Board of Directors: Biographies
Devron Armstrong
Devron Armstrong is highly committed to public education. He manages the Best in Class coalition at The Commit Partnership, and has more than twenty years experience as an education professional, and is a graduate of the 2020-2021 fellow in Leadership ISD’s Legislative Voices Fellowship in the Dallas, TX area. He has taught and coached all subjects across grades 5-12 while serving in various capacities such as content leader, teacher leader, Dean, Dean of Instruction, and school leader.
As founding Dean and Dean of Instruction at two large public charters in the Houston area, Devron observed, coached and evaluated a cohort of teachers across all grade levels and disciplines and shaped school culture using a fully restorative justice-based approach. Due to the hard work of the staff, teachers, parents, students and community, 100% of students since the school’s first graduating class have earned a high school diploma and admission to a two- or four-year college at both schools.
Devron has also worked as a professional development consultant. He supported campuses and districts in developing targeted academic intervention plans using MAP essential reports. Devron also works as an adjunct professor at Houston Community College in the Alternative Teacher Certification Program, In his spare time, Devron pursues his passion for health and nutrition and rollerblading with his business and non-profit Wholelistic Foods.
As a public school graduate from Killeen High School in Killen ISD, Devron earned his master’s in education- Administration and Supervision from The University of Houston Main Campus in 2012. Devron graduated wit ha B.A in Business Administration from Tartleton State University in Stephenville, TX in 2006. Devron is actively certified as a K-12 principal and generalist (grades 4-8) with English as a Second Language supplemental from the State Board for Educator Certification. He is currently pursuing an advanced degree in Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary. Devron currently lives and serves in the West Dallas area.
Matthew Chance
Matt is an audit Managing Director with KPMG LLP in Dallas. He provides audit and related services to both public and private companies with domestic and international operations, primarily in the technology and consumer markets industries. He spent three years at the firm’s national office in New York City. He and his wife, Jessica, work with the firm’s flagship community service program, KPMG Family for Literacy, whose mission is to eradicate childhood illiteracy by putting new books into the hands of children in need and developing the next generation through reading. Matt is a graduate of Baylor University (B.B.A. and M.Acc.) and is a licensed CPA in Texas and New York. He and his wife have a daughter who is a fast growing toddler.
Janie Cineros
Janie is a 10 year User Experience (UX) professional passionately contributing to meaningful experiences through research, design, and empathy. She considers herself a champion for the voice of the customer. Janie has offered her UX expertise and leadership to organizations from start-ups to global companies always creating quality products built with customers in mind while creating strong project teams along the way. She currently dedicates her talents to the healthcare space ensuring that the human element remains at the forefront of mobile apps that use AI and machine learning technologies.
Janie was born and raised in West Dallas. She is incredibly grateful to the public school educators that invested time in her scholarly pursuits. After many years away from home, she returned to West Dallas ready to give back to the community that shaped who she has become - starting by serving as a Reading Buddy at Readers 2 Leaders in Booktown!
Some of the notable awards that speak to her community commitments include The West Dallas Volunteer Service Award from the City of Dallas in 1999, The Cornell University Vice Provost Robert L. Harris Award for Outstanding MGLC Leadership in 2005, The National Hermanded Award from Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/ Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. in 2013, and The Anthem Values in Action Award July 2019.
Jordan D'Silva
Jordan D’Silva is the CEO of Web City Properties, a family-owned and operated real estate investment firm focused on single-family rentals, value-add multifamily, and residential development in southern Dallas and surrounding areas. Web City Properties has 14 full-time employees and over 40M in assets under management.
Jordan is also passionate about creating social impact in Dallas, starting a nonprofit to work with local organizations and entrepreneurs to create grassroot level solutions to systemic problems impacting the community. He has consulted with 3+ entrepreneurs, created multiple partnerships with local housing organizations to provide support services, and is poised to lead an immigrant business incubation program in Spring 2023.
Ray Gill
Ray Gill has over 10 years of experience in the financial services industry and currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Santander Consumer USA. In this role she is responsible for overseeing the execution of key strategic priorities for the organization, tracking progress against goals for the year and assisting the leadership team on matters related to regulators, the press and Banco Santander. Ray also plays an active role in the diversity and inclusion efforts across the organization as the regional leader for the EmpowHER Business Resource Group – an initiative dedicated to the development, empowerment and growth of women and their allies.
Ray is a graduate of the University of Leicester and received her MSc in Management from Loughborough University. She lives in Frisco with her husband.
April Honoré
April Honore is an accomplished Human Resources leader with over 20 years of experience spanning diverse industries. Currently serving as the Director of Human Resources at Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity, April has established herself as a strategic partner in organizational growth and development.
Throughout her career, April has excelled in guiding executive leadership through complex change management initiatives and program implementations, consistently delivering impactful solutions that align with business objectives. Her expertise extends across critical HR functions including employee relations, talent acquisition, and the strategic management of human capital.
April holds a Bachelor’s degree in labor relations and a Master's degree in Human Resource Management, underpinning her deep understanding of workforce dynamics and organizational behavior. She is renowned for her ability to build and lead high-performing HR teams, effectively scaling departmental capabilities to support organizational goals.
Beyond her professional endeavors, April is dedicated to community service as a Board Member of Readers2Leaders, contributing to the advancement of literacy among students in the Dallas area. She finds fulfillment in spending personal time with her husband, Phillip G. Honore, and pursuing her passion for reading, dancing and mentoring young adults.
Cathy Helmbrecht
Cathy recently retired as a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers after 37 years of service. At PwC, Cathy served in leadership roles including the U.S. Real Estate Assurance Leader, the North Texas Assurance Leader and the North Texas Financial Services Leader. In addition, she served clients in a multitude of industry segments including asset management, real estate, manufacturing and consumer products.
Born and raised in Dallas, Cathy attended Dallas ISD schools and has always had a passion for the importance of education for every child.
Cathy is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a BBA in Accounting. Cathy’s involvement in the community has included the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, Dallas Children's Advocacy Center, March of Dimes and Leadership Dallas.
LeeAnn Mallory
LeeAnn Mallory is the founder of Rise Leaders, a Leadership and Organizational Development firm located in Dallas, TX. For over 25 years she has been helping leaders reach their next level of impact and value-add.
LeeAnn believes strongly that the purpose of businesses expands well beyond profit and that the contemporary business leader must be willing to step into a world of complexity and change with vision, and an open and curious mind. They must be willing to risk, fail and relate well with others.
LeeAnn coaches senior executive and director-level leaders. The most common focus areas for coaching today tend to be confidently stepping into roles of greater responsibility, self-authoring (as opposed to reacting or maintaining status quo), navigating conflict, and elevating the contribution of others through feedback and coaching.
LeeAnn is certified as an Integral Coach through New Ventures West, A Somatic Coach through Strozzi Institute and uses multiple assessments in her work: The Leadership Circle Profile, Be Well Lead Well Pulse Wellbeing Assessment and Tilt 365.
Ann Montgomery
Ann is the Chief of Staff to the CEO at Child Poverty Action LAb. Prior to this role, she was the VP of Innovation & Design at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, where she led the Social Innovation team to run the Innovation Lab, a continuum of capacity building programs for social entrepreneurs in North Texas. She also worked as a Consultant with BCG and previously served as the Community Relations Coordinator at Uplift Education. Ann is a graduate of Middlebury College, and is a Double Longhorn with an MBA from the McCombs School of Business and a Masters in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs.
Jennifer Owen
Jennifer Owen focuses her practice in the representation of multi-family owners, developers and managers and in the representation of banks and financial institutions. In the multi-family area, Ms. Owen assists her clients in a broad range of residential landlord/tenant issues including drafting leases and determining applicable state laws on a nationwide basis, and assists her clients in code enforcement, premises liability issues, and vendor disputes, including mechanic’s lien issues and vendor lawsuits; as well as all types of commercial and residential landlord/tenant litigation, including disputes over security deposits, repair and remedy, breach of lease, collections, ADA and many others. Ms. Owen has extensive experience in the area of evictions, both at the Justice Court level and the County Court level for eviction appeals, and regularly appears before state courts on eviction appeals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and surrounding counties. Well-versed in fair housing and anti-discrimination matters, Ms. Owen frequently defends clients in fair housing claims, and teaches seminars on how to conduct business in a manner that is consistent with fair housing law. She reviews and revises leases, rental criteria and company policies to assist clients in remaining complaint, and routinely handles fair housing investigations by HUD and by state and local agencies in Texas and throughout the country. Additionally, Ms. Owen regularly prepares press releases and news articles, teaches extensively in the areas of commercial and residential leasing, and works with and represents industry and trade group associations. She supports state and local associations’ legislative efforts through research, bill analysis and testimony at legislative hearings, and you will often see her in attendance at local association events.
Andrea Payne
Andrea Payne is the founder of Casa Granada, a company that works with artisans and small businesses, primarily in Colombia, to bring their unique goods to buyers in Texas. Prior to starting her business, she worked in the nonprofit sector for nearly a decade, primarily in the prenatal and early childhood policy space. She has also worked in refugee resettlement services and philanthropy. A second-generation Colombian-American, Andrea received her M.P.A. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and her B.S. from Georgetown University. She is an avid reader and cares deeply about creating more opportunities for young children to learn and grow. Andrea lives in East Dallas with her husband.
Lauren Love
Lauren has 20+ years of non-profit and corporate experience driving social impact. She is described as a “strategic visionary, results-driven professional, creative thinker, engaging leader, thoughtful strategist, and changemaker.” Lauren began her career working in mental health and early childhood education before entering youth development work. During the 8 years she worked in the early childhood space, she facilitated the development and launch of the Texas School Readiness Certification System for the Children’s Learning Institute at The University of Health Science Center at Houston. Lauren has 6 years of experience leading mental health teams, 5+ years as a nonprofit CEO in the youth development space, and she has managed dozens of software implementations for K-12 educators including the Strategic Data Project at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University. Most recently, she spearheaded the launch of MENTOR Texas, an affiliate of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership. Lauren is a graduate of Southern Methodist University with a BA in Psychology and holds a MA in Counseling Psychology from Loyola Marymount University. She also completed Nonprofit Executive Leadership at Texas Christian University. Lauren is a 2021 alum of Leadership Fort Worth and a graduate of the CCC Women’s Leadership Program. Lauren is on the Board of Readers 2 Leaders where she also serves on the Racial Equity Task Force and has held advisory council positions at Children’s Health and Big Thought.
Leigh Ann Ripka
Leigh Ann is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana and graduate of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she received her bachelor’s degree in Public Relations. She has been recognized as a creative, forward-thinking, and highly motivated leader, receiving the 20 Under 40 Award for her work within the business community and philanthropic spaces through Let’s Vibe, LLC an organization she founded, built and runs that champions female initiatives and fundraising for special causes. She is also a proud Mom of one, whom she relocated to Texas for, motivated by the school system and support provided to children who struggle with reading and writing, like her child, who has dyslexia. Leigh Ann has more than fifteen years’ experience in Management, Strategic Marketing Initiatives, as well as, Business and Organizational Development across various industries. She is consistently recognized for exceeding project objectives, within exceptionally tight timelines, ultimately delivering winning results.
Beja Williams
Beja Williams is a Regional Director with Teachstone Inc. Her role involves consulting with Head Start programs, K-12 districts, collegiate departments of education, and stakeholders, to grow learning systems focused on quality interactions between teachers and students in an effort to drive higher learning outcomes. With nearly 20 years of leadership experience across multiple sectors, including Center Director and Quality Manager for Texas Rising Star (Dallas County), her passion for education continues to grow throughout multiple positions held during the tenure of her career.
As a former volunteer of Readers 2 Leaders, Beja understands firsthand the importance of literacy and the impact of R2L in the community. This year, she is a BIG with Big Brothers Big Sisters and uses her influence as a mentor to shape her Little’s future.