Stacy Ehrlich, CFRE

Stacy Ehrlich is currently the principal and owner of Seeds for Change Consulting – a customized consulting firm for non-profit organizations, specializing in philanthropy, community and volunteer services, donor cultivation and stewardship, communication, and financial and organizational management. Founded in the fall of 2004, the firm’s client list includes small and medium-sized organizations in Austin, in Texas, and across the nation.  Prior to starting Seeds for Change, Stacy served as the Development Director of the Austin Waldorf School for 8˝ years, raising more than $7 million for the school’s operating budget and expansion to a K-12 school on 22 acres in Southwest Austin. She began her development career with positions at the University of St. Thomas (Houston), Marine Military Academy (Harlingen, TX), and The University of Texas at Austin.  A graduate of The University of Texas, with a BS in Advertising, Stacy also holds a Master of Arts in Human Services from St. Edwards University. Stacy received her CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive) in 1999.

Mary Ann Frishman

Mary Ann Frishman is the president of Frishco, Ltd, an editorial development house she founded in 1995. Frishco, Ltd. focuses on the development of Pre-K through twelfth grade textbooks, and ancillary and supplemental educational materials. Clients include DIBELS, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, McGraw, Pearson, Saddleback, Scholastic, and Voyager. Mary Ann received both her BA and MEd from the University of Texas at Austin. In addition to managing the development house, she and her husband are raising their two children.  

John Floyd

John Floyd is a native Austinite, although he grew up in Virginia until 1985, when he and his father finally moved back to Austin. He is currently a Regional Sales Manager at Blackboard, Inc., a software company that provides educational software to the higher education, K-12, and corporate markets. John has been volunteering with Heart House since January 2002, and is involved in other local organizations involving recovery from alcohol and drug abuse. He has a passion for helping others reach beyond their own limits, for helping those at a disadvantage realize success, and for sharing his love of life with those around him. He hopes his work on the board will provide a greater level of support for an organization that has meant so much to him, so that it may further extend its outreach in the community, and its benefits across the globe.  John received his MBA from St. Edward’s University, specializing in Management Information Systems.

Ritika Gunnar

Ritika Gunnar is a Manager in IBM Tivoli where she has worked in development and pre-sales enablement for over 6 years. Ritika stongly believes in the power of education on today's youth and spends a lot of time advocating and mentoring young women interested in science and engineering. She is a native Austinite and enjoys running and spending time with her family.  Ritika has an MBA and a BS in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin.

Andy Land

Andy Land serves as Senior Director of Product Management at Alterpoint, an Austin based network change and configuration management software company.  His responsibilities include product strategy, marketing, and direction.  Prior to Alterpoint, Andy led Sun's Identity Management software team as Director of Product Management where he helped guide Sun's identity products to market share leadership in the identity management market.  He has prior experience in product management and sales at Motive, Vignette, Verizon, and Abbott Laboratories. Andy started his career as a United States Naval Officer and is a veteran of the 1st Gulf War.  Andy earned his bachelor degree in economics from Northwestern University and holds a MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Katy Gallagher Parker

Katy Gallagher Parker works as the staff attorney for Judge Darlene Byrne at the 126th District Court of Travis County.  She has previously worked as a child welfare policy attorney for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and as a Legislative Counsel for the Texas Legislature.  Katy has a longstanding commitment to improving the lives of children and has worked on children's issues at the local, state, and national levels.

Amy Wilson

 Amy Wilson is an executive assistant with IBM where she has worked in several areas of the business during her 22 year tenure. She has been a volunteer with Heart House since September 2002. Amy has been actively involved with her daughter in Girl Scouts for the past eleven years and served on the Homeowners Association board in her neighborhood. She also volunteers in a variety of areas through IBM.  Amy currently resides in Georgetown and has two children, Ryan and Amanda.

   

Diane Cannon, Executive Director
512-929-8187 office
dcannon@hearthouse.org

Diane Cannon joined the Heart House team in October 2002 as the Site Director.  Previously, she had worked for Austin Independent School District with the Community Education Department for 10 years.  During this time, she served as one of the first program coordinators for the 21st Century Learning Center at Dobie Middle School for 500+ youth.  She designed and implemented classes that offered homework assistance and enrichment, as well as a summer camp program.  For the first time, families were offered opportunities for night classes in English as a Second Language, computer and safety classes. During her time with Community Education, Diane supervised eight Prime Time Programs which is a part of the City of Austin in their after school enrichment programs.  She has experience working with the Texas Education Agency after school initiative for four years.  In all three programs, Diane supervised or was in charge of coordinating their after school programs in the areas of financing, hiring, managing their budgets and being responsible for data and statistical information.

Diane has had extensive experience working with community groups such as Travis County Afterschool Network, Safe Kids Coalition, YMCA and the City of Austin to form partnerships in programming.  Diane was promoted to be the Executive Director for Heart House in June, 2003. Under her direction, Heart House has become an important focal community center for the Trails at Vintage Creek.

Before working going to work with Austin Independent School District, Diane and her husband owned and managed their own business, Hunter Engineering for 16 years. Diane attended Texas A&M College at Kingsville, Texas and University of Texas/Pan American at Edinburg,Texas.

Joey Borja, Site Director
Heart House South

jborja@hearthouse.org

(512) 292-9400 HH South
(512) 695-6022 Cell
(512) 292-8456 FAX

While working on his post graduate degree from Southwest Texas State University , Joey also began teaching at Lockhart Junior High School .  After one year of Special Education work, he found his real passion for teaching as the History/Social Studies Teacher for the Advanced 7th and 8th grade classes at Lockhart I.S.D. 

Since leaving the public school system, Joey has still taken an active role in working with children.  He was the Assistant Director at the Calusio Creativity Center, where he oversaw all the activities and administrative duties for the after school program which served the Austin area.  He continued his work by joining the Foundation Communities staff in 2006, a position which in turn lead him into becoming the new Site Director for Heart House South.

Monica Armendariz, Program Director
512-929-8187 office   
marmendariz@hearthouse.org 

Monica is a graduate of St. Edward’s University where she earned a BA in English Literature and her teaching certificate. She has worked in a variety of schools both inside and outside the Austin area. In the summer of 2004, she spent the summer in Norfolk, VA as a teacher with Breakthrough Collaborative, a national program designed to offer free summer school programming to underserved middle school student populations. Some of her other career experiences include tutoring with the 21st Century After School Programs at Reagan High School and teaching at Sylvan Learning Center, both in Austin. 

Teaching is Monica’s first passion. She has had opportunities to work with students within a variety of ages, backgrounds, and subject areas. She considers herself an energetic and innovative educator who designs curriculum and activities around the kids’ interests and ideas. She understands the need to form positive and meaningful relationships with youth and strives to accomplish this by creating activities and interactions that foster self-confidence and growth. 

When Monica is not teaching, she can be found doing other interesting and creative things. She has been writing poetry and short stories since the age of 13, and has been fortunate to have some of her personal poetry published in the St. Edward’s University literary magazine and with a greeting card company. She also LOVES to dance- salsa, swing, hip-hop, anything! She has been known to dabble in karaoke as well.

Kimberly Truitt, Volunteer Coordinator

ktruitt@hearthouse.org
(512) 929-8187

Bio coming soon.

Megan Heredia, Development Coordinator
mheredia@hearthouse.org  
(512) 751-6942 Cell  
(512) 857-0488 Fax

Megan attended the University of Notre Dame and began her development career there, working for the University after graduation during a nearly $1 billion capital campaign. She moved to Austin in 2000 to work for Trilogy Software, doing recruiting and running new hire training programs.

Most recently, Megan was part of the team that opened San Juan Diego Catholic High School in Austin, an college-prep high school for low-income students. Students participate in an innovative corporate work/study program to fund their own tuition and gain exposure to the professional world. Megan served for four years as the founding Development Director and loved seeing the students succeed and go on to be the first in their families to attend college.

Megan works part-time for Heart House and enjoys the rest of her time with her active toddler daughter. Megan is a life-long tennis player and a recent triathlete. She and her husband love to cook and entertain, and to enjoy all the things that make Austin such a great place to live!

   

Anna Land
 anna@hearthouse.org

Anna Land is co-founder and CEO of Heart House USA. In this role, Anna focuses on strategic planning, fundraising, advocacy, and growth and development for Heart House, and leads efforts to create and develop curriculum for the children.  

Anna started her advertising and web design firm, Anna Land Design, in 1999. Previously, Anna was the national director of marketing for Transwestern Commercial Services, one of the largest privately held real estate investment and corporate advisory companies in North America. She has over 15 years of both agency and client-side advertising and marketing experience. 

Anna's community volunteerism focuses on bringing resources and opportunities to underprivileged communities. Anna is the past chair of the Central Texas Afterschool Network and is currently the Co-President of the Texas Afterschool Association. Anna is an Ambassador Emeritus of the Afterschool Ambassadors, a program of the Afterschool Alliance, in partnership with JCPenney and the Mott Foundation.  Anna was selected in 2006 as a Community Sabbatical grantee at the University of Texas Humanities Institute under the director of Dr. Sarah Jane Rehnborg of the RGK Center for Philanthropy, and now serves on the Community Sabbatical Advisory Board.

Suzanne Kiefer
 suzanne@hearthouse.org

Suzanne Kiefer is co-founder of Heart House Dallas and has served the organization in a volunteer capacity since its pilot program began in Dallas in September 2000. She is responsible for managing, directing and implementing Heart House policies, programs and operations. Suzanne and the Heart House staff work closely with families, communities and schools to build a strong network that cares and provides for the children and in turn improves the larger community.

Under Suzanne's leadership, Heart House has grown to three locations in Dallas, serving over 200 children in grades K-6 every school-day. In that time Heart House's staff has increased from one to ten and its volunteers to over 200.

In addition to her time dedicated to Heart House, Suzanne works as a paralegal and staff supervisor specializing in intellectual property at the law firm of Haynes and Boone, LLP, where she has been for six years. Prior to that, Suzanne worked ten years as a litigation paralegal in environmental, labor and employment law. She is also a certified mediator.

Suzanne is an active member of the Junior League of Dallas where she participates in projects such as art enrichment, fundraising, juvenile mediation, public affairs, and research and development. Suzanne continues to also stay involved in other community volunteer efforts.