Board of Trustees

Tomás has extensive experience working in college access, supporting historically marginalized youth, who will be the first in their families to attend college, navigate high school and accomplish their post-secondary goals. In addition to teaching, he is also an experienced qualitative researcher. His research agenda is concerned with two primary inquiries: youth and community engagement. Within these two inquiries, he is interested in exploring the contexts of agency and identity. He is also an educator consultant, passionate about working with non-profit organizations and being a thought-partner to clients. His specialty focuses on issues and projects related to equity, diversity, inclusion, access, education, and curriculum development.

Tomás graduated with his Master’s and PhD in Education from the University of Rochester. He is a former Breakthrough student and teaching fellow, and he currently serves on the advisory board for 10,000 Degrees.

Munira Fareed is a seasoned technology startup executive who has lived and worked in Austin, Texas for 25 years. She is committed to giving back to the Austin community and serves on the board of CASA of Travis County and the advisory boards for ConnectHER and Miracle Foundation. Munira has served on the board of KIPP Texas and worked with Keep Austin Fed and refugee support programs in Central Texas. Munira was most recently the chief marketing officer at Hive9, the marketing performance management company. She also founded and ran Appleseed Partners, a B2B marketing company providing fractional CMO services to technology companies. Munira has served as the VP of Marketing at LifeSize, and in marketing and strategy positions at Motorola Ineto, Netpliance, and Trilogy Software. She holds an undergraduate degree in computer science and economics from Lafayette College, and an MBA from Cornell University. Munira was introduced to Breakthrough by Jessica Slade at the 2020 spring Visitors Day at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

Revlynn Lawson is a government relations professional with over 25 years experience. She began her career in public policy as a high school intern in the office of the late Congressman JJ “Jake” Pickle and later became a legislative aide to Congressman Lloyd Doggett while in law school.

Most recently, Revlynn was a partner in the Governmental Affairs Department at Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson, a national law firm with a practice dedicated to the collection of delinquent government receivables. Her vast experience working in the realm of policy and politics, navigating complex issues and relationships with policymakers at all levels of government, negotiating issues impacting individuals and businesses are the cornerstones of her sustained success.

Revlynn is a proud 5th generation Texan and an active member of The Links, Incorporated and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She serves as a Board Member of several non-profit organizations including Breakthrough Central Texas, The Library Foundation of Austin, and the Center for Civic and Public Policy Improvement. She is also a member of the Advisory Council for Explore Austin.

Revlynn Lawson is a graduate of the University of Southern California with Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Sociology and a Master of Social Work. She received her Juris Doctor from Washington University Law School in St. Louis, MO. She lives in Austin, Texas with her black labrador retriever, Zora.

A native of Austin, Carolyn Lewis has had a dual career as both a successful business person as well as a public servant at both the national and state level. In 2004 Ms. Lewis was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the Board of Governors of The United States Postal Service (USPS)from 2004-2010.   She was elected and served as Chair of the Board of Governors in 2009-2010.

Prior to that Ms. Lewis served on the President’s Special Commission to develop a vision for the sustainability of the USPS (2003-2004).  She also served two six year terms on the Board of the Employees Retirement System of Texas (1996-2007), chairing that Board twice, and as an Independent Board Member of ERCOT (2005-2008). In addition to her public service career Ms. Lewis had had a successful career acquiring and growing companies, including Texwood Furniture, a leading manufacturer of wood casework and furniture for schools that she bought in 1988.

After managing the business for twelve years she sold the company to Sagus International in 2000.    In 1995 Ms. Lewis was awarded the Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Ernst & Young, LLC and was named Top Woman Business Owner by the Austin Business Journal in 1996.   She is currently Chair of Lewco Interests, LLC, a private investment company. Ms. Lewis earned her undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1976 and an MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1982.   She has been a community leader in Austin for many years, serving on numerous non-profit boards.    In 2021 she was elected Trustee Emerita of St. Edward’s University after serving 28 years as a Trustee and two separate terms as Board Chair.

Mr. Martinez is the President of Peak Rock Capital. He is involved in all aspects of the investment process and focuses on private equity transactions across industrials, consumer, and business services, including healthcare and technology. Mr. Martinez serves on the Board of Directors of numerous portfolio companies, working with their executive teams to enhance growth strategy and operational excellence. Previously, Mr. Martinez was a Managing Director of Aurora Resurgence, led the West Coast Private Credit business within the Special Situations Group of Goldman Sachs and led the San Francisco office of American Capital. He began his career in private equity at H.I.G. Capital in their Miami and San Francisco offices. Mr. Martinez received a master’s degree in business administration from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College, where he was a Citibank Fellow, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California.

Jeff McDowell is passionate about educational equity and became involved with Breakthrough in 2019. He currently serves as a high school application coach and tutor and co-chairs the Breakthrough Honor Roll. In his role as co- chair he has raised more than $80,000 mostly from new-to- Breakthrough donors.

Jeff has three daughters who attend St. Stephen’s, St. Andrew’s and Trinity Episcopal Schools, where he served on the board as well as finance and investment committee for many years. He has a bachelor’s from Vanderbilt University and Masters in Accounting from St. Edward’s. He is a trustee of McDowell Family Foundation. His eldest daughter Daisy was also an SSES Saturday mentor.

Joseph is an IT Program Manager CoE at Splunk/Cisco, where he drives growth and operational efficiencies for teams navigating rapid growth and technological transformations.  His experience leading global cross-functional teams in software implementations, operational improvements, and training reinventions enables him to translate complex challenges into impactful solutions.  Prior to Splunk/Cisco, he was a Technology and Strategy Advisory Consultant at Accenture, where he supported the Skills to Succeed summer internship program and helped build a mini Breakthrough community through the Hispanic Employee Resource Group.

As a proud alumnus of Breakthrough Central Texas and graduate of St. Edward’s University, Joseph is deeply committed to its mission of creating a safe and inclusive space for students and families of all backgrounds. His time with Breakthrough instilled in him the importance of equitable access to opportunities and the power of community support, which is reflected in his community involvement.  He served a term as a City of Austin Commissioner on Immigrant Affairs, where he supported the creation of the Enhanced Library Card to benefit Austin’s most at-risk populations. He is eager to bring his professional skills and passion for Breakthrough to the board.

Mike serves as Chief Lending Officer for R Bank. Born and raised in Austin, TX, Mike attended O’Henry Middle School and Austin High School before venturing to the Midwest for college at the University of Notre Dame. After graduating with a B.A. in Finance in 2009, Michael began his career in Commercial Banking with PlainsCapital Bank in Austin. After 11+ years Michael joined VeraBank, where he led the Market’s commercial banking team specializing in small business & commercial real estate lending, private banking, and treasury management services. He was recently recruited to join R Bank to lead their entire commercial banking team across Central Texas and Fort Worth. Mike has been involved with Breakthrough in various capacities since 2014, including serving on the Development Committee, co-chairing the Honor Roll Steering Committee and fundraising for Amplify Austin and the Breakthrough Benefit Concert. Outside of Breakthrough, Mike has also volunteered with the Young Men’s Business League, Austin Sunshine Camps, the Real Estate Council of Austin, and most recently the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society where he was recognized as Central Texas Man of the Year.

Jabrell joined Breakthrough the summer before 7th grade as a part of the 2015 Austin cohort, spending his Breakthrough summers at UT and his Breakthrough Saturdays at St. Stephens. He graduated from LBJ High School and went on to attend UTSA where he became an active leader with the Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, NAACP and Men of Honor groups on campus. He also gave back as a Breakthrough AmeriCorp Summer Teaching Fellow and participated in the Breakthrough Internship Network. Jabrell graduated from UTSA with his Bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Public Administration in December 2019. In May 2022, he earned his Master’s of Public Administration from the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley. Today, Jabrell works as an analyst for Ernst & Young and serves as the co-chair of Breakthrough Alumni Association’s inaugural steering committee.

Jessica founded Breakthrough Central Texas in 2001 and was the executive director until 2007. Since then, she has served as executive director and now executive leadership officer for the Webber Family Foundation.

Jessica has stayed involved with Breakthrough and most recently served as a co-chair for the Breakthrough Challenge Campaign. Additionally, she has served on the boards of KIPP Texas, MindPop and St. Stephen’s Episcopal School. Jessica has three children who attend public and private schools throughout Austin.

Jessica graduated with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University and a master’s in education from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michele Walker-Moak serves on the Applied Purpose – Community Impact leadership team at Applied Materials, Inc., where she leads strategic grantmaking strategy for the company and its philanthropic foundation, the Applied Materials Foundation. With a 28-year tenure at the company, Michele has been instrumental in shaping community programs that advance K-12 education, fosters artistic creativity, bolsters food security and increases sustainable actions. Based in Austin, Texas, she enjoys live music, reading, and cheering for the University of Texas football team. Michele is proud to see her two children pursuing their passions in meteorology and opera, reflecting the same dedication to purpose that defines her career.

Monica Maldonado Williams is the manager of community affairs for UFCU where she supports UFCU’s grants and employee volunteering programs and leads the credit union’s diversity initiatives. She is a first-generation college graduate with a degree from Southwestern University and has lived in Austin for 25 years with her husband and their two teenagers.

Monica is the co-founder of The New Philanthropists, a nonprofit with a mission to increase the diversity of community leadership. She also serves on the steering committees of Central Texas Asset Funders Network, the Austin Corporate Engagement Council, and the Cornerstone DE Society. Monica’s background is in communications and marketing, having been a director at several nonprofits including the Austin Community Foundation and Austin Opera. She is also the founder and director of GivingCity Austin, a multichannel media company sold in 2020 that covered Austin’s philanthropic and civic sectors.

Russell Young co-leads JLL’s Central Texas Markets business alongside Will Douglas, overseeing the Agency Leasing, Industrial Leasing, Retail Leasing, and Office Tenant Representation divisions. As co-head of the Office Tenant Representation practice, Russell combines strategic leadership with hands-on client service, representing organizations locally and internationally in securing optimal commercial real estate solutions. In 2016 and 2017, Russell was named the #1 Heavy Hitter by the Austin Business Journal for square footage leased in Austin.

Prior to joining JLL, Russell worked with CBRE and independent brokerage firm Commercial Texas, LLC, where he was a repeated top producer.

Russell is passionate about community service, having been a past Board Chair of Spirit Reins, an organization that provided mental health services for Central Texas children and families affected by abuse, neglect, and other trauma, and prior Board Chair and Board Member of Thinkery Austin.

Specialties: Leadership, Tenant Representation, Office Specialist