BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Charles has been an architectural historian at the Texas Historical Commission for many years and has devoted his professional career and private life to the historic preservation of Austin’s historic resources, including historic parks, historic bridges andthe arts. He serves on several Austin boards and committees, including Preservation Austin, Old Austin Neighborhood Association, Friends of Wooldridge Square, the Westgate Tower HOA Board of Directors, and MidTexMod. Charles is an active advocate in preserving Austin’s RICH and DIVERSE histories that give Austin that “Sense of Place”. He served for several years as Chair of the popular Angelina Eberly Luncheon, leading it to new records, before assuming the leadership role for reactivating the Katherine Drake Hart annual award and overseeing the AHCA Annual Business Meeting

Marilyn is an Austin lawyer born from generations of Old East Austin leadership. She is the niece of the late Dr. James Hill, the first African American to become a Vice President of Academic Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also the niece of Dr. Oscar and Irene Hill Thompson. A former professor at Huston Tillotson University, Oscar was the first African American to earn an advanced degree from UT. Irene was a librarian at the original historic Anderson High School. Marilyn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in behavioral psychology from Austin College in Sherman, Texas and a juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.

Candace is a long-time Austin resident whose family has lived in the Central Texas area for more than 175 years. She has a deep personal and professional interest in history and, with her husband John, is part of an architectural practice that undertakes restoration projects throughout Texas. Candace has a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Texas and anmaster’s degree in museum studies from The George Washington University. As a decorative arts historian, she prepares historic furnishing plans for museums and historic sites throughout the U.S.

Ben is a University of Texas graduate who returned to Austin in 2018 after nearly a decade in Los Angeles working as a director, producer, and editor of documentaries and films. His current TV project, Songwriters Across Texas, has immersed Ben in the current Austin music scene as he plans a larger documentary about our city’s music history.

Roxanne has more than 25 years of experience in journalism and public relations. A graduate of Drake University. Evans began her journalism career at the Des Moines Register and Tribune and spent 10 years at the Austin American-Statesman, where she made history herself when she became the first African American editorial writer and member of the Editorial Board. She also served as a deputy press secretary for Texas Governor Ann Richards. Her other positions include Chief Communications Officer for D.C. Public Schools, and work in the communications departments of the Austin Independent School District and the City of Austin. Roxanne Evans conducts black history research and is former co-editor-in-chief for the Texas Black History Preservation Project, which later became part of the portfolio of the Texas Institute for the Preservation of History and Culture on the campus of Prairie View A&M University. She is a charter member of the National Museum of African American Culture and History at the Smithsonian and a member of the Travis County African American Heritage Council.

Gerald is a native Austinite, born and raised in east Austin. He graduated from Huston-Tillotson University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and built a career in the financial sector of the hospitality industry, primarily as a financial services officer and comptroller for major hotels. Gerald recently transitioned to a new position as Property Controller for Cadrex Corporation.

Ronney is a 5th generation Austinite. His great-grandparents were married in the historic St. David’s Episcopal Church in 1872. His family has a rich heritage in Austin, which feeds Ronney's interest in preservation. Currently, Ronney is President of Reynolds & Franke, PC (CPA’s). The firm provides auditing, tax, and/or bookkeeping to more than 125 non-profit organizations. Ronney has served in many important municipal, civic, and professional leadership roles throughout his career, including two terms on the Austin City Council from 1991 to 1997, President of the Rotary Club of Austin as well as the District Governor for Rotary International. Today, Ronney is very active at the historic St David’s Episcopal Church, President of the Longhorn Club, and a founding member of the Austin “T” Club. He has received many community and professional recognitions and awards. He resides in Austin with wife Mary. Their daughter Nancy Michelle teaches in Austin and their son Bo, along with his wife, Carole, and their two children, Jacob and Henry, live in Bastrop. Ronney serves on the AHCA Executive Committee.

A graduate of the University of Texas, Bryan worked in the banking business until he purchased his first automobile dealership, Continental Cars, in Austin in 1978. His dealerships have expanded to include Audi, Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz, and Subaru. Bryan’s roots in Texas go all the way back to the early 19th Century, when his family came from Tennessee to become part of Stephen F. Austin’s land grant colony. Bailey Hardeman helped author and sign the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836 and served as the Republic’s first Treasurer. His brother, Thomas, built the first home on the north side of the river on what is now 17th Street. Bryan’s father, Dorsey B. Hardeman, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1936 and the Texas Senate in 1946, where he served through 1969. He is an active leader on AHCA’s Strategic Planning Committee. Bryan is married to high school sweetheart Rebecca. They have three adult children – Will, Joy and Genny - and four grandchildren living in Austin. He serves on AHCA’s Strategic Planning and Corporate Membership.

Amy is the Founder & CEO of the Asian American Cultural Center. Born in Hong Kong, Amy came to the United States in 1975. She is a psychotherapist by formal education and has worked at the South Cove Community Health Center in Boston Chinatown before moving to Austin, Texas in 1983 with her husband, Dr. Aloysius K. Mok who is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin. Amy has been deeply involved in community service both locally and nationally. She has served on numerous boards and commissions and championed social causes in regard to education, cultural diversity and women’s health issues. Amy currently serves on the Austin Arts Commission, the Board of the Austin PBS and the Board of the ADL. She is a member of the Austin Area Research Organization. Because of her work in promoting cultural understanding, her love for diversity, her passion for social justice and her active efforts to facilitate positive social changes, Amy has been honored with her being selected as one of the American Trustees.

Kent is the founder and owner of Centro Development, LLC, an Austin-based real estate development company specializing in mixed-use and residential urban infill properties. At the forefront of developing vertically mixed-use properties in Texas, New Mexico and Georgia for more than 20 years, Kent received a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Texas and a master’s in business administration from the University of California at Los Angeles. He is the past chair of the UT School of Architecture Advisory Council and the Downtown Austin Alliance and a member of the City of Austin Comprehensive Plan Task Force. Kent and his wife Reenie are the parents of three adult children – CeCe, Winston and Tye.

Barbara is a native Austinite and graduate of L. C. Anderson High School and University of Texas. She built a career in the service of education in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. After retiring, Barbara returned to Austin and joined the campaign to stop the planned demolition of the original L.C. Anderson High School in east Austin. Currently, she works with Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Douglas Club of Austin, Original L. C. Anderson Alumni Association, and several committees with the Austin Independent School District.

Jeffrey Dochen has been a top real estate broker in Austin for more than 40 years. With a rich family history in Central Texas, he attended Pease and Eanes Elementary schools, O’Henry Middle School and Westlake High. After graduating from Texas State University, he worked in banking before turning his talents to real estate investment and development. A founder of Sky Realty, Jeffrey now helps people buy and sell their homes through his company, Shelton Properties, started by his parents Joyce and Emmett Shelton in 1962. Jeffrey’s grandfather, Sam Dochen, immigrated to Austin from the Ukraine in 1908 and helped found the city’s first synagogue. Great-grandfather Thomas Jefferson Johnson settled in Driftwood around 1860 and founded the Johnson Institute. Great-grandfather Shelton moved to Texas in 1880. Father Emmett Shelton was a local lawyer and historian and the original developer of West Lake Hills, Texas.