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Austin Public Library Foundation Board

Board Of Directors, 2007-2008 

Executive Committee

Members of the Board

Advisory Board

David Armbrust Rick Burciaga Jim Cousar Rene Craft Mary Margaret Farabee The Honorable Gus Garcia Ray Martinez, III George Martin

Catherine Mauzy John Miller Mary Padgett Jeff Trigger Sharon Watkins The Honorable Kirk Watson

Board Biographies

Jayne Barrett

Jayne Barrett settled in Austin after a career that took her to several states. As fate and her love of art would have it, she met an Austinite at a local art gallery who proposed to her a few months later when they bought a piano at an estate sale. The piano could not be split and so she married Mack Ray Hernandez. Jayne is a rabid UT supporter, but mistakenly thinks UT stands for the University of Tennessee, from which she graduated. She now devotes herself to doing "good works" (aside from involvement in political campaigns), and has served as a volunteer and supports several Austin non-profits. She is actively involved with a local theatre group currently producing Sonny's Last Shot, the Blanton Museum of Art, the Austin Lyric Opera Family Eldercare, the Austin Children's Shelter, The Circle of Friends or the UT PAC, the Austin Museum of Art, and the YWCA.

Jann Baskett

Jann Baskett is a marketing consultant, with over twenty years of marketing industry experience. She was formerly principal at Milkshake Media. Before joining Milkshake Media she worked as Vice President of Girl Games, Inc., a Austin-based software company that strives to develop software and games geared towards a female audience. From 1992-1997 Jann was the Marketing Director at Texas Monthly. Before moving to Austin, Jann served as the promotion director for Details magazine and the creative director for Mademoiselle magazine.

Eric Behrens

Eric Behrens graduated from UT Law School and has been an attorney with Graves, Dougherty, Hearon, & Moody since 1985. He has served on many boards and volunteer organizations, including the South Austin District for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, Aids Services of Austin, Sharir Dance Company, and the KLRU Auction. He was a member of the Leadership Austin class of 1998-99.  

Steve Bercu

Steve Bercu is President of BookPeople. He is also president of the Austin Independent Business Alliance, a member of the West End Austin Alliance Board of Directors, and on several City of Austin task forces. Steve has a B.A. in history from The University of Texas, a Masters in International Relations from the International College in Copenhagen, and went on to get a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law. Steve is a member of the non-practicing alumni advisory council for the University of Texas School of Law and serves on the Board of the American Booksellers Association.  

Michele Blood

Michele Blood knows the Library Foundation and the Library well from her years as Manager of Community Affairs at AMD and from her service on the Libraries for the Future Task Force. She is now manager in the Public Affairs Department at Dell and is involved with communications and community relations for new Dell sites. Michele is involved with a number of community causes and has been an active with the Girl Scouts, Lone Star Council for several years. She also serves on the Campus Advisory Team at Maplewood Elementary School and served on the South Austin Hospital Board of Trustees for four years. She is married to Fred Blood.  

Brenda Branch

Brenda Branch is Director of Libraries, Austin Public Library with 328 employees in 22 facilities serving a regional population of 1,000,000. Under her direction, Library Journal named Austin Public Library of the Year in 1993. Ms. Branch received a B.A. from State University of New York at Cortland, an M.L.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and an M.P.A. from Southwest Texas State University. 

Lorna Harrison

Lorna Harrison is the author of Me Inc: How to Recognize and Reconcile Your Layers, as well as three books for the State of Texas. She has held key positions at major corporations in the educational testing industry including Educational Testing Service, The Psychological Corporation, CTB/McGraw-Hill, and American College Testing. Lorna has a B.A. in Political Science from Montclair State University, a M.S.Ed in Student Personnel Services from Monmouth University, and is currently completing her doctorate in Education Leadership. Her other volunteer efforts have included Animal Trustees of Austin, National Career Development Association, Salvation Army, Ronald McDonald House, and the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee.

Lois Kim

Lois Kim is an assistant director with University Extension, part of the Division of Continuing and Innovative Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Her work focuses on providing the resources of the University to teachers, adult learners, and the general Austin community. Lois started her career as a high school teacher, before heading to Texas to complete her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from The University of Texas at Austin. 

Leslie Lockett

Leslie Lockett is currently halfway through her MBA at the University of Dallas. She works as the Director of Community Affairs with H-E-B. Leslie was named a 2004 Girl Scouts Women of Distinction Steering Committee Member. In 2003 she spent a month in southern Brazil as an ambassador for Rotary International, visiting business, community, and political leaders.

Teresa Oppedal

Teresa Oppedal worked for over twenty years as a law librarian and information resources manager in San Francisco for the international law firm of Morrison & Foerster. She retired upon moving to Austin with her family in 2000. She is currently on the Advisory Board of the Austin Museum of Art, and an active volunteer at St. Stephen's Episcopal School. In 2005, she was the co-chair for the very successful “Texas Tales,” the Library Foundation’s annual fundraiser which featured the actor Tommy Lee Jones, and other artists from the literary and film community.  

Greg Phillips

Greg Phillips is vice president for Texas Gas Service Company in Austin. Phillips is responsible for Company operations in Texas Gas Service Eastern Region, which includes Austin, Central Texas, North and South Texas and the Gulf Coast areas. He also has statewide operating and engineering responsibilities. Phillips, who was formerly vice president of gas supply with ONEOK Field Services, joined the company in 1986 as an engineer trainee for Oklahoma Natural Gas. He served in several engineering capacities and as operating manager with ONG before moving to ONEOK Gas Transportation in 1997 as manager of field operations. In 2000, he became ONEOK WesTex manager of field operations, and later vice president - operations for gathering and transmission assets in Texas. In the community, he is an active board member of the Capital Area United Way and the Texas Gas Association. Phillips and his wife Katherine have three children and reside in Austin.

Quality Quinn

Quality Quinn is an author and international literacy consultant, whose company, Quality Quinn, Inc., serves school districts, state departments of education, foundations, educational publishers, and high tech companies. She most recently served as a consultant to Dell Computer, Blue Arrow Media, Steck-Vaughn, and Scholastic Publishing Companies.

Dave Shaw

Dave Shaw is a co-founder of Russell-Shaw, an integrated marketing agency based in Austin, TX. He works with innovative companies, helping them grow their businesses by reaching out to customers in creative and meaningful ways. Prior to founding Russell-Shaw, he was Vice President at TateAustin, where he directed account service and business development for the firm. Before joining TateAustin in 1998, Dave was with Public Strategies, Inc. and Temerlin McClain. His past clients include SBC, AT&T, American Airlines and other leading brands. He earned his M.A. in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Speech from the University of Texas.