United Way Capital Area Board of Directors

The volunteer Board of Directors provides leadership and sets policy for United Way Capital Area. Board members act as stewards for the monies raised in our community, understand United Way's legal responsibilities, review existing policies and formulate new policies, review and approve the annual budget and audit and review and approve agency funding decisions.

Marie Baker
Director, Managed Services Sector, CSC
Marie Baker works as a Director in the Managed Services Sector at CSC. In previous assignments with CSC she has held various management roles in Europe and the Americas including global account executive for a major outsourcing client, CIO for the Financial Services Group, and director of hosting service strategy.

Marie is a past chair of the United Way Capital Area Women’s Leadership Council. She is active in the Personnel Committee and Interfaith Hospitality Network and past moderator of the Stewardship Commission at Hope Presbyterian Church. She also serves on the Duke Alumni Admissions Committee for the Austin area.

Marie has a B.S. in Computer Science from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the University of Delaware.

Debbie Bresette
President, United Way Capital Area (UWCA)
UWCA President Debbie Bresette has worked at United Way Capital Area since 2003 and served as the interim president and Chief Professional Officer for nine months before becoming President in Dec. 2009.

Among the efforts directed by Debbie during her tenure at UWCA, are expansion of the United Way 211 Texas and a redesign of the Volunteer Center into a civic engagement model now called Hands on Central Texas. Bresette also was a 2009 finalist for the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles in Power and Women of Influence award. Prior to UWCA, Debbie was a founding member of the Family Crisis Center in 1981 and the Executive Director of the non-profit for 22 years. During her tenure, Debbie created emergency shelter and a wide variety of critical services specifically for women and children in four rural counties in Central Texas. Under her leadership, 21 transitional housing units were developed, built and funded along with support services for battered women and their children. This effort increased affordable housing by 10 percent in the community.

Mike Blue
Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young, LLP
Michael Blue is the Managing Partner of the Austin office of Ernst & Young. Prior to assuming his role in Austin, Michael was a Partner in the firm’s Capital Markets Group in Paris, France. In this position he was responsible for European multinational companies going public in the U.S. and other European multinationals becoming registered on the U.S. stock exchanges. He also has worked in the firms San Jose, Calif.; Frankfurt, Germany; and Houston, Texas offices. Michael has more than 22 years experience serving high growth, multinational public and privately held companies. He has extensive expertise in SEC reporting, corporate governance, mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, as well as international accounting and auditing and strategic transactions.

Michael serves on the Boards of Ballet Austin, The Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the University of Texas Accounting Department Advisory Board. In addition, he serves as the UWCA Audit Committee chair .

Ray Bonilla
Partner, Ray, Wood & Bonilla
Ray Bonilla is a partner in the Austin, Texas law firm of Ray, Wood & Bonilla. He represents a wide range of governmental entities, businesses and individuals on issues involving state and local taxation, open government, collections, elections, ethics, and campaign finance. Ray also represents numerous school districts on issues relating to school finance. He has extensive experience in administrative hearings before state agencies and in judicial appeals of state agency determinations. Ray is active in a variety of community and professional organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the St. David’s Foundation. His past service includes President of the Hispanic Bar Association of Austin, Vice chair of the Capital Area Aids Legal Project and serving as a Board member of the Travis County Bar Association, Mexic Arte Museum, Austin Community Development Corporation, Ballet Austin and Texas Lyceum Association.

Ray is an honors graduate from both the University of Texas at Austin (B.B.A. in Accounting) and the University of Texas School of Law.

Heather Brunner
Chief Operating Officer, Bazaarvoice
Heather Brunner, COO of Bazaarvoice, oversees the marketing, product strategy, client services and engineering organizations. Heather has built a career delivering technology to create business value for both privately-funded new ventures and Fortune 500 companies. Before joining Bazaarvoice, Heather served as President and CEO of Nuvo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trilogy and as the COO for B-Side, a privately funded entertainment technology company.

She has been active with UWCA for nearly a decade serving on the Community Impact Cabinet. Heather holds a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Trinity University.

Sam Bryant
President, Bryant Wealth Investment Group, LLC
Sam Bryant is President of Bryant Wealth Investment Group, LLC. A graduate of Tuskegee University, he is a registered investment representative serving high net worth individuals with MLR Wealth Management. A veteran of the technology community, Sam served in executive roles with Applied Materials as Austin Site Director, Director of Global Community Affairs-North America and Director of Human Resources. Prior to joining Applied Materials, he held positions in human resources with Tandem Computers and Johnson & Johnson.

Sam was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Board of Regents of Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas in October 2007. Improving education for all students from birth through college is his primary civic focus. He is an active leader in the Greater Austin community and currently leads United Way’s Financial Stability Initiative. Sam also serves on Westminster Manor’s Board of Directors, President of the Tuskegee Alumni Association of Central Texas, President of Mt. Sinai Christian Academy and as a deacon in Mt. Sinai Baptist Church.

Sam is a former board member of the Austin Area Research Association, Austin Community Foundation, and Capital IDEA.

Kevin Cole
Attorney, The Cole Law Firm
Kevin Cole founded his own law firm, The Cole Law firm, in 2008. He has a variety of experience in handling trials, appeals, civil service proceedings, and administrative matters such as discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and a number of employment-related areas. Kevin initially worked as a litigator for the law firm of Bickerstaff, Heath, Smiley, Pollan,Kever & McDaniel, L.L.P., in Austin, Texas, where he focused his practice on civil rights defense litigation and labor and employment litigation. In 1998, he became a partner at Bickerstaff, Heath, Smiley, Pollan, Kever & McDaniel, L.L.P. From there, he joined Wickliff & Hall, P.C., in 1999 to manage its Austin Office. He then went on to form Cole & Powell, P.C. in 2002.

Prior to attending law school, Kevin worked as a Certified Public Accountant in Houston, Texas, his hometown. While in his third year of law school, he served as a teaching quiz master (legal research and writing instructor for the first year law students) at the University Of Texas School Of Law . After law school, he served as a briefing attorney to the Honorable Jack Hightower on the Texas Supreme Court.

Juan González
VP of Student Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Juan C. González has been the Vice President for Student Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin since September 2005. In this capacity, he oversees a large portfolio of services and programs designed to enhance the academic careers of 51,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Before coming to the university, he served for two years as Vice President of Student Affairs at Arizona State University, where he was responsible for key services to 55,000 students. From 2000 to 2003, Juan was Vice President for Student Affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

His degrees include a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Illinois, a master’s in Bilingual-bicultural Education from The University of Texas in San Antonio and an undergraduate degree in Latin American Studies from Texas Tech University.

Butch Hayes
Managing Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski
Butch Hayes, who joined Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. in 1995, is the managing partner in the firm’s Austin office. His practice is a blend of counseling and litigation and focuses on general employment litigation, employment discrimination claims, administrative investigations, advice and counseling of employers, and employment - related tort, trade secret, and commercial litigation.

Butch was admitted to practice law in Texas in 1992. He is certified as a specialist in Labor and Employment law by the Texas Board of Legal specialization. In addition, he is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court; Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; all Texas state courts; and all federal district courts in Texas.

He is a member of the America Bar Association, Texas Bar Association, Travis County Bar Association and the Federal Bar Association, Austin Chapter. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Asheville; and a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law.

Bill O’Brien
Consultant and Chief Operating Officer, MagRabbit
Bill O’Brien, Consultant and Chief Operating Officer at MagRabbit, currently owns his own consulting firm. O’Brien served in numerous executive roles including Vice President of Worldwide Manufacturing for IBM before retiring in 1998 after a 30-year career. He has a long history with UWCA including currently serving as an executive volunteer. He previously held three terms on the UWCA Board of Directors including serving as chairman of the Board and the annual United Way campaign. In addition to working closely with United Way, O’Brien is currently on the Board of United Ways of Texas and an Advisory Board member of the Salvation Army.

Kristy Ozmun
Director, Kristy Ozmun Public Relations
Kristy Ozmun brings more than 20 years of knowledge and experience in public relations and public affairs leadership to her independent firm, which is based in Austin. Prior to opening her firm in 1998, she served as director of public affairs for H-E-B Grocery Company. Kristy helped develop the creative concept and name for H-E-B’s Central Market, a nationally recognized food emporium. She directed the launch of the debut store, converting vehement neighborhood opposition into widespread community support for the facility. Previous clients of Kristy Ozmun Public Relations include Pitney Bowes Corp., Barr Laboratories, NIKE, Time Warner, Valero Energy, Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Frozen Italian Food, Tivoli Systems, Globeset Software, Vinson and Elkins, LLP, and HEB Grocery Company, among others.

Kristy has served as director of special projects for the Texas Department of Agriculture, legislative aide for a state representative and editor of Encino Press, a regional publishing company owned by William Wittliff, best known for his screenplays Lonesome Dove and The Perfect Storm. She also managed two successful statewide political campaigns in Texas. She currently serves as a member of the Communications Council of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, and has previously served on the Governor’s Commission on Physical Fitness, the Texas Consumer Association, and on the Food Council of the Texas Retailers Association.

She graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Anne Smalling
Chair of UWCA Board and President, HM International
Anne Meinig Smalling is President of HM International, LLC (HMI) a closely-held business providing management services to the joint interests of the Meinig and Hojel families. Assuming the position of President in 1999, she provides the key leadership role for both operating entities and investment assets. Her primary responsibilities include providing company management oversight and supervision, succession and strategic planning of the operating companies, obtaining financing, evaluating acquisition and divestiture opportunities, reviewing and approving capital expenditures and active management of external investment managers. Prior to her positions with HMI, Anne worked for FMC Corporation and SmithKline Beecham.

She currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Windsor Quality Food Company, American Innovations and PGI International. She also serves on the Board of Directors of EnLink Geoenergy Services, rateGenius, Inc. PDI Ninth House, Inc. and Igasamex. A trustee of the Meinig Family Foundation, she participates in the evaluation and allocation process of the Foundation’s gifts. is a member of Board of Directors of St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

Anne holds a bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University and a MBA from Harvard Business School.

Michael Vivio
Publisher, Austin American-Statesman
Michael Vivio is the publisher at the Austin American-Statesman. In this role he is responsible for all business and editorial operations of the Statesman and its affiliated publications, including Statesman.com, which has the highest local reach of any newspaper website in the U.S. Prior to his appointment in 2008, he was publisher of the Waco Tribune-Herald. He began his career as a newspaper carrier for the Dayton Daily News in 1978 and held advertising positions at the Marion Star (Ohio) and Suburban News Publications. He previously owned an independent marketing firm in Ohio.

Michael is a graduate of Ohio State University and also currently serves on the Boards of Directors for the Salvation Army, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and Texas Daily Newspaper Association. He is past president of the Heart of Texas Better Business Bureau.

Bill Volk
Partner, Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P.
Bill Volk is a partner in the Austin office of Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. He is a member of the firm’s Management Committee and serves as co-managing partner. Bill’s primary areas of practice are securities and corporate finance, with an emphasis on venture capital and private equity, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance matters. He has extensive experience representing venture capital and other private equity firms, emerging companies and entrepreneurs in equity and debt financings at every stage of funding, from seed investments, through start-up and growth financings, to buyouts and recapitalizations. He has also represented venture capital firms and other private equity investors in forming and operating their funds and managing their investments.

Bill is a member of the State Bar of Texas, American Bar Association and the Austin Bar Association. Bill is a sustaining life fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, a fellow of the Austin Bar Foundation and a member of the Board of Governors for the Austin Community Foundation.

Bill has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Vanderbilt University and a law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.