Heart House Afterschool Austin

Board Officers

Pat Fitzgerald, Board Chair

Pat Fitzgerald practices law with the Austin-based firm of Howry, Breen & Herman, L.L.P. He represents clients in a wide array of litigation and transactional matters, with a focus on commercial litigation. A California native, Pat first made his way to Austin to play football for the University of Texas, where he earned a B.A. in Marketing and Academic All-American and All-American honors as a tight end for the Longhorns. After a brief stint in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills, Pat returned to Austin and earned his J.D. at the University of Texas School of Law. Pat is excited to be a part of the Heart House team as it ambitiously seeks to bring its successful program to new children, families and communities throughout Austin and the state of Texas. Pat is an avid photographer and scuba diver. He loves to travel, hike, play guitar, and spend time with his wife and son.

Rene’ Campos, Board Chair Elect

Rene’ Campos is a born and raised Austinite and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Government Degree. He has been in outside sales his entire adult life. This has garnered him experience in Marketing, Advertising, Marketing Research and Printing. Rene’ has held leadership positions in The Austin Advertising Federation, the American Marketing Association, the Better Business Bureau, the Austin Chamber of Commerce, and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Beyond serving on the board of Heart House, Rene’ is a board member and supporter of ACE and Manos de Cristo. Rene’ has been married for 30 years to Phyllis Campos and they have five children and two grand-children. His goal in life is to provide a good life for my family and to help others who need help.

Maurie Yanta, CPA, Treasurer

Maurie Yanta is a Certified Public Accountant and Manager at the Austin-based audit and advisory services firm of Holtzman, Moellenberg, Panozzo & Perkins LLP (HMPP). Prior to joining HMPP, Maurie worked in the Houston office of Ernst & Young LLP. Maurie earned her bachelor degree in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame. Maurie was first introduced to Heart House through her service to the Notre Dame Club of Austin, who has sponsored various special activities for the Heart House kids. Maurie found the volunteer experience to be fun and a great way to enrich the lives of children in need.

Board Members at Large

Diana Arney

With over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, Diana Arney provides creative and strategic direction as Director of Marketing for Hart InterCivic. Diana guides the marketing efforts including product brand development and design. Prior to Hart InterCivic, Diana was Communication Manager at the Texas Municipal League where she guided the organization to a consistent professional image and served as board liaison. Diana began her career managing three West Coast territories for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line as District Sales Manager. She developed new business and coordinated marketing and sales efforts for over 900 accounts. Her accomplishments include the first full ship charter for the company. Diana earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of California at Irvine.

Diana is committed to making a difference in the lives of children. She hopes her creative energy serving the board expands the mission of Heart House.

Andy Land

With over 12 years of proven success, Andy Land provides strategic product management and marketing direction for UnboundID. Previously, Andy served as Senior Director of Product Management at Alterpoint, an Austin-based network change and configuration management software company. His responsibilities included product strategy, marketing and direction. Prior to Alterpoint, Andy was Director of Product Management at Sun Microsystems where he helped guide the company's identity products to leadership in the identity-management market. His background also includes broad-based experience in product management and sales at Motive, Vignette, Verizon, and Abbott Laboratories. Andy began his career as a United States Naval Officer and is a veteran of the first Gulf War. Andy earned his bachelor degree in economics from Northwestern University and holds a MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Dan L. Popejoy

Bio coming soon!

Alex Rountree

Originally from Virginia, Alex Rountree currently works as a System Administrator for HBMG, Inc, an Austin based technology firm that provides collaborative services for the transportation industry. Prior to this position, he served as the Information Technology Specialist for the Austin Area Urban League, Inc where he acquired his love for non-profit organizations. He gathered a wealth of knowledge about fundraising, program development, and grant-writing while working there. He hopes to help this organization move forward and grow through the use of that knowledge. Alex holds a B.A. in Computer Systems Management from St. Edward’s University.

Mike Sutter, CPA

Mike Sutter is a Certified Public Accountant and Manager at the Austin-based audit and advisory services firm of Holtzman, Moellenberg, Panozzo & Perkins LLP (HMPP). Prior to joining HMPP, Mike worked in the Houston and Chicago offices of PricewaterhouseCoopers were he supervised the audits of large, multinational corporations. Mike earned his bachelor degree in Accounting and an MBA from Texas State University. Mike hopes that his work with the Board will further Heart House’s mission to enhance the lives of children throughout Texas. Mike and His wife Jenny are expecting their first child, Emma Diane, in January of 2009.

Cathy Lockhart, Controller

Cathy began her professional career as a supervisor in 1988 with a national truck driving school. Through the years she has performed in various industries: hospital, engineering, business suites, and healthcare. She most recently held the position of VP Finance for a multi-million dollar private equity funded business venture. Prior to her promotion, she was the Company's first Controller charged with implementation of controls and development of department procedures. She previously held a Supervisor position at one of the country's largest privately owned, integrated healthcare companies. In this capacity, she was responsible for providing information during all audits of the parent and subsidiary companies regarding the Austin operation, and was responsible for providing accurate and timely financial information to the Board of Directors.

Cathy holds an AAS degree in Management/Accounting cum laude. She continues her education through on-going accounting and computer software courses. She is an active member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. In her spare time, Cathy enjoys vacationing and spending time with her husband.

		Jackie Collett, Executive Director jcollett@hearthouse.org P.O. Box 301178 Austin, TX 78703 512-929-8187 T 512-233-2652 F Jackie graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), with a B.A. in Psychology and received her Master’s Degree in Public Administration. She began her nonprofit career working in afterschool and summer programs for at-risk youth across the Omaha area. In 2003, she accepted her first development position with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Omaha and had the pleasure of working alongside the Boomer Esiason Foundation. In 2005, Jackie moved from Omaha to Austin and worked as the Senior Development Officer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). She built their first formal fund raising program from the ground up managing two large special events, volunteer recruitment, grant writing, donor and sponsor cultivation, memorial giving, community outreach, and networking efforts. In May, 2009 Jackie joined the Heart House family. In her spare time, Jackie enjoys perusing the Government Accountability and Congressional Budget Office’s websites, researching peer reviewed journal articles, learning about IT networking, and spending time with her husband and Jack Russell terrier.

		Andrew West, Development Director 512-929-8187 office awest@hearthouse.org Andrew manages The BeHive’s development activities and helps to develop and maintain organizational marketing and communication strategies. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Music from the University of Texas at Austin. Andrew joined The BeHive staff in June of 2011 after spending the previous four and a half years at the Long Center for the Performing Arts. Andrew is passionate about community and volunteer service. He currently serves as the Vice President of the Sinfonia Educational Foundation, a national fundraising and grant-making organization, and as a board member for Leadership Austin's Emerge program. Andrew is a life-long Austinite and lives in south Austin with his wife Mandy and their four year old lab, Bella. When not at work he can be found traveling, cooking, and enjoying time with family and friends.

		Rebecca Brown, Administrative Coordinator rbrown@hearthouse.org 512-929-8187 office

		Meredith Meisetschlaeger, Senior Site Director, Heart House North 512-929-8187 office mmeisetschlaeger@hearthouse.org Meredith originally came to Heart House as a full-time volunteer in the summer of 2006. Shortly thereafter, she began serving as a Program Leader for 2nd and 3rd grade until leaving to complete her degree in Social Work at The University of Texas. After graduating, Meredith returned to Heart House Austin as a Site Director. Meredith gained much of her experience working with children while serving local community organizations. She spent over 300 hours volunteering in the Child Learning Center at El Buen Samaritano in Austin and nearly 500 hours as a Social Work Intern for The University of Texas Children’s Wellness Center in Del Valle. Both of these experiences have fueled Meredith’s passion for achieving social justice and equality for typically underserved populations, including Spanish-speaking groups. Meredith feels her work is especially inspired by sentimental music, sincere conversation and bad TV shows.

		Skyler Lightfoot, Site Director, Heart House South 512-929-8187 office slightfoot@hearthouse.org Skyler has been working with children since 1995 when she started as a Kindergarten Summer Camp Counselor. She went on to do student teaching in the Kindergarten class at Cunningham Elementary and studied Youth and Community Studies with specialization in Early Childhood Education and Intervention at The University of Texas. She has also had three years experience as a lead teacher at a Montessori before coming to Heart House. Skyler loves working with our kids, who are hilarious, intelligent, caring little people that I enjoy spending my days with!

		Amy Fuller, Volunteer Director 512-929-8187 office volunteertp@hearthouse.org In 2007, Amy finished her master's degree in library science. She was a librarian for two years before deciding she had a passion for working with at-risk youth. Amy spends most of her time camping, watching movies, and practicing yoga with friends. Amy lives in north Austin with two roommates, two cats, and a garden

Anna Land
anna@hearthouse.org

Anna Land is co-founder of Heart House. 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.