We are grateful to the following individuals for their dedication, passion, and leadership in support of Barton Springs Conservancy and the For the Love of the Springs Campaign.
Capital Campaign Steering Committee
Luci Baines Johnson
Previously she served as Chairman of the Board of the LBJ Holding Company, which included radio, real estate, timber and ranch assets. Following the 2003 sale of the radio properties, she and her husband Ian Turpin founded LBJ Family Wealth Advisors, a multifamily office, which manages and helps transition family wealth from one generation to another. Ms. Johnson was also a co-founder of BusinesSuites, one of the nation’s top 10 executive suite operators until its sale in 2015.
Ms. Johnson has had a lifetime commitment to social justice, health care and the environment. A graduate of St. Edward’s University with numerous honors, Ms. Johnson currently serves on the boards of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the Board of Visitors of MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is a Trustee Emeritus of Boston University and a lifetime board member of the Seton Fund, Dell Children’s Hospital and the SAFE Alliance, dedicated to ending sexual exploitation and domestic violence.
Ms. Johnson’s most precious career is her family. She has four grown children; Lyndon, Nicole, Rebekah and Claudia; one stepson, Stuart; and 14 treasured grandchildren.
Will Wynn
Will served on the Austin City Council 2000-03 and as two-term Austin Mayor 2003-09. An early Chairman of the Downtown Austin Alliance, he has long been a leading advocate for transforming downtown into the most vibrant urban core in the country.
He lectures, advises and consults with governments, utilities and private entities on topics ranging from sustainability and economic development to energy efficiency and urban revitalization. His sustainability work has won him awards from a diverse group of organizations, including Scenic Austin, The U.S. Conference of Mayors, The Colorado River Foundation, The Alliance to Save Energy, The Hill Country Conservancy and the Association of Energy Engineers, among others.
Will has joint Irish and U.S. citizenship and splits time between Austin, Puerto Rico and Europe.
Gene Attal
Gene Attal
Prior to founding Attal Consulting, a fundraising coaching and consulting company headquartered in Austin, Gene Attal enjoyed a distinguished 35-year career with the Seton Family of Hospitals, where he served as President of the Seton Foundations. As chief development officer, he was responsible for all fundraising activities for Seton’s ten hospitals and three charity clinics in the Austin area. During his tenure at Seton, more than $300 million was raised in philanthropic funds.
In addition, Attal has served as a consultant and program mentor to more than 80 not-for-profit organizations throughout America, including arts groups, private schools, social service agencies, and hospitals.
He is an honors graduate of The University of Texas and received the University’s Arthur Page Award, given annually to a distinguished public relations graduate. Attal received a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, where he was named one of the University’s “International Fellows.”
Attal is a Fellow and former international Board Chair of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) and is a recipient of the Si Seymour Award, its lifetime achievement designation.
He is also a recipient of the Beverly Sheffield Award, given annually by the Austin Community Foundation to an outstanding non-profit executive and received Special Recognition at this year’s Austin Philanthropy Day Celebration for his career in fund development.
Kyndel Bennett
Kyndel Bennett
Kyndel Bennett is the CEO of Cayetano Development, a developer of affordable residential communities throughout the State of Texas. Kyndel is a 30-year veteran of the real estate industry having worked in development, construction, and as a principal in a billion dollar real estate investment fund. He has extensive experience in structuring, syndicating, developing and managing complex real estate projects. He received an MBA with a real estate concentration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and a BA from the University of Texas at Austin. He is actively involved in the Austin Community having served on the Boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas (Past Chair), the Colorado River Alliance (Past Chair) and as a Trustee of Trinity Episcopal School (Past Chair). Kyndel is married to his wife Laura and has two children Barkley (15) and Johnny (13).
Michael Cannatti
Michael Cannatti
“It is a great honor and privilege to work with this passioniate Board and our the partners at the City of Austin to protect and enhance the treasure that is Barton Springs”
Board of Directors
Michael Cannatti
Karen Brimble
Jordan Ramsey
Controller at Tiff’s Treats and former audit manager at Deloitte & Touche, Jordan is a longtime frequenter of Barton Springs. A graduate of Vanderbilt University who received his Master’s in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business, Jordan is excited to bring his financial background to the Barton Springs Conservancy.
Brandon Flowers
Brandon Flowers
Karen Kocher
Karen Kocher
Mary Ann Neely
Geronimo Rodriguez
Geronimo M. Rodriguez Jr.
Mr. Rodriguez has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at the LBJ School of Public Affairs teaching US Latino Policy Issues and at St. Edward’s University focused on Political Leadership, Political Management/Managing Crisis and Mass Media and Politics. Mr. Rodriguez has over twenty five years of public service experience advising federal, state and local elected officials in addition to managing presidential, gubernatorial, and attorney general campaigns.
Mr. Rodriguez served in the White House Office of Congressional Affairs where he supported legislative preparations for the Seattle Round of the World Trade Organization. In addition, he served as Deputy Associate Director and later Acting Associate Director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel where he was responsible for recommending a third of the President’s senior level appointments. He also advised senior White House staff on appointments affecting the Hispanic community.
Mr. Rodriguez currently serves as Board Member of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), Board Member of the Lola Wright Foundation, Board Member of KLRU-TV, the local public television station, Board Member of the Impact Center, Board Member of the Austin Anti-Defamation League, Member of the Austin Area Research Organization, Member of the Subiendo Academy for Rising Leaders Advisory Council, and is an alumni of the Texas Lyceum and the FBI Citizen’s Academy. Finally, he is Past Chair of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Past Chair of the Leadership Austin Board of Directors.
Mr. Rodriguez is co-author of the Diversity chapter in Hospitals: What They Are and How They Work. In September 2015, he received the Lotus Award from the Asian Family Support Services of Austin for his advocacy of language services for the diverse Central Texas community. In January 2014, he received the Education Service Award from the San Juan Diego Catholic High School for his teams’ support of placing work study students at Seton Healthcare Family. In September 2008, he received the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for achievement in public service. In May 2007, he was chosen as one of 25 Young Americans to participate in the American Swiss Foundation Young Leaders Conference in Thun, Switzerland. In March 2007, he received the Austin Under 40 Award for Government/Political Affairs. He was named a 2006 and 2005 Rising Star by Texas Monthly. In 2001, he received the St. Edward’s University Alumni Achievement Award.
Mr. Rodriguez, a native of Alamo, Texas, graduated from St. Edward’s University with a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, where he received a four year academic scholarship and a College Assistance Migrant Program Scholarship. He served as Student Body President of St. Edward’s University. Mr. Rodriguez also attended the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University as a Woodrow Wilson Fellow and received his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.
As a child, Mr. Rodriguez spent eight months a year as a migrant farmworker traveling with his parents from South Texas to the Northwest United States following the harvest seasons. His parents continue to harvest crops in Oregon and Mr. Rodriguez joins them annually for a week.
Judith Sims
Judith Sims
Under Judith Sims’s direction, The Art School of The Contemporary Austin has become the city’s leading non-accredited art school and grown to almost 5,000 students and nearly $1 million in revenue annually. Key among her successes are the decades-long collaboration with ACC; the capital campaign and construction of a permanent Art School complex in 1984, and the Laguna Gloria Renewal Project (Phases 1 & 2) for which she successfully completed capital campaigns in 2003 and 2008, including The Art School’s studio expansion; co-curator and executive producer of The Territory, a PBS video series which aired statewide for 34 years; numerous thematic film and video programs as well as live performances at Laguna Gloria and around Austin; and a 25-year outreach program serving children and adolescents in crisis in non-traditional settings. Ms. Sims’ educational background includes a Certificate in Arts Administration, Graduate School of Business, Harvard University; graduate studies toward M.S. Degree in Continuing Education, the University of Rochester, New York; and a B.A. in History with Honors Graduate the University of Texas at Austin.
In recognition of her decades-long contributions to the Art School, the Contemporary Austin has named Judith Art School Director Emerita. She will also take on a consulting role with the museum in 2018.
Claire Wooldridge
Claire Wooldridge
Claire Wooldridge joined Rifeline in April of 2021 as a Senior Community Outreach Coordinator. Claire has a background in community relations, communications and public relations.
Prior to working at Rifeline, Claire worked for Whataburger as a member of the community relations team, forming meaningful partnerships between Whataburger and community members. She also worked in the public relations industry at a local Austin hospitality and lifestyle PR firm, which gave her a great love for the Austin restaurant scene.
Claire graduated from the University of Southern California with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Public Relations and Spanish, and a minor in marketing. Despite rooting for the Trojans, she is a proud born and raised Austinite.