Speakers

Julia Mitschke has served the City of Cedar Park as Library Director since 2015. As Library Director, she is responsible for overseeing the city’s library services, including a collection of over 196,000 digital and physical materials, the newly opened 47,000 square foot Library facility in the Bell District, extensive library programs, and 37 employees in the areas of Administration, Circulation, Makerspaces, Public Services, Technical Services and Youth Services. She is also the Library's liaison to the Cedar Park Public Library Foundation. 

Mitschke holds a Master of Science in Information Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a member of the American Library Association and the Texas Library Association. 

Prior to her current position, Mitschke was employed at the Cedar Park Public Library as Operations Manager (2010 to 2015), Children's Services Librarian (2008 to 2010), Public Services Librarian (2007 to 2008), and Children's Library Assistant (2006 to 2007).

Nicole was born and raised in Ohio and graduated from Ohio University with degrees and social work,  psychology, and women's studies. She has been in the social work field for over 25 years. 

Nicole started her career working with youth and had a calling to support the senior community 4 years ago. She has now found her work family at Heart to Heart Hospice where her role is a community education representative. 

Dawn Lewis is a new member of the Rotary Club of South Austin, which she joined last Fall. She serves as the Executive Director of the TerraClear Foundation, securing funding and forging connections that enable Lao families to access clean drinking water. Dawn previously spent a decade as a teacher in Texas and authored the children’s book “My Teacher Moved to Laos,” which details life in that country, which is in SE Asia.

Through her leadership, the TerraCare program has made a huge impact on vulnerable families by expanding access to clean drinking water in several countries. TerraCare provided 10,000 subsidized ceramic filters that brought clean drinking water to over 50,000 Laotians. Dawn’s commitment also extends to clean water projects in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

A Missouri native, Dawn holds a BS in Civil Engineering and an MA in Linguistics. She speaks English, French, and Lao. She enjoys time in nature and moments with her family, many of whom reside in Austin, Texas, which Dawn now calls home.

Jill Leverages her years as a campus recruiter for top tier consulting firms in Chicago, MBA career advising at the University of Texas-Austin and 14 years in hardware and software marketing to lead a company that's creating more Flex Employee roles for the people and employers who want and need them.

She LOVES connecting people and creating wonderful connections. In her role with Better Balance she gets to do that and experience both employer and employee delight.

 

I’m a husband to Aldine for 26 years, father of four exceptional children, and a strong advocate for public education. I believe in the power each individual has to change the world and as such, I know that the future of our globe is sitting in our public schools right now. It’s our responsibility to ensure they are ready for the extreme challenges they will face in their lifetime. As A.J. Juliani says it best: “Our job is not to prepare students for something, our job is to help students prepare themselves for anything.”

I will continue to fight to empower learners in public schools across the globe by setting the example for what can be accomplished in my community. It truly takes a village to raise a child. We must work together, empower one another, and set the example with every choice we make.

Monty Chamberlain is the Employment Recruitment Coordinator for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).  In this role, Mr. Chamberlain has been responsible for networking with employers across the state of Texas to share information about the many values disabled individuals can bring to an employer as well as working on various Employment First related projects, including the HHS Vocational Apprenticeship Program.

Mr. Chamberlain has 41 years of state government experience.  He began his career with the Texas Department of Transportation and worked with that agency for 18 years, progressing to his last position with the agency as Director of Administration for one of the agency divisions.  For the last 23 years, he has been with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. He was the Director of Administration for the Richmond State Supported Living Center for eight years, and then assumed the role as the statewide Business Services Director in the State Supported Living Center division, coordinating all business and support services for the 12 State Supported Living Centers and overseeing the nearly $700 million budget at the time.  For the last 10 years, Mr. Chamberlain has been in his present position working on Employment First related projects.  

Mr. Chamberlain holds a bachelor’s degree with a concentration in Public Administration from Saint Edwards University in Austin, where he graduated with Summa Cum Laude honors and is credentialed by the State Comptroller as a Certified Texas Contract Manager.