NEW PHILANTHROPISTS
Kate Stoker global campaigns and creative strategy, Dell “What I do at Dell is very driven, very results focused,” says Stoker. “So I balance that with things that are more meaningful.” For Stoker that means helping young women reach their full potential. Having leadership roles at Young Women’s Alliance has been a springboard for Kate, now a chair of the Leadership Austin Emerge program. “These organizations are very aligned with what motivates me,” says Stoker. “They’re about reaching your full potential and having an impact.”
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Terri Broussard Williams chief lobbyist, American Heart Association’s Southwest Affiliate After managing the policy-changing efforts for one of the largest nonprofit advocacy organizations in the country – in six states – Williams has enough energy to take on leadership roles at organizations like Leadership Austin Emerge, The Junior League and the American Red Cross’ Club Red. Still, it’s her day job that gives her energy. “We work with volunteers who get to see a piece of paper become a law,” says Williams, who recently had success eliminating trans-fats from school lunches in Colorado. “They take their photo with the governor and they get tears in their eyes.”
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Ky Harkey program coordinator, Texas Outdoor Family Program, TPWD “There are a lot of great reasons to spend time outdoors, and the research to back it up,” he says. “Spending time outdoors is a magic bullet of sorts, addressing everything from obesity to ADD to depression.” With a passion for nature that extends beyond his day job, Harkey sits on the advisory boards for the Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin and the Texas Children in Nature Network; he also started a regional chapter of the Natural Leaders Network in Austin.
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David Courreges partner, Hay Compere, PLLC “A community of leaders working as one makes a seemingly impossible goal instantly realistic,” says Courreges. In addition to currently organizing the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s public service project “American Voter,” a voter awareness and education project, he’s co-chaired the Central Texas Wildfire Legal Response Team, in which he oversaw more than 100 attorneys providing free legal advice to victims of the September 2011 wildfires. “I hope to help others understand what opportunities are available to them,” he says. “That is what compels me to get involved and to stay involved.”
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Virginia Cumberbatch client services, Hahn Texas A native Austinite, Cumberbatch has a family legacy of community engagement. After recognizing a need for community innovators and passionate individuals of diverse backgrounds to have a platform and space for engagement and advocacy, Virginia assumed the task of re-launching the Austin Area Urban League Young Professionals program in 2010. By 2011 over 100 young professionals had joined her in the mission to raise the profile of the Austin Area Urban League and created a space to be community leaders, social advocates and a resource to young professionals of color. “My goal is to make sure we stay relevant to what Austin needs,” says Cumberbatch. “To me, it’s an honor to be in Austin.”
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from page 27 Much of the credit for the new Topfer Theatre, of course, goes to the new theater’s namesake, Mort Topfer, a leading donor and a capital campaign co-chair. Reimagining ZACH for today’s Austin makes sense for Topfer, who realized long ago how a thriving arts scene could attract and retain creative, talented professionals. Since creating the Topfer Foundation, he has made sure that about 10 percent of its funding has gone to the arts. “I was very fortunate to have achieved financial success in Austin. This is our home,” says Topfer, a former executive at Dell. “It’s continued on page 31 Summer 2012 29