Frequently Asked Questions

LIFT Alliance Staff

Julia Spann, MSW – LIFT Alliance Co-CEO

Julia Spann has served as the Executive Director of SafePlace in Austin, Texas, since July 2005. Julia was an important part of SafePlace’s history and development in her time with the agency from 1995-2002 when she served as Chief Program Officer.

Prior to returning to SafePlace in 2005, Julia served as Executive Director of Caritas of Austin. She has also served as the Director of Social Services with the Salvation Army in Austin, and as Associate Vice President of Allocations with the United Way of Metropolitan Tarrant County. Julia has 26 years of experience in the human services field with specific areas of expertise ranging from women and children’s issues, poverty, basic needs, victimization, homelessness and more. She is committed to helping Austin become a better and safer place for people to live.

Kelly White - LIFT Alliance Co-CEO

Kelly White has spent her entire adult life in public service, working on behalf of families, businesses, schools and communities. She began her career as an occupational therapist for infants in Wyoming, then became the executive director for a non-profit developmental preschool. She spent a decade, from July 1993 through November 2003, serving as the executive director of SafePlace, the domestic violence and sexual assault services program for Austin and Travis County. She then served as Executive Director of Chicago Foundation for Women, one of the largest women's funds in the world, before returning to Austin in 2010 to assume the position of Chief Executive Officer of Austin Children’s Shelter. She is the author of A Safe Place for Women: Surviving Domestic Abuse and Creating a Successful Future.

LIFT Alliance Board of Directors

• Theresa Garza, G-51 Capital
  Chair, LIFT Alliance Board of Directors
• Mark Mouritsen, Dell, LLC
  Immediate Past Chair, LIFT Alliance Board of Directors
  Chair, Austin Children's Shelter Board of Directors

Members

• Boone Almanza, Almanza, Blackburn & Dickie LLP
• Shawn Ball, Dell
• Karen Bartoletti, Hughes Vanderburg Williams & Bartoletti
  Immediate Past Chair, SafePlace Board of Directors
• Trennis Jones, Seton Family of Hospitals
• Christopher Kennedy, Lin-Mar Partners
• MariBen Ramsey, Austin Community Foundation
• Celina Romero, Duggins Wren Mann & Romero, LLP
• Randi Shade, Community Leader
• Matt Womack, Watkins Insurance Group
  Immediate Past Chair, Austin Children’s Shelter Board of Directors