Sari Waxler, Executive Director   Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
-(Master’s Degree from Southwest Texas State University)

Mrs. Waxler has been at the helm of the Seedling Foundation since 2006 when she accepted the offer to become the Foundation’s first Executive Director.  Her first charge was the development of Seedling’s Promise, the Foundation’s new mentor program serving children of incarcerated parents.  During that first year, the Foundation won a large federal grant to support the new program model.  Since 2006, Seedling’s Promise has served close to 1,000 children, has had a presence in over 60 schools and in 4 school districts, and has developed partnerships with local and state government, businesses, organizations, and faith communities – all for the purpose of serving children.  Mrs. Waxler has guided the Foundation through its growth and transition from the more regional Travis High School Education Foundation to the Seedling Foundation, whose College Admissions Mentoring Program, Campus Beautification projects, and Mentor Program touch the vast majority of AISD campuses. 

Mrs. Waxler’s devotion to children, education, and our community’s public schools has spanned three and a half decades.  Prior to joining the Seedling Foundation, she was employed by the Austin Independent School District and served that organization proudly as a teacher, school counselor, on the District’s Crisis Response Team, as the District’s High School Program Specialist in Guidance and Counseling, District Scholarship Coordinator, and Project Director of the highly successful $15 million GEAR UP grant (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). 

Mrs. Waxler received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Texas (Cum Laude) and her Master’s Degree from Southwest Texas State University.  She has been married to Mel Waxler for the past 37 years.  They are extremely proud of their two children, Kimberly and Blake, their son-in-law Will, and with great joy are anticipating the arrival of their first grandchild.

Falba is an education project manager with over thirty years’ experience in public and private schools, PK-12. She began her career with the Austin Independent School District and served nine years in varied roles such as language arts teacher for middle school and high school in north and east Austin, educator on loan to Region XIII ESC to help implement the 1980 desegregation order, and sole instructor for the 1983 Senate Page School.

She has been the principal of two high-profile Catholic elementary/middle schools in Austin for a total of 18 years, including a school that she was asked to plan and launch within a year’s time. That campus earned designation as a National Blue Ribbon School only five years later. During five years as a Senior Assessment Consultant with ACT, Inc., Falba traveled over five states working with schools, districts, and state agencies on school improvement initiatives and training hundreds of teachers and administrators in curriculum alignment and assessment. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Dallas and a Master’s in Educational Administration from University of Texas.

At Seedling, she combines her knowledge of children’s developmental stages, vast experience in school culture and operations, expertise in organizational facilitation, and deep training in school emergency management to serve children, their mentors, and the school personnel who are our partners. Falba lives in Southwest Austin with her husband Paul, an Austin ISD central administrator. Their daughter Emily and her family live in Memphis, TN.  

Stacy earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Southwestern University and her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington. She has previous experience in volunteer coordination and strategic planning at non-profits as well as dropout prevention with high school students. In addition, Stacy has a passion for education and its power to effect positive change on both individuals and society.

Stacy enjoys spending time with her boyfriend Julian, exploring Austin’s parks with their dog Baxter, and taking it easy with their kitty Sydney.

Nanette Lukasik earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from St. Edward's University in Austin.  Nanette is both an educator and social worker at heart, bringing over 13 years of experience serving youth in the Austin Independent School District.  Drawing on her experiences as a Project Manager with Communities in Schools, a Project Facilitator with GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), and Director of College Readiness with Breakthrough, this "Valley Girl" takes her work with underrepresented youth seriously.  She believes that adults play a key role in the lives of young people and enjoys supporting community members who want to do just that. 

Nanette is married to Ernest Lukasik and enjoys her weekends with his son Spencer.  They also care for two Jack Russells, Nico and Mancha, on a full-time basis.

• Allison Elementary - AISD
• Linder Elementary - AISD
• Pleasant Hill Elementary - AISD
• Rodriguez Elementary - AISD
• St. Elmo Elementary - AISD
• Travis Heights Elementary - AISD
• Bedichek Middle School - AISD
• Fulmore Middle School - AISD

Joyce Baker, Mentor Director  Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
-(Master's Degree from Southwest Texas State University)

Joyce is a Mentor Director with over 35 years of experience in public education. Her sincere desire to serve children with socioeconomic disadvantages first developed in her role as a co-director of a federally funded program promoting nutritional education in urban neighborhoods. After beginning her teaching career in North Kansas City, Missouri, she continued as an elementary teacher and middle school teacher in Round Rock ISD.  During this tenure, Joyce became certified as a New Jersey Writing Project in Texas trainer and taught 12 writing institutes for K-12 teachers in Central Texas. She has also presented at state conferences and participated as a judge/evaluator for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards at the University of Pittsburg and in the greater Chicago, Illinois area.

Upon completion of her Master’s Degree in Educational Administration, she was an assistant principal in AISD for six years.  As a consultant with Regional Service Center X, she imparted “best practices” to teachers who work with children with diverse, educational needs.  In her work with Breakthrough Austin, she discovered once again, how important mentors are in the lives of children.  At Seedling, she uses her diverse experiences and knowledge to support all the stakeholders involved in mentoring children.

Joyce lives in Northwest Austin and loves spending time with her family. Presently, her daughter Lindsay and son-in-law Scott are in graduate school at Baylor.  Her son Ryan is a Project Manager for Flintco.  He and his wife, Laura are the proud parents of Jackson and Will.

SCHOOL SUPPORT:

• Hart Elementary - AISD
• Pickle Elementary - AISD
• Pillow Elementary - AISD
• Sanchez Elementary - AISD
• O. Henry Middle School - AISD
• Webb Middle School - AISD

SCHOOL SUPPORT:

• Brooke Elementary - AISD
• Copperfield Elementary - PISD
• Govalle Elementary - AISD
• Norman Elementary - AISD
• Ortega Elementary - AISD
• Sims Elementary - AISD 

Sally Firestone brings to the Seedling Foundation thirty-three years of experience in the field of education and is licensed by the State of Texas as a Professional Counselor.  She began her career in the Austin Independent School District as an elementary teacher and school counselor.  She worked in the Round Rock Independent School District for 15 years as an elementary counselor. Her extensive experiences at the elementary level prepared her to guide elementary counselors at 74 schools in Austin ISD for five years as the Elementary Guidance Program Specialist. Her lifelong love of learning led her to a 400-hour course study with Region Service Center XIII on Positive Behavior Support. From 2004-2008 she served as the Positive Behavior Support Coach in Austin ISD at eleven schools until her retirement in June 2008. This experience taught her how powerful mentoring is in the life of a child.

Sally’s lifelong devotion of supporting school-age children with positive interventions has led her to the Seedling doorstep. Her vast experiences as a teacher, counselor, guidance specialist, and behavior coach, in addition to her knowledge of school cultures, brings a seasoned trainer, facilitator, and consultant to the foundation, and she is honored to be part of such a worthwhile community effort for kids.
 
She has one son who graduated in 2004 with a Degree in Economics and currently works for the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. She resides in Round Rock and has a precious "rescue" dachshund named Lily who teaches her daily about the power of a grateful spirit.

SCHOOL SUPPORT:

• Blackshear Elementary - AISD
• Campbell Elementary - AISD
• Metz Elementary - AISD
• Oak Springs Elementary - AISD
• Zavala Elementary - AISD
• Kealing Middle School - AISD