Bios
Roger Chan
Roger Chan was appointed Assistant City Manager of the City of Austin in November 2000. Prior to serving as Assistant City Manager, Roger served as Vice President of Operations for the National Foundation for Women Legislators in Washington, D.C. He also served in various positions for both the District of Columbia and the federal government.As Assistant City Manager of the City of Austin, Roger was responsible for economic development and management of the City's "enterprise departments". His responsibilities included management of the Water and Wastewater Utility, Solid Waste Services Department, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, Convention Center Department, Redevelopment Department, and Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau. During this time, Roger successfully balanced implementation of the City's environmental and economic goals by forging strong working partnerships between the various stakeholders, which included local citizens, political subdivisions of the state, environmental and neighborhood groups, regulatory agencies, and businesses. Roger provided strong and effective leadership to produce measurable results for a cleaner environment.
Under his management, the City's Water and Wastewater Utility won many awards and commendations for best management practices and environmental compliance. As the City's executive-in-charge of the Redevelopment Department, Roger contributed to redevelopment of the City's Brownfields by implementing program processes to streamline the cleanup of these abandoned sites, which are being converted today for beneficial public use. While managing the City's Solid Waste Services Department, Roger was responsible for closure of a major municipal landfill, cleanup of the Travis County landfill, and assessment of buried hazardous waste drums at the Austin Community Landfill, currently owned by Waste Management. Roger also facilitated policy-making to encourage recycling through expansion of the City's Municipal Recycling Facility and restructuring of service delivery. Finally, he was responsible for successfully negotiating long-term contracts for landfilling the City's municipal waste and for recycled materials sales.
As Vice President of Operations for the National Foundation for Women Legislators in Washington D.C., Roger demonstrated his ability to operate alongside elected officials by meeting and working with more than 200 legislators around the country at the local, state, and federal levels. His commitment to affirmative action and equal employment opportunity is well documented by his mentoring and appointment of many minority and women executives. His commitment to community is demonstrated by service on public and private boards and commissions, such as Community First Bank, WAMU Radio (a National Public Radio station), and the Home and School Association Board, and as a Mayoral appointee on numerous other governmental boards and commissions.
Roger is an articulate public speaker and has been invited to speak at numerous public forums-both domestic and abroad. He is a former member of the Asian American Government Executive Network Speakers Bureau, the Asian Pacific American Presidential Appointment Committee, and the Federal Asian Pacific American Council. He is a Dwight D. Eisenhower Citizen Ambassador, a LIONs International Melvin Jones Fellow, and a recognized leader in the Who's Who in American Business, 1999-2000 New Millennium Edition, in which he was acknowledged for his management and leadership skills. Roger is currently on special assignment as Director of Public Affairs working with the City's Office of Government Affairs as the Washington, D.C. liaison. He reports to the City Manager.
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Bill Dunn
William Dunn, CPA is Owner of William L. Dunn & Associates, a Garland, Texas based Certified Public Accounting firm. His career has spanned from being employed with one of the "Big Eight" accounting firms to serving as President of the Dallas Chapter of National Association of Accountants. His talents also shine in his involvement as past president of the Garner Little League in Garland and is now making a difference with TIPS On Art. Bill knows that business prospers when community and people are enriched personally and is taking a leadership role with his financial perspective to help the vision unfold in a sound and viable path.
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Mark Falkin
Hummmm. *scratches chin, furrows brow* I believe art is what we mine from the torrent of our lives. Art is the unavoidable polyphonic voice of the soul. Some suppress it. Others embrace it. Everyone is capable of it. I happen to believe it is an absolute mandate of life: Express yourself. Thus, art is one of the foci of my life. Everyday, directly or indirectly, I experience art, create it, or help it along. My day job and spare time are taken up by art. During the work-a-day, I am legal counsel to small businesses, artists and entertainers to help them achieve their various visions. For the last few years, I have been a songwriting member and vocalist in an original rock band. However, the forms of art which interest me most are fiction writing and poetry. I take cracks at these disciplines in my exercise of the Mandate. My continued involvement in TIPS On Art is exciting to me in that it represents a constant opportunity to both allow Austin to further spread its cultural wings and for me, and for everyone who touches the project, to add their own navigational coordinates to that potential flight.
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Adolph Wetegrove
Adolph has discovered that he receives the greatest satisfaction in life by helping others reach their goals. He believes art is a way of expressing and sharing feelings by creating art and by viewing art. He's involved in TIPS because it fulfills his needs in helping others to discover art in themselves. Adolph believes we are all artists; some are just waiting to come out. For his day job he builds things - decks, repairs broken doors, patches walls or whatever is on the "need to fix" list. He also sings Bass/Baritone for the Austin Lyric Opera Chorus.
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Donna Wetegrove - Founder of the vision for TIPS On Art
Donna holds a unique perspective that collaboration, mentoring and creativity conquers much in society as a whole and local communities in particular. A professional, licensed commercial Interior Designer, she has evolved her skills for facilitating creative solutions to the built environment since 1981. With a message of "Buy Art", she is a proponent for proactive consumption of all things as functional art in all areas of life spending your dollar where it gains you the most pleasure for all five senses and offers timeless enjoyment.
Having started an incredible journey with the vision for TIPS On Art in 1995, it has truly proven to be a journey about the process as much as a measurable outcome. By providing pro bono design and product procurement services to see East Austin's Manos de Cristo Dental & Medical Clinic and The Jack Sansing HIV Dental Clinic to fruition, Donna understands the power of what grassroots community efforts are capable of. Also a long time annual supporter of homeless and low income family solutions, she brings a collaborative approach to community oriented networks for goal oriented outcomes such as financial & food support, clothing, household repairs and products and most important, relationship.
Creative interests stretch far to include metal working, mixed media collage, landscaping, cuisine, color theory, holistic thinking and all things related to a healthy built environment. It is the culmination of these interests along with business and life experience skills that gave rise to the concept of a district destination in Austin, Texas that would bring people together through creativity and simple pleasures in life an opportunity for discovery and sharing TIPS On Art.
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Sponsors:
Business Sponsors:Individual Supporters:Please join as a charter member of our soon-to-be-launched membership program!
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A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever does.
