Staff

Jack Brown, Maintenance Assistant

Jack joined Green Doors as a Maintenance Assistant in September 2012. Jack has 25 years of experience in remodeling and construction. His favorite part of his job is when he can walk away from a task and know that it has been completed correctly. Jack enjoys working in his yard and spending time with friends and family. He was born and raised in Manor, Texas.

Frank Fernandez, Executive Director

Frank joined Green Doors as Executive Director in March 2006. He oversees all core functions and is focused on growing the organization to meet the community's acute need for affordable housing. Prior to joining Green Doors, Frank served as Deputy Director for PeopleFund, a community development financial institution. Frank is very active in advocating for affordable housing and folks who have struggled with homelessness. Co-founder of the housing advocacy organization, HousingWorks, he served as Chair of the affordable housing bond campaign that successfully advocated for the passage of the $55 million City of Austin affordable housing bonds in November 2006. He co-chaired the City of Austin's Affordable Housing Incentives Taskforce from Summer 2006 through Spring 2007. Currently, Frank serves as the Chair of the Texas Supportive Housing Coalition, a statewide coalition of supportive housing providers, and Chair of the Austin CHDO Roundtable, the local non-profit housing coalition. He also serves on the Executive Committees of ECHO, Austin's local homeless coalition, and HousingWorks. Prior to moving to Austin, Frank worked on Wall Street for several years as a financial analyst for Salomon Smith Barney providing technical and quantitative support to municipalities and states across the nation, including the State of Connecticut and the City of Detroit. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Harvard University and an M.P.A. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.

Iesha Haywood, Community Manager at Pecan Springs Commons

Iesha Haywood joined the Green Doors staff in January of 2013. She has over ten years of experience in community advocacy, primarily concentrated in Central Texas. Ms. Haywood began her tenure in social change at Safe Place of Austin, as the Coordinator of Supportive Housing Case Management Services. She has also done public policy for the ACLU of Texas, the Texas Council on Family Violence, and Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She is veteran of the United States Air Forces and holds her Bachelors in Human Services from St Edwards University. She is an Austin, Texas native and enjoys traveling, arts & crafts, and spending time with her daughter.

Andrea Garcia, Sr. Housing Specialist

Andrea Garcia joined Green Doors as Property Manager in February 2009. Andrea comes with several years experience in the real estate industry and has worked extensively in property management, as well as a community liaison aiding in the relocation of families in the process of achieving self-sufficiency. Andrea also has conducted research studies in education, social and personality psychology, marketing and consumer behavior at national and international levels for various public and private sector entities, including the University of Texas at Austin, Coca Cola, Anheuser Busch, Lottery of Texas, and ConAgra Foods. Her endeavors are well aligned with her vision of social awareness and the need to positively impact our world. She firmly believes that the world can indeed be a better place if we all did our part, a little bit at a time. Andrea is a native of Colombia and holds a B.A. in Psychology and a M.A. in Advertising from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael Grady, Bookkeeper

Mike joined Green Doors as bookkeeper in March of 2012. Michael has more than 30 years of experience in the accounting profession, working mostly with small businesses. Michael holds a B.S. degree in Accounting from Missouri State, formerly Southwest Missouri State University. He served in the U. S. Air Force from 1971 to 1975 and served at Bergstrom AFB, for 2 years in Austin. This was how he was introduced to Austin. Mike enjoys listening to music and volunteers for Meals on Wheels and More.

Jesse Herrera, Maintenance Assistant

Jesse joined Green Doors as a Maintenance Assistant in July 2012. Jesse has a wide variety of work experience and has most recently worked in retail construction and auto centers. His favorite part of his job is working outside, and he enjoys working on cars, fishing and swimming in his spare time. Jesse was born and raised in Austin.

Jennifer Kolb , Office Manager

Jennifer Kolb joined the Green Doors team as Office Manager in October of 2012. She returned to Texas after earning her BA in Communications and Media Studies at the Evergreen State College in Washington State. She’s happy to be back in the sun and goes camping every chance that she gets. When not working or volunteering, she spends her time reading, writing, cooking and cheering for the New Orleans Saints.

Ximena Mejia, Community Manager

Ximena joined Green Doors in July 2011 as a community manager. Prior to joining Green Doors, Ximena spent more than 12 years as an international business executive, gaining extensive experience in corporate development, business planning and project management for various clients throughout the U.S. and Latin America. A native of Colombia, Ximena was the youngest business leader appointed by her country to be a representative in the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations in 2002. By joining Green Doors, Ximena seeks to make a positive, lasting impact on the lives of underserved individuals throughout Central Texas. Ximena holds a B.S. in Finances and Foreign Trade from Universidad Sergio Arboleda (1999) and a Master's Degree in Education from Universidad La Gran Colombia (2002). In her spare time, Ximena and her husband like to go bike riding, enjoy fitness and reading.

Cynthia Munoz, Programs Specialist

Cynthia joined Green Doors in October of 2012. Born in Austin, she grew up traveling all over the country with her truck driver mother. As an adult, she moved to Massachusetts to study English Literature and Fine Art at Brandeis University. After completing her degrees, she moved to Boston where she worked for the AIDS Action Committee of MA, running their chain of thrift stores, Boomerangs, for five years. Her work in the non-profit sector has been fun, fulfilling, and a valuable learning experience. Though Boston will always be full of wonderful memories, she certainly won’t miss the treacherous New England winters. She’s very glad to be back in Texas eating snow cones and swimming!

Christa Noland, Deputy Director

Christa joined Green Doors as Deputy Director in August 2008. Christa has over 12 years experience in the non-profit field working in the areas of administration, programs and development. Prior to joining Green Doors, Christa served as the Director of the Texas Region for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. Christa previously served for over seven years as the Director of Programs and Director of Development for Twin City Mission, a regional non-profit social service agency serving individuals who are homeless, abused or in high-risk situations. A few of her recent professional accomplishments include: obtaining $2 million in new state funding for the statewide expansion of an educational outreach program, building the first homeless-specific tax-credit apartment complex in the nation, and receiving a national award for a news interview. Christa holds a B.S. in Sociology and a M.S. in Educational Psychology from Texas A&M University. In her free time she greatly enjoys listening to live music, reading, traveling and camping.

Jane Ramirez, Accounting Manager

Jane joined Green Doors in July of 2012. Prior to joining Green Doors, Jane worked as an accountant for the Catholic Diocese of Austin for over nine years. She holds a BBA in Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin. In her spare time Jane enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking in the parks, and sewing and gardening.

Allison Scharf, Data Manager

Allison was brought on as Data Manager in October 2012, after working for over a year as Office Manager. Prior to joining the Green Doors team, Allison spent four years at the Real Estate Council of Austin as Director of Events and Administration. There she was responsible for coordinating volunteer events, soliciting sponsorships, and managing committee activities. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and Foods from Texas State University and enjoys talking to people about nutrition and fitness-related issues. Allison was born and raised in Texas and is thrilled at any opportunity to spend time outside in her garden or on her bicycle.

Andi Shively, Director of Communities

Andi was brought on as the Director of Communities in October 2011, after working for a year as Green Doors' bookkeeper. In May 2010 she earned a MS in Community Economic Development from Southern New Hampshire University, specializing in Cooperative Business Development, and moved to Austin shortly thereafter to serve as founding Co-Director of Third Coast Workers for Cooperation. Still active in the cooperative movement, Andi sits on the board of the Eastern Conference on Workplace Democracy and is involved with the Austin Cooperative Think Tank. She holds a BA in Women's Studies and Political Science from the Ohio State University, and enjoys gardening, hiking, local food, and dancing to live music.

David Vance, Property Maintenance Manager

David has served as Green Doors' Property Maintenance Manager since January of 2009. Throughout the 1990's David worked as a carpenter in his home state of Kentucky. Carpentry is where his expertise lies, though David is fully skilled in all aspects of property maintenance. In the early 2000's, David loaded his fifth wheel camper and chased storms for many years. He began by chasing tornadoes and once he caught one, he discovered too many dangers with chasing tornadoes! He then decided to move on to chasing hurricanes instead. He caught 6 hurricanes throughout his years as a storm chaser until he realized he tired of travelling. He moved to Austin to help his sister build her house and as he grew to love Austin he joined the team at Green Doors. David is proud of his work with Green Doors every time he has the opportunity to see the looks on residents' faces as they first walk into their home.

Ellie Windschitl, Community Manager

Ellie Windschitl joined Green Doors as a Community Manager in April 2011 after spending 7 months living in southern Mexico upon graduation. Ellie holds a B.S. degree in Public Health from Minnesota State University Moorhead. Ellie's previous employment includes 8 years working with individuals suffering from chronic homelessness, chemical dependency, and severe and persistent mental illness. Ellie's interests include global health issues, culture, music, books, nature, and cooking.