AARO Members
Our Members
AARO’s members are Central Texas thought leaders. They bring diverse perspectives about important long-term issues and work to share AARO insights with a variety of public policy and decision-making bodies in Central Texas.
| Name | Title | Affiliation | Designation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Alarcón | Chief Executive Officer | Georgetown Health Foundation | Member |
| Tamara Atkinson | Executive Director | Workforce Solutions - Capital Area Workforce Board | Member |
| Bobbie Barker | Founding Partner | Civic Interest | Member |
| Joe Beal | Consultant | Member | |
| Kyndel Bennett | Chief Executive Officer | Cayetano Development | Member |
| Fayruz Benyousef | Founder & Principal | Fayruz Benyousef Consulting | Member |
| Charles Betts | Civic Leader | Member | |
| Dr. Denise Bradley | Vice President, Communications & Community Affairs | St. David's HealthCare | Member |
| Rob Bridges | Managing Director | Marsh Wortham | Member |
| Patricia Young Brown | Chief Executive Officer | Thinkery | Member |
| Tony C. Budet | President/CEO | University Federal Credit Union | Member |
| Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette | President & CEO | Huston-Tillotson University | Member |
| Dr. John Sibley Butler | The J. Marion West Chair in Constructive Capitalism | McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin | Member |
| Kent Cagle | City Manager | City of Leander | Member |
| Amber Carden | Private Client Advisor, Senior Vice President | US Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management | Member |
| C. Brian Cassidy | Managing Partner - Austin Office | Locke Lord LLP | Member |
| Dr. Don Christian | President and CEO | Concordia University | Member |
| Elizabeth Christian | Founder and CEO | Elizabeth Christian Public Relations | Member |
| Tim Crowley | President - Austin Region | Frost | Member |
| Adriana Cruz | President | Greater San Marcos Partnership | Member |
| Dr. Paul Cruz | Superintendent | Austin Independent School District | Member |
| Ashton Cumberbatch, Jr. | Special Counsel | McGinnis Lochridge | Member |
| Susan Dawson | President and Executive Director | E3 Alliance | Member |
| Sandy Dochen | Manager, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affairs | IBM | Member |
| Pete Dwyer | Owner & President | Dwyer Realty Companies | Member |
| Michelle Earley | Partner | Locke Lord LLP | Member |
| Brenda Eivens | City Manager | City of Cedar Park | Member |
| Scott Flack | President | Live Oak | Member |
| Simone Talma Flowers | Executive Director | Interfaith Action of Central Texas | Member |
| Oscar Fogle | Director | Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority | Member |
| Tom Forbes | Partner | Kemp Smith LLP | Member |
| Karen Friese | President | K Friese + Associates | Member |
| John Garrett | Publisher and Founder | Community Impact Newspapers | Member |
| Richard Gergasko | President and CEO | Texas Mutual Insurance Company | Member |
| Steve Goldsmith | Head of Communications Products | Atlassian | Member |
| Alex Gonzales | Partner | Duane Morris LLP | Member |
| Sanford Gottesman | Principal | Live Oak | Member |
| Nikki Graham | President | Bank of America Austin | Member |
| Bob Gregory | Chairman & President | Texas Disposal Systems | Member |
| Jeff Hahn | Principal | Hahn Public | Member |
| Jay Hailey | Attorney | Jay Hailey | Member |
| Tam Hawkins | President and CEO | Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce | Member |
| David Hays | Senior Vice President | Georgetown Title | Member |
| Fred Heldenfels IV | President & CEO | Heldenfels Enterprises, Inc. | Associate Member |
| Clarke Heidrick | Attorney | McGinnis Lochridge | Member |
| Paul Hilgers | Civic Leader | Member | |
| Joe Holt | Civic Leader | Member | |
| John Howard | Director of Global Public Policy - Government Affairs | Dell Inc. | Member |
| Laura Huffman | State Director | The Nature Conservancy | Member |
| David Huffstutler | CEO | St. Davids HealthCare | Member |
| Pete Inman | Principal | Camino Real Financial Strategies | Member |
| Keith B. Jackson | Senior Vice President | HNTB | Member |
| Bobby Jenkins | President | ABC Home and Commercial Services | Member |
| Ashby Johnson | Executive Director | CAMPO | Member |
| Amy Jones | CEO, President | O'Connell Robertson | Member |
| Christopher Kennedy | Chief Executive Officer | Leadership Austin | Member |
| Ronald Kessler | Principal | RonKesslerGroup LLC | Member |
| Ali Khataw | President/CEO | Encotech Engineering Consultants | Member |
| Donna Klaeger | Senior Vice President of Community Services | Texas Housing Foundation | Member |
| Steven W. Knebel | Leading Partner | Maxwell Locke & Ritter LLP | Member |
| Matt Kouri | President and Founder | Good Works Strategic Advisors | Member |
| Heather Ladage | Market President and Publisher | Austin Business Journal | Member |
| Frank Leffingwell | President | Leffingwell Law, P.C. | Member |
| Lee Leffingwell | Civic Leader | Member | |
| Tom Locke | President | Texas Methodist Foundation | Member |
| Perry Lorenz | Real Estate Developer | Member | |
| Judy Maggio | Editorial Director - News and Public Affairs | KLRU-TV | Member |
| Missy Mandell | President | Mandell & Associates, LLC | Member |
| Kristin Marcum | President | Elizabeth Christian Public Relations | Member |
| Dr. George Martin | President | St. Edward's University | Member |
| Earl Maxwell | Chief Executive Officer | St. David's Foundation | Member |
| Nyle Maxwell | Principal | Maxwell Pontiac GMC | Member |
| Mark Mayfield | President/CEO | Texas Housing Foundation | Member |
| Darrick McGill | Regional Vice President | Primerica | Member |
| Nikelle Meade | Partner | Husch Blackwell LLP | Member |
| Thomas Miranda | Founder & CEO | Sparkovation Advisors | Member |
| Janet Mitchell | CEO | M Group Agency | Member |
| Amy Wong Mok | Founder & CEO | Asian American Cultural Center | Member |
| David Morgan | City Manager | City of Georgetown | Member |
| Catherine Q. Morse | Partner | Enoch Kever LLC | Member |
| Rhonda Mundhenk | Chief Executive Officer | Lone Star Circle of Care | Member |
| Patti Ohlendorf | Vice President for Legal Affairs | The University of Texas at Austin | Member |
| Dewitt Peart | President and CEO | Downtown Austin Alliance | Member |
| MariBen Ramsey | Attorney & Consultant | Member | |
| Dr. Richard Rhodes | President/CEO | Austin Community College District | Member |
| Jeffrey Richard | Senior Consultant | J.L. Powers and Associates | Member |
| Deanna Rodriguez | Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs | Entergy Texas, Inc. | Member |
| Geronimo Rodriguez | Chief Advocacy Officer | Seton Ascension | Member |
| Marc Rodriguez | Governmental Relations Consultant | The Offices of Marc A. Rodriguez | Member |
| Regina Rogoff | Chief Executive Officer | People's Community Clinic | Member |
| Miguel Romano | President | Seton and Ascension Texas Foundations | Member |
| Cookie Ruiz | Executive Director | Ballet Austin | Member |
| Jackie Sargent | General Manager | Austin Energy | Member |
| Dr. Ed Sharpe | Clinical Professor and Senior Advisor to the Provost | The University of Texas at Austin | Member |
| Lynn Sherman | Owner | Lynn Sherman Law Firm and Consulting PLLC | Member |
| Dr. Denise Smart | Dean | McCoy College of Business Administration, Texas State University | Member |
| Steve Stapp | President/CEO | R Bank | Member |
| Amy Shaw Thomas | Vice Chancellor for Academic and Health Affairs | The University of Texas System | Member |
| Jeff Thomas | Senior Vice President & General Manager | H-E-B | Member |
| Tim Timmerman | Chairman | Lower Colorado River Authority | Member |
| Dr. Denise Trauth | President | Texas State University | Member |
| Jeff Trigger | President | La Corsha Hospitality Group | Member |
| Doyle Valdez | President | Valco Resource Management Inc. | Member |
| Gary Valdez | President | Focus Strategies Investment Banking | Member |
| Madge Vasquez | Chief Executive Officer | Mission Capital | Member |
| Barbara Wallace | Consultant | Kuper Sotheby's International Realty | Member |
| Sharon Watkins | Owner | Chez Zee American Bistro | Member |
| Amber Weems | COO/Publisher/General Manager | Victory Publishing Co. | Member |
| Michael Whellan | Partner | Armbrust & Brown, L.L.P. | Member |
| Phil Wilson | General Manager | Lower Colorado River Authority | Member |
| Ray Wilkerson | Chairman | Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority | Member |
| Pete Winstead | Shareholder | Winstead PC | Member |
| Ellen Wood | President and CEO | vcfo | Member |
| Mark Curry | Civic Leader | Associate Member | |
| Brian Greig | Senior Partner | Norton Rose Fulbright | Associate Member |
| Mike Heiligenstein | Executive Director | Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority | Associate Member |
| Laura Kilcrease | Managing Director | Triton Ventures | Associate Member |
| Missy Mandell | President | Mandell & Associates | Associate Member |
| Dr. Nan McRaven | Public Affairs Consultant | McRaven Associates Consulting | Associate Member |
| Rosie Mendoza | Managing Shareholder, CPA | R. Mendoza & Company, P.C. | Associate Member |
| Shannon H. Ratliff II | Founding Principal | Policy+Design Partners, LLC | Associate Member |
| Carl S. Richie, Jr. | Attorney | Associate Member | |
| Martha Smiley | Counsel to the Firm | Enoch Kever PLLC | Associate Member |
