All Scholars.
College Ready.

BS, Civil Engineering, Duke University

John has spent a decade serving as teacher and school-site and central office administrator, in both traditional public and charter schools. In South-Central Los Angeles, he served as director for Teacher Effectiveness for the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF), a network of high-performing charter schools. John’s responsibility was to administer a $60 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation measuring teacher effectiveness and performance. While at ICEF, he was a Strategic Data Project Fellow through Harvard University. John began his education career in Atlanta through Teach For America, which helps ensure low-income youth receive quality education. He recently founded Crossbow Educational Consulting, which supports districts and states as they implement improved teacher evaluation processes.

BA, Art History, Criticism and Conservation, University of Texas at Austin

Emily has worked as a fundraiser and arts proponent in museums and galleries across the South. In New Orleans, she was founder and director of Trouser House, a contemporary art and urban farming initiative dedicated to neighborhood involvement and public education. The educational programming she developed at Trouser House is used today by Young Audiences of Louisiana. It includes a Permaculture series that currently offers Seed-to-Table curriculum for hundreds of elementary and middle school scholars. When not developing funding proposals and writing grants, Emily continues her creative interests through micro-interventions at the intersection of art and science. She is working on a Design Thinking curriculum that utilizes basic circuitry and robotics to reinvent how we present environmental science in the classroom, and recently finished pedaling a bicycle-powered screen-printing studio through Austin’s annual FanFest. Emily believes a willingness to tinker — whether with words, plants, paints or electronics — is the driver for innovation.

MBA, Vanderbilt University; BA Managerial Finance, University of Mississippi

Tyler has spent over a decade working and serving in the field of operations, in both the private and public sectors. He started his operations career in the United States Marine Corps, in the field of aircraft command and control. After leaving the Marine Corps as a Captain, Tyler received his MBA from Vanderbilt and continued on to Las Vegas Nevada, where he worked for Caesars Entertainment Corporation. While at Caesars, Tyler worked across most casino and resort functions. As a Director of Continuous Improvement and Total Service, he was trained in lean management and responsible for implementing the company’s continuous improvement program at several of their Las Vegas properties. Desiring another chance to do mission-driven work in the service of his community and country, Tyler joined KIPP Austin Public School as a Broad Resident and Director of Operations. Over his four years at KIPP he oversaw transportation, food service, facilities, and construction/real estate as the organization grew from 5 schools to 10. Now at Austin Achieve, Tyler’s responsibilities have grown to include all aspects of district operations.

BA, Sociology, University of California Santa Barbara

BA, Psychology & Family and Child Development, Texas State University

A Texas native, Jessica was born in Harlingen and raised in Austin. As an older sister to two, she developed a love of nurturing children at an early age. Her experiences working with scholars and families at Austin Achieve has driven her to pursue a career as a Licensed Therapist with a specific focus on Family Therapy. Currently, Jessica attends Texas State University and is studying Psychology and Family & Child Development.

When she's not working or studying, she loves comedies, going for long distance runs, reading, hiking, and traveling.

BA, Communications
& Fine Arts,
Loyola University Chicago

Celina, originally from Detroit, MI, moved to Chicago to attend Loyola University Chicago and become the first in her family to attend and graduate from a university. After graduating from Loyola University Chicago, Celina spent the next years working in Chicago with a focus on non-profit fundraising in the field of education. After living through 10 years of brutal Chicago winters, Celina moved to Austin to join KIPP Austin Public Schools as the Individual Giving Manager. Now as Development Director at Austin Achieve, she is excited to grow not only her knowledge of the Austin Philanthropic Community but also to expand the fundraising efforts of Austin Achieve to directly benefit our Scholars.

When not putting the "fun" in fundraising, Celina spends her time hiking the Greenbelt and taking advantage of the great outdoors with her dogs, Olive, Ethel, and Otis.

BA, Sociology, University of California Santa Barbara

Originally from California, Jessica grew up on the beaches of Santa Barbara where she attended the University of California, Santa Barbra. At a very early age she discovered her passion for sharing stories and communicating with others in any capacity. This childhood passion for striking up conversation with anyone who would listen and writing stories translated into a career in communications and marketing. Coming from a family of educators, Jessica has spent countless hours in and around schools and fiercely believes in the power of education. She loves that her current role allows her to share the stories of growth, transformation and success that she sees daily at Austin Achieve.

BA, Journalism, Baylor University

Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Heather is the third generation of her family to work in Texas public education. After graduating from Baylor University, she served as a copywriter at a continuing education nonprofit before starting her public education career at Austin Achieve. She strongly believes in education's power to uplift, transform lives, and change the world.



When she’s not working, you can find Heather cooking, practicing yoga, or spending time with her family and cat.

MAT, Secondary Education, National Louis University; BA, History, Northern Illinois University

Joe developed his passion for education as a teaching assistant in American history at Northern Illinois University. In 2010, he pursued teaching certification, began his Masters degree and applied to Teach For America. As a corps member, he taught 8th grade social studies for two years. Joe most recently taught 5th grade writing and coached middle school track and the Youth Run NOLA team.

BA, Sociology & French and Francophone Studies, Hobart and William Smith College

Laurie was originally born and raised in Boston, MA. She attended Hobart and William Smith College in the Finger Lakes of upstate NY where she spent all 4 years competing on the women’s rowing team. She is an avid lover of travel, food, and dogs.

She is looking forward to expanding her knowledge of development and philanthropy and having the opportunity to see the impact her work has on the scholars at Austin Achieve.