Baese	President/Owner	Hill Country Payroll	2014
Shilpa Bakre	Communications Strategist	The University of Texas at Austin	2017
Brett J. Barnes	Vice President of Development	Long Center for the Performing Arts	2009
Jeff Barton	Principal & Co-Founder	Gap Strategies	2014
Jeremiah Bentley	Vice President, Marketing & Customer Engagement	Texas Mutual Insurance Company	2018
Fayruz Benyousef	Founder & Principal	Fayruz Benyousef Consulting LLC	2014
Marina Bhargava	Executive Director	Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce	2015
Rebecca Bray	Senior Traffic Engineer/Planner	RS&H	2013
Wes Breyfogle	Chief Executive Officer	ScanData Systems, Inc.	2017
Jed Buie	Partner	Buie & Co.	2007
Daniel G. Carl	Principal & Regional Director	BSA LifeStructures	2019
Katherine Caffrey	Assistant City Manager	City of Cedar Park	2018
Gerardo Castillo	Senior Vice President/Chief of Staff	Capital Metro Transportation Authority	2009
Edward Charrier	CEO & President	Fractilia	2010
Merrill Davis	Managing Director, Austin	Hill+Knowlton Strategies	2018
Robert T. Doerr	Account Executive/Commercial Lines Manager	TCOR Insurance Management	2012
John P. Donisi	Attorney/Civic Volunteer		2011
Tara A. Doolittle	Chief Of Staff	University of Texas at Austin	2019
Michael Doss	Executive Vice President - Area President	Independent Bank Group	2018
Michelle Earley	Partner	Locke Lord LLP	2016
Chris Edwards	Assistant City Attorney	City of Austin – Law Department	2008
Mario A. Espinoza	Civic Leader		2012
Jimmy Ferguson	President	Maxtab, Inc.	2008
Scott Flack	President	Live Oak	2009
Christian Fletcher	Executive Director	Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation	2017
Erin O’Neil Franz	Founder and Principal	EOF Consulting	2013
Karen Friese	President	K Friese + Associates	2010
Christie Garbe	Owner	Serasana Bee Cave	2011
Myndi Garrett	Consultant		2008
Rebecca Geier	CEO	TREW Marketing	2010
David Glass	Founder and Owner	Silverado Business Systems Inc.	2008
Steve Goldsmith	Head of Communications Products	Atlassian	2014
Patricia E. Gonzales	Communications Manager	Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority	2008
Hannah Gourgey	Consultant		2017
Dan Graham	Founder	Notely	2013
Larry Graham	Manager – Regulatory Affairs	Texas Gas Service	2013
Teresa Granillo, Ph.D.	Chief Executive Officer	Avance	2019
Beth Guillot	Principal, President	Fuse Architecture Studio	2010
Jeff Hahn	Principal	Hahn Public	2007
Clint Harp	Vice President, Transition Strategic Services	Lower Colorado River Authority	2017
Michelle Harper	President and CEO	United Way of Hays and Caldwell Counties	2018
August Harris	President	Covenant Financial Solutions	2014
David Hartman	Partner	Smith, Robertson	2008
Sara Hickman	Texas State Musician		2015
Heath K. Hignight	Center Business Director – Upstream Petroleum Engineering Research Center	King Abdullah University of Science and Technology	2009
Amy Holloway	President and CEO	Avalanche Consulting	2010
Daryl Horton	Assistant Pastor/Youth Pastor	Mt. Zion Baptist Church	2018
Peter Inman	Principal	Camino Real Financial Strategies	2013
Gerardo Interiano	Founder and Managing Director	Pericles Strategies	2016
Camille Jobe	Partner	Jobe Corral Architects	2016
Debbie Johnson	Principal	Successful Giving	2017
Amy J. Jones	Chief Executive Officer, President	O’Connell Robertson	2011
Edward Kargbo	Civic Leader		2014
Karen Kennard	Shareholder	Greenberg Traurig, LLP	2010
Christopher Kennedy	Chief Executive Officer	Leadership Austin	2007
Steve Kester	State & Local Government Affairs	Apple	2010
Wayne Knox	Vice President & Chief Operating Officer	Huston-Tillotson University	2018
Kelly C. Kocurek	Partner	DuBois, Bryant & Campbell LLP	2012
David Laibovitz	Formerly, Assistant District Attorney	Travis County District Attorney	2008
Lindsey Leaverton	Vice President, Wealth Private Advisor	BB&T Bank	2016
Frank L. Leffingwell	President	Leffingwell & Associates, P.C.	2012
Sarah Churchill Llamas	Shareholder	Winstead PC	2019
Mark Madrid	CEO/Executive Director	LBAN/Latino Business Action Network	2016
Sly Majid	Chief Services Officer	Mayor’s Office – City of Austin	2015
Kristin Marcum	President	Elizabeth Christian Public Relations	2016
Mark Mayfield	President/CEO	Texas Housing Foundation	2015
Michael McGill	Senior Policy Advisor	Mayor's Office - City of Austin	2013
Catherine Knapp McHorse	Success by 6 Earl Childhood Education Project Manager	United Way for Greater Austin	2014
Shannon P. Meroney	President	Meroney Public Affairs	2012
Rudolph Metayer	Attorney	Chamberlain McHaney	2017
Thomas Miranda	Founder and Principal	Sparkovation Advisors	2011
Janet M. Mitchell	CEO	M Group Agency	2009
Tom Nesbitt	Founder and Partner	DeShazo & Nesbitt LLP	2007
Howard D. Nirken	Partner	DuBois, Bryant & Campbell LLP	2011
James A. Nortey II	Associate Attorney	Duggins Wren Mann & Romero LLP	2017
Mike Odom	President & CEO	Knoxville Chamber of Commerce	2016
Tracy LaQuey Parker	Senior Vice President, Business Development	Parker Solutions Group	2016
Kyle Parks	Leading Partner	Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP	2009
Becky Pastner	Chief Impact and Metrics Officer	St. David's Foundation	2018
Lauren Paver	Founder & Principal Consultant	Higher Order Consulting	2012
Alan Peters	Senior Managing Director – Austin Office	Savills Studley	2014
Hondo Powell	Chief of Staff	Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative	2015
Rebecca Powers	Founder	Impact Austin	2008
Kerri Qunell	Chief Marketing Officer	Trinity Episcopal School	2008
Shannon H. Ratliff II	Founding Principal	Policy + Design Partners	2008
Dr. Ruth Rechis	Director, Healthy Communities	MD Anderson Cancer Center	2015
Sarah Richards	Principal	Richards Consulting	2016
Gabriel Rojas	President	Rojas Planning, LLC	2018
Eva Rios-Lleverino	Deputy Executive Director	Capital IDEA	2014
Katie Cook Romano	Executive Director	The University of Texas System - The Archer Center	2019
Miguel Romano	President	Seton and Ascension Texas Foundations	2015
J.R. Ruiz	Senior Manager, Human Capital	Deloitte Consulting LLP
Llyas Salahud-din	Director of Major Gifts	LifeWorks	2017
Pilar Sanchez	Vice President of Housing & Community Development	Housing Authority of the City of Austin	2013
Josh Schoeder	Shareholder	Sneed, Vine & Perry, P.C.	2019
Carolyn H. Schwarz	CEO	Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin & Central Texas	2012
Scott Sellers	City Manager	City of Kyl	2019
David R. Shaw	President	Arrow	2008
Dr. Jill Siler	Superintendent	Gunter ISD	2011
Bryant Smith	Executive Director	McCreary Veselka Bragg & Allen, P.C.	2015
Parc Smith	CEO	American YouthWorks	2015
Stuart Vick Smith	Wealth Management Partner	Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP	2008
Veronica Vargas Stidvent	President	Stidvent Partners	2019
Leslie Sweet	Director of Public Affairs	H-E-B	2018
Ryan Therrell	Director of Client Services, Austin	The Beck Group	2012
Juan Tornoe	Partner & Chief Marketing Officer	Cultural Strategies, Inc.	2017
Alex Valdes	Shareholder	WInstead PC	2019
Javier Valdez	Chief Operations Officer & Co-Creator	Karisha	2012
Matthew Valdez	Director of Business Development	Paramount Specialty Finance	2014
Rosina Ruiz Valle, Ph.D.	Associate Director - Center for P-16 Initiatives	Texas State University	2019
Wendy Varnell	Chief Strategy Officer	LifeWorks	2010
Madge Vasquez	Chief Executive Officer	Mission Capital	2011
Michelle Wallis	Executive Director of Innovation & Development	Austin Independent School District	2011
Katy Wells	Civic Leader		2008
Casie Wenmohs	Assistant Director of External Affairs	Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute	2013
Terri Broussard Williams	National Director of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, Government Relations	American Heart Association	2012
James Paul Wilson	Formerly, VP – East Region	Texas Gas Service	2009
Lloyd Wilson	Chief Operating Officer	Imperium Health	2008
Kennard Wright	City of Austin		2007