Abena Asante, MHA | Senior Program Officer

Focus area: Thriving Rural Communities

Abena develops strategies for programs and grant making in the area of Rural Health. Prior to joining the Foundation in 2016, Abena was a Senior Program Officer with the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where her grants portfolio focused on access to primary care, behavioral health services, diabetes and prevention activities. At the Cone Health Foundation, Abena served as a Program Officer and established the first county-wide initiative addressing obesity prevention. She also served with the Public Health Departments in North Carolina and Florida.

Abena has a Master of Health Care Administration from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science in Community Health Education from the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Catalyzing Community Transformation in Bastrop County: Network Weaving

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Rural Residents as Grantmakers: Experimenting with Shared Gifting

Kim McPherson | Senior Program Officer

Focus area: Resilient Children

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2011, Kim held positions the mental health and health policy fields at Health Management Associates, a national consulting firm; the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, which administers Texas’ Medicaid and CHIP services; Mental Health America, a state-wide advocacy organization; and Mental Health Network, a managed care organization.

Producing, Protecting and Preserving Housing Affordability in Central Texas

Foundations to Thrive

Peer Driven Change

Inverting the System: Social Supports that Put People First

Building the Evidence Base for Family Connects

Starting With Strengths

Adapting a Strengths Model

Making the Case for Supporting Children and Families

Supporting Families to Foster Pediatric Brain Health

Lourdes J Rodríguez, DrPH | Senior Program Officer

Focus area: Healthy Women and Girls

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2020, Lourdes served as Associate Professor and Director of Community-Driven Initiatives at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. Lourdes also worked as Program Officer at the New York State Health Foundation, and from 2004–2012, she co-directed the Urbanism and the Built Environment track in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. As a public health practitioner, and in both academic and philanthropic roles, she collaborates, develops and evaluates initiatives to improve health with people most impacted by health inequities.

Lourdes has a Doctor in Public Health from Columbia University, a Master of Public Health from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Biotechnology from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez. Dr. Rodriguez is a member of the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Roundtable on Population Health Improvement and currently holds an appointment as an Adjunct Faculty with the UTHealth School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus.

The Cost of Untreated Maternal Mental Health Conditions

Lived Experience of Moms during COVID-19

Fragmented Coverage For New Moms

Healthy moms raising healthy babies

COVID-19 Sparks Collaboration to Address Gaps in Perinatal Support for People of Color in Central Texas

Ellie Coplin, MPH | Senior Evaluation & Learning Officer

Ellie develops, implements, and manages comprehensive evaluation strategies for the Foundation, ensuring that the Foundation, grant partners, and the community are able to increase the impact of our work based on what we are learning.

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2013, Ellie worked at Cardea Services, where she designed and implemented process and outcome evaluations to assess intervention effectiveness and measure fidelity to evidence-based curricula. She has also worked to improve maternal and child health through positions with the NYC Dept. of Health, Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, and Any Baby Can.

Ellie has a Master of Public Health from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from Washington University in St. Louis.

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Jesse Simmons, MS | Senior Evaluation Officer

Jesse develops, implements, and manages comprehensive evaluation strategies for the Foundation, and researches and analyzes demographic trends, community needs, and the impact of Foundation strategies.

Prior to joining the Foundation in 2007, Jesse worked at the River System Institute at Texas State University and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) with evaluation framework development, survey design, needs assessments, and outcome-based evaluations.

Jesse has a Master of Science in Applied Sociology from Texas State University, and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Sociology from Southwest Texas State University.

The Impact of COVID-19 in Central Texas

Sustainability for Central Texas

Social Capital and Health

Centering Equity in Data and Learning: Good Measure’s Guiding Principles for Data Champions

Social Capital in Central Texas