PRESIDENT: Kali' P. Rourke
Kali' P. Rourke
has a long history as a volunteer with PTA in AISD and as a Public
Education Advocate. A graduate of the
Leadership Austin
Class of 2007 and a Focus Committee member of Impact Austin, she has
been donating her time to public education since retiring from her
career as a mortgage banker and title insurance professional.
She joined the Seedling board in 2003 while serving as PTA President at
Murchison Middle School, after seeing first hand what the
Foundation does for public schools. In 2004 she took the role
as president of the Seedling Foundation board and leads this very
talented and passionate group of professionals.
Kali' is a member of the
Austin Chamber of Commerce Education Report Card Task force and a
member of the 2008-2009 AISD UpClose program. She also serves as web administrator for the Seedling
Foundation. Kali' and her husband Dan
created the Seedling Foundation Rourke College Scholarships, which encourage
middle school students entering high school by guaranteeing them
funds toward their college education.
VICE PRESIDENT- Operations: John C.
Blazier
John C. Blazier is the founder of the Seedling
Foundation, formerly known as the Travis Community Education
Foundation, and an ardent supporter of public education for many
years in partnership with AISD. A prominent attorney and
partner in Blazier, Christensen, Bigelow & Virr, John has lent his
vision, energy and talent for networking to further the interests of
schoolchildren throughout the district. He has been named
Partner of the Year and also led the Partners in Education
organization. John has been recognized many times for his
community leadership and passion for education, including the "Five
Who Care" award.
There is not a program at the Seedling
Foundation that has not been envisioned and supported by John and in
recognition of his outstanding contributions to AISD, the John C.
Blazier Elementary School opened in the fall of 2007.
TREASURER:
Sue Frye
In addition to her duties as a Senior Vice President
at Frost Bank, Sue leads the wonderful Frost Bank A-Team as they
help with Seedling Campus Beautification and make such a difference
at the schools they volunteer in. She and her co-workers
mentor as well, and her support of the foundation over the years has
been invaluable. Sue serves on many boards in the Austin area
and is an outstanding representative for both Frost Bank and the
Seedling Foundation.
SECRETARY:
Annette Hendricks Bohne
A counselor with
AISD for many years, Annette brings her experience with schools and
her empathy for children to the board of the Seedling Foundation.
Annette is a former PTA and PTSA President as well, and her
leadership skills add to the programs and progress of the
foundation.
DIRECTOR, Campus Beautification:
Charles "Chuck" Borgeson
A retired AISD employee, Chuck Borgeson began with Seedling
as a volunteer on landscape workdays with his lovely wife and
helpmate, Luan. As the projects and complexity increased, he
took on more responsibility and moved into a position on the board
where he greatly expands our capacity to bring beauty and pride to
our lower-income public schools. Chuck and Luan were named
Individual Volunteers of the Year for the 2008 Austin Partners in Education
Salute in recognition of their great efforts at several AISD
schools.
DIRECTOR,
Post Secondary
Programs - C.A.M.P.
: Mary Alice Deike
Mary Alice Deike is uniquely qualified to support the
foundation in the area of Post Secondary Programs. Selected as
Region XIII Principal of the Year, Mary Alice was principal of
Fredericksburg High School from 1994 to 2002. Under her
leadership, Fredericksburg High School was named a U.S. Blue Ribbon
School of Excellence, was rated Exemplary by the Texas Education
Agency in 2001 and rated Recognized the six previous years.
Mary Alice holds M.Ed. and B.S. degrees from Southwest Texas State
University and was the proud principal of Akins High School in AISD.
She has seen first hand the results that Seedling CAMP has had and
Akins was proud to announce that three of the four original students
who participated in CAMP (College Admissions Mentoring Program)
achieved Commended or Semi Finalist level for National Merit
recognition in 2006.
DIRECTOR,
Fund Development : Mark Dittman
Mark C. Dittman is the President and CEO of Integrated Bank
Technology (IBT) and has more than 25 years of financial
technology experience. Mr. Dittman oversees all business
management, marketing, partner development and day-to-day
operations.
Mr. Dittman began his career with IBT as a sales representative
where he doubled the size of the client base in his first year. In
addition, he was responsible for a growth rate increase of 184
percent between 2005 and 2006 and an increase of 240 percent as of
2007. Dittman also held the position of national sales manager
before being promoted to president and CEO in 2006.
Mark
has more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry.
Before joining IBT, he worked for Lenexa, Kan.-based Financial
Systems & Equipment, Inc. (FS&E), a bank systems sales and
services company. During his time at FS&E, Mr. Dittman was a major
contributor to the building of EZ Teller as well as the
establishment of a branch in Springfield, Mo. Dittman also
established the user base and sales support for National Source
One, a secondary software marketing firm that was formed by FS&E.
Mark
was named the EZ Systems Rookie of the Year in 1999 and National
Source One Salesman of the Year 1999-2006. He is also an active
member of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas and ECCHO.
He is a frequent speaker at industry trade shows and has
participated in numerous interviews on the subject of Check21.
Mark has a passion for education and helping children and is
joined by his wife Christine in these efforts.
DIRECTOR,
Seedling's Promise Mentor Program: David González
David González
brings experience, perspective and a great enthusiasm to the
Seedling Foundation. As a founding partner of Sumpter &
González, L.L.P., David González grew up with parents who inspired,
nearly required, him to attend college with the plan of going on to
obtain a graduate degree. After earning a BA at Dartmouth he
fulfilled his parents' wishes and enrolled in law school at
Stanford. There he not only got a first-rate legal education, but
also met Corinne Sumpter, his wife, business partner and fellow
attorney. After graduating from Stanford he spent time in
Mexico brushing up on his Spanish and then came to Austin to begin
his practice. He founded The González Firm in 1999, won several
worker's rights cases, became interested in juvenile and criminal
cases after visiting Corinne in Washington D.C. After only two
years of practice, his solitary firm morphed into partnership. David
is also a graduate of the Leadership Austin Class of 2007.
He combines his
various interests in law, individuals, social activism, graphic
design, business, laughter, humanity and transcendent existence into
one entity that operates under the label Law Firm. The way David
treats it, though, Sumpter & Gonzalez is a hub: A hub for help, for
hope, for guidance. In order to give his clients more than any other
lawyer ever has, he built a team of talented staff members. He hired
a former juvenile probation officer to organize services for our
clients and their families. He hired a full-time investigator to
keep our attorneys as knowledgeable as possible. He hired a graphic
designer to perfect visual aids and technology for trial. He hired
the most talented office manager in Texas to ensure that
communication between clients and attorneys remains as clear and
timely as possible. David's thirst to help people extends to the
Seedling Foundation's program to match children of incarcerated
parents with caring mentors from our community.
DIRECTOR,
Seedling's Promise Mentor Program: David Grant Halpern
David has been an
Assistant Attorney General for the State of Texas since 1994. He is
a member of the Agency's Civil Medicaid Fraud Division. He serves on
the Attorney General's Training and Recruiting Committees. He is the
founder and director of the Attorney General's Distinguished
Speakers Program and he is a regular speaker at in-house and
inter-agency seminars and workshops. In addition to U.T. Law, his
teaching background includes service as faculty for the National
Institute for Trial Advocacy, the National Association of Attorney's
General, and the State Bar of Texas. David is a contributing author
to the book, Practicing Medicine in the 21st Century.
David received his
undergraduate degree in Journalism from the University of Texas at
Austin with High Honors. He received his Juris Doctor from the
University of Texas School of Law in 1994. David is board certified
in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal
Specialization. He is a member of the American Board of Trial
Advocates and the College of the State Bar of Texas. He is licensed
to practice in the State of Texas and is admitted to practice before
the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United
States District Courts of Texas.
David is a member of
the Board of Directors for the Mental Health America of Texas,
Set2Serve, and is a participating mentor for the Seedling
Foundation's Children of the Incarcerated Program. He and Linda Sue
have been married for 23 years and is fortunate to be the father to
Joshua Nathaniel Halpern, 18 and Katelyn Rose Halpern, 20.
DIRECTOR, Campus
Beautification: Brad Shaver
Brad Shaver is
the Assistant Director of AISD Maintenance, and brings an invaluable
knowledge of campuses throughout the Austin area to the Seedling
Foundation. In addition to his busy schedule with the
district, he also serves on the board of A+ Federal Credit Union.
