VELA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Nadine Rueb, LCSW
Clinical Social Worker
Nadine grew up in south Texas with parents from South America. Thankfully, they made her speak Spanish. She has been able to use her Spanish personally and professionally. First, as a kindergarten and high school Spanish teacher, and for the last 10 years as a social worker with families and their children in educational, medical and non-profit settings. She now encourages her young family to continue learning Spanish as they explore and have fun in Austin. She loves how VELA takes on the role of supporting the caregivers of children with special needs so they can support the ones that depend on them. She sees firsthand how this compassionate agency creates a community where caregivers know they are not alone, and that is enough to make a ripple effect of positive changes in the lives of everyone connected to the special needs child.
Jolene Sanders
Parent Facilitator
Jolene has been working with children and families for over 20 years, providing direct services, conducting research, training parents, and advocating for public policies that improve disability rights for children and adults. She is the parent of a child with autism and is passionate about special education and promoting inclusive opportunities early. In her spare time, she enjoys going to concerts with her husband and three sons, and eating all things pickled.
Maria P. Hernandez, M.A.
Executive Director & Founder
Maria P. Hernandez is the Founder and Executive Director of VELA, a nonprofit organization based in Austin Texas. Maria started the organization in 2011 to provide English and Spanish-speaking parents with hands-on courses, support and community so that all families could create the very best outcomes for their child with disabilities. Before creating VELA, Maria worked as bilingual speech and language pathologist across school and clinical settings providing services to children with special needs ages 0-21. Her incredible papa has multiple sclerosis and her brilliant brother has dyslexia- different has been her normal. In 2006, Maria completed a MA in Communications Sciences in Disorders at The University of Texas at Austin and has a BA in Hearing and Speech Sciences from the University of Maryland at College Park. She is originally from Bogota Colombia.
Craig Snook
Board Chair
JBL Strategies Consultant
Craig Snook has a passion for helping leaders grow and develop to strategically lead their organizations to greater impact. With experience in global leadership and strategy development in both the for-profit and nonprofit sectors, he is experienced in leadership coaching and remote team management. Craig is a consultant and advisor of JBL Strategies focused on the intersection of leadership, strategy, and communications. Craig is inspired by and enjoys learning from the amazing nonprofit leaders in the Central Texas area. "The parents we encounter are ROCK STARS! They drive and inspire me to walk side by side with them to make a difference in their lives and the community."
Leslie Wiley
Board Treasurer
ERCOT Treasurer
Leslie Wiley is a Certified Treasury Professional and the Treasurer for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). ERCOT manages the flow of electric power to 24 million Texas customers. She has been in this role since 2014 and was the Treasury Manager at ERCOT for 4 years prior. She received her degree from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. Leslie was a Director of Treasury Operations for a healthcare consulting firm in Wisconsin when she relocated to Austin and now calls Austin home. Leslie’s parents were educators in special needs classrooms and growing up in that environment always resonated with her. She is excited to help grow VELA’s mission.
Raul Garza
Board Member
Creative Director TKO Advertising
Raul is a veteran of the communications industry, and an accomplished brand creator and curator. He is co-founder of TKO Advertising, an Austin- and Albuquerque-based full service brand agency. Raul's passion is Story - he is an award-winning playwright and fiction writer. When not working, Raul obsesses about pop-culture, kundalini yoga, and foodie-ism. "VELA shines with the best of all of us. It is our shared story waiting to be told."
Renee Hanson Malone
Board Member
Chief Development Office for Boys and Girls Clubs of Austin
Renée Hanson Malone is the Chief Development Officer for Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area. Prior to that, she was the Director of Development at Austin Child Guidance Center for six years. Before this position, she served as the Grants Development Specialist at Easter Seals Central Texas from 2008-2011, and she was the Education Program Director and Grant Writer for Manos de Cristo from 2006-2008. Renée received her M.A. in Latin American Studies and was employed as a Lecturer by the Latin American Studies and Spanish Departments at the University of Kansas. She is passionate about improving outcomes for underserved populations and has expertise in raising funds for: mental health, disability services, education, health, the environment and the arts.
Caroline Heyl, M.A.
Board Member
Leander ISD Educator
Caroline is an Austin native and Spanish speaker, who currently works for Leander ISD’s 18+ Transition Program. She has worked in the field of special education for six years and just recently completed her Masters in Secondary Special Education & Transition from the University of Kansas. Caroline is passionate about VELA’s mission because she truly believes in empowering parents to be the best advocates for their children. She believes VELA allows families, school personnel and medical providers to work together and not against one another for the best outcome of the child.
Katie Tackett, Ph.D
Board Member
Clinical Assistant Professor for UT's Department of Special Education
Katie is an Assistant Professor of Practice at The University of Texas at Austin. She oversees the undergraduate special education teacher preparation program. Katie is a former general and special education teacher. She is a parent through biology and the foster care system. Katie loves VELA because she knows how confusing and intimidating the special education process can be for families. Children do better when their parents are involved and empowered.
Monica Saavedra, MPH, MCHES
Board Member
Director of Marketing and Community Relations for CommUnityCare
Monica Saavedra has over 22 years experience in the health care non profit world. She has worked with many diverse populations from migrant farmworkers, to low income Travis county residents. Monica's passion lies with helping the underserved gain access to healthcare, particularly the Latino community. Monica started her work by developing and implementing public health program, and has now transitioned to health care marketing and communications. Monica is an undergraduate from UT El Paso with a BS in Health Science and has a Master's in Public Health from UT. "VELA is easy to love! It gives me the opportunity to give back to an organization that empowers both parents and children to become the best version of themselves! I'm proud to contribute in a small way to making Austin a better community through VELA."
Susanna Olivarez, MBA
Senior Operations Manager, Seton Foundations (Ascension)
Susanna works for the Seton Family of Hospitals as a Senior Operations Manager with the Seton Foundations. Her background is finance, marketing, operations and strategy. She has worked at Dell and The University of Texas, and taught at St. Edwards University. She earned her MBA and BA at the University of Texas at Austin and is well versed in philanthropy, technology, higher education and emergency management. " VELA is an organization with its heart in the right place. The work they do with families and children could be the factor that helps catapult them to that next level of educational, economic or social well being."
Carol Portillo, Ph.D
Marketing Director at Dell EMC
Carol is the Director of Marketing for Dell Technologies Americas Channel division and just embarked on her 21st year with Dell. Carol recently earned her Ph.D. in Business Technology Management from Northcentral University and has over 15 years of university-level teaching experience. Most recently, Carol had her dissertation accepted for publication in “An Examination of Online Repurchasing Behavior in an IoT Environment”. Carol is currently an adjunct faculty at St. Edward’s University, in Austin, Texas and has been on the teaching faculty at St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas and Concordia University in Austin. Carol has two children and has served on the Pflugerville Education Foundation as a board member. She loves spending time with her family and is the lead singer for The undiskovered Band.
Sam Goessling, P.h.D
IDEA Public Schools
Sam Goessling is the Chief Advancement Officer at IDEA Public Schools where manages development, growth and political advocacy for the public charter school network. Sam was previously a 6th grade teacher and middle and high school principal with IDEA in the Rio Grande Valley where he worked closely with the campus special education team in each role. Sam lives in East Austin with his wife Lenora and four children, he is a graduate of the University of Richmond (B.A), the Harvard Graduate School of Education (M.A.), and the University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D.).
