PBKAAGA - Officers and Board Members

The Phi Beta Kappa Alumni Association of Greater Austin

PBKAAGA Officers:

Courtney Becker, President

Courtney is a 2018 Baylor University graduate, magna cum laude, with a University Scholar BA degree concentrating in neuroscience and creative writing. While at Baylor, she participated in the SEA-PHAGES (Science Education Alliance-Phage Hunters Advancing Genomics and Evolutionary Science) program and attended the 7^thAnnual SEA-PHAGES symposium, was elected president of the Baylor Undergraduate Research in Science and Technology (BURST) organization, and was a member of Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi) sorority. Since graduation, she has founded Stellata Skies, LLC, a company that offers logistic and administrative support, content development, and editing services. She has worked with clients to support events at Sundance, SXSW, NEXUS, and Baylor. She serves now with the Baylor Catholic Network and volunteers as a Teaching Assistant at Baylor University. An aspiring novelist, she has a book series in the works based off her undergraduate thesis novel.

Tom Cedel, 1st Vice-President

Dr. Cedel is currently a Co-Director of the Thrivent Fellows Program and President Emeritus of Concordia University Texas. Prior to this he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at Valparaiso University. He was the president of Concordia University Texas in Austin, TX from 2002 to 2014, during which the university relocated its campus. His Ph.D. is in biology from the University of Pittsburgh, and he was a postdoctoral fellow in biophysics at Carnegie-Mellon University. Dr. Cedel is also a retired Air Force colonel and was a fighter pilot, having flown the F-4, A-7, C-12, and F-16 aircraft. He commanded a fighter squadron and was vice commander of a fighter wing. During his career he was assigned overseas in Pakistan, Japan, Korea, Europe, and the Middle East.

Phillip Church, 2nd Vice-President

Phillip J. Church, M.D., F.A.C.S. is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and completed his general surgery residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. His fellowship in vascular surgery was completed at the University of California in San Francisco. Dr. Church has practiced with Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons since 1981.

Dr. Church is board-certified in vascular surgery by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Stephani Bradford, Secretary

Stephani Bradford received her BA in French and her BS in Education from the University of Texas, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Prior to entering college, she spent a year living in France as a Rotary International Exchange Student. Stephani later returned to UT to earn her Masters in Social Work with the goal of becoming a therapist. She obtained her clinical hours working at the Austin State Hospital. Stephani now owns a private therapy practice, where she specializes in helping her clients heal from past trauma.

Robin Ingari, Treasurer

A graduate of the University of Texas, Robin Ingari is currently Executive Vice President for American Bank, and is the Regional Credit/Risk officer for the bank. A seasoned banker, she has more than 30 years of experience with JP Morgan, Comerica, and Regions Bank. Her experience includes starting and managing technology lending groups, business banking lending groups, and corporate and commercial lending groups. Immediately prior to American Bank, she was Senior Vice President for Regions and market manager for Commercial/Corporate Banking for Central Texas. Robin’s current community involvement includes being vice president/ board member for the state chapter of Risk Management Association (RMA), as well as past president and board member for Central Texas RMA. Previous involvement includes Treasurer, Secretary and Executive Committee for Any Baby Can, Community Advisory Board member for Helping Hand, Scholarship Committee for the University of Texas, treasurer/board member of Austin Theater Alliance, treasurer/board member of the State Theater, treasurer/board member of Austin Women in Technology, Executive Committee for American Heart Association, committee member for Austin County Livestock show, Executive council for Austin Business Journal and Ambassador committee for the Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Joyce Pulich, Past President

Joyce Ilse Pulich has a B.A. in Sociology from Rice University, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1968. She has an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Houston. Joyce began her career with a three- month stint with the Department of Public Welfare in Houston. She moved to Port Aransas, Texas in 1971, where she served on the City Charter Commission and the school board. She taught Sociology and other behavioral science classes at Del Mar Junior College in Corpus Christi, Texas before becoming an employee with the City of Port Aransas. She served as City Planner, Assistant City Manager, and City Manager until she moved to Austin in 1986 to become Assistant Director in the Housing and Community Services Department. Many years later, after serving in various departments, she retired from the Watershed Services and Development Review Department as Financial Manager in 2007. Joyce continues to teach Sociology at Austin Community College, virtually for the first time in the fall 2020 semester. Joyce volunteers in prison ministry and homelessness support (suspended during the pandemic); as past president of the American Association of University of Women (AAUW) Austin Branch, Fundraising chair, and fellowship coordinator for AAUW; and Chair of the Pastoral Council at St. Ignatius Martyr Catholic Church. Joyce served as secretary of the PBKAAGA board for twenty years and most recently served as membership coordinator.

PBKAAGA Board Members:

Robert Bridges

Robert Bridges, a native Austinite, graduated with a BA degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1970. He attended the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and finished a General Surgery residency there in 1979. After a fellowship in Vascular Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia he returned to Austin where he practiced with Cardiovascular and Vascular Surgeons until retiring in 2008. Since then he has managed a family ranch in Hays County.

Daniel Aaron Bryant

After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2024 and earning a BA with highest honors and liberal arts honors, Aaron is now preparing to enter law school in pursuit of a JD. The valedictorian of his high school class, Aaron later earned the title of Distinguished College Scholar for four consecutive years while exploring the different subjects within and beyond the English curriculum on the Forty Acres. When he’s not studying the literature and philosophies of the liberal arts, Aaron is performing in the fine arts. With several leading roles under his belt from plays, musicals, and film projects both on and off campus, he continues to expand his theatrical repertoire while producing short films with his friends through their YouTube channel and aspiring film company Nonavos. A member of Phi Beta Kappa since 2023, Aaron now serves as the chairman of the Scholarship Committee for PBKAAGA.

Mary Diehl

Mary Diehl received her B.A. in Spanish from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1970. She has an M.A. in Spanish Literature from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. After moving to Austin in 1975, Mary taught high school Spanish for 24 years in the Round Rock Independent School District. In 2000, Mary began a new phase in her career, serving as a clinical professor and eventually as associate director of UTeach-Liberal Arts at the University of Texas. After retiring from UTeach-LA, she continued to observe and mentor student teachers for the program. In addition to teaching, Mary has served as a contributing writer for several Spanish textbook series, presented many workshops on language instruction, and participated as table leader in the summer Advanced Placement scoring process. Mary held several leadership positions, including service as president of the Texas Foreign Language Association and treasurer of the Pan American Student Forum. Teaching awards received include, among others, the Texas Foreign Language Association’s Spanish Teacher of the Year award, the Texas Exes’ Texas Outstanding High School Teacher Excellence Award, and a College Board Award for Excellence in AP Teaching. Mary serves on the PBKAAGA Teaching Excellence Award committee. Mary and her husband Randy are currently enjoying retirement, travel, and family time.

Diana Dopson

Diana is an artist, art historian, and owner of a travel company, D*Lux Travel. Her work as a travel designer primarily focuses on trips to Italy and its neighboring countries. She is fluent in Italian and has traveled extensively throughout the Italian peninsula and Sicily. She received her M.F.A. in photography and her M.A. in art history from the University of Oregon, with a concentration in Italian Renaissance and Baroque architecture. In 1998, she completed the Corso Internazionale sull’Architettura di Andrea Palladio in Vicenza, Italy, an in-depth study of the buildings of Palladio in the Veneto. She holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, where she was also an All-American tennis player and valedictorian of the College of Natural Sciences. Her work as an artist primarily explores the nature of vision or ways of seeing, the interconnectedness of living things, the collecting and cataloguing of nature, and alternating visions of wild and cultivated landscapes. She has had solo shows in Austin, Marfa, Lubbock, and Houston, Texas. Stephen L. Clark Gallery in Austin represents her work. Her work is in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, the Worcester Museum of Art, Worcester, Massachusetts, the Bailey Howe Library of the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont, and the University Public Art Collection of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.

Donald Flournoy

Don Flournoy is a member of Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Texas at Austin. He graduated with a BA from UT with Special Honors in History in 1969 and a JD from the University of Texas School of Law in 1972. He practiced general civil law in Austin until his retirement in 2017. Don is a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation and a Fellow of the Travis County Bar Foundation.

Lisa Gaw

Lisa Gaw was a recipient of a scholarship from the PBK Houston alumni group when she graduated from high school. She studied Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley and received her medical degree at UT Southwestern. After training as a pediatrician with Baylor College of Medicine, she moved to Austin. She currently works at Texas Children's Hospital in their urgent care department. Her main joy are her husband and children. When she's not spending time with her family, she enjoys reading murder mysteries and watching Britbox shows.

Catherine Jaffe

Catherine Jaffe has been active in PBKAAGA for over ten years. She chaired the PBKAAGA Scholarship Committee and also served a term as a Board Officer. She was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at Georgetown University, completed her Ph.D. at University of Chicago, and is University Distinguished Professor at Texas State, where she teaches Spanish literature. Jaffe worked with Heather Galloway, Dean of the Honors College, to establish Texas State's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Nu of Texas, to be installed March 2025.

Ron Luke

Ron Luke is a principal consultant and president of Research & Planning Consultants, LP. Ron joined RPC in 1976 and became its president and principal owner in 1979. He has consulted on projects for health care providers, managed care plans and public agencies in more than 25 states. He also serves as an expert witness in trials, administrative proceedings and legislative hearings.

Active in the health policy arena, Ron was an original member, and later chairman, of the Texas Department of Insurance’s Utilization Review Advisory Committee. Governor George W. Bush appointed him as an original member of the Texas Health Care Information Council, where he had a major role in the development of the Texas hospital discharge data system. Governor Rick Perry appointed him to the Texas Health and Human Services Council and to the Texas Institute of Healthcare Quality and Efficiency. He has served as an advisor to committees of the Texas Legislature on health insurance mandates and major revisions to the Workers’ Compensation Act. A former director of the Texas Business Group on Health, Ron also served on the boards of several public and non-profit organizations providing healthcare services. He currently serves as a Director of the Texas Association of Business and chairs TAB’s Health Policy Committee. He is a member of the National Association of Forensic Economists and the Health Law sections of the Texas and American Bar Associations.

Holly Wissmann

As Director of Philanthropy for Breakthrough Central Texas, Holly Wissmann leads the organization's major gifts program and has helped grow individual giving from $500,000 to $3.5 million annually, serving nearly 3,000 students on their path to becoming first-generation college graduates. Having experienced the transformative impact of higher education on her own family, Holly is honored to have the opportunity to pay forward that gift every day, serving on a team dedicated to educational equity and partnering with students and families to realize their college dreams. Trusting, long-term relationships are critical to the success and sustainability of both fundraising and student services at Breakthrough, and that human connection is what has kept her in the fundraising 17 years. Prior to joining the Breakthrough family, Holly served as the Associate Director of Development for ZACH Theatre, where she was on the team responsible for the Topfer Theatre Capital Campaign. A proud graduate of The University of Texas at Austin and Phi Beta Kappa and Terry Scholar alumna, she holds a BBA in Marketing and BA in Theatre and Dance. Holly is a longtime, active member and volunteer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and currently serves as Immediate Past President for the Greater Austin Chapter. In her personal time, she is involved with East Austin-based, AZTLAN Dance Company, her artistic home for 18 years, and loves spending time with her partner, Fabian, and their fur and reptile babies, Xochi, Xico, and Ivan.