Cari in the Community

Austin is my hometown and I like to always maintain focus on giving back to my beloved city. Civic involvement has been a core value in our family for generations, and I have continued that tradition by being very active in the Austin community. I am devoted specifically to the areas of public education, arts education and low income housing. It is important to me to not only help those less fortunate, but to also help make Austin a great place to live and work. I do that by volunteering my time, taking leadership roles, and by financially supporting organizations who are making a difference in our community.

PEACE GARDEN: CHILDHOOD REFLECTIONS ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FAMED ISAMU TANIGUCHI JAPANESE GARDEN

I am active member of the Austin creative community including the Texas Author Series with Cari Clark and have recently pubished an article in Tribeza Magazine.

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I have been a Big Sister to a Little Sister since 2012. I’ve found this experience to be exceptionally rewarding.

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Texas Author Series

I am the co-host and moderator of this popular monthly series. Our guest authors have included: Elizabeth Crook, James Magnuson, Stephen Harrigan, Larry Wright, Sarah Bird, Dominic Smith, H.W. Brands and Bill Wittliff.

I am proud to be a founding member of Shoal Creek Conservancy, a group that is working together to improve Shoal Creek for all Austinites – present and future.

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Foundation Communities

For over ten years I have been active with this non-profit organization. They provide people with an affordable, attractive place to call home, as well as opportunities right at their doorstep to transform their lives. I have sponsored school supply drives and holiday gift drives. I have been on the luncheon committee for many years, and I have recruited my company to set up a matching donations program with our agents.

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I am a preferred Realtor for this unique group as well as a supporter. This is Austin's version of a “virtual community” of seniors committed to aging in place, living in our own homes and communities comfortably. This group is finding many ways that we can support each other in maintaining healthy and active lifestyles.

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It was my pleasure to serve on the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child Initiative in Austin. Our work lead to the creation of the Creative Leaning Initiative in the Austin Independent School District.

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I am a board member of this non-profit which I helped start in 2009. A group of dedicated Austin educators, philanthropists, parents and civic leaders came together to form MINDPOP. They found they all shared the belief that when creativity and the arts are integrated into school lessons, students are more engaged and learning improves. MINDPOP was founded on this principle, and now works to expand creative learning locally and national. MINDPOP is the managing partner for the creative learning initiative in AISD.

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It is my pleasure to be a member of “the world’s oldest continuously operating Lions Club".

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I served for many years on the AISD Community Bond Oversight Committee. This committee oversaw the implementation of the school bonds.

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I was the chair of the Friends of the McCallum Fine Arts Academy for several years. We successfully lobbied to get many facility issues added to the school bond, we were able to get fine arts added to the AISD core curriculum, and we raised money to purchase many needed items for the fine arts acedemy.

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Featured in:

Austin Creative Classroom Fund

Starting in 2010 I worked with a small group of passionate public school advocates to raise $1,000,000 to be given to AISD school as grants to encourage equitable fine arts education.

Melissa B. Taboada, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
update date 12:04 a.m. Monday, May 7, 2012

"An anonymous local donor is providing $1 million to back an arts-rich education initiative called the Austin Creative Classroom Fund. The gift will be announced today by Austin city and school district leaders and officials from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."

In 2017 I was appointed by the President of The University of Texas to theAdvisory Council of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is The University of Texas at Austin’s internationally recognized botanic garden dedicated to inspiring the conservation of native plants in natural and designed landscapes. The Center promotes its mission through sustainable public gardens and natural areas, education and outreach programs, research projects, and consulting work throughout Texas and the surrounding region.

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In 2017 I was selected to be a moderator for the 2017 Texas Book Festival.

One of the largest and most prestigious literary festivals in the country, the annual Texas Book Festival features 250+ nationally and critically recognized authors, 20+ venues including the State Capitol, 80+ exhibitors, live music, local food trucks, family activities, and countless opportunities to meet authors and fellow book lovers. Founded in 1995 by First Lady Laura Bush, the Festival has hosted thousands of notable and award-winning authors over the years, including Margaret Atwood, Robert Caro, Sandra Cisneros, Salman Rushdie, Cheryl Strayed, Walter Mosley, Molly Shannon, Frank McCourt, Ziggy Marley, Liz Carpenter, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and many, many others.

The 2017 Texas Book Festival will be held November 4-5, 2017. The Festival runs from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Texas Book Festival Weekend is free and open to the public and takes place in Austin, Texas, at the State Capitol and surrounding grounds.

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