Board of Directors
Launch Pad Job Club is led by our all volunteer Board of Directors. Each member is elected to a three year term. We provide guidance and direction to the organization.
President – Kathy Lansford-Powell
Award-winning trainer, skilled in design and presentation of seminars and workshops that have helped thousands of job seekers secure excellent career opportunities.
Kathy is the creator and Facilitator of Launch Pad Job Club, Austin’s largest nonprofit networking and support group for job seekers through which members are informed, motivated, and entertained as they slog through the job search process.
Kathy Lansford Powell on Linkedin
Vice-President – Opal Berry
I have an extensive background in business. My experience includes ownership of a fast-food franchise; Fortune 500 Marketing, Advertising planning and Human Resources; business start-up strategist; Contract management in both private sector and government.
For 17 years I served as a volunteer curriculum developer and facilitator with INROADS internship program. I developed their original “Dress for Success” and “Transitioning from Student Life to Corporate Life” curriculum. INROADS is a national college level internship program for upperclassmen at major universities who are competing for paid internships with Fortune 500 companies.
In my work as an Employment Coach I help people develop a positive mind set and prepare for successful job interviews. A positive mind set and good preparation is key to job seekers presenting themselves in their most positive light, making them highly desirable to potential employers.
As a motivator I help people recognize their talents and remember their value. In troubled times it is easy to forget all that you have to offer the world. When you can see your strengths and remember your accomplishments the sky is the limit!
Parliamentarian – Seaufy (Sophie) Peg Frey
Professionally diversified with proven ability in cultivating strong relationships with clients and stakeholders. Following studies at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, served in Texas state government in labor economics, management of workforce programs, and area non-profit leadership. Currently a Senior Certified Professional Candidate with the Society of Human Resource Management.
Skills: Program Management, Community Engagement, Data Management, Microsoft Office, French
Seaufy Sophie Peg Frey on Linkedin
Website – Scott Killen
Scott is an Enterprise Agile Coach. He tries to forget that at one time or another he’s held CSM, CSP, PMP, SAFe SA, SAFe SPC and CSQE certifications. Of more note, he’s taught and mentored many, many hundreds of people fundamental and advanced agile development skills in corporate, university and non-profit settings.
In service to his community Scott was founder and first President of Agile Austin, co-Chair of Keep Austin Agile 2018, President of Austin Software Process Improvement Network, Chair of the PMI Technical Local Interest Group and a member of several other non-profit boards.
When not thinking about how to build better software, faster, he tells stories to children and adults of all ages. Previously recognized by the Texas Commission for the Arts, he’s told stories in diverse venues to audiences large and small, but stories around a campfire are still his favorite. Counter-intuitively, he feels honored to be an award winning liar, having placed second in two contests. And, to close, no lie, he’s a Distinguished Toastmaster!
Member – Pete Reitmeyer
Pete started his career at IBM in Austin as a Software Usability Design Engineer (now called User Experience or “UX”) and then moved on to hardware and software project management as well as development, quality assurance, usability, and documentation management positions. He’s been able to stay in Austin for his entire career and has held various senior management as well as non-management positions with such companies as BMC Software, Charles Schwab, and CACI. He enjoys utilizing his varied experience to help teams work cross-functionally and now leads the Program/Project management team at Trend Micro – TippingPoint. Pete is also very active in volunteering with the local Agile Austin community, specifically with the yearly Keep Austin Agile regional conferences, having been a co-chair for the 2018 Keep Austin Agile conference with over 750 attendees.
Pete is a “graduate” of Launch Pad Job Club and a former Project Manager for Leap to Success. He also enhanced his own training with classes through ConsultingSolutions.net, and thus recognizes the great value that all of these programs provide. As a former member of a local school board as well as various other volunteering experiences including coaching youth sports, he looks forward to being a part of the Launch Pad Job Club board and further serving the community in any and every way possible.
Member – Kathy Holmes
Kathy moved to the Austin area in 2016 from Houston where she spent the majority of her career at NASA, the Johnson Space Center, working on Human Spaceflight programs, with a few years in oil and gas. After earning her B.S. in Biology, she “launched” her career in the Neurophysiology Lab where she flew NASA’s zero-G aircraft conducting motion sickness research. She spent many years as a biomedical engineer flight controller in Mission Control-Houston for the Space Shuttle and NASA/MIR programs and was a technical trainer for flight controllers, and occasionally astronauts, that included designing training programs and conducting simulations in the International Space Station (ISS) Lab module mockup. She also worked for the ISS Program in numerous senior management contractor roles including Operations, Contracts Management, Program, and Project Management.
She holds various certifications including NASA Instructor Training, NDIA Configuration and Data Management, and Project Management Professional (PMP) training through Consulting Solutions.net. She is currently applying her wide variety of skills full time as a Servicing Project Manager in the mortgage industry helping New American Funding start up their Project Management Office in Austin.
She was a volunteer Project Manager with Launch Pad’s Leap to Success Program and a LPJC graduate. She is currently serving on the Development Committee focused on helping to identify and obtain new sources of funding.
Member – Sam McMurray
Sam is a professional writer and aspiring entrepreneur. He has a varied professional background ranging from private security to software development and equity trading. He has been a technical writer since 2016 and graduated in 2018 from Texas State with a Master’s in Technical Communication. He’s worked for big and small companies in the Austin area, in industries including fintech, healthcare, and game publishing.
An alumni of LaunchPad himself, Sam came to LPJC with a passion for grant writing and a strong desire to give back to the community that supported him. His primary role is to find financial support for the club and help the Executive team spearhead their major initiatives, including the Expo and annual Amplify Austin fundraiser.
In the wild, Sam can be found learning new skills or starting new ventures. He’s always looking for a new opportunity, and is excited to bring that same mindset in support of LPJC.
Member – Jennifer Roberts-Stutzriem
Jennifer is an Executive Coach and Senior Consultant with 20+ years of progressive experience in talent management strategies and organizational effectiveness. As an Executive Coach with IMPACT Group, she provides coaching, training and mentoring for their leadership development, relocation and career transition teams. She is a Senior Consultant with Clarity Consultants and her current client is T-Mobile’ s Technical Services Division (TSD&O) where she is overseeing their leadership development programs with the University of Washington Bothell School of Business and involved in several other programs that are being rolled out across the division including Leading at the Speed of Trust (Franklin Covey). Prior to her current roles, Jennifer spent 17 years with Right Management as an Executive Coach and 15 years with New Horizons Computer Learning Centers as a Global Franchise Consultant.
Jennifer holds her Master of Science in Psychology from UOP, and Bachelor of Arts in Communications & Psychology from Indiana University, Bloomington. She has an MBA Certificate in Franchise Management from the University of St. Thomas and earned her Alternative Dispute Resolution Mediator Certificate from UCLA. Jennifer is certified in numerous leadership and personality assessment tools including the MBTI, Birkman, Total SDI, DiSC, and more. She is a Certified Train the Trainer (CTTT), Modern Certified Classroom Trainer (MCCT) and Certified Franchise Executive (CFE).
Jennifer is actively involved in community outreach and engagement and serves on several Board of Directors, including Launch Pad Job Club. She is an animal lover, a food connoisseur, a globetrotter and believes in making memories with her family and friends that will last a lifetime!
Jennifer Roberts-Stutzriem on Linked In
Member – Roberto Pérez Jr
Mr. Pérez is an individual who has combined education, business, and social service experience to train and develop staff to successfully assist individuals with barriers to employment. Mr. Pérez earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Public and Social Policy from the University of California, Davis.
Mr. Roberto Pérez holds the following certifications: Global Career Development Facilitator (GCDF), Certified Career Service Provider (CCSP), MBTI® Certified Practitioner, Strong Interest Inventory® Practitioner, Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS), Offender Employment Retention Specialist (OERS), and a practicing Texas Mediator.
- Social Media
- Facebook: @careeradviser
- Instagram: @robertoperez_jr
- Twitter: @robertoperez_jr
- Website: www.robertoperezjr.com
Member – Westley R. Deshazer
Westley is a results-driven, versatile, and collaborative learning and development leader with a proficient growth mindset developed across higher education, government, technology, and other Fortune 100 sectors. His career experience offers an innate and innovative ability to bridge technology capability and humanity-centered goals for effective management, design, and instruction strategy. Able to adapt quickly to emerging trends with a keen eye toward aligning project effort with business metrics, Westley serves as the Organizational Effectiveness lead for the board.
Westley R. Deshazer on Linked_In
Member – Beverly Moore
Treasurer (non-voting) – Susan Hein
Executive Director (non-voting) – Shannon Mantrom
Shannon Mantrom is Executive Director of Launch Pad and Program Manager for the club’s signature program, Leap To Success. The Leap to Success program offers pro bono, professional projects assistance to Austin and Central Texas nonprofit organizations. Since its founding in 2012, Leap to Success has delivered over 115 projects to more than 100 nonprofits totaling over $500K in services. The program won the “2013 Nonprofit Advocate” award from PeopleFund and in 2017 won the “Nonprofit of the Year” award by the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce.
Shannon’s background is 20 years in sales and event coordination (with time off to raise two amazing daughters!) and it is Shannon and her Leap to Success team who coordinate the annual Launch Pad Job Club Employment Expo, the club’s annual fundraiser and service to its membership held each September.
