Taylor’s greatest personal and professional passion has always been storytelling. She sees marketing at its core as storytelling, and her approach is to always keep people at the forefront. By focusing on genuine connection and engagement, whether online or in person, she believes more can be accomplished together.
Taylor began her marketing career as a freelance writer in 2010. After writing for a number of online publications, Taylor moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. There she worked as an Editorial Manager and a Social Media Manager for the agency, Digital Media Management. In 2016, she found herself missing her home state of Texas and moved to Austin. She enjoyed serving as the Digital Marketing & Communications Coordinator for Development and Jewish Family Services at Shalom Austin before joining the Charles Butt Foundation team in 2022.
Taylor has a deep desire and enthusiasm to contribute to every student in Texas being given the opportunity to thrive in school. She believes giving children a strong educational foundation is what sets them up for a successful and bright future.
As a multimedia designer, Lauren has a passion for advancing public education through many creative outlets. She brings a wide range of experience in design, photography, branding, writing and marketing.
After receiving a BFA in communication design from Oklahoma Christian University, she began her design career in Salt Lake City. Following that, Lauren served as a designer for the Oklahoma State University Foundation where she supported fundraising efforts to make an impact in the lives of college students.
Lauren is passionate about the adolescent age group due to intentional relationships formed with her by mentors and teachers during that stage of her life. She strives to pass that on through participation in local programs and support of public education.
She greatly admires the dedication of public educators that have a daily impact in the lives of their students and is honored to be able to partner with them.
Since 2016, Charlie has served as the Chief Financial Officer in the Office of Charles Butt, where he coordinates financial and investment planning on behalf of Charles and acts as the financial liaison between Charles and his philanthropic activities.
Previously, he was a partner in the Houston office of RSM, LLP (formerly Margolis Phipps & Wright). In this role, he directed the delivery of the firm’s financial and tax planning services to its high net worth clients. Charlie began his career with the Houston office of KPMG, rising to partner before joining Margolis Phipps & Wright.
Charlie also serves on The Holdsworth Center Board of Directors, and as Chief Financial Officer for Raise Your Hand Texas. Charlie is also a member of the Boards of the San Antonio Zoological Society and Capital Creek Partners.
He is a longtime advisor to Charles and has been involved with the Foundation since its inception.
Dr. Shari Becker Albright became president of the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation in April 2018 after serving as chair of the Trinity University Department of Education. As head of what is now the Charles Butt Foundation, Shari guides programs designed to raise the quality of teachers and school leaders, boost collaboration among families, schools, and communities, and apply a combination of technology and classroom teaching to improve student performance. She also works with the organization’s advocacy team to advance state policy to improve Texas public schools.
At Trinity, Shari shepherded three nationally accredited graduate programs as well as select undergraduate coursework in the Department of Education and oversaw multiple community outreach programs. During her tenure, she served as president of the Texas Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (TACTE), the statewide Council of Deans of Education. She also serves as secretary of the municipal board for Pre-K 4 SA, a citywide early childhood initiative for San Antonio. Prior to her role at Trinity, Shari served as CEO of the Asia Society’s International Studies Schools Network in New York City and before that, as a K-12 teacher and principal.
She served on the organizing board and is currently on the governing board for The Holdsworth Center, an Austin-based leadership institute formed to help public school districts cultivate a stronger pipeline of campus and district leaders.
A native of Fort Worth, Albright holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. She received her bachelor’s degree in education and master’s degree in school psychology from Trinity University.
Anne, a filmmaker and storyteller, led video production at Raise Your Hand Texas for seven years before moving over to the Charles Butt Foundation. As the director of narrative and producer, Anne manages the production of narrative content and uses her talents to craft, shoot, and edit the stories that give voice to Texas students, educators, and communities.
Anne studied photography and communications at Southwestern University, where she made her mark creating video productions for the Admissions Office. In 2012, she spent a transformative six months in rural Thailand as a photographer and public relations intern for a nonprofit that works with communities and local schools towards sustainable community development.
Raised by a family of educators and political scientists, Anne has always viewed public education through a social justice lens.
Tessa joined the team in 2020. Through her role, she will support media relations across the state of Texas. Prior to joining the Charles Butt Foundation, Tessa worked as part of the Diversity & Inclusion team at H-E-B. She has also worked in the non-profit sector both in San Antonio and nationally at organizations focused on education, and creating equity within our education systems.
As a proud native San Antonian and product of its public education system, Tessa is passionate about the future of public education and the more than 5 million students who, like her, rely on the foundation of their futures to begin inside of public schools. Tessa is a proud graduate of Southwest High School in San Antonio. She earned undergraduate degrees at Our Lady of the Lake University and obtained a Master’s of Public Administration at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
An avid reader, Tessa believes that as Neil Gaiman once said, “a book is a dream that you hold in your hand.” In her spare time, you will catch her typically with a book in hand, unless she is out for a run or in the middle of flamenco and folkorico classes at the Guadalupe Dance Academy (part of San Antonio’s Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center). She also devotes her time as a board member for Fiesta Wishes, the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas – San Antonio, and the San Antonio Women and Girls Development Fund. Tessa and her husband, Gary, call San Antonio home where they live with their two rescue dogs, Chulo, the American Staffordshire Bull Terrier, and Harley Jo, the Boxer.
A writer, brand marketing strategist, storyteller, and speaker, Petri spent eight years helping build the Raise Your Hand Texas brand before moving over to the Charles Butt Foundation. His more than 25-year career includes spearheading marketing, communications, and digital strategy in the Make-A-Wish national office, running his own creative marketing shop, and other agency and corporate stints.
Petri leads a talented team of multimedia design, production, and marketing communications professionals who are all driven by a shared passion for changing lives and advancing public education through compelling storytelling.
Petri loves politics, independent movies, and used bookstores. He is often seen and heard cheering for his sons, whether they are playing ice hockey, baseball, or trumpet. He serves as president of the Austin Regional Board of Trustees and vice chair of the Governing Board for Make-A-Wish of Central & South Texas and as vice president for the City of Cedar Park’s Economic Development Sales Tax Corporation Board of Directors. He and his wife are both active in supporting Leander ISD through service on various councils and boards.
Petri graduated with a Bachelor’s in Media Arts from the University of Arizona and achieved his Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) in 2003. He served as Haiku Laureate for TEDx The Woodlands, won a Phoenix New Times Haiku contest, and as far as he knows, he is the only two-time winner of the USA Today Online Haiku Contest.
Brian brings 25 years of experience as a visual storyteller to the Charles Butt Foundation. He began his career as a photojournalist. Having worked for Associated Press, The New York Times, and the Austin American-Statesman, his photos have appeared in newspapers and magazines all over the world.
Over the last 10 years, he has transitioned to moving images, which has allowed him to explore adding even more emotion and depth in his storytelling while maintaining his signature documentary style. He has been a cinematographer, director, and producer for several award-winning several short and feature-length films.
Brian holds a Masters of Fine Arts from Florida State University. He is excited to lend his vision in telling the stories of the heroes of public education in Texas.
Christina is the Program Director for the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers, which encourages promising, diverse students to choose the teaching profession. In this role, she develops and implements programming and supports for scholarship recipients, helping these aspiring teachers succeed in school and graduate ready to teach.
Before joining the Charles Butt Foundation, Christina was a fourth-grade teacher in Austin ISD. She believes her work with the foundation will ensure all students have access to the educator they deserve.
Christina has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from The University of Texas at Austin, as well as a Masters of Public Affairs degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin.
Joel spent a little over seven years helping build the Raise Your Hand Texas brand before moving over to the Charles Butt Foundation. With nearly 20 years of experience in design, he has literally left his mark across Texas. With his experience in branding, animation, illustration, wireframing, photography, video editing, strategy, and managing a team of fierce creatives, Joel has learned to wear many hats in his role as Art Director. Joel has led a multitude of local and statewide campaigns that have made a difference in the lives of students, launched grant initiatives to support educators, and promoted solutions that have had an exponential impact at the district level. Additionally, he has been known to work cross-departmentally in the strategic development of the organization’s customer relationship management (CRM) efforts. He considers himself fortunate to be able to combine his passion as an artist with a cause that he feels strongly about.
Joel graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from Abilene Christian University.
The Brazilian-born husband and father of three enjoys backyard soccer games, travel, and photography.
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