Leadership Boards

Our Student Board and Alumni Board constitute the student and alumni voices of KS WELI to implement initiatives and programs to continue to empower women to lead.

This KS WELI community blog written by students for founders, leaders, and creatives covers a range of topics about entrepreneurial thinking, leadership, and starting a business from a woman's perspective

Founding Fearless is a Student Board podcast to inspire, empower, and support college-aged women on their entrepreneurial and leadership journeys. The purpose of this podcast is to uplift the voices of women through conversations with fellow entrepreneurial students, innovative professors, and other leading pioneers to learn the raw and vulnerable stories behind these trailblazing women.

KS WELI Board of Directors

Kelsey Evans

Corporate Relations
Executive Director

Lesley Robinson

KS WELI
Founding Director

Lillian Mills

McCombs School of Business
Dean
KS WELI Current Board Chair, 2022

Ramón Rivera-Servera

College of Fine Arts
Dean

Richard Reddick

TEXAS Undergraduate College
Dean

Roger Bonnecaze

Cockrell School of Engineering
Dean

Sheena Wilde

Kendra Scott
Vice President, Philanthrophy

Stephen Russell

College of Natural Sciences
Department Chair, Human Development & Family Sciences Director, School of Human Ecology

Sydney Key

KS WELI
Student Board President 2023-2024

Past Board Members

Brent Iverson

School of Undergraduate Studies
Former Dean, School of Undergraduate Studies
KS WELI, Founding Board Member & Board Chair 2021-2022

Doug Dempster

College of Fine Arts
Retired
Former Dean, College of Fine Arts KS WELI, Founding Board Member & Board Chair 2019-2021

Ingrid Villarreal ’23

KS WELI
Student Board President 2022-2023

Jan Ryan

College of Fine Arts
Professor of Practice
Former Executive Director, Center for Creative Entrepreneurship KS WELI, Founding Board Member

Jay Hartzell

University of Texas at Austin
President
Former Dean, McCombs School of Business KS WELI, Founding Board Member

Paul Goldbart

College of Natural Sciences
Former Dean

Samantha Bryant

KS WELI
Past President, Student Board 2020-2021

Sharon Wood

University of Texas at Austin
Executive Vice President & Provost
Former Dean, Cockrell School of Engineering

Student Board

Alexa Escorriola '26

VP Internal
Economics & International Relations

Alexa Summers '26

VP Outreach
Unspecified Business

Grecia Angeles '25

VP Events
Marketing

Kayla Akly '25

VP Marketing
Business Honors & Marketing

Kena Desai '25

VP Professional Development
Public Health Honors

Khushi Desai '25

VP Philanthropy
Finance

Kirsten Shin '25

VP Logistics
Human Dimensions of Organizations

Mollie Garrett '26

VP Web Communications
Journalism

Nina Velacheri '26

VP Events
Unspecified Business

Priscilla Olivarez '25

VP Founding Fearless Podcast
Textiles and Apparel

Ryan Levin '26

VP Marketing
Unspecified Business

Shaili Shouche '26

VP SHEReads
Business Honors & Finance

Sydney Key '25

Student Board President
Management Information Systems

Vanessa Chen '25

VP Outreach
Business Analytics

Puja Satish '24

VP Web Communications
Accounting (IMPA)

Jessica Yang '24

VP Logistics
Management Information Systems

Sohana Parikh '25

VP Philanthropy
Finance

Vani Jain '24

VP SHEReads
Finance

KS WELI Student Board Initiatives

BuildHER

HelpHER

SHEReads

Project LEAP

The Student Board’s (SB) mission is to align the programs and events of KS WELI with the needs and interests of students at UT Austin. These campus leaders set an example across the Forty Acres, and beyond. SB implements and ensures that KS WELI’s mission is aligned with SB's Impact.

Learn More About SB's Impact

BuildHER helps guide Student Board on a journey during which they discover their personal values, strengths, and authentic leadership style.

Learn More About BuildHER

"Stepping into the role as President of the KS WELI Student Board has been a transformative journey. Through empowerment, mentorship, and impactful initiatives, KS WELI has not only shaped my leadership skills but also ignited my passion for championing women's entrepreneurship. This experience has been a testament to the incredible impact that dedicated individuals can have on fostering a community of growth and empowerment."Sydney Key '25
Current SB President

Alumni Board

Faith Guerrero ’23

Management

Indra Gutierrez ‘21

(Exec MBA) MBA

Ingrid Villarreal ‘23

Biology

Isabella Garcia ‘22

Human Dimensions of Organizations

Jasmine Lopez ‘22

Journalism

Jessica Sutherland ‘21

Design

Koshilia Sachdev ‘20

Supply Chain Management

Lindell Galvan ‘19

Finance & Sport Management

Michaela Lindsay ‘17 (MBA)

MBA

Nayelie Salazar ‘22

Corporate Communications

Samantha Bryant ‘21

Business Honors Program & Management

Sarah Wong ‘18

Marketing

Sara Kopenec ‘20

Marketing

Sydney Marvin ‘20

Civil Engineering

The Alumni Board (AB) is a diverse community of entrepreneurs, leaders, and professionals dedicated to empowering women founders and leaders with the resources, relationships, and self-discovery they need to explore all paths and reach their fullest potential.

Our EmpowHER hour program is led by Vaishali Jadhav, an instructor at the University of Texas Center for Professional Education and 2020 Culturati Fellow. BuildHER helped guide Student Board on a journey during which they discovered their personal values, strengths, and authentic leadership style.

"Being on the KS WELI Alumni Board has been an incredible experience to meet other women (and men allies) who Inspire me and are passionate about giving back to students and specifically women founders and leaders."Current Alumni Board Member, Jessica Sutherland, Class of 2021

Empower #thenextgeneration of courageous and creative Longhorn leaders

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