YWCA Greater Austin Announces 2018 Board Of Directors

AUSTIN, TX — The 2018 YWCA Greater Austin board of directors were announced during the 111th annual membership meeting last week. Each member of the board of directors was elected via electronic ballot, officials said.

Officials also released the organizations annual report, a copy of which can be downloaded by clicking here. YWCA Greater Austin officials provided bios of this year's members of the board of directors:

Deborah Shaw-Boatner, Co-Chair

Retired Owner – Deborah Shaw-Boatner, CPA

Shaw earned a bachelor’s degree in Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin. She was the sole proprietor of her own accounting firm while working as a licensed Certified Public Accountant for more than 25 years in Texas. Her professional work experience in the public sector covered the areas of budget, accounting, project management, systems analyst, and management. She retired in 2013 from the Texas Comptroller of Pubic Accounts. Currently, she is board president of Executive Women in Texas Government, and the recipient of the 2015 Executive Women in Texas Government Woman of the Year. She will begin serving the 3rd year of the 2nd term as board member for YWCA Greater Austin and served as co-chair in 2017.

Felicia Peña, Co-Chair

Community Engagement Director

Central Texas Food Bank

Peña graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of science degree in Communication Studies and a bachelor of arts in Sociology with a certificate degree in Social Entrepreneurship and Nonprofits. After graduation, she worked as a campaign associate for United Way for Greater Austin assisting with the State Employee Charitable Campaign. Peña currently serves as vice president of YNPN Austin and previously served on the Professional Development Committee for three years. She also serves as president of the Young Hispanic Professional Association of Austin. As part of the Young Women's Alliance, she serves as the vice president of the Austin Under 40 Awards Gala. Peña was also a participant in the 2013 class of Leadership Austin Emerge. She will begin serving her 2nd term as board member for YWCA Greater Austin, and served as Co-Chair in 2017.

Sarah Janecka, Treasurer

Community Partner Program Regional Manager

Texas Health and Human Services

Janecka has more than seven years of experience serving low-income families and vulnerable populations. She most recently worked as senior project manager at Public Consulting Group (PCG), where she supported several school districts in Texas with their online Special Education software systems. Prior to her stint at PCG, she was the director of Financial Opportunity at the United Way for Greater Austin, where she developed programs to improve the financial wellness of low-income families and served in the 211 office analyzing community needs and trends. In Louisiana, Janecka worked at the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership leading collaborations in response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. She holds her MPSA from the Bush School of Government and her BA from Texas A&M University. Janecka has been a board member of the YWCA of Greater Austin since January 2016, volunteers with Foundation Communities and the Central Texas Food Bank, and founded the small business Janecka Consulting. She has served full two-year term as a YWCA board member, and served as treasurer last year.

Farah Muscadin, Secretary

Police Monitor, City of Austin

Muscadin is the current Police Monitor for the City of Austin. Prior to that role, she served as the associate vice president of Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Chicago State University (CSU). While at CSU, Muscadin served as the Interim Dean of Student Affairs, the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and the board liaison to the Board of Trustees. Prior to joining CSU, Muscadin worked as the associate director of Legislative and Government Affairs for the City Colleges of Chicago, director of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. She also served as assistant public defender for the Cook County Public Defender's Office and Guardian ad Litem for the Cook County Public Guardian's Office. Muscadin currently serves on the board for the Austin Iowa Alumni Club, and is a member of the Travis County Women’s Lawyers Association. She holds a bachelor's of business administration from the University of Iowa and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Iowa College of Law. Muscadin is in the second year of her first two-year term on the YWCA Greater Austin Board of Directors.

Ainee Athar, Member-at-Large

City of Austin

Athar is an immigration activist passionate about leveraging technology for social change. She's served one term on the YWCA board and chairs the Advocacy Committee. Formerly the state director of an immigration reform group, she currently works for the City of Austin's supporting innovation and civic technology.

Kimberly Strenk, Member-at-Large

CEO, Five Two SQ

Strenk launched new integrated PR agency, Five Two SQ, in the fall of 2014. After successfully building her agency into a preeminent specialty PR boutique and incubator for young, eco-conscious and sustainable consumer brands, she leveraged her market expertise and client success to launch a new agency headquartered in beautiful downtown Austin, Texas. Kimberly enjoys the friendship and camaraderie of fellow entrepreneurs, the music scene, farmer’s markets and wonderful restaurants in Austin,Texas with her husband and three daughters. She served as Executive Committee Vice President of Marketing and a board member of Leander ISD Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEFtx.org), and is a frequent guest speaker on entrepreneurship and public relations. She earned a bachelor’s of art degree from the University of Washington.

Nora Bazaldua, Member-at-Large

Channel Business Operations Director

Dell Technologies

Bazaldua's corporate experience in the Latin America market includes sales, operations, project management, call center operations and services marketing. She is adept and experienced in serving multicultural and multilingual audiences. She graduated with a B.A. in Communications from Baylor University, an M.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College Abroad Program (Madrid) and an MBA in Global Management from the University of Phoenix.

Tracy Nichols , Member-at-Large

Human Resources Consultant

Nichols served as director of human resources at Huston-Tillotson University and as part-time director of human resources at Any Baby Can. She moved to Austin to attend college and never left. She enjoys cruising and all things Disney. Nichols recently completed an interim as board member at large for YWCA Greater Austin. Tracy, and serves on the Human Resource Committee.

Tara Sims , Member-at-Large

Vice President, Systems Service Line Engineering

IBM

Tara Sims has spent 20 years in the IT industry leading diverse cloud platform DevOps, software development, delivery and innovation teams with focus on finance, health, retail and government clients. She earned her Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science from Stephen F. Austin State University and has a passion for women equality and supports women in technology mentoring many women across the globe in her role at IBM, where she is an executive sponsor for the company's Austin Women's Diversity Group. She also advocates for people with autism and is an electric car enthusiast. She and her husband, an IBM technical executive, live in Austin with her two children. Sims recently completed an interim as board member at large for YWCA Greater Austin, and serves on the Finance and Fundraising committees.

Dr. DeAnna Harris-McKoy, Member-at-Large

Couple and Family Therapist and Assistant Professor

Texas A&M University Central Texas

Harris-McKoy earned two bachelors of science degrees from University of Maryland College Park in Family Studies and Psychology in 2007. She then went to Drexel University where she earned a Masters of Family Therapy degree in 2009. Harris-McKoy received her doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy at Florida State University in 2013, and has presented research at various national conferences. She is a former American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy Minority Fellow. Additionally, she has received multiple awards for her community service and leadership ability, including the Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy, M.D. Social Justice Award. She currently serves on the Advocacy Committee.

Sarah Crockett , Member-at-Large

Public Policy Coordinator

Texas CASA

Crockett grew up in Idaho and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Northwest Nazarene University before earning a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan in Social Policy and Program Evaluation in 2010. By then, she had gained considerable experience working on women's issues, domestic violence and with refugees. She served as associate director of the Texas Association for Infant Mental Health prior to joining Texas CASA in late 2014. Crockett has significant experience advocating for children, both legislatively and in her role as a CASA volunteer for CASA of Travis County. She served as the chair of the Prevention Committee for the Child Protection Roundtable from 2014-2016, and has extensive knowledge of both the legislative and Sunset processes. She serves on the Advocacy Committee.

>>> Image courtesy of YWCA Greater Austin