Staff:
Donna Hagey, Executive Director
Donna Hagey has an extensive local, regional and national background in education and human services in both management and direct service positions, and has worked with civic engagement and service-learning initiatives for institutions of higher education as a consultant and passionate advocate. Donna joined TAP as Deputy Director in April 2007. The Board approved her as Executive Director in September 2007.
Cheryl Sellers, Business Manager
Paula Kothmann, Development Director
Paula Kothmann, CFRE (Certified Fund Raising Executive), received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity University and her Master of Arts degree from The University of Texas at Austin (UT) after several years of study at Leopold Franzens University in Innsbruck, Austria. She has worked in development for over 17 years, mostly at UT. She also wrote for two local arts columns and was a high-school teacher in both Texas and Europe. She has held board positions with Austin Lyric Opera, the Long Center for the Performing Arts, and the Austin Museum of Art-Arthouse. She enjoys working with boards, fostering mutually beneficial partnerships, expanding audiences, planning (and attending) events, and writing grants. She joined The Austin Project in March 2012.
Leonor P. Vargas, Family Resource Center Client Services Director; Mendez Middle School Family Resource Center Manager
Leonor P. Vargas, LMSW, received her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from St. Edward’s University and her Master of Social Work degree from The University of Texas at Austin. Leonor brings over 15 years of professional school-based social work and community development experience to her work with the Family Resource Centers. Her past experience includes working with students and their families in school-based settings
dealing with developmental disabilities, substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness and chronic and terminal disease issues with special emphasis on communities of color, indigent, homeless, non-English speaking, and immigrant populations. Her professional interests include designing and developing capacity building trainings, prevention and outreach programs and services, which are client and community centered and responsive to the special needs/disenfranchised/at risk populations. Leonor helped TAP develop its first Family Resource Centers piloted at Andrews and Ortega Elementary Schools several years ago.
Norma Maldonado, Martin Middle School Family Resource Center Manager
Norma Maldonado has worked extensively within the Austin community, engaging in projects hosted by IBM’s La Familia Technology program, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) of Travis County, and the Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Her work has brought her in contact with parents and students across AISD schools, including those at Dobie Middle School, Galindo Elementary, LBJ High School, Johnston High School, J.J. Pickle Elementary, and Travis High School. Prior to her work with the Martin Middle School Family Resource Center, Norma spent 28 years working for IBM. She has Project Management certification as well as a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Colorado.
2010-2011 Interns:
L-R: Amanda McCoy, Cameron Ingram, Kanaka Sathasivan
Alice Bufkin
Alice received her Bachelor of Arts in English from McGill University. She has worked with several nonprofit organizations in Austin and hopes to continue her involvement in the nonprofit realm, particularly in the areas of youth and family development.
Laura Hill
Cameron Ingram
Cameron is a sociology/linguistics major at The University of Texas and will be entering his junior year come fall. Interest in community organizing and civic engagement motivated his joining TAP, where he hopes to get a better sense of the non-profit realm, more precisely how it interweaves with communities and governing bodies.
Amanda McCoy, Website Administrator
Amanda McCoy is a freelance writer and editor and a recent graduate of the PhD program in English and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. In her free time, she likes to read, cook, take in the Austin music scene, and attend classes at the YMCA.
Kanaka Sathasivan
Kanaka Sathasivan is a second year Master of Public Health student at Emory University, where she is studying Health Education. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007. In her small hiatus from student life, she did contract writing, wrote film reviews, and also taught a creative writing course. She is also an avid dancer and spends her summers stage managing and designing lighting for dance shows.
John Gainer
John holds a BBA of Management from Abilene Christian University and is currently working towards a Master of Public Administration at Texas State University. While in school, John has been a part of multiple on-and off-campus interest groups and student organizations, elected twice to the Student’s Association student congress, worked on campaigns at the state and federal level, conducted humanitarian work in New Orleans, and made many lasting friendships along the way. His professional interests include business consulting and strategic planning, international economic development, and the African NGO community, along with human rights and environmental law.