About Us

Board of Directors

The members of the Board of Directors of Animal Trustees of Austin dedicate their time and talent to further promote the mission of the organization.

Carol Smith Adams, President
Non-profit Consultant
Carol Smith Adams is a non-profit consultant living in Austin, Texas. She has been a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Heritage Society of Austin, Keep Texas Beautiful, Westcave Preserve, Colorado River Foundation, Central Texas Library System and numerous other non-profit organizations. She served as Development Director for Austin's historic Paramount Theatre and was Executive Director for Sharir Dance Company before joining the staff at Zachary Scott Theatre Center as capital campaign consultant in 2000. She has been Board Chair for the Austin Center for Battered Women, Board President of the Austin Children's Choir, Treasurer for the National Society of Fundraising Executives and board member of the Heritage Society of Austin, Dance Umbrella and Animal Trustees of Austin.

Craig Milius, Vice President
Partner, Austin Ventures
Craig Milius is a Partner with Austin Ventures, a $3.8B private equity firm located in Austin, TX. Over his career, Craig's investment and transaction experience has covered a diverse group of technology-enabled, services driven, and information-based industries. During his tenure with AV, Craig has served on the board of directors of All Star Directories, Case Interactive Media, CreditCards.com, HomeAway, Newgistics and Re:Trans. Prior to joining AV in 2000, Craig was with Primus Venture Partners, a Cleveland-based private equity firm he joined in 1997. Earlier in his career Craig was in the Investment Banking division at Salomon Brothers Inc where he completed mergers and acquisition, strategic advisory, and capital-raising assignments for clients in a variety of industries. A long-time supporter of animal welfare causes, Craig currently serves as Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee for Animal Trustees of Austin. Craig received his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and his BBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

Sandy Rice, Secretary
Vice President, Center for Health Training
Sandy Rice has worked exclusively in the non-profit healthcare industry. For the past 20 years, she has been with the Center for Health Training, a private, non-profit organization that provides training and staff development to nonprofit agencies locally, statewide, and nationally. Sandy facilitates strategic planning for nonprofits and conducts training and organizational development on cultural proficiency, management, supervision, and customer service. She shares a home in southeast Austin with her husband, Greg, and four dogs (two Rotties, one Golden mix, one Bea-Bull — all rescues or strays) and six cats (all rescues or strays).

Carmelita Cabello, Treasurer
HR Professional, State of Texas
Carmelita Cabello is a state employee with over 30 years of Human Resources experience. In a previous life, she was an elementary school teacher. She is originally from Laredo, Texas, but has lived in Austin for more than half of her life. Although her dedication to animals came later in life, she nonetheless has embraced this dedication without reservation and has committed herself to the vision and mission of ATA. She credits both her teaching experience and her HR experience with providing an insight into the wonderful world of dogs and cats. Carmelita and her partner share their home with numerous four-legged creatures and include any neighborhood creature that ventures into their space as a welcomed guest, needing to be fed. Carmelita also bleeds Orange and is a long-time women's Longhorn sports enthusiast.

Karen Bartoletti
Shareholder, Graves, Dougherty Hearon and Moody
Karen is a shareholder with Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody, a 70-person law firm based in Austin. She has served on the firm's management committee and as head of its corporate and securities group. She is active in professional and community affairs, having served on the boards of directors and as an officer of numerous charitable and professional organizations. Currently she serves on the boards of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians and SafePlace. She has been honored by the Girl Scouts of Central Texas as a Woman of Distinction and by the Austin Business Journal and Travis County Women's Lawyers' Association as winner of outstanding corporate and transactional lawyer awards. Karen and her daughter Susan were introduced to ATA 10 years ago when they adopted a very wonderful and very large dog named Tank from ATA. Currently they live with two great dogs and an above average cat, all rescues.

Kent Burress
CEO, Ronald McDonald House
Kent Burress has been with the Ronald McDonald House since 2001. Prior to being formally on staff, he was associated with the Ronald McDonald House as a consultant, coordinating the House's Bereavement Support Program. Kent served on the Global Advisory Council for Ronald McDonald House Charities from 2005 to 2007. Kent has his Masters in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He has also successfully completed the Executive Program of the Center for Non Profit Management at Kellogg School of Management in Chicago. His social work career has included rewarding positions as a trauma social worker in the Emergency Rooms and in the Intensive Care Units of Brackenridge Hospital. He has also spent many years of direct practice in the areas of grief and loss, geriatrics and ethics. He is currently on the Board of St. James' Episcopal School and Animal Trustees of Austin.

Tommy Deavenport
Senior VP & Regional Mgr., Square 1 Bank
Tommy is a Senior vice President and Regional Manager for Square 1 Bank. He was formerly Vice President of Finance and Operations for Austin Ventures' Accelerator Program and a Senior Vice President and Regional Manager of Imperial Bank's Emerging Growth Division. He was also cofounder of Austin-based Virtual CFO. In addition he serves on the Board of Directors for Girlstart.

Mellie Price
Founder — Front Gate Tickets & Source Spring
Mellie Price has over 15 years experience as a successful entrepreneur and senior executive. She is the Founder of Managing Partner of Source Spring — a small business management and investment group that focuses on web-based organizations.Ms. Price was the Founder and CEO of Front Gate Tickets- one of the largest independently owned ticketing software provider in the US. Mellie's past experience includes selling her first company to Human Code (1997), a leading software and application developer that was sold to Sapient Corporation (NASDAQ: SAPE) in 2000. At Sapient, a leading business and technology consultancy, Mellie was a Vice President in the Media, Entertainment, and Communications division. A long-time entrepreneur she is also a co-founder of Symbiot Security, Surgery Code Solutions, LG Source, and Bedrock Solutions. Price started her career as a web designer, programmer, and system administrator when she founded Monsterbit (1994), one of the first commercial web development and hosting companies in the nation. She is a frequent guest speaker at industry conferences and a passionate instructor of anything to do with technology or entrepreneurship. She also serves on the Board of Directors for Front Gate Tickets and the Austin Music Foundation.

Mike Rovner
Partner, Austin Ventures
Michael Rovner is a Partner with Austin Ventures, a $3.8B private equity firm located in Austin, TX. He joined the firm in 2000 and focuses on emerging growth companies in financial, business, and information services. During his tenure with Austin Ventures Michael has served on the board of directors of Acorn Systems, AlterPoint, Build Forge, Idera, Paymetric, Permeo, PreCash, and WAY Systems. Prior to joining Austin Ventures Michael was a high tech entrepreneur and company founder. His prior non-profit experience includes board roles with the National Center for Equine Facilitated Therapy, Breakthrough Austin, and Neighborhood Longhorns. He currently serves as Co-Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee for Animal Trustees of Austin. Mr. Rovner received his BA from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Alisa Weldon
Founder, Publisher & Editor — L Style G Style
Alisa Weldon is the Founder, Publisher and Editor of L Style G Style Magazine and owner of well+done DESIGN. She has more than 15 years in design and marketing experience. Her career began with the opening of H.E.B. Central Market in 1994 which ultimately landed her the position as Regional Art Director. In 1999, she became lead Art Director for Dell's Small Business Division Catalog & Direct Mail Team at T3 advertising agency. After a couple of years, she branched out on her own to partner in VoxGroup Marketing & Advertising as Creative Partner of from 2001 until early 2007. After dedicating time to corporate clients and donating services to many organizations, Alisa decided expand her talents in June 2007 in the creation of L Style G Style Magazine. At the same time, she launched well+done DESIGN — the creative arm of the magazine as well as other clients. She's served on many nonprofit boards, most importantly as board President of the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival from 2005 until 2008. She currently serves on the Austin Music Foundation Board as well as advisory Board to Austin Pride Foundation. Alisa is a true entrepreneur, risk taker and idea generator driven by her passion for community and creativity.