Board of Directors

Cybil is the VP of Donor Relations at the Austin Community Foundation where she develops strategies and systems to ensure clients have an exemplary experience. She works with the foundation team to connect donors with the causes they care about and to make a difference in the lives of Central Texans.

Cybil’s background is in Arts Education and Public Art. Most of her career has been spent developing experiences for Museum-goers.  The work of Forklift resonates with her own creative endeavors, which have included public art projects in partnership with Capital Metro, a pedicab driver, and dancers on Segway scooters. She has been following Forklift since she moved to Austin in 2004, and remembers a mom and baby stroller project catching her eye early on. The intro sequence of Trash Dance brought her to tears, and she still can’t identify why. Her favorite Forklift memories include taking her kids to Trees of Govalle and Bartholomew Swims.

She lives in East Austin with her two elementary-age children, architect husband, and dog. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, running, and biking.

Alejandra (Ale) Hamlet was born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised in Mexico. She has a B.A. in Business Administration with a Minor in International Marketing and upon graduating, pursued a graduate degree in the US. She received her MBA from Illinois State University with a focus on International Business. After graduation Ale moved to Austin, TX, where she worked for Dell Computers in the areas of Marketing and Global Programs. Ale left Corporate America to raise her 3 children with her husband John. For the last 16 years, Ale has been involved in her children’s school as a Pre-K teacher. She is also as an active member of the school’s PTA, with roles ranging from Committee Chair of various committees to PTA President. One of Ale’s passions is the education of adult immigrants. Ale created an ESL program for her church, and has replicated this program at over a dozen churches around Austin. Ale loves spending time feeding her family and friends around the kitchen table. She loves to travel, sail and serve her community.

Manuel Flores is Chief Popsocologist of Mom & Pops All Natural Frozen Pops, a company he co-founded in 2008.  He grew up in the west Texas town of El Paso and graduated with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the University of Oregon.  He has over 24 years of experience working in the environmental sustainability sector, and has worked for various local and state governments in both Texas and Washington State.  He is an alum of Forklift Danceworks, having performed in Trees of Govalle while working as a horticulturist supervisor with the City of Austin, Urban Forestry Program.

As often as possible, Manuel enjoys camping with his children, playing & coaching volleyball, and enjoying the craft foods & spirits of Central Texas.

Adriana Graf attended Austin College in Sherman, TX and earned a B.A. in Business Administration. She went on to the University of Texas and received her Master of Professional Accounting degree. She obtained her CPA license and worked for public accounting firms and in industry for a total of 15 years. She has spent the bulk of the last 20 years raising her two children, who are now both in college. During their school years she served as treasurer for the elementary and middle school PTAs as well as the treasurer for the high school band boosters. Adriana’s hobbies include exercising, traveling, cooking, spending times outdoors, and binge-watching a good Netflix series. Her favorite times are spent with family and friends.

Michele Martell is an attorney who has worked extensively in the entertainment, consumer products and technology space. Her consultancy firm, Martell Media House, provides business and legal affairs guidance for clients across a spectrum of industries – from film & TV to toys & games to Internet of Things and Big Data. She got her start at The Jim Henson Company, and has worked with brands ranging from My Little Pony to Mr. Men to the WWE.

In 2012, Michele helped establish the first Immersive Media (3D/VR/AR) film program in the US, at the University of Texas at Austin, and serves on the Advisory Council for the Denius Sams Videogame Academy at UT Austin.

Michele is licensed by the State Bars of California and Texas, and divides her time between Austin, TX and Los Angeles, CA.

Michele tweets at @martell_media and documents her Austin experience on Instagram at @martellmichele.

Don Baylor is the Managing Director of Services at Lafayette Square. Prior to joining Lafayette, Don served as a Senior Program Officer at The Annie E. Casey Foundation, where he oversaw the Foundation’s family assets and financial services portfolio.

Previously, he held roles as Senior Associate with the Urban Institute in Washington, DC where he focused on expanding economic opportunity through JPMorgan Chase, Citi, McArthur and Gates Foundation projects across the US and as Director of OpportunityTexas at Every Texan (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities) in Austin. Don was a founding member for RAISE Texas, Texas Match the Promise Foundation and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Consumer Advisory Board.

Prior to that, he served as legislative and political Director at New York ACORN where he organized campaigns and advanced state and local legislation to curb predatory lending, broaden financial inclusion and expand access to affordable housing in New York. Don began his career as a Senior Consultant at KPMG’s State and Local Government Practice, where he performed management and performance audits for school districts, state agencies, and municipal governments.

Originally from Texas, Don holds a B.A. from Georgetown University and M.A. from University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently serves as co-chair of the Asset Funders Network Board of Directors, serves on the boards of SaverLife and Equal Measure.

Ezequiel is a Delivery Lead at Praxent, a digital innovation agency based in Austin serving financial services clients across the country and world. From music performance to product management and software development, Ezequiel’s experiences have enabled him to contribute to work for a diverse set of brands and organizations such as HP, Microsoft, New Relic and The Trevor Project.

Born and raised in Houston, Ezequiel attended the University of Texas at Austin and began working in fundraising and other development efforts while interning for ZACH Theatre. When living in San Francisco after undergrad, he built a team of volunteers that continued development efforts for The Trevor Project, cultivating relationships with local technology companies Salesforce, Twitter, and Google.

If Ezequiel’s not organizing an event, he’s either playing the piano, rock climbing, and/or planning his next cycling road trip.

Allison Dancy is Chief Marketing Officer of Vista Equity-backed Kibo. Kibo helps retailers and businesses create exceptional online experiences through a unified commerce platform. Allison is responsible for the strategic direction and execution of all aspects of marketing in support of the company’s growth goals.

With more than 20 years of experience working in a variety of tech roles, Allison is a transformational leader with expertise in building high performing teams. She has held a variety of leadership roles in sales, partner channels, strategic alliances and marketing for companies such as IBM/Lotus Development, OpenText/Vignette and goTransverse.

Originally from the Midwest, Allison has called Austin home for the past many years. She is an avid traveler and has spent time living and studying in France and Japan, and backpacking around the world. She loves food, live music, hiking and biking the trails, and traveling to cooler places in the summertime. She does not miss winter. She is married and has two sons.

Dr. Pearl Dilworth-Cox is a professional cosmetologist with 40 years of experience in the field. She has had the pleasure of working under many great leaders in addition to running her own successful salon. Pearl comes from a family background of many talented cosmetologists, and her lifelong passion for the field compelled her to obtain her Doctorate degree from the National Institute of Cosmetology. Practicing and teaching cosmetology has allowed Pearl to travel to many places and meet many talented people along the way.

Sarah Finley is the co-founder of SASI (Social Arts and Science Institute), a consulting firm focused on social media training and employee advocacy. Sarah brings more than two decades of experience in marketing and professional services to her role as member of the Forklift Danceworks board. She also volunteers as a social venture partner at Greenlights, where she works with some of Austin’s most innovative non-profits to scale their organizations and solve our community’s biggest problems. Prior to SASI, Sarah led Dell efforts across multiple digital marketing disciplines and pioneered Dell’s Global Social CRM strategy for the Consumer business. Sarah has a law degree from GWU and a bachelor’s degree from UT-Austin. In her free time, she enjoys dancing wherever music is or isn’t playing, teaching yoga, and traveling the globe. Her twitter handle is @sarahfinley.

Sam has been working with the City of Austin for 20 years. He currently manages Brush, Bulk, Street Cleaning, Dead Animal Collection and Special Events for Austin Resource Recovery. Sam collaborated with Forklift Danceworks on the production of The Trash Project. 

Cari Marshall was born in Dallas and grew up in the former farmlands (now suburbs) of north Texas. She has more than 20 years experience as an arts writer and communications professional for several art museums in Texas and California. Cari is also a political activist and serves on the board of the Texas Democracy Foundation, which oversees the Texas Observer. She lives in South Austin with her husband, Eric de Valpine, teen daughter, Chloe, and ever-present Chi-Pin, Pickle Daisy.

Sarah Ann Mockbee is the Chief Operating Officer at the Austin Film Society where she has worked since 2008. Her areas of expertise are nonprofit finance, human resources, governance, and organizational development.

Sarah Ann graduated from Barnard College with a degree in English literature and is currently fulfilling the requirements to become a licensed CPA. Prior to AFS, Sarah Ann worked in public radio in New York City and here in Austin at KUT. She previously served on the board of the Austin chapter for the American Institute of Architects and has been a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Texas Art Commission. Sarah Ann is a member of Austin’s Nonprofit Financial Leadership group.

Shannon Ratcliff has worked in accounting and financial services for almost 30 years. A graduate of the University of Texas’ PPA program with both BBA and Master in Professional Accounting degrees, Shannon spent several years with Ernst & Young’s Dallas audit group, obtaining her CPA license, before transitioning to internal accounting for a high tech firm, Cyrix. When Cyrix sold to California-based National Semiconductor, rather than moving, she pivoted again, this time to consulting with Greystone Communities, eventually serving as the Vice President of Planning and Financial Services.

After a brief stint in New Mexico and several years home with her two (no longer little) boys, the family happily returned to Austin, her husband’s hometown, 16 years ago. Shannon now serves as an independent contractor, handling internal accounting for-profit and not-for-profit small businesses.

Shannon has served on several nonprofit boards, as Treasurer and/or President, including The Buckaroo Ball (Santa Fe, NM) and Highland Park Elementary PTA (Austin, TX), and is thrilled to be joining the board of Forklift Danceworks! Approaching the next phase of life as an empty nester, Shannon enjoys live music, books, travel and cooking with her husband, knitting, time with dear friends, and hiking with her English Springer Spaniel, Finn. She spends as much time as she can at her second home in Santa Fe, as few things feed her soul like a sunset over the high desert mountains.

Jack received his master of architecture degree from The University of Texas at Austin and his bachelor of architecture degree from Auburn University. His senior thesis, The Newbern Baseball Club, represented the Rural Studio at the 2002 Whitney Biennial in New York. Jack’s work at the Rural Studio has been exhibited worldwide and is featured in the books, “Rural Studio: Samuel Mockbee and an Architecture of Decency” and “Proceed and Be Bold: The Rural Studio After Mockbee” — both published by the Princeton Architectural Press.

Jack co-produced a feature-length documentary on Samuel Mockbee and his influence on the education of young architects. Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockbee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio premiered at South by Southwest Film Festival in 2010 and has since broadcast nationally on PBS, as well as at universities, museums and theaters around the world.

Jack has been a visiting lecturer and studio instructor at Auburn University’s Rural Studio, Mississippi State University and The University of Texas at Austin. He also has led design-build projects with students in Portland, Oregon, and in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.

He and his wife, Ann Tucker of Studio A Group, live in Austin with their two children, Mary Vance and Tuck.

Heath joined Colorado Rocky Mountain School as the Director of Development in July 2019. Between 2015-2019, he lived in Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), serving as the first Center Manager of the Ali I. Al-Naimi Petroleum Engineering Research Center. Starting in 2006, Heath managed fundraising and corporate relationship activities for the University of Texas at Austin, first as Associate Director for Corporate Relations in the Engineering Foundation, and most recently as the Director of External Relations for the Hildebrand Department of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering. Before joining the University, Heath worked for Skillpoint Alliance (formerly Capital Area Training Foundation), a nonprofit focusing on improving Central Texas workforce systems. While at Skillpoint and CATF, Heath served as the Director the Semiconductor Executive Council, Vice President of Youth, College & Career Services, and finally Chief Operations Officer.

A graduate of Leadership Austin (2005-6) and 2009 Austin Area Research Organization McBee Fellow, Heath has worked as a consultant and invited review panelist for the National Science Foundation and various Central Texas workforce councils, committees, and program teams. Outside of his professional activities, Heath enjoys serving on nonprofit boards such as Forklift Danceworks, Austin Museum of Digital Art, Manor Education Foundation and Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation, as well as steering committees for SEMI and Capitol BEST Robotics. Heath graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Arts, English in 1995, and Master of Arts, English in 1998. Heath is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE).

Heath was born and raised in Oklahoma, with deep family roots reaching back to early settlers venturing to “Indian Territory” for the land runs organized at the end of the 19th century on one side of his family, and Native American heritage on the other. Heath married Kimberly Draper of Houston in 2009, a designer of original jewelry and furniture. Kimberly is a Baylor graduate and a member of the Ottawa Tribe in northeastern Oklahoma.

Lisa Lee is part of the Beacon Nonprofit Consulting team, which offers fundraising and organizational consulting services to Central Texas nonprofits. Lisa has been part of the Austin nonprofit community for nearly 20 years, working in professional fund development roles with organizations such as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, St. Edward’s University, Safeplace and the new Austin Children’s Museum, the Thinkery.

Lisa received an undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from St. Edward’s University. She has served previously on the board of the Greater Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (including a term as president in 2006) and as treasurer of Austin Museum of Digital Art.

Lisa is a competitive masters rower, and can be found on Lady Bird Lake throughout the year training with her Texas Rowing Center teammates. Also big fan of social dance, Lisa knows just enough to be dangerous on a Latin or country dance floor.

Julie Remde is a co-founder and producer at Palate Films, a video production company that focuses on food, travel and lifestyle branded content for the web and broadcast. She also works at Butler Nonprofit Consulting where she’s an associate consultant focused on fundraising. Previously, Julie worked at both Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. In her professional and personal life, Julie is the consummate project manager – moving everyone forward toward a common goal while navigating all the bumps along the way. She has a B.S. from Santa Fe University of Art & Design, a J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law, and is a 2015 graduate of Leadership Austin Emerge. She and her husband Christian have one daughter, Lucy, who makes them most proud when she takes a Star Wars book to bed at night. Julie’s been dancing as long as she can remember. Current performances can be seen during her daily commute as she spices up Austin traffic.

Allen first came across Forklift Danceworks when he was working at Austin Energy. He wrote and performed three original poetry pieces as a part of PowerUp. He was then asked to write, perform, and be a play-by-play announcer in Play Ball on Historic Downs Field. After being a part of Forklift for these two fantastic productions, Allen served on the Forklift Board of Directors for four wonderful years from 2015 to 2019.

Allen retired from Austin Energy in 2019 after working there for over 27 years., but soon after rejoined Austin Energy in a part-time role. A graduate of the University of Texas, he was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Allen enjoys time with his wife Christine and their three dogs (Cami, Charlie, and Cooper). Allen enjoys watching sports, especially college football and baseball, and attending spoken word poetry events. He has performed spoken word poetry in Austin and across the nation, and has competed in many poetry slams. And after all these great years with Forklift Danceworks, Allen has danced, worked, but has never driven a forklift.

Jennifer Wijangco is the Director of Major Gifts at YES Prep Public Schools, a public charter school district in Houston. Her previous development roles were at Houston Grand Opera, Briscoe Western Art Museum, Leadership Austin, Arthouse at the Jones Center (now The Contemporary Austin), and the Texas Cultural Trust. Before joining the nonprofit world, Jennifer worked in corporate financial planning and analysis.

A native Texan, born and raised in Houston, Jennifer graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration, major in Finance, and a Bachelor of Arts in Art, major in Art History. She also completed a Masters of Arts in Arts Management, with a Certificate in Not-for-Profit Management from the University of Oregon.

In addition to board service with Forklift Danceworks since January 2012, Jennifer also volunteers with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Dress for Success Houston, and Ducks Alumni Recruiting Team at the University of Oregon. She also serves on the Women’s Impact Initiative Committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Never one to sit still, Jennifer is a voracious consumer of opera, plays, movies, F1, and college football, and if at home, often while crocheting.