We hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween, and welcome to Autumn in Texas! We are starting our fifteenth year off right with some amazing women that we know you will want to get to know better. We asked them three basic questions – How did you find out about Impact Austin and what inspired you to join, what is your short and sweet biography, and what do you think might surprise or interest your new friends about you? Here are their answers!
Meet Alison Rice and say “Hi!” the next time you see her.
“I have known about Impact Austin for some years and felt now was a good time to join. I also taught at The Ann Richards School which was a recipient of an Impact Austin grant to build a maker space a few of years ago. It made a huge difference in the school’s curriculum and development of a hands-on type of learning. It also helped immensely in recruiting future student applicants. It was gratifying to see girls of all ages learning to use huge electric saws and drills, 3-D printers, etc. and making all kinds of amazing things. Basically, what they dreamed up, they could build.”
“I am a former middle school English teacher and former piano teacher so I love working with kids. I am very easy to get along with and I feel very attached to the Austin community which is a precious microcosm in Texas. I am married with two grown children and enjoy hiking, walking my dog, writing, reading, cooking, playing the piano, and traveling.”
“I married the boy next door, literally. I also once tiptoed around a sleeping 6-foot long alligator at a state park that was blocking my path. Oh, and I fell out of a raft in Costa Rica into a raging river because my friend who had just gone there had done the same thing and I could not resist repeating her humiliation apparently!”
Meet Su Varadarajan and say “Hello!” the next time you see her.
“I learned about Impact Austin through Lauren Paver. I’m relatively new to Austin and met Lauren through my employer, Point B. We met Lauren through her amazing brother who I’m proud to call my colleague. I was so impressed with Lauren and her passion for Impact Austin that I promised myself that once I got settled into Austin, I would reach out and get involved. And here I am!”
“I am a career management consultant but have an engineering and finance background and am passionate about investing in our future through science and technology. I moved to Austin from Portland, Oregon and am loving the similar sense of community and collaboration that Austin has. I’m looking forward to being a part of it!"
“I can’t think of anything profound here so I’ll fall back on a personal love – football. I was raised for most of my life in the Philadelphia suburbs, but much to the chagrin of my family, decided at age 7 that I was a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan. That definitely wasn’t a popular choice in Eagles territory, but I’m happy to be among friends again here in Texas!!”
New Member Highlights are a series of posts that introduce you to some of our new members who have joined for FY2018. If you are interested in being highlighted, please contact us and your Impact Austin blog editor will respond to you with the details!
Send your email to contact@impactaustin.org and be sure to indicate that it is a New Member Highlight Inquiry.
