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Leadership

Executive Team

Kathy Kuras

President & CEO

Kathy Kuras

President & CEO

Kathy Kuras is President and CEO of the YMCA of Austin, the first woman to hold this position in the organization’s 65+ year history.

“I am inspired by what can be achieved when a diverse group of caring people come together.”

Kathy grew up in Dallas, and brings 30 years of Y experience in large metropolitan areas (Dallas, Charlotte and Boston) as well as with YMCA of the USA, the organization’s national resource center, where she pioneered an enterprise-wide leadership development effort and helped revitalize the organization’s culture.

Throughout her community-focused career, she has led the development of strategic partnerships, implemented innovation strategies, and scaled multiple initiatives to 800+ local YMCA associations, resulting in organizational growth and positive outcomes in youth development, healthy living and social responsibility. Notable examples include co-founding the Know Before You Go (now Safety Around Water) drowning prevention program, collaborating initially with Children’s Medical Center, National Safe Kids Coalition and American Red Cross in Dallas; enhancing a medical referral program through a shared nurse staffing model with the YMCA and Carolinas Healthcare System (now Atrium Health); engaging Northwestern University’s graduate program in Organizational Learning and Change to enhance storytelling and engagement, mobilizing 500 YMCA change champions across the U.S.; and launching a comprehensive virtual health and fitness platform (www.ymcago.org) serving the Greater Boston community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Drawing from her arts background, she is also a filmmaker and co-founder of an independent music and film company, Vanguard Muse. In 2021, Kathy received the Breaking Barriers Award from the Women’s Football Alliance at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Stadium for her first feature documentary film, OPEN FIELD, which premiered at the Austin Film Festival in 2020 and won Best Documentary Audience Awards at the Alexandria, Riverside International and Angeles Doc Film Festivals in 2021.

Kathy is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and holds an undergraduate degree in music from Loyola University of New Orleans and a Masters of Organizational Management & Leadership from Springfield College in Massachusetts.

Nichole Lopez-Riley

Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer

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Nichole Lopez-Riley

Chief People Officer

Nichole Lopez-Riley is a servant leader with over 15 years of experience in the social impact sector. She has deep expertise in the areas of strategic planning, human capital management, program and operational management, and executive leadership.

She holds a Master’s of Public Policy from the University of Maryland at College Park with a concentration in International Development. Additionally, she graduated from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations. Throughout her career, she has brought her strategic and forward-thinking abilities to organizations dedicated to systems-level change. She has been committed to serving organizations that support our youth’s access to quality education, develop strong educators, build communities, and drive forward transformational change to address systemic inequities.

As a first-generation American and college graduate, she is passionate about addressing the opportunity gap, dismantling systemic racism, and building strong communities. Her diverse experience includes designing human capital departments from the ground up, implementing org-wide change initiatives, leading organizational efforts to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion, and M&A planning and implementation.

In her role as Chief People Officer, she leads all human capital functions to support and enable the strategic and operational performance of the organization.

Brian Carter

Chief Officer, Operations & Experience

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Brian Carter

Chief Officer, Operations & Experience

Over the last two decades, Brian Carter has grown revenue profitably, managed businesses, and built brands for organizations in leisure, transportation, and non-profit. Brian was previously the EVP, Chief Experience & Engagement Officer (CXO) for CapMetro, a public transit agency delivering more than 30 million trips annually to customers in the Austin, Texas region. Since he joined CapMetro in 2018, Brian has been leading the agency’s business development and public awareness efforts, which include a historic and successful ballot measure in November 2020 to fund a $7.1 billion expansion of the region’s transit network. Brian was responsible for implementing a strategic plan to elevate the agency’s customer experience efforts, including consumer technology, rider amenities, customer service, and brand reputation.

He began his leadership career as the Director of Marketing and Communication for the Memphis Zoo where he oversaw campaigns supporting three major capital expansions. Since then Brian has led marketing, communication, sales, and events teams as a Director for SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment in San Antonio, Texas, and later as Vice President for San Antonio Zoo. Since 2020, Brian has served as the Advisory Board Chair for Hays Communities YMCA. He spends his free time training for his next half marathon and exploring state and national parks alongside his wife Kendall, their three children, and two dogs.

William Van Pelt

Chief Advancement Officer

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William Van Pelt

Chief Advancement Officer

William brings over 20 years of development experience as Executive Vice President at Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area, CEO of HeartGift Foundation, Director of Strategic Partnerships at UNICEF where he co-created TeachUNICEF which created globally themed resources for educators and students. TeachUNICEF became a leader in the global education industry and a new channel for donors to become engaged with UNICEF.

Throughout his career, William has proven himself to be a strong collaborator and influencer. His successes at managing an organization, ensuring alliances and revenue align for a common goal, and guiding high-performing teams are the hallmarks of his expertise.

In 2021, he was recognized by Austin Mayor Steve Adler with the Van Pelt Day of Proclamation for his contributions to the city and commitment to creating an equitable society.

William is a proud alumnus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

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Ryan Parks

Fractional Chief Financial Officer

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Ryan Parks

Fractional Chief Financial Officer

Ryan Parks serves as Director Of Accounting Services at DK Partners, a full service professional firm and one of the longest serving local CPA firms in Austin. With more than thirty years of service to the Texas Community, DK Partners offer quality and professional services in the areas of tax compliance; audits, compilations, reviews and other attestation services; accounting and virtual CFO services; divorce financial analysis and consulting; and management consulting, including IRS representation, litigation support, internal audit, and Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance.

Andrew Wiggins

Vice President of Finance & Operations

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Andrew Wiggins

Vice President of Finance & Operations

Andrew Wiggins began his Y experience as a youngster playing basketball and flag football at the TownLake YMCA. While looking for a job after his freshman year at the University of Texas, he launched his Y career in 1999 as a summer camp counselor. After that first summer, Andrew was hooked and worked as an afterschool and camp staff member throughout the remainder of his time at UT.

After briefly studying in Spain after graduation, Andrew was given the opportunity to join the YMCA of Austin as a full time staff person in 2003 and has never left – rising in the ranks from Program Coordinator, Program Director, Associate Executive Director, Executive Director, District Executive, and Vice President.

Andrew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance & Business Honors from UT. He takes pride in using his business acumen to guide the Y strategically, organizationally, and financially. During his time with the Austin Y, Andrew has overseen traditional Y programs, like afterschool, camp, youth and government, and youth sports, as well as guided the inceptions of Project SAFE, Early Learning Readiness, and MEND (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It!). He is particularly proud of his efforts to promote water safety and downing prevention, help close the opportunity gap, promote civic education, and combat childhood obesity.

He is married and the proud father of two young children. Andrew loves UT sports and co-founded a blog, BurntOrangeNation.com, in the mid-2000s. When not at the Y, Andrew enjoys podcasts, long walks, playing golf, traveling, and playing with his kids.

Sean Doles

VP of Mission Advancement

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Sean Doles

VP of Mission Advancement

Sean Doles began his YMCA career in 1999 and currently serves as the Vice President of Mission Advancement, overseeing all Marketing/Communications, Development and Membership activities for the YMCA of Austin. During his tenure with the Austin Y, Sean has overseen significant growth in membership, programs and fundraising along with the launch of innovative programming to address childhood obesity, drowning prevention and chronic disease prevention. A native of New Orleans, Sean is a graduate of the University of Southern California and author of two books about his hometown, Saving Mr. Bingle, and All Saints Day. Married for nearly 20 years, he is the proud father of two sons.

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YMCA of Austin Metropolitan Board of Directors

Brian Haulotte
Metro Board Chair
Vice President, JE Dunn Construction

Sharmila Kassam
Metro Board Treasurer
Nasdaq World Headquarters

Anamita Mukherjee
Metro Board Secretary
Director of Organizational Development, UFCU

Richard Archer
Archer Investment Management

Dorothee Auldridge
Realtor, Keller Williams Lake Travis

JaNet Barkley-Booher
Board Member

Roberta Benham
Dell Employee Matching

Drew Bennet
Baylor Scott & White Health

Jeremy Blackman
Luther King Capital Management

Mariko Boswell
Pacific Investment Management Company – Austin

Blaine Brunson
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

Susan Burton
Cornell Smith Mierl Brutacao Burton, LLP

Andy Carlson
Cushman and Wakefield

Kelli Craddock
St. Edwards University

Bob Digneo
AT & T Texas

Carlos Greaves
UnitedLex

Sam Greer
Austin Community College

Bart Gunkel
Covert Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram

Kate Henderson
Healthcare Executive

Paul Hoffman
Go! Calendars

Daniel Hogberg
Megladon Manufacturing Group

Evan Johnson
Coffin Renner LLP

Kelly Latz
Fritz, Byrne, Head & Gilstrap, PLLC

Jennifer Lauren
Board Member

Reagan Nash
UBS Financial Services

Nichole Newlan
Board Member

Lauren Schoenbaum
Ruffner Schoenbaum Murphy Banaszak, PLLC

Danielle Skidmore
Danielle Skidmore Consulting

Sean Taylor
ERCOT

Randy Teich
Teich Data Services, LLC

Leadership

Executive Team

Kathy Kuras

Nichole Lopez-Riley

Brian Carter

William Van Pelt

Ryan Parks

Andrew Wiggins

Sean Doles

YMCA of Austin Metropolitan Board of Directors

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