Board of Directors

Patrick Ley provides commercial real estate brokerage services for ECR. He has earned his SIOR and CCIM designations placing him among the leading experts in commercial real estate for leasing and investments. Patrick has been recognized as an Austin Business Journal “Heavy Hitter” and Austin Under 40 winner among other notable industry and community awards. Patrick served as past-president for the Commercial Brokers Association, co-chair of the Community Advisory Council for RMHC CTX and as past president for Friends of the House, a young professional group supporting RMHC CTX. He is also a member of Leadership Austin and the Austin Chamber of Commerce. Patrick and his wife, Beth, are the 2018 co-chairs for the Bandana Ball.

Ryan Meyer is a vice president of Corporate Banking for Frost Bank in Austin where he assists commercial companies on a wide range of banking services including loans, leasing, and treasury management solutions. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Finance from Texas Tech University. Mr. Meyer is a founding member and past president of the Friends of the House, a young professional group serving the mission of RMHC CTX. He and his wife, Haley, co-chaired the 2010 Lights of Love and will be the 2017 Bandana Ball co-chairs.

Thomas Aylor is the Principal Accounting Officer at Big Commerce. Thomas brings many years of experience to the company, including expertise in strategic financial transactions and public company compliance from previous roles at ProjectManager.com, RetailMeNot, Arthur Andersen, and Ernst & Young. During his 12-year tenure at Ernst & Young, he served clients ranging from growth-stage technology companies to Fortune 500 companies. Thomas received his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Texas State University.

David Ritter spent 15 years as a Partner at McKinsey and Company in Chicago where he advised senior executives on a wide range of strategic and operational topics. As a leader in McKinsey’s Consumer practice, Dave focused on driving transformational change at both public and private consumer-facing companies. During this time, Dave led McKinsey’s relationship with the RMHC-Chicago and Northern Indiana leading multiple pro-bono consulting engagements. Since returning to Austin, Dave has formally joined the Advisory Boards of Pensa Systems and Afresh Technologies where he acts as a senior advisor to the executive teams. Prior to McKinsey, Dave was a Captain in the U.S. Army Field Artillery for 5+ years culminating in a year-long deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dave has a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Dave, along with his wife Kate and son Davey, moved back to Austin in early 2019 and are glad to be home.

David Aronica spent 20 years as an executive in Silicon Valley where he worked at both public and private companies, start-ups, and Fortune 100 corporations. He helped take private companies public and built organizations within a number of successful venture-backed businesses. After moving to Austin, David took a three-year sabbatical and taught Entrepreneurship at Concordia University. David is now an executive at FlowEngine, an Austin-based start-up helping companies leverage their employees’ professional networks to achieve key strategic initiatives. David previously served on the Board of the Goodwill Central Texas and the Goodwill Education Board.

Bobby Boenigk is an entrepreneur that has been involved in several startup companies. Bobby and his family moved to the Bryan/College Station in 1967. He attended public school in Bryan and graduated from Texas A&M University in 1977. He previously served on the Board of United Way of the Brazos Valley and currently serves on the Brazos Valley Community Advisory Council for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas. Bobby and his wife, Rebecca, were the catalysts to the expansion of RMHC CTX services in the Brazos Valley.

Christopher Born is president of Dell Children’s Medical Center, having joined the hospital in October 2017. Most recently, Chris served as President and CEO of Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s largest provider sponsored Health Plan in Texas serving Medicaid and CHIP populations. Prior to his role within the Texas Children’s Health Plan, Chris was tasked by the organization to create a pediatric primary care network for the Hospital. Established in 1995, Chris led the effort to build Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates, the largest pediatric primary care group in the country with more than 300 physicians. Chris serves on the board of directors of numerous professional organizations and is the past chairman for Greater Houston HealthConnect.

Nicky Brennig is a partner in the Global Investment Funds practice at DLA Piper LLP (US). Her practice focuses on advising pension plans, endowments, insurance companies, private market solutions providers, family offices and other financial institutions on all aspects of their business. She is also an active volunteer and enjoys serving her community and has served for several years as a member of the Elizabeth Ann Seton Board. Nicky and her husband Chris have lived in Austin for twelve years and have two children.

Justin’s journey with RMHC started when he moved to Austin in 2015, and start cooking lunch with Hoar every month. He then joined Friends of the House in 2017, and became a lifetime Friends of the House Member in 2018. He has supported RMHC by being on the Sporting Clay Classic Committee for 3 years and through his employer they have been cooking lunch at the house for over 5 years! They also spearheaded a refresh of the offices, play room, and kitchen at the house in 2018. Just is also on the Board for the ACE Mentor Program in Austin, and is an alumni of the Real Estate Council of Austin’s Leadership Council. He is looking forward to growing the membership or friends and expanding the service opportunities. Since moving to Austin in 2015, he has enjoyed all the outdoor activities the hill country offers.

JoAnn Dalrymple is an attorney with her own alternative dispute resolution practice: Dalrymple ADR. Before launching Dalrymple ADR, JoAnn spent 23 years in private practice, helping clients resolve their business, contract, insurance, managed care, and ERISA benefits disputes in state, federal, and arbitral tribunals across the country. She now draws on these experiences as an arbitrator on the Healthcare and Commercial Panels of the American Arbitration Association, and as a mediator focusing on the resolution of contract, insurance, health, and ERISA disputes. JoAnn earned her J. D. from The University of Texas School of Law. She has served as an officer and board member of the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum and actively volunteers with Meals on Wheels, Capital Area Food Bank, and Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas.

Karen Dolan is Global Head of Marketing for Dimensional Fund Advisors where she leads the marketing and communications function. Karen joined Dimensional in 2012. Prior to joining Dimensional, Karen worked at Morningstar for nearly 10 years in several posts, spending her last four years there as director of mutual fund analysis. She was a frequent speaker at Morningstar and industry events, as well as a regular participant in the media. Karen is a CFA® charterholder and obtained her BA from the University of Michigan in 2002. She earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2008. She loves to cook (Greek food is her specialty) and she takes frequent trips to the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two daughters, and dog named Rudy.

Thomas Fowler is the vice president of Central Engineering at Silicon Labs. He is responsible for coordinating a large multi-national team of engineers and layout designers, as well as managing the business relationships with Silicon Labs’ global supply partners. Mr. Fowler has a degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas Austin and an MBA in Technology Management from University of Phoenix.

Bob Frazier has been a McDonald’s Owner/Operator for 18 years, along with his wife Sylvia, doing business in the Bryan/College Station area for the last 12 years. He had an 18 year career for McDonald’s Corporation before going into business as a Franchisee. He has previously served on the Board of the Ronald McDonald House of Temple, and has held leadership positions on several Co-op Boards within the McDonald’s System, collaborating on key decisions that impact McDonald's Owner/Operators in the South Central Texas Region.

Tam Hawkins is currently the President and CEO of the Greater Austin Black Chamber of Commerce. Prior to this role, she served as the Vice President of Corporate Engagement & Membership. Her background includes a primary concentration in Corporate Sales & Marketing management roles for some of the nation’s most admired companies. Tam’s volunteer commitments have been directly in line with her passion for the following local, national, and international organizations: Sickle Cell Disease Association Dallas Chapter, Special Events Chair; Literacy Instructions for Texans – Volunteer Teacher; Airline Ambassadors – United Nations Liaison; Susan G. Komen: Dallas Affiliates Chapter – Fundraising committee and a Mocha Moms Austin former board President. Tam serves as a board member of the East Austin Conservancy and Austin Partners in Education.

Dr. Sandeep Kumar joined Silicon Labs in 2006 and is responsible for worldwide operations, driving the company’s technology strategy and supplier choices. His operations team includes the manufacturing teams, the CAD organization, process and package engineering, product and test engineering, quality assurance, failure analysis, as well as the prototype production and reliability test labs. Prior to joining Silicon Labs, Sandeep managed global test engineering teams and was responsible for worldwide product and test engineering for the storage business at Agere Systems, Lucent Technologies and AT&T Bell Labs. As a member of the Bell Labs technical staff, Sandeep also was a member of the group that designed ISDN U-interface chips, Speaker Phone Codec and Sigma-Delta A/D converters. Sandeep has a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Bombay, India, a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Evansville in Indiana, and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University. Sandeep has served on the board of the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas and currently serves on their development committee. He serves on the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department’s Industry Advisory Council for Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois.

Garrett Martin is the CEO and co-founder of MileStone Community Builders, Austin’s largest privately held residential real estate development and home building company. MileStone is responsible for building more than 5,500 homes in the Austin area, and currently builds more than 900 homes per year. Garrett is also a partner in several major developments in the Austin area, including The Grove at Shoal Creek as well as a major master planned municipal utility district, called Larkspur. Garrett maintains a community focus in all aspects of his life and looks for any opportunity to be a blessing to others. As a result, Garrett has led major efforts to support Marbridge Foundation, Community First Village, Habitat for Humanity, LifeWorks and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas.

Katie Owen is a vice president with J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Austin where she is responsible for managing solutions for her clients. This includes partnering with specialists across the firm to assist her clients with private banking, investment management, fiduciary services, and wealth transfer strategies. As an active member of her community, Katie is 2018 chair of The Contemporaries for The Contemporary Austin and serves on the museum’s Development Committee. She is also a founding member of the Dell Med Society for Health and Business. Katie will serve as the 2018 chair of RMHC CTX’s Red Shoe Luncheon, scheduled for September 2018.

Brigadier General Joe E. Ramirez is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Texas Aggie Band in the Corps of Cadets. He received his commission in the United States Army Field Artillery from Texas A&M in 1979 as a Distinguished Military Graduate. During his 31 years of military service, General Ramirez commanded soldiers around the world including serving as the Deputy Chief of Staff for United States Central Command during Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom and the Deputy Division Commander for the 2nd Infantry Division in the Republic of Korea. His most recent assignment was Deputy Director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy for US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany. General Ramirez holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education from Texas A&M; Masters Degree in Management from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri; and a Masters Degree in Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Carolyn Schwarz joined Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas in 2013 and serves as CEO. Carolyn is leading RMHC CTX through exponential growth as the need for services in Central Texas grows. Carolyn has her Master's Degree in Social Welfare from UC-Berkeley. Prior to coming to RMHC CTX, Carolyn was founding executive director of Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM). She helped build a first-of-its-kind, nationally recognized organization, providing access to affordable health care for Austin's musicians. In 2009, Schwarz was named Austinite of the Year and won the Arts and Entertainment category for the 11th Annual Austin Under 40 Awards. In 2010, she was named a winner in the Austin Business Journal's 16th Annual Profiles in Power and Women of Influence Awards. In 2011, she was one of four people to receive the Austin ICON Award. She lives in Austin with her husband and their two children.

Molly H. Sherman is the director of community affairs for the Central Texas Division of St. David’s HealthCare where she is responsible for identifying, negotiating and securing corporate sponsorship opportunities with local non-profits and community partners. Prior to St. David’s HealthCare, Molly spent 24 years as a nonprofit fundraising professional, devoting 17 years as the director of development at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. Molly has had the privilege of serving, both professionally and personally, numerous local and statewide nonprofit organizations.

Meredith Silliman is a member of The Van Winkle Law Firm’s business transactional practice, where she focuses on corporate matters, including executive compensation and employee benefits, and real estate. Meredith stayed at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas’ Family Rooms and House with her husband, Justin, while their son, Paul, was in the NICU for 150 days. She is excited to help share the impact RMHC CTX has had on families like hers.

Sterling Smith is a software engineer and startup founder based in Austin, Texas. After working in industry at Walmart in Bentonville Arkansas, Lockheed Martin in Doha, Qatar, and Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, DC., Sterling founded his first company, LaunchPartner.co in Austin, Texas in 2013. Sterling began building his second company, Sandbox Commerce, in 2018. Sandbox Commerce enables traditional retailers to launch bespoke, rapidly scalable mobile apps quickly via their no-code platform. Sterling volunteers as a mentor and advisor to several local organizations including, DivInc, Capital Factory and Founders Institute.

Christopher Szeliga is senior vice president of the JE Dunn Construction Austin office where he is responsible for management of projects and personnel along with strategic growth initiatives in Central Texas. Chris has been in the construction industry and worked with JE Dunn for 20 years. He is a US Navy Veteran with the SeaBees’ (Construction Battalion) from 1993 to 2001, and a LEED Accredited Professional. Chris serves his community as a member of The Associated General Contractors’ of America board of directors and has served as chair for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas’ Lights of Love in 2015 and 2016.

Wendolyn Washington has over 25 years of experience as a Human Resource Executive from several high-tech companies and consumer goods companies including her most recent role as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Intel Corporation. Prior to Intel, she was with AMD as the Director of Talent Management, Employee Relations and Talent Acquisition. Other past roles include HR business partner, Service Center Director at Dell Computers and McDonald’s Corporation. She is active in the community and serves on several non-profit boards and volunteers her time by preparing meals for the RMHC CTX, assisting at the Central Texas Food Bank and serving in AISD schools. She is the wife of Martin Washington, a McDonald’s operator, and the mother of five children. Wendolyn enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her family and friends.

Garry Wiseman, former Senior Vice President, Digital Customer Experiences, drove research and development for Dell’s commerce platforms and applications (including Dell.com). Before joining Dell in 2017, Garry spent more than 20 years building global online consumer and enterprise products for start-ups and the world’s largest technology companies such as Microsoft, eBay, Salesforce.com. Garry studied international business administration at Wolverhampton University and has authored eight U.S. patents for commerce-related inventions.

Earl Wurzbach is a retired McDonald’s owner/operator having owned restaurants in the San Antonio, Baytown and Bryan-College Station over a 25-year career. Mr. Wurzbach has extensive experience with Ronald McDonald House Charities having served as president of the Ronald McDonald Charities of San Antonio and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Houston and Galveston as well as being a member of their board of directors. He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education and a Masters of Education. He is very active in the community and has volunteered and participated in several nonprofit organization including the Baytown Chamber of Commerce, Kiwanis Club of Baytown, and San Jacinto Hospital board of directors.