Irit Umani, the Executive Director began working for Trinity Center in January 2010. Ms. Umani comes to us from Berkeley, California, and she is originally from Israel. For nearly 20 years, Ms. Umani has lead organizations working with survivors of domestic violence. She has many years of professional experience serving people with needs for assistance, both as Executive Director and as Program Director. Ms. Umani says her work is based on and stems from a spiritual commitment for service. St. David’s and Trinity Center are happy to bring her experience, her passion for service, and her vision to our community. She looks forward to serving the Austin homeless community.
Melanie is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) and a graduate of The University of Texas with a BS in Public Relations and an MSSW in Social Work. She has worked in the issue areas of homelessness, poverty, medical social work, and community relations.
Melanie focuses on operating the Center, delivering programs, coordinating and training volunteers, and collaborating with other community organizations.
Melanie enjoys going to see live music in Austin, spending time with her family and friends and dogs,
running, and traveling.
As Center Administrator, Donna oversees many center business functions including financial management, fund raising and general process improvement. She is also working to raise awareness of the Trinity Center within the Austin community.
Donna Spence earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Oklahoma Stage University. She worked for Fisher Controls, starting in design engineering and moving to product and industry marketing. She ultimately established her own consulting business in which she coached business executives, managers and sales professionals and developed and implemented sales processes for clients.
Donna first came to the Trinity Center as a volunteer. In that capacity, she discovered a passion for serving those in need. She is passionate about the Trinity Center and the many important programs it provides. Donnas’ value has been in her ability to ascertain what needs to be addressed in an organization and then draw up on her broad skill base to address those needs. Donna and her son Arthur moved here from St. Louis, Missouri approximately 2 ½ years ago. She enjoys learning, cooking, running and watching Arthur play soccer.
Laramie Boyd Gorbett M.A. has always fostered a passion for activism and has implemented that passion into her academic, professional and personal life. Before becoming Operations Coordinator for Trinity Center, she volunteered four days a week for over a year and was honored with Trinity Center Volunteer of the Year 2009. She is the founder and executive director of Empower Art, a new nonprofit that works with young survivors. She received her BA in Anthropology from Texas Tech University where she was a McNair Scholar, President of Lamda Alpha Honor Society and the Sociology Club. In her graduate studies with New Mexico State University and USC she used non-human primates as models to explore violence against females from a cross-cultural, biological and evolutionary perspective. Laramie has many years of experience working with marginalized and disenfranchised groups with Women’s Protective Service, Lubbock Rape Crisis Center, Domestic Violence Educational Services in California, and Williamson County Crisis Center, dba Hope Alliance. She is an active volunteer in the Austin non-profit community, enjoys creating art and is excited about her new position with Trinity Center.
|
