AUSTIN Black Business Journal® & Community News - November/December 2019 by AMC Publishing, LLC

Nov/Dec 2019

FREE

Volume 2, Issue 11

INSIDE

SPECIAL EDITION

TOP TEN AWARDS

Diversity Champions

page 5

Awards Gala & Vol. II Book Unveiling

AIBA Awards Gala & Vol. II Unveiling page 51

AIBA Top 10 Professionals

Young Professionals page 56

Celebration of Life Dr. Timothy George page 66

page 29

CONGRATULATIONS

to all the TOP DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS The Endeavor team would like to thank the Diversity Champions for everything they do to support the Austin community

Giving something back. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s our Endeavor. 500 W. 5th Suite 700 | Austin, TX | 512.682.5500 | www.endeavor-re.com

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PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Anita C Roberts AMC Publishing, LLC

ABOUT US

Made Media Group is here to serve our community. We strive to inform, empower and transform the community with positive news and multi-media content. Austin BBJ & Community News is a FREE print & digital, community newspaper and business journal for the multicultural community we serve.

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PRESS RELEASES:

ustin Black Business Journal & Community News Magazine was created as a platform to present business and community news from a trusted source and to ensure the information is presented with a respectful, positive and authentic voice. We pride ourselves in creating quality content for the multi-cultural community we serve. We provide influence & direction to our geographically dispersed Black community and consumers and enjoy being the voice of Black Austin. We are seeking community partnerships. We are seeking constructive dialogue from key stakeholders. We are seeking a seat at the table and the ability to evoke change on a larger scale. We are here to build up our community. The Black Austin Tribe includes everyone in Central Texas, including you. J Over the past two years, our parent company, Made Media Group, a 501c3 nonprofit, has worked diligently to bring engaging and often untold stories of excellence to the community. Train our young kiddos in media and tech, and provide a quality space for African American business owners to market their products and services. In 2019 we held our first Literary Festival, cultivating literacy and celebrating literature by offering classes and guidance to Black authors and future authors; giving them space to share their work with the community. In March we profiled African American Lawyers, in May, African American Doctors, in June we held our second annual Soul of Austin Culture Fest – sharing authentic diverse cultures through food, music and fun. In September we profiled our Top Blacks in Tech hosted at Capital Factory. Tonight, we celebrate our Diversity Champions and Young Professionals who are killing the game right now. We will also unveil Achievements in Black Austin, Volume II and in the process help to raise funding to bring on a couple of part-time staffers to our organization. Thank you for your support and Congratulations to the incredible Achievements in Black Austin honorees, our Top Ten Diversity Champions and our Top Ten Young Professionals. Each one responsible for doing extraordinary work in our community. Each of you should be proud of your accomplishments and know that our community is better because of you. Thank you so much for sharing your gifts and talents with Central Texas.

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CONTENTS

TOP TEN CENTRAL TEXAS DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

TOP TEN CENTRAL TEXAS YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

AIBA AWARDS GALA & VOL. II UNVEILING

AIBA TOP 10 PROFESSIONALS

ABPA CELEBRATES THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF DR. TIMOTHY GEORGE

TRIBUTE TO DR. TIMOTHY GEORGE

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144 Years of Excellence #WeAreYou • #WeAreIDEAL • #WeAreHT To invest in our mission, contact the Office for Institutional Advancement at 512-505-3073. Huston-Tillotson University • 900 Chicon St. • Austin, TX 78702

2019

CENTRAL TEXAS DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

Joshua Baer Dr Colette Pierce Burnette Spencer Cronk Kerry Hall Christopher Kennedy Beth Krueger Hon. Lora Livingston Tom Noonan Duff Stewart Delanie Ward

TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

The Universal Entrepreneur

Joshua Baer Founder & CEO Capital Factory

“

You’re only here for a little while, make it count..

oshua Baer is one of the most seasoned and effective entrepreneurs out there. So much so, that now, he is a full-time entrepreneur maker and a good one at that.Baer is the founder and CEO of the Capital Factory, arguably the premier startup incubator in Texas and one of the reasons Austin is known as the Silicon Valley of the South or Silicon Hills. Capital Factory is responsible for the successful launch of dozens of startups. What makes Baer so unique is that he talks the talk and walks the walk. While studying at Carnegie Mellon in the late 1990s during the first Dotcom boom, Baer started his first company: SKYLIST, Inc. By the time he graduated, the company was pulling in a few hundred thousand dollars per year in revenue. He eventually sold the company to Datran Media, which became PulsePoint.

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”

Things came full circle for Baer and SKYLIST when SKYLIST and another company of his spun out to become Post Up, an email delivery company, which he now serves on the board of. Those early years of entrepreneurship were foundational for Baer’s future as the founder and CEO of Capital Factory. “I didn’t really know what I was doing and I didn’t know anything about investors or anything like that, so I didn’t raise any money. Over a decade, I built it up to be a successful business that I could eventually sell and it gave me the ability to start more businesses and to meet people that built, bought, and sold businesses, like that whole club of people and started doing more of that. And I started investing in other people I met and helping them start businesses and that was really the beginning of Capital Factory,” Baer says.

For him, those relationships and every other one that followed are everything. His advice to entrepreneurs and anyone else trying to make a living for themselves is to tend to relationships wisely and value them appropriately. “It’s all about people. You know, most things are about getting the right people in the room. And you can bring that a lot of different ways, you know, diversity ties into that too,” he says. “You’re going to see people over and over and over again in your life. I remember as a young person, I did not have this understanding, this perspective, that the people I was interacting with were people that I was going to see again 10 years later or 20 years later or probably 30 years later – I’m not quite there yet. But it’s true. So, don’t burn any bridges. Play nice. Be nice to everybody. Have integrity. Do what you say because you’re going to work with people over and over and over again.” After starting SKYNET, Baer continued down the entrepreneur’s uncut path, sometimes holding two, three, or more positions at the same time in his insatiable quest for better. In 2009, Baer launched Capital Factory the co-working, startup incubating powerhouse of entrepreneurship in Texas. Since then, in addition to helping foster the entrepreneurial community in Austin and beyond, Baer has been positioning Capital Factory to move the needle on diversity and inclusion in the startup world.

NOVEMBER 2019

TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

“In doing all that, it was real interesting because coming out of it, I had this perspective of ‘I’m a hard worker, I’ve got a lot of hustle, and I work my butt off. I’ve had a lot of great success and I’ve been really lucky, but I’ve also worked really hard.’ I thought like, ‘Okay, I work a lot harder than a lot of people I know, maybe that’s why,’” Baer says. “And since then, through all the experiences with all of the different people that we worked with and certainly reports that I’ve seen...I’ve seen actually, not having anything in my way was a huge advantage...That that was a huge part of what made it so easy...for a lot of people, it’s not just about working hard, it’s also about having a whole bunch of barriers in your way, things that are created around

you and things you inherit and all kinds of other stuff. To me, that’s why the diversity work that we do is so important, is because recognizing that it’s not really a level playing field. And so, what can we do to help level it out a little bit?” To that end, Baer is pushing the Capital Factory to invest in and seek out companies with founders who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and perspectives, a method of doing business that he believes is not only ethical, but effective. “Everything I’ve seen shown that it makes a lot of business sense to and that working to include a lot of perspectives, to bring in a lot of different people, to have a representa-

tive group of people at the table when you’re making decisions about things that you’re going to sell to a whole bunch of different people – that makes businesses do better and makes teams work better. That’s not always comfortable or easy, but it actually makes better results in the end too,” Baer says. And that is what Baer wants to be remembered for, as someone who strove for better and left the world better than he found it. “You don’t win that game, you can’t ever be done,” he says.“There’s always a bunch of other people that have done more, had more impact, or done bigger things, or done other stuff. Not that it’s a race, but that’s the goal... you’re only here for a little while, make it count.”

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TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

Chief Executive of the 'Genius Generation'

Dr Colette Pierce Burnette President Huston-Tillotson University

olette Pierce Burnette was born in the late 1950’s in Cleveland, Ohio – at a time Cleveland was a polarized city. She attended an all-black high school and fondly recalls her childhood as part of a large family and community that took care of one another. She grew up knowing she was expected to be part of the ‘first generation to go to college’. The family migrated north and Burnette graduated high school in 1975—a time of concentrated effort to recruit African American students for science and engineering. She remembers her English teacher driving her to The Ohio University and recalls not wanting to pursue a career in engineering. Then later acknowledged she didn’t have the proper

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appreciation for her upbringing or gravity of her experience until she saw the movie Hidden Figures. However, her passion was always to find ways to serve people. Burnette’s first job was as an operation support engineer for Proctor and Gamble, and she worked there for 17 years until 1980. Her husband now a retired military officer supported her when she decided to take a leap of faith and enter the education field. Pierce obtained her Master’s Degree; felt she had reached that glass ceiling and wasn’t sure what to do next. Except she knew she wanted to grow professionally in an administrative capacity, so she took a job at a college and moved up to the position of Assistant Vice President. She realized she’d have to attain her doctorate to advance, so that’s what she did. A friend told her about an opening in Austin, and even though she didn’t want to move to Texas, she went through the presidential process of being interviewed, and found Austin to be a vibrant city with a bit of magic to it–feeling that through her presidential duties, she could help fill the pipeline for the tech world. After being offered the position of President, Huston-Tillotson University, Colette Pierce Burnette advanced onto the pages of history, becoming the first African American female to serve as Chief Executive Officer. Located in East Austin, Huston-

“

We’re all… more alike than different.

”

Tillotson University is Austin’s oldest university and only Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Burnette believes there isn’t enough emphasis on teachers or how they teach the skillsets needed, and realized all her monumental moments had been accelerated by a teacher. Her professional priorities match her personal ones, and she says she’s a ‘drum major’ for equity- free from bias or favoritism. According to Burnette, she has the best job in the world; providing access to better opportunities for young people. Burnette believes education is a weapon - a weapon against poverty, ignorance and lack. She feels her mission in life is to remove barriers for others so that they may receive a quality collegiate experience and education. And this President/Chief Executive Officer is no island of one, she feels blessed to have a team around her who have the same life purpose- service to others. Especially the young ones and the young at heart looking to retool themselves.

about how to create a conducive atmosphere for teachable moments. Burnette is known for caring about others and wanting the best for their lives. Education, her role applied as an educator in many areas of life. One of her memorable experiences was living in Turkey. It changed the way she looked at people, realizing we’re all… “more alike than different”.

Colette Pierce Burnette’s believes that the quieter we become, the more we hear. She believes every day is a learning experience To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

The Compassionate Leader

Spencer Cronk City Manager of Austin Texas

orn in Minneapolis, Minnesota with family members serving in the public sector, Spencer Cronk was instilled at an early age with a lifelong passion for learning and giving back to the community. Being raised around educators has given him the presence of mind to always ask questions, and to try to understand the intricacies of different circumstances and environments, and he feels that these are key factors to his success as a city manager. He knows that the world is filled with a myriad of different perspectives, each containing valid truth in their own right, a lesson he learned while completing his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he was given the opportunity to participate in a study abroad program. He spent his first few months in Nairobi, learning about the people and culture of the country, and then spent the next seven months in a remote

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border town between Kenya and Nairobi, experiencing a life starkly different from the one he knew in America. There, Cronk gained a whole new view on the world and on his responsibilities — an understanding that he had within his power the ability to add real value and meaning to the people within his community. After completing his undergraduate degree, Cronk attained a fellowship to work for the city of New York, where he received tremendous experience working with different industries, learning about the intricacies of organizations within both the profit and non-profit sectors, labor unions, and even the media, acquiring more and more information of how city and government runs from many different angles and perspectives. Cronk found his true calling as a servant-leader to the people; however, while observing New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg - whose leadership skills, successful business acumen, and different approach to handling government had a profound effect on Cronk - he was able to gain a clear perspective on what kind of leader he wanted to be. From that point onward, Cronk took up a life of public service, and hasn’t looked back.

“

None of us is as smart as all of us.

”

Now as the City Manager of Austin, Texas, Cronk acts as the CEO for the entire organization of the city of Austin, responsible for over 15,000 employees and the city’s $4.2 billion budget, which includes every department - from the police, fire, and emergency medical services, to the city’s parks, libraries, airports and trains, along with water and electric utilities, and everything from animal services to developmental services. He knows it’s up to him to ensure that people get what they need and expect from the government and he is acutely aware of the weight and importance his position holds in regards to how well a city runs. Though not an educator by trade, Cronk considers his upbringing in an environment focused solely on teaching and learning to be a key factor in his success as a city manager. With an avid curiosity, Cronk is always looking past the detritus in order to find the correct answers, and he constantly aims to obtain more information so as to better un-

derstand how to solve each and every problem on an individual basis. He thrives on trying to learn what he doesn’t know, and this, he believes, plays an integral role in his success as the leader of Austin, Texas. A firm believer in giving back to the community, Spencer Cronk owes his success as city manager to the strong values passed onto him by his greatest role model, his father — a man who always cared about raising his family and having his priorities in order. His father taught him the greatness of compassion and understanding different people and perspectives, and Cronk considers it his purpose in life to support and empower the team around him to help make them better leaders of the future. He knows that he stands upon the shoulders of the many others who came before him, and that it is his responsibility to upkeep the legacy of greatness to which he has been handed. He’s a man who doesn’t pretend to know all of the answers, and understands the importance of listening and trying to see all perspectives, to not presume outcomes based on preconceived notions or bias, and that inclusion is the key to unlocking the unlimited potential held within this wonderful and diverse nation. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

Not Your Average Cattle Rancher

Kerry Hall Executive Managing Director Texas Capital Bank

xecutive Managing Director of Texas Capital Bank Kerry Hall helps drive the Texas economy. Day in and day out, she is visiting businesses and helping to fuel the booming market in the region. Her role as a banker and vital instrument of the economy can be a bit heady to describe. Hall prefers to put it this way: her purpose in life is to help people have happy work lives. Hall grew up on a ranch with her mother and father and four siblings. Their pastures rolled alongside the Guadalupe River and the four Hall children enjoyed the best of a rural Texas childhood. “We joke around – I grew up on a big cattle ranch and it was along the Guadalupe River, so beautiful setting and a lot of people say, ‘Oh man, that must have been like living in a nature camp.’ And I say, ‘Well, it was part nature camp, part concentration camp,’ because we worked hard on that ranch and the family garden; there was always a lot of work to be done. But we learned a lot there and learned to really appreciate [life],” Hall says. Hall developed a love for the bank early in life. She cherished trips to the bank with her father and saw the environment as the epitome of professionalism. “Some of my favorite times growing up was when my dad would take me to the bank with him and I remember thinking, ‘Man, these people have it made. They’re working in air-conditioning

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and it’s not heavy outdoor labor,’ and that sort of thing. And I said, ‘I wouldn’t mind that setting,’” Hall says. She loved to count money, check the balances in her father’s passbook savings accounts, and used to play make-believe drive-thru bank teller with her sister as they rolled their bikes up to the screens on their windows. As she matured, her aptitude for money solidified and love of the bank melded and solidified into a path that would ultimately lead her into the banking finance world. After high school, Hall enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin’s prestigious McCombs School of Business, graduating with honors in 1983 with her degree in finance. Out of college, she was selected to join a banking training program that helped her apply the skills she learned at McCombs to her new career in the banking industry. “I liked the idea of going into a training program after I got out of school and banks were one of the industries that offered a training program. So, I was very fortunate to be selected for a training program and that’s how I got into banking,” she says. “I had learned a lot in all my finance classes, but I really didn’t know how to apply them and through a bank credit training program, they kind of

teach you how to use those skills that you’ve learned in college in an industry where you can make a living.” Banking stuck, and she’s been excelling in the industry ever since. In January 1993, Hall joined Bank One as manager of middle-market commercial banking and stayed there until December 1999. The new Millennium brought Hall to her current bank, Texas Capital Bank. She joined as the President of its Austin region and held that role for 19 years. In March of this year, she was promoted to executive managing director, regional banking and is working to make Texas Capital Bank the best place to work and bank that it can be. One of the primary ways she does this is by ensuring that the culture is productive and kind. She remembers times from early in her career where people made the work environment difficult or hostile, and now that she is in a position where she can curate the cultural influences in her workplace, she works to bring in the right mix of folks to promote the kind of frictionless environment that makes people want to come to work every day. “You know, we spend sometimes more time, more awake hours in our job than we do with our families. And if that time can’t be

enjoyable, that’s a shame. You shouldn’t stick around for that, right? And so, a lot of my working career has been about making sure that my people don’t have obstacles in the way, that they’re unhappy because of the setting they’re working in. That’s why I was put here,” Hall says. She points back to her time on the ranch watching her father and mother earn a living by the sweat of their brows for 40 years with smiles on their faces as the time when this idea of loving your work for life took root in her soul. “I thought, ‘Wow, how can I be happy with that for 40 years?’ I need to be able to make sure that I can be happy with that. I worked in some settings where it was really uncomfortable. There might have been one or two people who made it uncomfortable. When I finally got to a position where I was in control of that, I said, ‘I’m not going to let that happen for other people,’” she says. “I’ve worked really hard to make sure that we have a really fun place to work where people feel like they can be successful themselves and that they don’t have to worry, if they have a question–no question is too dumb, no question is too off-limits–let’s talk about whatever’s bothering you and let’s get it taken care of.” To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

Building Community One Leader at a Time

Christopher Kennedy CEO Leadership Austin

s CEO of Leadership Austin, Christopher Kennedy builds and nurtures relationships. Kennedy brings together business, nonprofit, and civic leaders to incite conversations around community issues, relationships, and skills, all while opening a dialogue between people who come from differing perspectives. With 40 years under its belt, Leadership Austin still has much work to do— but Kennedy sees it as an opportunity for growth. His passion for conversing with people from all kinds of diverse backgrounds lends to his success in facilitating an open forum with equal representation. “If somebody is speaking for someone else in the room, then we haven’t diversified the room enough,” says Kennedy. Because the Leadership Austin organization supports single-member district structure, it is all the more vital that the systems within are representative of the greater community. “That,” says Kennedy, “is anchored in our core value of inclusiveness.”

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Kennedy grew up in El Paso, Texas in an oldschool Catholic family. He was the youngest of eight children. His mother, who lost her husband when Kennedy was young, knew that the El Paso community was rich with culture, and so she leaned on the support network in Texas to help raise her children. Having been raised “by a village,” Kennedy was given a unique look into multiple cultures and ideologies, which primed him for his future position with Leadership Austin. Kennedy came to Austin for school at the University of Texas, and fell in love with the city. After graduating from college, he became a banker— but soon realized his true calling was in entrepreneurship. He began several successful startups before finding himself as board chair of Leadership Austin. Kennedy cites having felt a “bigger calling” upon the resignation of the former CEO, and decided to throw his name in the hat— the rest is history. Kennedy took over the organization in February of 2014.

“

If it’s not good for your neighborhood, it shouldn’t be good for anybody’s neighborhood.

”

losing some of that. His goal is to serve what the greater good is about through engagement at the most human level. He believes, in doing this, that he has become more of a listener and has become more aware of the world around him. For instance, he maintains that a janitor’s impact on the room is just as important to the experience of that room as when the CEO walks in to deliver a message. There are workers at every level, Kennedy maintains, and they should all be respected.

When asked about his dreams for Austin, Kennedy explains his hope that Austin will live up to the expectations set by his organization. “We’re not here to sell Austin,” says Kennedy, “we’re here to articulate where some of the challenges are in Austin and help convene some of the conversations around that.” He lives by the mantra: “if it’s not good for your neighborhood, it shouldn’t be good for anybody’s neighborhood.”

Despite his overwhelming positive impact on the city of Austin, Kennedy’s goal is to stay in the back of the room as much as possible, and not be recognized or focused on. He believes in advancing the greater good in this space, and that there is no room for ego. Instead, he wants us to think about what it means to be a neighbor; to think about the circumstances surrounding your neighbors, and how to relieve those circumstances that have hindered their abilities to become who they want to be.

Having a strong Catholic base, Kennedy believes that treating others as you want to be treated is core, and fears that we may be

In his personal time, Kennedy is a self-proclaimed “little over the top” University of Texas football fan. In fact, he hasn’t missed

a University of Texas football game since he graduated. He also follows men’s basketball and women’s basketball. He is just a “little rabid” about sports. He also considers himself a “movie guy,” and reminisces about old-school theater movies. “I’m not going to be a Netflix person,” says Kennedy, “I’m going to be sad when all the movie theaters go away. I like the ambience of the movie.” Additionally, Kennedy is a runner and outdoorsman who enjoys the trails; he considers it good thinking time. When not indulging in his guilty pleasures of sports and movies, Kennedy enjoys spending time as the favorite uncle of his 39 nieces and nephews.

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The Giver

Beth Krueger Austin Chamber of Commerce

n the last decade, Austin has become one of the nation’s most desirable cities both for businesses and their employees. Beth Krueger, senior director of engagement for the Austin Chamber of Commerce is one of the people who makes Austin an attractive place to do business. The chamber’s mission is to be a pro-business business association that promotes prosperity in the community at large. “We’re all about helping to build and develop that all industries in our community are thriving so that all people in our community thrive,” Krueger says. Krueger’s role at the Chamber is to facilitate the second part of the mission: promoting prosperity in the community at large. One of her largest and most effective initiatives is the Austin Gives program. The pro-

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gram came from a Chamber-organized trip to Minneapolis. The group was introduced to a program that recognized businesses that give back to and invest in their community. The experience lit a fire under the Austin business leaders, and they came back determined to create a similar movement in their metro. Austin Chamber of Commerce President Mike Rollins gathered movers and shakers in the community to come up with the program, and in 2014, Austin Gives was born. “We invited businesses to be recognized for their giving back to the broader community, for how they invest their volunteer hours, how they might deliver products, services, or intellectual capital, and how they invest their social capital contributions, and how they partner with nonprofits to move those missions forward. And so, we celebrate that,” Krueger says. “This is a way to put a new spotlight on what’s happening in our community for sure, but really wasn’t being lit. The amazing thing is, is that it sets the bar and the tone for all those new businesses that have been coming to Austin or being born in Austin, because we do birth a lot of great business ideas right here in our city. And so, this is a program that really helps businesses identify how to be more engaged, connected in the community and more aware of what

the community needs might be and how they make them.” Krueger started her career as a regular businesswoman. Prior to 1993, she was working to become a leader in the business community through all the usual methods. Little did she know, that she would become one of Austin’s foremost business leaders on an unconventional path. “Sometimes I think the path to success is really about intersections and choices at those intersections. And for me, that intersection, that first big intersection came when I made a choice when I was living in Florida many years ago. When I decided that, instead of continuing on my path as a business leader, I really wanted to take my business mind and put it to work for my heart...to making the community a better place,” she says. “That’s when I took my knowledge and experience and explored and moved forward in the nonprofit sector to gain more knowledge and experience to marry those two and to bring forth what I valued most of all, which was planting seeds that would grow far behind my existence.” Krueger never thought she would call Texas home. She came to Austin in 1993 to complete a short project, but 27 years later, she is still here working on a host of projects for the good of the community. “I really thought

I was only coming for a short time to do a really big project, and it changed the minute I got here,” she says. “Texas welcomed me in a way that I never expected, and I found I was home. I found that I fit with the people of this community.” Krueger delved deep into the nonprofit world, working with a host of nonprofits including Habitat for Humanity; United Way; Big Brothers and Big Sisters; and more. Eight years ago, she joined the Chamber to fulfill her ultimate goal of sowing philanthropic seeds that would grow well beyond her working years. “As much as I love raising money for our community and for the amazing nonprofit organizations that are in that community, I believed that it was more important for me to work on creating more philanthropists to carry on in the future,” she says. “I feel like the Austin Gives program is a perfect place to do that because there are so many ways that we have an opportunity to ignite the passion of philanthropy, love of community, through the workplace. That’s where the people are; they’re in the workforce. And with the fabulous businesses that live in our community that exemplify philanthropy and encourage their workforce to give back, it’s a perfect place to build philanthropists.”

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First African American Female District Court Judge

Hon. Lora Livingston District Court Judge Travis County

udge Livingston is a 1982 graduate of the UCLA School of Law. She began her legal career as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow assigned to the Legal Aid Society of Central Texas in Austin, Texas. After completion of the two-year fellowship program, she continued to work in the area of poverty law until 1988 when she entered private practice with the law firm of Joel B. Bennett, P.C. In 1993, she and S. Gail Parr formed a partnership and opened the law firm of Livingston & Parr. She was engaged in a general civil litigation practice with an emphasis on family law. In January, 1995, she was sworn in as an Associate Judge for the District Courts of Travis County, Texas. After her successful election, Judge Livingston was sworn in as Judge of the 261st District Court in January, 1999. She is the first African-American woman to serve on a district court in Travis County, Texas. Since 2011, she has served as the Local Administrative Judge for the Travis County Courts. Judge Livingston has been active in local, state and national bar association activities and has served on the boards of the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation, Texas Access to Justice Commission, the National

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Center on Women and Family Law, the National Association of IOLTA Programs, the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas, and the Board of the Texas Center for the Judiciary. She is a member of the National Bar Association, the American Bar Association and the National Association of Women Judges. She has served as a delegate to the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association (ABA) representing the State Bar of Texas and the Travis County Bar Association. Her ABA service includes Chair of the Commission on Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA), Chair of the Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services, Chair of the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (SCLAID), member of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono and Public Service, she is a member of the Commission on the Future of Legal Services and member of the ABA Judicial Division. She is a Texas Delegate to the ABA Judicial Division National Conference of State Trial Judges. She has also served on a number of committees in various state and local bar associations, including the Austin Bar Association, the Austin Black Lawyers Association and the Travis County Women Lawyers Association.

Judge Livingston is a proponent of pro bono activities and has served on the Board of Volunteer Legal Services (formerly Austin Lawyers Care). Judge Livingston is the 2015 Chair of “And Justice for All: An ABA Day of Service,” a National Pro Bono Celebration. She is also a member of the ABA Commission on the Future of Legal Services. Judge Livingston was instrumental in the establishment of the Travis County Self Help Center for self-represented litigants, and she led the effort to adopt a language access plan in the Civil Courts. She is a passionate supporter of access to justice initiatives on the local, state and national level. Judge Livingston is a frequent speaker at continuing legal and judicial education programs. She serves on the faculty of the College for New Judges and has served as its Dean. She is frequently asked to speak at civic and cultural events as well. In 1992, she received the “Outstanding Attorney” award from the Travis County Women Lawyers Association. In 2005, she received both the Texas Access to Justice Commission Pro Bono Champion Award and the Texas Equal Access to Justice Foundation Harold F. Kleinman Award. Judge Livingston was also the recipient of the 2005-2006 Texas

Center for the Judiciary Exemplary Judicial Faculty Award. She received this honor again in 2008-2009. She was awarded the Women of Distinction Award in 2006 by the Lone Star Girl Scouts Council and the Community Service Award in 2007 by the Austin Independent School District. She was awarded the Nancy Garms Memorial Award in 2010 by the Law Focused Education division of the State Bar of Texas. In 2012 she received the Lotus Award from SAHELI for Asian families in recognition of her work ensuring access to justice for victims of domestic violence. She received the 2015 National Center for State Courts Distinguished Service Award. She received the Joseph C. Parker, Jr. Diversity Award. An active member of the Austin community, Judge Livingston has served on the boards of the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, The Care Communities, Trinity Episcopal School, Capital Area Food Bank, Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Tenants Council, Central East Austin Community Organization, YMCA, Austin Area Urban League, El Buen Samaritano, and the Seminary of the Southwest. Judge Livingston is also a graduate of the 1999-2000 class of Leadership Austin. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

Austin's 'Front Man'

Tom Noonan CEO Visit Austin

om Noonan is the CEO of Visit Austin, the marketing and promotional branch for the city of Austin, Texas. Visit Austin promotes the city as a destination to visit - they book and sell out the city’s convention center, fill hotel rooms, and manage all public relations campaigns and advertising campaigns. Born in Iowa City, Iowa, Noonan was raised in Rochester, Minnesota with his three siblings and six step-siblings. Growing up in a household of 12 family members ensured that his life was almost always like a meeting or business convention, because he was always in a room with so many people. He feels that his upbringing in such a large household taught him responsibility and teamwork at an early age, “there’s no way to operate as an individual in a family of 12,” he says. “It just doesn’t work.” But he feels no detriment to growing up in such a cramped environment, indeed, he feels that it’s his greatest weapon. After graduating from college in the late ‘80s, Tom worked his way up through the tourism and marketing industry for over 31 years. Working 18 years for the Dallas Convention Bureau, he started at the bot-

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tom as an entry-level sales representative and eventually worked his way up until he got all the way to Vice President of Sales and Services. Tom then moved onto the Baltimore Bureau of Tourism and Promotion, running the organization as President and CEO for 10 years. These last few years have seen Noonan as the CEO for Austin’s center of marketing and tourism. An often-overlooked sector, Noonan feels that the tourism industry is great for recent graduates of both high school and college. Tourism is an expansive industry with a need for candidates that have knowledge in many different disciplines, from engineering and accounting, sales and marketing, to the culinary, film, and music arts, and even the wide world of sports. It’s an industry that provides a fairly straightforward path to advancement and success for those looking for it. Many people who start in entry-level positions in the tourism industry meet with great success, and end up managing hotel chains or run other convention bureaus across the Country. Noonan loves how fun it is promoting a great and unique American city such as Austin, but his great pride in his work is in his ability to enrich the lives of the people of Austin by

“

Loyalty is important. Honesty is incredibly important. If you do good work and you’re good to people, it comes back to you in droves.

jobs. Noonan believes connecting people is especially important for his industry, tourism, because of the potential for growth.

driving tourism to the city. He loves that he can make a difference to the people of Austin simply by performing the job at which he has spent three decades learning and growing.

Noonan strives first and foremost to be a good person, to love his family and friends, to make as many friends as he possibly can, and to treat everybody as a friend. As a leader in the tourism industry, Noonan loves that it’s his job to bring people together and to aid in collaboration, and he feels it’s his life’s purpose in business to help other people get ahead. Not only does he promote tourism, but he’s also an avid traveler, and a bit of a golfer. Above all he enjoys meeting new people. Says Noonan, “I’ll go in and work a room and I’ll try to meet as many people as I possibly can. I love meeting new people and that’s why I like the hospitality business.”

One of Noonan’s greatest accomplishments is his work on the Visit Austin Foundation, which provides job training and scholarship opportunities to Austinites. In doing this, Noonan hopes to provide the chance for people who may not have a degree to work in a professional capacity. The Foundation hosts career fairs with boundless opportunities in the way of networking and available

Tom spends most of his time outside of work with his wife and son, going out to experience the live music and diverse culinary scene that Austin has to offer. Having only been living in Austin for the past four years, he still has so much to see and do in the city that he feels like his options will never be expended. And yet, here in Austin, Noonan feels like his family is back where they should be.

”

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Bringing Purpose to the Hearts & Minds of the People

Duff Stewart Chief Executive Officer GSD&M

hough heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an Austinite through and through, Duff Stewart came to Longhorn country and GSD&M by way of Dallas. Stewart took his first breath at Baylor Hospital and spent his childhood in the northern suburbs of the city before setting out to earn his degree at the University of Texas at Austin. The city of Austin quickly captured young Stewartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s heart. Its free-spirited nature and open arms to all kinds of people were a welcome change of pace from the stodgier bastions of business in the Lonestar State. While at UT, Stewart studied economics, which he says gave him a deep understanding of the relationship between scarcity and decision making, knowledge that would pave

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his way to success in the advertising industry. “In advertising, we have to make choices about the resources that we put to work on behalf of our clients to build their business, and what is the best way that we can reach that particular consumer with the right message at the right time down the right channel,” Stewart says. “Ultimately, we have to make those decisions in a smart way.”

the integrity of the company’s culture.

Stewart graduated in 1984 and started his career as the VP of Marketing at Cornerstone Development, a commercial real estate development company. He spent six years at Cornerstone, and during his time there met the founders of GSD&M. In 1990, they asked him to join the GSD&M team. Though commercial real estate and economics may seem a far cry from the usual background for an advertising career, Stewart counts his experience in them as a boon, giving him the wherewithal and clarity to make effective decisions in an industry everchanging variables. He never looked back.

Inclusion and diversity, the same kind of mentality that drew him to Austin, are what Stewart says are the hallmarks of the GSD&M culture. These two pillars, he believes, are the source of GSD&M’s success.

Stewart has been with GSD&M for 29 years now, serving as its CEO for the last 10 years. During his tenure at the helm, the business has grown greatly, winning big contracts with Southwest Airlines, Popeyes Chicken, and the PGA Tour, as well as many other household names. But no matter how much GSD&M grows, Stewart strives first and foremost to preserve

“I do a lot less advertising than when I first got into this business,” Stewart says.“What I try to focus on is creating an environment where people can come to work and they can thrive and do the things they got into this business for: to create and to make a difference for people,” Stewart says.

“There's a recognition that ideas can come from anywhere and that anyone has a seat at the table, that they're not this group or that group, that we try to be inclusive and that we want to hear from anyone, because ultimately, when we do hear many voices and many voices come to the table, that synergy is a lot stronger than if we are kind of one-sided in our perspective or point-of-view,” says Stewart. “We benefit ultimately because we have different perspectives. And when people come to the table and share their perspective, that helps us do a better job.” In an ever-changing industry, Stewart believes future-proofing means staying intellectually nimble and keeping abreast of the national zeitgeist. “This industry is constantly changing, so our job as marketers is to be

reflective of what's happening in the country,” he says. “Sometimes people and agencies don't change as fast as the marketplace changes. We have to constantly be at the leading edge so that we can help deliver for our clients. Change is never easy for us or for anyone, but we have to be willing to embrace change and see where it takes us.” When Stewart is not on the clock shepherding the company, he is most likely cheffing up a delectable spread for his family and friends or simply enjoying the outdoors as he tends his lawn, hikes, or water skis on Town Lake. When all is said and done, Stewart hopes he is remembered for the way he listens to people and creates environments where people feel known. In meetings, he often quotes Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, reminding his team that while most people listen to respond, effective people listen to understand. It’s a concept he’s built his life around and that he passes on to people in hopes that it would transform the way they interact with the world both professionally and personally. “I think if we're ultimately recognized as good listeners, we would do great in our personal relationships, our family relationship, and we sure as hell would do better with our clients because we're listening to what they really want,” he says. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS

Setting the Bar for Inclusion

Delanie Ward Executive Director Austin Bar Association

eLaine Ward holds a lot of power in the Austin legal world. She is the executive director of the Austin Bar Association and Foundation, a 35-year veteran of the two organizations who has been pushing forward diversity and pro bono initiatives at the association. From service and philanthropy to professional development, Ward is at the helm of it all. “We do a number of things,” she says. “We do a lot in the community, law-related education, we have the Veteran’s Clinic. We have a pro se legal clinic. We do continuing law education for our members, just a wide variety of things, serving our members and the community at large.”

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TOP TEN DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CHAMPIONS One of the Austin Bar Association’s core beliefs is that everyone should be able have access to good legal representation and services as well as sound legal advice, whether or not they can afford it. Since 1982, the Austin Bar Association has been providing millions of dollars’ worth of free legal services and running clinics for the community. The association runs a clinic for Veterans as well as a clinic for pro se (self-represented) individuals. The pro se legal clinic at the Travis County Law Library sees roughly 60 people per day. “So many of our community cannot afford $350 to $400 an hour for legal services. We believe in access to justice and we have a number of outlets for them, not just with the veterans and the pro se,” Ward says. “We started a program called Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas in 1982. They help those who cannot afford it with various issues: family law, family law with violence, domestic violence, probate. They also do some immigration as well. We’re very proud of that program and they provide each year $4-million in free legal services to this community.” Though she owns her career through and through, by no means was Ward planning a career in the legal industry when she was in school at the University of Texas at Austin. The Hoosier-state native went to UT with dreams of becoming a journalist. She graduated in 1984 with her journalism degree and went to work for the State Bar of Texas in the Bar Services department, which at the time, she says, meant doing a little bit of everything. “We worked with the board of directors, I worked with the foundation, we put on the annual meeting. And so, I got this great experience there. And when the Austin Bar Executive Director position opened, my boss at the State Bar said, ‘You really should apply,’” she recalls. “I was only 24 at the time. I thought, ‘I am never going to get this job.’ [But] I did, and I love it beyond belief.” Her favorite thing about the job is the dynamic nature of her role. She loves everything from planning and meeting to events and writing. No day is the same and she loves getting to represent an organization she so thoroughly believes in.

On the list of things she is most proud of her association accomplishing, diversity initiatives rank near the top. “We’ve done a lot in the diversity area in our Bar. In fact, I’m so proud of them. They were the first in the state of Texas or all the local Bars and even the State Bar, to have the first woman president, to have the first Hispanic Bar president and to have the first African-American president. So, I’m really proud of that,” she says. “I think the Austin Bar has always had a culture of inclusiveness. In fact, we were one of the first in the states to have voting representation for the Austin’s Black Lawyers Association, Hispanic Bar Association, the Austin Asian Bar, the Travis County Women Lawyers. And I feel they are a large part of our Bar. So, we assist them with putting on clinical CLE’s. A lot of them meet in our office space and they just add so much purpose to our group. I’m honored to work with all of them.” Recently, the group has been putting on implicit bias trainings for members meant

to break down harmful assumptions and promote fairness. Promoting and valuing diversity, she says, is critical to a healthy legal industry. “[A diverse legal workforce is important] because we have a diverse community, and I think all aspects need to be represented in the profession,” Ward says. Ward is a single-mother of three children, just cleared a long home-buying process, and is delving into the fitness world in her free-time away from the association. She views motherhood as her highest calling in life and has a “village” of single mothers she says she leans on through good times and bad. Aside from her role as a good mother, Ward hopes that her work over the last 35 years at the Austin Bar Association will continue on long past her retirement and that she will be remembered for her kindness, generosity, and willingness to help others. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

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2019

CENTRAL TEXAS YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Courtney Bailey Terri Broussard-Williams Ryan Coaxum Naji Kelley Terry Mitchell Rudy Metayer Chas Moore Llyas Salahud-Din Meme Styles Kobla Tetey

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The Bold & The Beautiful

Courtney Bailey Director of Issues and Engagement Leadership Austin

“I am… sweetness, sour, tough, tender, golden, grit, beautiful &, bold, I am…”

hese are the words that Courtney Bailey, Director of Issues and Engagement at Leadership Austin, identifies with. These words inform her outlook and demeanor, the way approaches her daily tasks and her long-term goals. “Austin’s definitions of blackness can seem limiting if you choose to subscribe to those definitions. Audre Lorde said it best, ‘If I

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didn’t define myself for myself, I would be crunched into other people’s fantasies for me and eaten alive.’ In my line of work, it is very easy to be the only one’,” Bailey says. As director of issues and engagement at Leadership Austin, Bailey is face to face with systemic injustice and stubborn problems that have clung to the city for years. But she doesn’t let that get to her. She is doing what she loves and making the world a better place in so doing.

designed to expand their understanding of issues ranging from demographics and civic engagement to the built environment and institutional racism. This year, the cohort is made up of 56% people of color and 44% white. Bailey is thrilled to see this level of diversity in Leadership Austin’s workshops because, she says, “such diverse demographics, enhances the learning environment and creates more opportunities for change.”

“For the first time in seven years of living in Austin, I can say that I truly know who I am and where I am going. As a result, I have a strong community network and these people who make up my community hold me accountable, lift me when I am down and celebrate me just because I exist.” she says. Leadership Austin’s mission is to equip people to become community leaders and create change right where they are. In her role, Bailey is in charge of designing the curriculum that these future leaders will learn from. In the Essentials program, she has crafted a nine-month curriculum for 60-plus established leaders in the community that is

In addition to the nine-month Essentials curriculum, Bailey painstakingly curates monthly Engage breakfast panels covering civic issues ranging from immigration to LGBTQ+ issues and veterans issues. In each panel, she makes sure to balance the panelist mix with a broad spectrum of perspectives and always includes a member on the panel who is affected by the issue under discussion. Besides these two main programs, Bailey keeps herself busy assisting with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office program called Building Bridges Community Dialogue, serves on the board of NAMI Central Texas, Sundara Yoga Therapy, and is the Co-facilitator for the

Amala Youth Rise program. Bailey points to the support of her team at Leadership Austin as the reason she is able to maintain such a high-powered schedule and is thankful that she has them in her corner. Bailey was born and raised in Fitzgerald, Georgia. She went to Howard University and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in political science and community development. After starting her career outside of Texas, she moved to Austin in 2012 to be closer to her mother, a disabled veteran living in Killeen. This transitioned her from a policy think tank in the D.C. area to AmeriCorps VISTA, where she took a role directly related to promoting health and wellness in the veteran community. This led her to take other health related nonprofit jobs and eventually earned her her position at Leadership Austin, which she started in 2018. When she’s not in the office or on stage, Bailey is usually engaging in a little self care, hiking, doing yoga, reading science fiction and fantasy novels by Black women authors, or just spending quality time with her family, especially her four-year-old niece. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

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Turning Moments into Movements

Terri Broussard Williams National Director of Strategic Partnerships American Heart Association

erri Broussard Williams, National Director of Strategic Partnerships and Alliances, Government Relations at the American Heart Association, is on a mission to create community leaders who make moments into movements to change their world for the better. For her, leadership is a call that extends to everyone, not just the chosen few. “My purpose in life is to give people information that will give them the confidence to change their communities. I believe leaders turn moments into movements, and everyone can be a great leader!” A Lafayette, Louisiana girl and the daughter of an educator, Williams says there was never any doubt about her getting a degree. As far as she was concerned, it was a non-discussion. After high school, she enrolled at Louisiana State University with designs on a career in television journalism. But, as she made her way out from LSU, a career in politics came knocking. “I began a career in television journalism which led me to becoming a press secretary for a US Senate Candidate during the 2002 Mid-Term elections. My candidate lost and a mentor told me to consider lobbying. The last time I’d walked into a State Capitol was my 5th grade field trip. I’ve now been lobbying for nearly 20 years,” she says.

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She took a job as a Tobacco Control Lobbyist for the Southwest LA Area Health Education Center, helping foster initiatives against smoking and pushing for policy change all around Louisiana. A year later, she joined up with the American Heart Association as the Government Relations Director for Louisiana. After that, she was off to the races, marshalling support for AHA’s policy initiatives, and Spearheading the AHA effort to pass smoke-free workplace laws in Louisiana and Texas. In nearly 16 years at the AHA, she has helped pass numerous laws that have moved the needle in favor of health and improved countless lives. “There aren’t many things you can do in life and say you save lives,” she said in an interview for LSU’s Alumni Association. “Quite recently we passed a law in every state that says that students have to take CPR before high school graduation. I see newspaper articles all the time where there’s a student

who saved someone’s life at a movie cinema or at the mall and they got that CPR training in school. That’s when I know that what I do does matter and makes a difference.” Though her desk resides at the American Heart Association, Williams is involved in so much more than her day job. She runs her own blog on leadership and community impact; founded 4Front, an organization born of theAustin Community Foundation-Women’s Fund that supports the economic security of women in Central Texas; and organized the Junior League of Austin’s Capital Campaign Ambassador program to garner funds for a new community center to base the organization’s community support efforts out of. Williams has a heart for philanthropy, and has been on more nonprofit boards and committees than you can shake a stick at. For her, it’s all worth it to pursue her dream of inspiring leaders and creating movements.

“I want people to remember me as someone who wasn’t afraid to set things in motion so that other African Americans would have a path. I don’t need to be the first to be fulfilled,” she says. “I choose to live consciously rather than unconscious. I’ve committed to leading a more centered and balanced life and I found ways to set energy in motion consistently.” Recently, Williams sustained a traumatic brain injury. It put her out of commission for five weeks and made her take stock of her life. “It really causes you to think about your pace in life and if operating at full capacity is necessary and brings you joy. I’ve promised myself to spend more time doing the things that make my heart sing since my accident,” she says. In her free time, Williams enjoys writing. She has been working on her first book Find Your Fire and is on the cusp of pushing it over the finish line. It is on course to be released in March. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

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Saving a Community Through Service

Ryan Coaxum Vice-President Guaranty Bank & Trust

Ryan Coaxum is a proud, born-and-bred Austinite. He grew up in Hyde Park, went to Covington Middle School, and split his high school years between Bowie and Pflugerville where he met his wife, Laura. “I actually did not want to go to Huston Tillotson because that’s where [my parents] met,” says Coaxum. “But then as time went on I began to take notice of what they were doing in the community and what Huston Tillotson meant to the people of East Austin, you are kind of sucked into it and you’re just kind of like, ‘Let me go check it out.’ I love Huston Tillotson.” Coaxum took a break from college to start working and landed a gig selling Westlake residential real estate for Coldwell Banker. He did this for a spell before his mother called 34

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him and said, “Hey, we are kicking you off of insurance. You’re going to have to get your own.” This made the feast or famine real estate game untenable for a young Coaxum whose parents were pushing him from the nest. He canvassed the city for a better job that didn’t require a degree and set out to try his hand at bank telling. It stuck, and he’s been in the industry for 10 years, quickly climbing the corporate ladder. Coaxum did well as a teller at Sovereign Bank. He started helping his then and still boss Travis Brown do underwriting, personal banking, and still held down his teller duties. Brown saw something in Coaxum and pulled him aside one day. “He said, ‘Ryan, what do you want to do in life?’ And I’ve always been told, you know, when somebody asks you something, you need to tell them and you need to be very specific when you tell them.

And so, I sat there and I told him, ‘Hey, I would do this. I love connecting with people. Business development is my thing.’ And he said, ‘Great. You would be great at that and you’re probably going to make a lot of money doing it. However, you need to finish your degree,’” Coaxum recalls. “Literally, I was sitting there, I was kind of taken aback by it, because I said, “Wow,” you know, the nerve. However, he was right and it was so funny. That was about 10:00 in the morning. I remember about 12:00, I went to lunch. I drove to HT because they had been sending me all these emails about the adult degree program. I went in there, enrolled, and then literally came back from lunch, peeked my head in his office and was like, “And I’m in college, I enrolled. There.” That bit of initiative was a game changer for Coaxum. It led him to Guaranty Trust

Bank and set him on the path to achieve Vice President by age 34. He attributes his success first and foremost to God, second to family, and third to surrounding himself with people worth their salt. Coaxum is confident in his path, he says, because he knows he is doing what he is meant to do. “I know I was meant to connect with people, talk with people, share with people, minister to people,” he says. “I feel like I’m always going to try to constantly make sure that people keep pushing forward in anything that they’re doing...if I can be that driving force that helps people connect with somebody or get them to that next level, that’s what I want to do. And so, I’m glad that I have a job in terms of, yes, it’s business development in banking, but also develops relationships, all these organizations that I’m a part of, community.”

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Blending Tech & Diversity

Naji Kelley Founder BLNDED Media

leveland native Naji Kelley, serial entrepreneur and active Navy Reservist, is one of the young, tech-forward entrepreneurs Austin is now known for. Like so many others in the city, Austin’s techboom lured him out of Ohio and in search of fertile entrepreneurial soil and like-minded individuals. Kelley graduated from Cuyahoga Community College with a degree in information technology-networking/software and started his career as an entrepreneur in 2011. “Summer of 2011 I was working in corporate as a Client Support Specialist, personally not happy in my role because it wasn’t challenging and I didn’t get support from management to help me pursue my career interests. I said Okay, no problem, I’ll figure it out myself! I knew business was my passion but I didn’t know which direction to go in. My focus on researching other Black entrepreneurs who looked like myself was to find inspiration for how they built their businesses and to also derive what resources were available to possibly help me in my

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entrepreneurial journey,” he says. “When I looked at the Forbes 100 and 400 list and I found limited examples of entrepreneurs of color, a fire was lit inside me and it grew more and more, the more data I found about the limiting factors I don’t see folks like myself.” This led him to start his own agency: Wize Management. From that Summer in 2011 until 2015 he worked to create the change he wanted to see and helped entrepreneurs plan and execute their vision. “I wanted to see more diverse entrepreneurs building their companies on a global level. I wanted to bring more color to the media landscape by creating a platform where entrepreneurs of color stories could be seen and heard and told from storytellers from all walks of life,” Kelley says. In 2012 he joined the Navy Active Reserve as a Logistics specialist, a role he still holds today. Kelley tabled Wize Management in 2015, and branched out to garner more experience. He interned with a transportation app developer, took a job as a media committee

lead at an urban coworking space in Austin, acted as a media advisor for the Austin Hispanic Hackers, and followed that up with one-and-a-half year stint as media advisor for Mentors & Mentees. In 2016, he started his own media company, BLNDED Media, a firm which much like WIZE is designed to empower people of color to pursue the business, technology, and media industries. His journey through the tech and entrepreneur circles left him with a valuable lesson, one which he tries to pass on to others: “Relationships in business is what water is to human beings. Can’t live without them.” The sooner you find out who you are, your purpose, focus, and direction comes together,” he says. “No more being overstretched. Focus on the hard things that will catapult you with two feet firmly planted in your purpose.” Recently, Kelley has signed onto a project out of Illinois called The Obsidian Collection Archives. It’s purpose is to provide a userfriendly, virtual portal for African-American

culture with access to historical, artistic, and cultural material from news outlets past and present. Kelley’s role is to find business opportunities for Obsidian and advocate on behalf of the archive, building relationships and exchanging information and ideas with journalists, curators, and historians. “[There is] so much power in knowing the history of your origins and the journeys of those who came before,” Kelley says. “People of color are the majority in this world. Hip Hop culture has touched every region on this planet. Our influence and impact is priceless.” In his free time, Kelley likes to travel, watch movies, skydive when he has the chance, rock the decks at Top Golf, and work on his photography. Whatever he is doing, Kelley likes to do it by faith. “Pray and walk out your faith by taking action in your life daily to get to where you want in this life... We are all connected. Nothing in life is wasted,” he says. “The maturation of our spirit should be what we live toward not the physical things we can’t take when we die.” To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

TOP TEN YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Native and Creative

Terry Mitchell Founder The Austin Socialite

ustin native and serial entrepreneur Terry Mitchell is a fearless trailblazer, carving out her own path and paving the way for women and people of color in the process. Over the course of her career, Mitchell has founded three companies. Her brands vary greatly in form and function, ranging from media and marketing to beauty and style, but their common thread is the empowerment of people of color. “When I think of Austin, I see a blank canvas, filled with opportunity,” Mitchell says. “I look at all that is negative as an opportunity to help change the narrative and landscape. Unlike other major cities, nothing is locked up in Austin, which leaves plenty of room to build and grow as we see fit.” The daughter of parents from Trinidad and Tobago, Mitchell smashed through the barriers before as a woman of color and a firstgeneration American, graduating from the University of Texas in 2007 with her degree

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in corporate communications and business foundations. She spent four years in the Army after that, but returned to Austin after six years away because her purpose was calling her home. From an early age, Mitchell knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. Her desire cemented into rock-hard drive when her mother lost her job of 20 years. “When my mother got fired from working at a bank for nearly 20 years, I told myself I would never work for anyone as long as I could help it,” Mitchell says.

ware development company that has helped lead development initiatives at Fortune 100 companies like USAA, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Live Nation, and NBC.

In 2011, she founded her first company, The Austin Socialite. The Socialite, still operating today alongside sister publication DFW Socialite, is a lifestyle publication that reports on Austin’s social scene, offers a place for event and party planners to showcase their shindigs, and hosts its own prestigious events such as the State of Black Austin, Urban Health Expo, and Austin Culture Fest. One company wasn’t enough for Mitchell, and in 2012 she founded E & Co Tech, a soft-

In 2015, she exited the corporate world and devoted her full attention to entrepreneurship, and she has reaped the benefits, creating a multi-million dollar business empire. Last year, Mitchell, itching for a new project, founded and opened a new beauty concept in Pflugerville called Glam Beauty Bar. Her efforts as a entrepreneur have won her massive respect in the city and beyond, and together the three companies have won her a host of awards including awards from Austin

In 2013, she took a detour into corporate communications, joining up with Global Efficient Energy as its senior marketing director for two years. She kept The Socialite and E & Co alive and thriving during this time, never losing sight of her entrepreneurial convictions.

Woman Magazine, The Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce, Black Excellence of Austin and NAACP-Austin. “Hard work beats talent, when talent doesn’t work hard,” she says. Mitchell is passionate about creating seats at the table for women and people of color, and her efforts as a business-woman have done just that in so many facets of the cityscape. She is equally passionate about helping young women unlock their potential and devotes a considerable amount of time to mentorship and consulting, having helped over 200 women-business owners to elevate their businesses. Her personal mantra and advice to others is to never short-sell oneself or give-in to negative ideation. “Whatever you say you are is the truth. Whatever you say you’re not is the truth. Be careful how you talk about yourself,” she says.

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True Public Servant

Rudolph “Rudy” Metayer Attorney Chamberlain Mchaney

rooklyn-born Rudolph “Rudy” Metayer, is a rising star in Austin politics. Metayer is the son of Haitan immigrants and part of the first generation of his family to go through higher education. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, he holds not one, but three degrees from the school: a Bachelors in Government and Philosophy, a Masters of Public Affairs, and his law degree. He now serves as a board member for the law school. He also serves on several local, state, and national boards including the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas, the Lone Star Circle of Care, Texans Soccer Club, Leadership Austin, Texas Young Lawyers Association, Austin Black Lawyers Association, and Young Catholic Professionals. In addition to fulfilling his role as a member of the Pflugerville City Council, Metayer

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currently practices law at the prestigious civil litigation firm Chamberlain McHaney. He has been with the firm for three years. Prior to that, he served as special counsel to the Health and Human Services Commission. In 2017, Metayer secured a seat on the city council of Pflugerville. While Austin has seen a decline in its African-American population due to lack of affordable housing and gentrification, Pflugerville stands in stark contrast, boasting the highest population of African Americans in the metro. “The [black] population in Austin has been going down significantly, but the [black] population in Travis County and in the region as a whole, has been increasing year after year. What you’re seeing is something that’s exactly what Pflugerville is a perfect example of. People are going to live where they can find a good quality of life,” Metayer said in an interview with Fox News 7.

Metayer believes Pflugerville’s affordability, police department, diversity, and parks are all reasons African Americans are moving to Austin’s most oddly named suburb, and he is their voice on the council, the only African American with a seat at the table. Metayer has lived in Pflugerville for almost 30 years, fathering three daughters and serving in myriad roles ranging from Vice President of Travis County Emergency Services District No. 2 to member of the Pflugerville Charter Review Commission and Vice Chair of the Boy Scouts of America Blackland Prairie. This year, Metayer was recognized as an outstanding alumnus of the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin, receiving the 2019 Rising Leader Award. Each year, the award is given to individuals who have helped improve the quality of public service in the United States and abroad at any level of government or civic engagement.

Metayer is known for providing pro bono legal services to veterans, working with atrisk children, and strengthening relations between his community and its police department. His love for the city he lives in and its people drives him to make it a better place for people of all races and backgrounds. No matter what title he holds, he will always strive to help Pflugerville be inclusive, fiscally responsible, economically strong, and a place known for its high-quality of life. In addition to all of his civic efforts, Metayer is an avid soccer fan. So much so that he is a certified referee for the U.S. Soccer Federation, a title he has held since 2008 and still exercises from time to time. He also loves spending time with his wife and three daughters, weightlifting, and participating in workouts at Camp Gladiator. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

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Unlocking the Potential of America

Chas Moore Founder Austin Justice Coalition

has Moore is about justice. He is the executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, an organization he founded in 2015 to push back the tide of injustice against people of color. The AJC works with city council, the Austin Police Department, the District Attorneyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s office, the Office of the Police Monitor, and other organizations to push for justice system reform on issues ranging from racial profiling and police use of force to arrest and jail for non jail-able offenses and police training methods. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Moore has more than 10 years of experience in policy advocacy and community engagement to bring to bear on one of the most pressing issues for people of color. Though these are trying times for the cause

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of justice in America, The Houston native says running the coalition is right where he wants to be. “After some key organizing efforts and policy wins here in Austin, this has turned out to actually become my dream job,” he says. As a black man fighting for black justice in Texas, discouragement abounds. According to research quoted by the AJC, Austin is the only major city losing its black population. The city’s population grew 20.4% between 2000 and 2010, and it shows no signs of stopping, whereas the black population shrunk by 5.4% in the same decade. Moore and the AJC ascribe this disparity to a vicious combination of a lack of affordable housing in the city, the presence of oppressive policing, disparities in the quality of education available to people of color and

other demographics. But, Moore says, he will never let any of this stop him from striving to create a better tomorrow for people of color. His grandmother, he says, is the chief reason he can keep going when the going gets tough. “My grandmother, hands down, [is] my biggest inspiration. She is the reason I will never give up or stay down too long. I truly admire her faith and perseverance,” he says. In addition to its policy work, Moore has marshalled the AJC to help provide underserved communities with resources for housing, scholarships, business startups, legal assistance, and black and brown empowerment. In 2019, Moore has put the AJC’s focus on creating change through a 10-point policy plan designed to help those in need; enact fair, just, and equitable laws; create safety without fear; promote the welfare and education of all people; and increase the transparency

of government. The 10-point plan is a lofty goal to be sure, and its pursuit is exhausting. For Moore, sometimes the best thing he can do is take a minute to breathe and reset. His favorite way to do this is with a good book and some hookah, unplugged from the rest of the bustle and pressure. “I like anything that allows me to] unplug from all of it at times; the world is a busy place and love the moments of quiet when I can,” he says. But, whatever he does, he will always return to the fight for justice. It is his inexorable purpose in life what he is staking his legacy on. “I want people to remember me as someone who loved Black people and fought to my last breath making sure our ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow’ were better than our ‘yesterday,’ he says.

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Fostering Care for the Underserved

Llyas Salahuddin Director of Development Texas Empowerment Academy

irector of Development at Texas Empowerment Academy Llyas Salahud-din possesses a will to overcome that is hard to come by in the age of instant gratification. Born in Colorado Springs, Salahud-din was raised in San Antonioâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s foster care system. Statistics indicate that only 3% of children who age out of the foster system will graduate from college. Even fewer will go to graduate school. It took immense effort, a host of good mentors, and the will to dream for better for Salahud-din to get where he is today. He attended the University of Texas at San Antonio, from which he now holds a masters degree in public administration and nonprofit management. Against all odds, he prevailed. Prior to graduating from college, Salahuddin took an internship with Bridges Across Borders, an organization that seeks to promote world peace through cultural exchange, and went to live with the indigenous Wayuu people in Jacque, Panama, a region of the Darien Gap.

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“

I would like for people to remember that I did my best to provide opportunities for the underserved, forgotten, and voiceless.

During the internship he helped quantify the needs of the Wayuu community and raise the awareness and resources necessary to address them. It was there in the Panama dirt that the foundation for his career was laid. When he came back to the United States, he was selected as part of a fundraising campaign with United Way of San Antonio. During that campaign, they raised $44,000,000. Salahud-din was presented with a leadership award for going above and beyond in his role. Most of the volunteers on the campaign were corporate executives, and impressed with Salahud-din’s efforts, encouraged him to make a career out of his talent for fundraising, writing letters of recommendation to the organizations Salahud-din applied to. “Since then, I have never looked back,” he says.

”

In 2011, Salahudin came to Austin to rebuild the fundraising department at Texans Can Academies. He worked there for 3 years, helping to raise funds for the organization and going to bat for education reform at the capitol during the Texas 83rd Legislative Session. After completing his work with Texans Can, Salahud-din then went on to become Education Development Director at VChain solutions followed by Director of Major Gifts at Lifeworks Austin and director of development at Make-A-Wish Central & South Texas. In August this year, he stepped into his role as the director of development for the Texas Empowerment Academy.

At TEA, he is working to bring stable, quality education to Austinites in underserved areas in hopes of bringing to these areas the same kind of support that helped lift him up as a child. “My purpose is to follow in the footsteps of my biological and foster mother. My mother was financially poor, but she inspired others in the community, and gave back even when she had little. In addition, my foster mother raised 53 foster boys over her lifetime. My purpose in life is to continue to pay it forward,” Salahud-din says. “I would like for people to remember that I did my best to provide opportunities for the underserved, forgotten, and voiceless.” His advice for those looking to live a powerful life is this: treat everyone equally; don’t judge others; give back; be a lifelong learner; travel, smile, dance, read, and enjoy life.

After the United Way campaign, Salahudin took a job with City Year as a Corps director, supervising teams that mentored, tutored, and ran after-school programs in San Antonio. He stayed there for 2 years. Ever since, his career in the nonprofit realm has been inextricably linked to bringing better education to all. To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

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The Measure of a Woman - Character

Meme Styles Founder Measure

eme Styles was born and raised in Oceanside, California. The child of parents who inspired her to have a heart for people and a mind for getting things done, Styles is at the forefront of speaking truth to power in Austin. In 2015, she founded Measure, a communityled research organization that uses data to address systemic injustice, connects people to advocates, and training for community members who want to make a difference. In the four years since its founding, Measure has been awarded a CENTEX ASPA Public Service Innovation award, delivered a policing method to the Austin Police Department, organized the first National Big Data and Community Policing conference, and trained 80 change agents at Texas State University. Personally, Styles has led a colorful life full of twists and turns. From the military to

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television journalism in Alaska, her path has been nothing if not interesting. Styles had her first child as a teenager, an experience that flipped her understanding of the world on its head. “Becoming a mom as a teenager pivoted the way I thought about my purpose on earth. Choosing to be “my kid’s mom” made me choose a life of service for others,” she says. Married and with a young child, she fought hard for her degree, graduating in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. Living in Fairbanks, Alaska, at the time, she held down two or three jobs to pay for school, while still finding time to be a mother. It was a tough time, but she stuck with it and left Fairbanks, degree in hand, in 2009. She landed in El Paso and took a job with the Army as an executive assistant. From there

she made the jump back into the civilian world, taking a job in Austin with a Lockheed Martin subsidiary called Systems Made Simple as the operations manager. In 2014 she joined the Austin area division of Health and Human Services. It was during her time with HHS that she felt the pull toward social justice and decided to start Measure. The rest is history. As she continues to push hard for the safety and well-being of her community, Styles says one of the most important things she has learned in her life is when and where to say “yes” and when to say “no” to preserve her mental and physical health. Her heart attack taught her that sometimes taking time to be still is the quickest way forward. When she has run her race to the finish line, Styles says she hopes that her children will remember the way that she took on tough

issues, kept encouraging them, and working for the betterment of all. “My friend Elizabeth Heneeke shared this fantastic study with me about having grit. I want my kids to remember that I too was ‘gritty.’ That I was unafraid to dig in deep to address a social problem or that I would go to bat for them and anyone else in harm’s way,” she says. “My purpose in life is to grow the kingdom of heaven. Everything I do is my ministry. Whether it’s me passing on the lessons learned about Christ and how socially-just he is to my kids, my neighbors, my friends, my network or if it’s me speaking up against those that continue to oppress the least from opportunity. My hope is that I live a life on purpose for Him and do my part in fulfilling His work.”

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Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Kobla Tetey President Austin Urban League Young Professionals

obla Tetey, globe trotter, D.C. native, and multi-disciplinarian is one of the most versatile and dynamic young professionals in the game. From Grammy nominated work with musicians to running a tech company, Tetey has done it all and done it well. After getting his degree in communication and media studies at Bowie State University, Tetey decided to pursue a life-long dream: finding his place in the music industry. Up to that point, he had been grinding at various jobs, assistant managing at the Washington Redskins merchandise shop in Bethesda, Maryland, supervising at UPS, interning at Sirius XM Radio, and more. All along, the music industry was calling him. But he had no clue where to start. “Eventually, I decided to take the school route. I had no idea how I was going to get there, when I was going to get there, and how I would pay for it,” he says.

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“No matter what obstacles were placed in the way I always decided that I would make it to that school.” In 2004, he began attending Full Sail University pursuing his degree in audio engineering. His dream was to finish music school and work at The Hit Factory, a prestigious studio group that produced albums from artists ranging from Stevie Wonder to The Notorious B.I.G. It was a lofty goal for someone starting out without knowing how to get there, but he did it. “With determination I was not only able to make it to the school and finish but I also ended up working at the studio of my dreams,” he says. “I absolutely love music and to have a goal in mind to get to where I wanted to go was the key. It was another lesson in life that things don’t always happen when you want them to but if you remain focused the steps

will make themselves visible. I sum it up by saying, ‘Your win is not always your when.’” He worked at The Hit Factory’s Miami location from 2005 through 2006, assisting on two Grammy nominated projects including Nelly Furtado’s album, Loose. In 2005, he also took a position as president of W.E.T. Enterprises. To this day he still leads its daily music, film, and television production divisions’ operations. In 2009, Tetey was ready for a change of pace. He moved to Atlanta to begin his career with Mastec. He started off as a warehouse clerk and shot to the top of the ladder quickly, getting a promotion every year for the first five years he worked there. His prowess has helped elevate every team he’s been on, and that propensity for outperformance is what brought him to Austin. Mastec offered him the regional director of operations position,

and in 2016, he moved to Austin to step into his new role. He says he was drawn to the city’s vibrant culture of innovation and opportunity, and now, he is working to make it an even better place. When he lived in Dallas, Tetey joined the Urban League and became its community outreach chair. He has continued to serve with the League in Austin and is now its president. “Throughout this journey community has always been my steering committee,” he says. “After Joining the Urban League in Dallas,Texas, and becoming the community outreach chair of the young professionals, it was a natural segue to move to Austin and begin to work with the young professionals here. I have now been president for one year and [have] one more year left in the term, and we expect to continue to do great things to engage this community.” To advertise email sales@blackbusinessjournal.com

PROFESSIONALS

In 1979 Leadership Austin was foundedâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;by the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce (GACC)â&#x20AC;&#x201D;with the mission of providing leadership training to those with a passion for Greater Austin. In 2002 we became a stand-alone 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, while sustaining close ties to the GACC. Today we continue to believe each of us can engage in collaborative, inclusive, and sustainable leadership for our community. Leadership Austin offers established and emerging business and community leaders a unique opportunity to be part of a group that has come together to: - Develop their personal and professional leadership skills; - Learn about the issues affecting Greater Austin through open and balanced civic discussion; and, - Build relationships with others who seek to find solutions to the issues facing our region.

Leadership Austin ignites passion for civic engagement and community leadership. Leadership Austin 1609 Shoal Creek Blvd Ste 202 Austin, TX 78701-1022 www.leadershipaustin.org

Awards Gala & Vol. II Book Unveiling

November, 23, 2019 - 6pm J.W. Marriott Austin, 110 E. 2d. Street

PROFESSIONALS

Mission

Made Media Group was founded as a nonprofit 501c3 organization to inform, empower and transform African American communities through mass media and technology.

www.mademediagroup.org

Vision

รถ Profile & document the contributions of African Americans รถ Assist black businesses increase market share รถ Teach kids to seek careers in media and tech

PROGRAM Registration VIP Reception

(Diversity Champions & Young Professionals Awards)

Welcome

Emcee - Dr Nicole Cross

Performance Ballet Afrique

Acknowledgments

Austin City Manager's Office

Occasion

Dr. Freddie Dixon

Invocation

Pastor Gaylon Clark

Dinner Achievements in Black Austin Honorees Performances by

A Tribute to Austin - Robert King Judy Arnold Ballet Afrique Jeff Lofton Band

Remarks by Duff Stewart - GSD&M Mikaila Ulmer - Me & The Bees Edie Phillips - Austin Board of Realtors Dr. Colette Pierce-Burnette - Huston Tillotson University Charles Dickerson - Austin Energy Presentation of Awards

Black Lawyer of the Year Black Doctor of the Year Black Technologist of the Year Diversity Champion of the Year Peoples Choice - Austinite of the Year Young Professional of the Year

Publisher Remarks Anita C Roberts

AIBA Book Unveiling

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THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Presenting Sponsors

VIP Reception Sponsors

Diamond Sponsors

Gala Table Sponsor

Pay it Forward Marie Nelson

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NOVEMBER 2019

EMCEE Dr. Nicole Cross Dr. Nicole Cross is an accomplished journalist, educator, and mental health professional, Dr. Cross initially began her career focused on counseling. After earning a bachelor's in psychology and speech communications, a master’s in behavioral sciences, and a PhD in counselor education, Dr. Cross practiced in both private clinics and various public health agencies. Her career highlights include serving as the Texas Southern University Director of the Office of University Counseling, Career, and Disability Services and later as the Director of Counseling and Behavioral Health for The Potter's House of Dallas. On the side, Dr. Cross served as a relationship expert for a Houston radio show and, in time, became an in-demand speaker at conferences, seminars, and events on effective communication practices, self-improvement, and relationships. She even found time to teach college courses online and in person. By 30, Dr. Cross was happy with her success, yet was unsure of her next move up in counseling. Instead, she decided to recommit to her interest in journalism—something she first remembers exploring as part of her middle school newspaper. After studying broadcast journalism at the New York Film Academy, which later named her a distinguished alumni, Dr. Cross began working as a news anchor and health reporter. She started a “Healthy Living with Dr. Nicole” show and later hosted a personal health program featuring local health professionals. Most recently, in Austin, she led the popular Wellness Wednesday segment, educating viewers on how to talk to children about topics like friendships, relationships, and cyberbullying. Since becoming a journalist in 2013, Dr. Cross has earned awards that include four Associated Press awards and an Emmy nomination for Breaking News Coverage.

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MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

Reginald Baptiste, M.D.

Melanie Belt, M.D.

Alinda Cox, M.D.

Tim George, M.D.

Grace Grant-Jennings, M.D.

Cardiothoracic/Vascular Surgeon, Dell Medical School

Obstetrics/Gynecology, Austin Regional Clinic

Gynecology, Austin Regional Clinic

Chief, Pediatric Neurosurgery, Ascension Seton

Medical Director, Hospital Internists of Texas

Jeffree A. James, M.D.

Garrett Scales, M.D.

Desmar Walkes, M.D.

Aisha White, M.D.

Internal Medicine, Austin Medical Clinic East

Anesthesiology, Capitol Anesthesiology Associates

Family Medicine, A+ Lifestyle Medical Group

Plastic Surgeon, Quintessence Plastic Surgery

M. Yvette WilliamsBrown, M.D.,

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Gynecology- Oncology, Dell Medical School

NOVEMBER 2019

LEGAL PROFESSIONALS

Michelle Earley

Edward Fernandes

Shafeeqa Giarratani

Wallace B. Jefferson

Bill Jones

Partner Locke Lord

Partner Hunton Andrews Kurth

Partner Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.

Partner Alexander, Dubose & Jefferson LLP

Principal The Jones Firm

Karen M. Kennard

Demetrius G. Mcdaniel

Nikelle Susanne Meade

Dale Wainwright

Leonard Woods

Shareholder Greenberg Traurig

Partner Husch Blackwell LLP

Shareholder Greenberg Traurig

Partner Duggins Wren Mann & Romero, LLP

Shareholder Greenberg Traurig

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TECH PROFESSIONALS

Robert Corion

Jim Ganthier

Dexter Henderson

Rani Johnson

Johnita Jones

SVP, PMO, Project Delivery & Operations, Kapsch TrafficCom AG

SVP - Customer Solutions Strategy & Advocacy, Dell Technologies

VP Power Systems / IBM Austin Senior Location Executive

Chief Information Officer, SolarWinds

Vice President - Southern Operations Manager, ExxonMobil

Jason Kelley

Momar Mattocks

Brian Reaves

Robert F Smith

Ed Ward

General Manager, Blockchain Services, IBM

President - CFAN Manufacturing Ops Executive, GE Aviation

Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Dell Technologies

Chairman & CEO, Vista Equity Partners

Senior Vice President of Engineering - Client Solutions, Dell

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NOVEMBER 2019

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Courtney Bailey Leadership Austin

Terri Broussard Williams

Ryan Coaxum

Naji H Kelley

Rudy Metayer

Guaranty Bank & Trust

Blnded Media

City of Pflugerville Council Member

American Hear Association

Terry P Mitchell

Chas Moore

Llyas Salahud-Din

Meme Styles

Kobla Tetey

The Austin Socialite

Austin Justice Coalition

Texas Empowerment Academy

Measure Austin

Austin Urban League Young Professionals

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DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS

Joshua Baer Capital Factory

Dr. Colette Pierce Burnette

Spencer Cronk

Kerry Hall

Christopher Kennedy

City of Austin

Texas Capital Bank

Leadership Austin

Huston-Tillotson University

Beth Krueger

Hon. Lora Livingston

Tom Noonan

Duff Stewart

Delaine Ward

Austin Chamber of Commerce

Travis County District Court

Visit Austin

GSD&M

Austin Bar Association

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NOVEMBER 2019

TRAILBLAZERS

Toya Cirica Bell

Gary Bledsoe

Quincy Dunlap Charles Dickerson

Machree Gibson

Mel Parker Alberta Phillips Leonard Moore

Gardner Tabon Max Rutherford

Dr. Gloria L. Williams

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LEGACY BUILDERS

Joel Bennett

John Sibley Butler

Dr. John N. Doggett

Adrian Rhae Fowler

Ada Harden

Roland Hayes

Larry Jackson

Dr. Beulah Agnes Curry Jones

Eva June Lindsey

Dr. Marian Lavon Jackson Marshall

Mike Manor

Michael McDonald

Marva Overton

Polly Street

Clifton Van Dyke

Doris Wilhite

”Coach” James Wilson

Tommy Wyatt

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Charles E. Urdy

NOVEMBER 2019

PUBLIC OFFICIALS

Joel Baker

Allen Banks

Clifford Brown

Gigi Edwards Bryant

Sheryl Cole

Richard L Davis, Jr.

Aaron Demerson

Natasha HarperMadison

Aurora Martinez Jones

Brenda P. Kennedy

Lora J. Livingston

Rudolph K. Metayer

Velva L. Price

Eric Montgomery Shepperd

Christopher Shorter

Temeika Thomas

Jeffrey Travillion, Sr.

Larry Wallace, Jr.

Yvonne Michelle Williams

Jeffrey D. Yarbrough

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TOP TEN AWARD HONOREES LEGAL PROFESSIONALS

MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS

Michelle Earley Edward Fernandes Shefeeqa Giarratani Wallace Jefferson Bill Jones Karen Kennard Demetrius McDaniel Nickelle Meade Dale Wainwright Leonard Woods

Reginald Baptiste, M.D. Melanie Belt, M.D. Alinda Cox, M.D. Tim George, M.D. Grace Grant-Jennings, M.D. Jeffree A. James, M.D. Garrett Scales, M.D. Desmar Walkes, M.D. Aisha White, M.D. M. Yvette Williams-Brown, M.D.

DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS TECH PROFESSIONALS Robert Corion Jim Ganthier Dexter Henderson Rani Johnson Johnita Jones Jason Kelley Momar Mattocks Brian Reaves Robert F Smith Ed Ward

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Joshua Baer Dr Colette Pierce Burnette Spencer Cronk Kerry Hall Christopher Kennedy Beth Krueger Hon. Lora Livingston Tom Noonan Duff Stewart Delanie Ward

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Courtney Bailey Terri Broussard-Williams Ryan Coaxum Naji Kelley Terry Mitchell Rudy Metayer Chas Moore Llyas Salahud-din Meme Styles Kobla Tetey

NOVEMBER 2019

CELEBRATION OF LIFE

ABPA Celebrates the Life and Legacy of Dr. Timothy George

Dr. Timothy George (1960-2019) was one of the founding members of the Austin Black Physicians Association (ABPA). A world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, Tim’s humble spirit always preceded his indelible skill to save the lives of numerous children and comfort their families. Patients have called him “a superhero”, “gentle”, “caring”, and “an extraordinary man and doctor”.

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To the ABPA community, he was also our friend, colleague, mentor and life coach who was known to share his thoughts with the preface, “Here’s what I think…”. Tim’s words of wisdom and reflections were always insightful, grounding, candid and infused with a great sense of humor. We will miss our brother dearly and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, beloved patients and the community who were blessed with his providential impact.

ABPA Mission: To improve the health and wellness of underserved communities and decrease health disparities by inspiring the next generation of Black physicians. www.austinbpa.com | info@austinbpa.com 3305 Steck Ave., Ste. 200 | Austin, Texas 78757

NOVEMBER 2019

In Loving Memory

Timothy “Tim” M. George, MD

Dr. George was a prominent member of Dell Children’s from the very beginning and provided critical leadership to the development of pediatric neurosciences in our region. The Ascension Texas family honors his life of service to countless children and families across Central Texas. He will be missed dearly.

TRIBUTE

Tribute to Dr. Timothy George T

ributes to the late Dr. Timothy George are pouring in after the accomplished Austin pediatric neurosurgeon died last weekend. Austin Black Business Journal Publisher, Anita C Roberts, interviewed and photographed Dr George after he was named one of ABBJ's Top Ten Black Doctors. She described Dr. George as a man with quiet confidence, humility and grace. The loss to the African American and the medical community will be felt for a very long time. We are proud to have had the pleasure to get to know Dr. George and send our heartfelt condolences to the George family.

"He was a prominent member of the Dell Children’s family from the very beginning and provided critical leadership to the development of pediatric neurosciences in Central Texas," Dell Children's President Chris Born said in a statement. "Dr. George was an exceptional surgeon who touched countless lives in Austin and the Dell Children’s community. Dr. George will be missed. Our thoughts are with his wife, his family, and everyone who had the privilege to work with him." George practiced many innovative surgical techniques and was instrumental in setting 68

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up an intraoperative MRI suite at the hospital, allowing surgeons to take MRI images of the patient during operations to better guide the procedure. “Dr. George was an exceptional surgeon who touched countless lives in Austin and the Dell Children’s community,” Dell Children’s President Chris Born said in a statement. “The IMSA family is shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Tim George today," the International Motor Sports Association said in an announcement published

by AutoWeek. "He was a long-time IMSA competitor and a friend to many in the paddock. At this difficult time we would like to extend our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies to his wife, Rosalind, and the rest of their family.” Dr. Craig Kemper, a fellow neurosurgeon with Austin Brain and Spine who also teaches at Dell Medical School, described his colleague as a “remarkable person” who served as a font of knowledge.

NOVEMBER 2019

TRIBUTE

"Thank you all for the tremendous outpouring of love and support for me and my family during this difficult time. We are beyond grateful. Below is the information on Tim’s celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you consider a donation to the Dr. Timothy George Scholarship Fund for MCAT preparation at the Austin Black Physicians Association https://aubpa.memberclicks.net/index.php … or the charity of your choice." - The George Family

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“His quality was just impeccable. He really cared for patients, really did a good job, he was always very conscientious,” Kemper said. “In high-level specialties, I think that personal touch can really get lost.”

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“Never in my life have I met a more remark-

second highest ranked team in the country in division one basketball. Even though George did well on his SAT exam and “went to help at some camps for physically and mentally handicapped kids” as well as summer work with New York City Health Services in the public labs with his mind set on medicine as a career path, “I was told I couldn’t go into medicine” by some of his high school counselors who tried to persuade him to pursue his athletic talents instead. He “just wanted to help people…to live and survive, to have an impact on those conditions.” George “wasn’t scared at the sight of blood…My knee-jerk reaction when something happened was to help fix things or deal with them.” Another very influential example and support in George’s life to pursue his academic interests was his godfather, who was “a very intellectually curious person who explored things that went well beyond the world he lived in.”

Lead Them with Love

able human being than Dr. Timothy George. Dr. The race car driving Pediatric Neurosurgeon Timothy away last weekend. I am forever in M.passed George debt to this man and feel it as my duty to Pediatric Neurosurgeon

share the impact he had on my family.” Garrett Ozar

Dr. Timothy M. George is a pediatric neurosurgeon and professor at Dell Medical School in Austin, Texas, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He lived in Long Island, New York during his high school years. After that, George worked and taught in Chicago, spent twelve years in Durham, North Carolina where he taught at Duke University, and then lived in New Haven, Connecticut when he taught for Yale University for seven years before he came to settle in Austin.

I found the most important skill set I really had wasn't neurosciences, it wasn't medicine… I found that I could lead people who are more talented than me. I found that I could bring out the best in people that they didn't see in themselves. I didn't necessarily need to be the leader, but I could help guide people who were very talented, who would be leaders. That was my form of leadership.

When the time came to choose a college, George “ended up at the one college that I didn’t get recruited by,” which was Columbia University. During his pre-med program there, he played basketball for three years. George was also active on campus and enjoyed his time during his undergraduate years. He was very involved in student government, political groups, and even worked as a DJ to “have fun and make some money.” From there, he went on to attend NYU School of Medicine. George met a mentor there, Dr. Fred Epstein, who greatly inspired him and “really helped me focus…particularly pediatric neurosurgery.” Dr. Epstein was a world-renowned pediatric surgeon who pioneered treatment of spinal cord tumors. George appreciated how “he allowed us to be real people with each other” in their many discussions about the deeper side of his journey toward becoming a doctor and academic leader in the Neurosciences world. He also included George, “put him in the mix,” with the nursing staff and the patients along with their families.

Growing up, George enjoyed a close-knit family. He is the youngest of three siblings and the first in his family to get a college degree. Both of his parents were from the South, his mother from South Carolina and his father from Alabama. George’s mother worked in the school system as a parentteacher coordinator, making house visits to be sure parents were doing their best to keep children succeeding in their educational experience, which had an influence on George. He always saw her as a “leader… who wanted to impact the community. She would go around and push to make sure the community was achieving what they could achieve.” Even though George’s upbringing was in “a relatively poor” home, “that didn’t matter.” He credits his parents for raising him to see himself as equal to anyone else, neither inferior nor superior. “They didn’t impress on me in daily life that we were oppressed or somehow subject to any negative situation.” George remained competitive, not only in academics but in athletics, when his family moved to Long Island for his high school years at Lutheran High. He played on the

George’s fellowship sent him to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where he stayed and taught for some time. He then became a tenured professor at Duke University in North Carolina, staying there for twelve years. He left Duke University to move to the ivy league teaching opportunity offered to him in New Haven, Connecticut, where

he taught for Yale University for seven years. Dr. George’s profession includes both the life of a practicing specialist and the teaching side of neurosurgery. As a pediatric doctor, he sees cases of childhood diseases that affect the brain and spinal cord, mostly due to birth defects that he corrects or manages. Other times, he helps to prevent and stop epileptic seizures or care for traumatic injuries to the brain. With these disorders, long term care is needed, and George spends more time helping families get through these difficult times dealing with the issues in their children. His approach is summed up in his creative car analogy about how he sees his role as a pediatric physician and guide: “It is not being a GPS from afar, shouting instructions, showing the map. It’s actually being in the car with them. Yes, getting stuck on the road, getting hit by the other car…It may be smooth sailing, turn the windows down, turn up the music together…Whatever it is, you have to be there with them. It’s really putting yourself in there and living with them on the ups and downs.” George often gets the kind of feedback that makes him feel “part of the family. We can talk.” His patients often send him pictures over the years as they are growing up and know that they can call him, all because of the strong bond that gets established. “If their impact is that they want to include me or see that I’m a human being in their lives just like that favorite uncle, cousin, friend… that means I made a difference.” Dealing with

obstacles involving a child’s brain and brain surgery are some of most parents’ greatest fears. George has a way of helping them to keep it all in perspective during the journey. On the academic platform, Dr. George feels the same calling toward leadership. Coming to Austin in 2006, there was a state of transition in healthcare, particularly in pediatric neurology. He has been involved in strengthening the system, to “build teams in the different areas to promote the health of that child for that disorder…in the whole continuum of care.” Through research, he has helped to improve this network of care for the long term, such as connecting neurology, oncology, nursing, social work and other therapies even within the school system. Continuing the legacy in his teaching is also an integral part “of that whole machine you’re building.” Dr. George finds Austin the ideal place for all of this positive healthcare change to take place and an otherwise great place to call home, due to the city’s “energy to it” and spirit of “genuine connections between people,” which carries over to cooperation and relationships between the businesses and institutions of higher education. In his leisure time, George enjoys spending time with his wife, sons, grandsons and so many other special people in his life. George also has a race car driving hobby he has started later in life, driving Le Man’s prototypes. www.austinblackbusiness.com

MAY 2019

Presented to

Dr. Timothy M. George 2019 Black Business Journal SUPER Doctor Award Winner

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