 Donna R. Bauer
Donna Bauer is a founding member of Voices for Children,
and has served as Executive Director of Director’s
Mentoring Project.
Bauer also serves on the Commission for Children and
Families; the University of the Incarnate Word Teacher
Education Advisory Board as Vice Chair; and San Antonio
Association for the Education of Young Children as Vice
President. She is a Recipient of the American Institute
for Public Service, Jefferson Award. University of the
Incarnate Word awards the Community Champion Award in
her name each year at the Playwork Institute of the
Americas, Play and Literacy Symposium
Ralph C. Bender, Architect Emeritus FAIA, AICP
 For the past 47 years Ralph Bender has had a diverse
career in San Antonio. He has served as director of
planning for the City of San Antonio, director of
planning and design for Ray Ellison Industries, and
director of planning and design for the Morton/Lee
Companies. He has been a teacher at Trinity University,
a public speaker, and a private urban planning
consultant. He has been the president of Bender
Associates, a professional architectural and urban
planning firm. He has long been an early-childhood
advocate. Recently retired from his practice of
architecture, he was one of the founding members of
Voices for Children. He was a cofounder of the Alamo
Community College District and LULAC Parent/Child
Scholarship Trust program. He was one of the founders of
the San Antonio Sports Foundation, serving as its first
chair, and is now chairman emeritus. Currently he is the
president of USA Pentathlon, the national governing body
of the Olympic sport of pentathlon.
 George Block
George Block has been an educator and coach in San
Antonio since 1973. In his nearly four decades of
coaching, Coach Block has developed 6 different Olympians in
three different sports, 50 UIL State Gold Medalists,
over 250 All-Americans, Olympic Trials qualifiers and
numerous National and Junior Champions.
Coach Block has received the Phillips 66 Performance
Award and been named the Coca-Cola Texas Coach of Honor.
In 1997, the United States Water Fitness Association
named the Northside Aquatics Center the Top School
District/Community Facility in the nation and Coach
Block its Top Aquatics Director. In 2000, Coach Block
was awarded the Silver Award of Excellence from the
American Swimming Coaches’ Association.
Coach Block was one of the founders of the San
Antonio Sports Foundation, and of Voices for Children of
San Antonio, of which he is currently chairman of the
board.
Ruth Bujanda-Moore, Psy.D.
Pat Frost
 Mr. Frost is president and director of Frost Bank in San
Antonio, TX. He has been with Frost Bank since 1984 when
he began as a credit analyst. He also worked as a loan
officer before he became Assistant Vice President in
1986.
He serves on the board of the San Antonio Rotary Club
and the Free Trade Alliance. He is a board member for
the Cancer Therapy and Research Center, the Ecumenical
Center for Religion and Health, the Alamo Bowl
Association, Golf San Antonio, the United Way of San
Antonio, and numerous other organizations.
Byron Gipson
 Byron is
originally from Dallas, TX. He came to San Antonio in
1998 to attend St. Mary’s University and graduated in
2003 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, in Political
Science. At St. Mary’s, Byron was involved in numerous
civic engagement activities and student organizations.
He served as the logistics coordinator for the Up Til
Dawn Program. He was an active member of the Lambda Chi
Alpha fraternity holding several offices. He also served
in the Student Government Association as a Senator at
Large and as an organization representative. Byron was
also an active member of the Black Student Union serving
as the Historian.
In
2003, Byron began his professional career as an
administrative assistant to then Councilmember and
Mayoral candidate, Julian Castro. He served in the
capacity for two years working on many projects that
benefited the citizens of San Antonio. After the 2005
mayoral election, Byron began working for newly elected
Councilwoman Elena Guajardo serving as her Director of
Constituent Services. In this role, Byron dealt with
residents of District 7 and became actively involved in
many neighborhood groups. Byron served in that capacity
for two years and then he moved on to work for
Councilwoman Mary Alice Cisneros as her Director of
Policy.
Longing for a return to his hometown of Dallas Texas,
Byron left Councilwoman Cisneros and took a job with
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson as her Director of
Community Outreach. With Congresswoman Johnson, Byron is
charged handling all of her Community Outreach, Casework
and Special Projects when needed. Byron recently
returned to his adopted home of San Antonio to work at
San Antonio Water Systems in the External Relations
Department. Byron is once again charged with community
outreach and government affairs working to foster a
productive partnership between SAWS, the ratepayers and
our City Council.
 Janet
Ketcham
Janet Ketcham serves as Executive Director for Child
Advocates San Antonio (CASA).
Janet first became involved with the Court Appointed
Special Advocate program as a volunteer in Travis
County, Texas. The life changing experience as an
advocate for abused and neglected children inspired her
to change her career, using her business, advertising,
and sales experience on behalf of children.
She started with CASA as a Supervisor of Volunteers and
became Executive Director in January, 2003. Since
joining the organization, the program has doubled the
number of children served to approximately 1,100 and
increased the number of volunteers serving children by
65%.
Janet brings business management and financial
experience from her time as co-owner of a small business
in Austin, TX. Previously, she worked in the newspaper
business, starting with the Cox Media chain in Austin,
Texas in the advertising department. She also worked in
newspaper operations, taking the Dayton Daily News in
Dayton, Ohio through the transition from manual
production to a completely digital system. Most
importantly, she started her career as a teacher. It's
that initial passion for children that brought her back
to the work that inspires and motivates her.
"I understand at the deepest level that it is my life's
mission to advocate for abused and neglected children. .
."
Janet graduated from the University of Texas in Austin
with a Bachelor in Journalism with minors in Government
and Education. She holds a Texas lifetime teaching
certificate.
Audrey E. Manriquez
 Christopher
Martinez
Chris Martinez was born and raised in San Antonio,
Texas. After graduating from Central Catholic HS, he
pursued his BBA at St. Mary’s University. Mr. Martinez
is working in the family business, Central Electric Ent.
& Co. He currently is Vice President of the company
handling the daily operations. Presently, Chris is part
of several boards and organizations, including: Central
Catholic Alumni Board, Coastal Conservation Association,
Independent Electrical Contractor’s Association Board of
Director’s, St. Mary’s University Alumni Board, Fiesta
Oyster Bake Committee, Terraces @ The Reserves Home
Owner’s Association, City of San Antonio Zoning
Commission and South Texas Business Fund Board.
Patricia Mejia
 Patricia
Mejia was appointed the Program Director of NALCAB-
National Association
for
Latino Community Asset Builders in 2007. The mission of
NALCAB is to build financial and real estate assets as
well as human and technology resources in Latino
families, communities and organizations.
Prior to joining NALCAB, Ms. Mejia served as the
Executive Director of the 21st Century Leadership Center
at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas. The
Center worked to nurture and develop a new generation of
leaders committed and equipped to building and
positively transforming communities. During her tenure,
she assisted in training 800 civic and community leaders
and another 1,500 college and high school students who
focus their work in low- and middle income communities.
Mejia’s extensive experience in community based
leadership development includes work with the following
organizations: the National Latino Children’s Institute,
the Hispanic Summit of Nevada, and the U.S. Hispanic
Leadership Institute. In her work, Mejia nurtures the
development and practice of leadership skills such as:
community mobilization, marshalling community assets,
advocacy, and relationship building.
Mejia also serves as an adjunct professor of Political
Science and Leadership. Patricia is a dual graduate of
St. Mary's University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in
2001 and a Masters of Arts in 2004.
Leilah Powell
Leilah Powell is the Government Relations Manager for
Bexar County, Texas, and is responsible for coordinating
Bexar County policies and programs with local, state and
federal governments and serving as liaison with elected
officials. Prior to joining the County, she was with the
City of San Antonio for five years, serving as a
Neighborhood Developer Manager and then as Assistant to
the Mayor. Her professional background also includes
experience with affordable housing lending and community
development finance in non-profit and for-profit
settings.
She is a member of the Advisory Council of the School
of Architecture at the University of Texas and has
served on the boards of the Alamo Area Mutual Housing
Association, the Mahncke Park Neighborhood Association,
and the San Antonio Section of the Texas Chapter of the
American Planning Association, among others.
Sonia Poyo
Ms.
Poyo has more than ten years of experience in the
housing and community development field, at both the
national and local levels. Ms. Poyo implemented
national housing initiatives at the Congressional
Hispanic Caucus Institute and NeighborWorks America, and
worked in local government for the Philadelphia
Empowerment Zone and with the Baltimore Housing
Commissioner. Currently, Ms. Poyo runs a San
Antonio-based firm with extensive experience in the
planning, implementation and evaluation of a wide range
of housing and community development programs with her
husband, Noel Poyo. A native of Newark, NJ, Ms. Poyo
now resides in San Antonio with her husband and two
daughters and volunteers with Child Advocates San
Antonio (CASA). Ms. Poyo earned her BA in Political
Science at Haverford College and holds a Master of
Public Policy degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of
Government.
Lisa Smith
Marian Sokol,
Ph.D. M.P.H.
 Marian Sokol is currently President of First Candle/SIDS
Alliance, a national not-for-profit organization with a
mission of promoting infant health and survival from the
prenatal period through two years of age. Sokol was
Executive Director of Any Baby Can from its inception in
1982 until 2003. Any Baby Can is a model support center
for critically and chronically ill and disabled
children. During the past 20 years the program has
provided case management and assistance to more than
18,000 families, many in crisis situations.
Any Baby Can has been nationally recognized for
innovative efforts that include the ABC Baby Helpline,
Crisis Fund for Infants, and intergenerational Family
Friends. Any Baby Can created the Texas Respite Resource
Network, Children's Transplant Association of Texas, the
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Support Group of San
Antonio, and the Tiny Trax program for very low birth
weight babies.
Sokol also founded and has served as Chair of the
Texas Network for Medically Fragile and Chronically Ill
Children and is recognized throughout the state for
child advocacy initiatives, including co-founding Voices
for Children of San Antonio.
She has taught at UTSA and San Antonio College, and
has served on numerous local, state and national Boards
addressing health care needs of children. Included among
these is a decade of service to Methodist Women's and
Children's Hospital in San Antonio, with three years as
Board Chair. In 1995, Dr. Sokol was designated by
Secretary Donna Shalala as Commissioner on the National
Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines. She served as
Commission Chairperson in 1997 and in 1998 was appointed
as a member of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee
for a four-year term. She is also serving presently as
the Governor’s appointee to the Texas Office for
Prevention of Disabilities, and as Chair of the Board of
the national SIDS Alliance.
Sokol is the recipient of many awards, including
citations from City Council and the Texas Pediatric
Society. Her leadership has also been recognized by
induction into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame,
participation in Leadership Texas, selection for a 1987
Imaginer Award from the Mind Science Foundation, the
Excellence 90 Health Care Professional Award from the
Women's Coalition, appointment as Vice Chair of the
Governor's Commission for Women, 1991-93, the 1996
Prudential HealthCare's Salute to San Antonio's Good
Health Award, and San Antonio Community of Churches
Award in 2001.
On April 2, 1992, Any Baby Can under the leadership
of Marian Sokol was named by President Bush as the 735th
Point of Light. The non-profit agency presently has
offices in San Antonio, Austin, and Kerrville, Texas.
Rebecca Viagran
 Born
and raised in San Antonio, Rebecca was formally educated
at Southwest
Texas State University
in San Marcos,
where she received her Bachelor's degree. She earned
her Master's degree in Public Administration from St.
Mary's University, where she was the recipient of the
University's 2007 Presidential Award.
Prior to coming to
MATT.org served as Vice President of External Affairs at
the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and spent 5
years in the University Ministry office at St. Mary's
where she also completed teaching a course on Personal
and Academic Development that focused on developing
servant and community leaders. Her work experience led
her to Granada, Spain working amongst college students
throughout the city and prior to that for 3 ½ years
Rebecca served as a Council Aide to San Antonio City
Council members working on constituent services, zoning
and planning issues.
She spends her
time in San Antonio as a leader in her Church, actively
engaged in both the Catholic and non-denominational
Christian
Churches. She
enjoys speaking to various groups on the importance of
Higher Education, Comprehensive Immigration reform and
leadership development.
 Dawn C. White
I often say that my passion for children was not
something I chose but something that chose me-I was born
loving children. I was the kind of child always hanging
out at the church nursery volunteering my services to
care for the babies when I was probably only 5 or 6
myself. I spent my teen years babysitting and working at
summer camps but never really knew this would be a
career or that I would have the opportunity to work
with, for and on behalf of children. My first
professional experience occurred one summer when I took
a summer job at a child care center. I loved it but at
the same time was shocked at the poor care, lack of
structure and lack of teacher skill. I was hooked and
really driven to make a change. I have had the privilege
of teaching, directing child care programs, and working
on programs that advocate for change and improvement in
the field of Early Childhood Education. This has lead me
to understand the need for social services that support
the child, the family and the community. I had the
privilege of working with SMART START, Family
Service Association, was awarded the SAAEYC
Community Leadership award, Chaired the Board of TACCRRA
(Texas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral
Agencies), awarded a Fellowship with Children’s Defense
Fund, and continue to serve on the Voices for
Children of San Antonio Board. Currently I am
the Director of Leadership and Corporate Giving for
Goodwill Industries, advocating for individuals with
disabilities and barriers to employment. Often, many of
these adults struggling with employment issues in
adulthood could have been helped in early childhood and
would not need so many intervention services. My
professional work today continues to make me a
passionate advocate for early childhood as a key to the
future success of individuals, families and our
community.
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