EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Donna Miller, President

Bart Thrasher, Vice President

Lisa Peters, Treasurer

Petrine Abrahams, Secretary

DIRECTORS

Petrine Abrahams

Justo Blanco

David Dunnigan

Isaac Martinez

Paula Mele

Donna Miller

Patti Monger

Graciela Montani

Travis-Lee Moore

Cynthia Paine-Drennan

Lisa Peters

Veta Redmond

Avis Strong

Bart Thrasher

Tammy Weiss

EMERITUS BOARD

Gay Addington

Russ Aikman

Chris Barker

Scott Chase

Jan Doherty

Marguerite Domatti

Carol Hagler

Linda Holt

Glen Jones

Thomas Marshall

Alfred Martinez

Marijane Michael

Kenda North

James Prothro

Diane Sherman

COMMITTEES

Programming

Membership

Building Restoration

MEET OUR BOARD MEMBERS!

Petrine Abrahams

Secretary

Petrine Abrahams is a landscape designer who has been practicing for ten years in the Dallas area. Her projects include both residential and commercial projects. She works closely with her clients to re-envision their landscape using native and adaptive plants and materials. Petrine has been an active neighbor and participant in the north Oak Cliff community for many years and has served on various neighborhood boards including Winnetka Heights and Oak Cliff Greenspace. Currently, she serves on the City of Dallas’ Public Art Committee through the Office of Arts and Culture. The Committee commissions local and international artists to design site specific art for the public realm. This provides various opportunities for place-making through community engagement and outreach.

As a North Texas Master Naturalist, Petrine has volunteered at the Dogwood Canyon Audubon Center. She has conducted Eco-Investigations with elementary school children on the importance of the conservation of birds and native habitats in addition to the connection between soils and the existing native flora and fauna.

David Dunnigan
Board Member

David Dunnigan, an Oak Cliff native, is a former Dallas Morning News reporter and public relations executive who has worked in government, corporate, agencies and non-profit organizations. He is a past president of the Rotary Club of Dallas, North Texas Chapter of the Public Relations Society, Press Club of Dallas, Society of Professional Journalists, Dallas iMedia (public access TV), and Kessler Neighbors United. He has served on the boards of the Dallas Historical Society, Clean Dallas, Historic Preservation League, Dallas Zoological Society, and others. He currently services on the board of the Greater Dallas Planning Council (where he was executive director for 25 years), The Mayborn School of Journalism at UNT, and Perkins School of Theology. 

Donna Miller
President

As the principal and founder of Miller Consulting, Donna Miller offers extensive experience in fundraising, marketing, public relations, strategic planning, and community relations. Donna is a hands-on consultant, working on everything from managing large teams to personally hanging lights prior to a special event. As a consultant, she helps clients reframe thinking, provides thought leadership, and guides projects successfully into new territory. She stays up to date on trends in public relations, business, nonprofits, politics, and the arts through reading, research, and interaction with a broad range of people. 

Graciela Montani
Board Member

Graciela has worked as a psychotherapist with the Therapy Institute of Dallas for more than 35 years helping families, children, and adults.

Lisa Peters
Treasurer

Lisa has worked in the home mortgage business for more than 25 years and currently serves as senior loan consultant and branch manager for Caliber Home Loans.

Avis Strong
Chair, Programming Committee

Avis Strong first landed in Oak Cliff right after college, doing outreach and mentoring in DISD’s. Pinkston and Carter high schools. She returned in 2003 with her husband, Jeff, and their three Children. Trained as an educator and theater practitioner, Avis taught at both the middle and high school level. She considered it a deep honor to help young people discover their voice and gain empowerment by teaching theater. In 2015, she joined her husband at his development company, Reserve Realty.

Though no longer teaching, Avis still engages in projects and programs that impact lives such as Jesuit Women’s Auxiliary, Democracy Now, and chairs the Advisory Board for Fashion Design and Marketing at El Centro Community College. Her latest creative project has been working as one of the writers for the documentary, Normie, which examines the beauty of love through the lens of Down Syndrome. 

Tammy Weiss
Board Member

Tammy Weiss and her husband, Greg, moved into their Winnetka Heights home on Clinton in November 2018 after wanting to move to this historic neighborhood for 10 years. Tammy grew up in Plano and went to college at the University of Texas - Austin. She worked in the General Counsel department at Southwest Airlines from 2006 until her retirement in 2019. One of her passions has been supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas for more than 20 years as a wish granter and Wish Night committee member.

 
Justo Blanco
Board Member

Chef Justo Blanco offers 16 years of food and beverage experience and 12 years of event experience in social and corporate settings. Extremely well-traveled, Justo’s takes his inspiration from the places he has visited. From Europe to Southeast Asia to South America, he has been heavily influenced from each culture and the culinary knowledge he acquired in each country. Justo loves creating dishes that relate to the experiences he has had in his life and as he says, he prefers to work from the heart - something he believes helps elevate the dishes that he thoughtfully prepares.

Paula Mele

Board Member and OCSFA Graphic Designer

Dallas Designer Paula Mele is an award-winning communications professional with years of top-level experience in design, advertising, corporate communications, brand positioning, web development and many other areas of business communication. Paula has proven expertise in strategic communications planning and implementation across an array of industries including health care, financial, technology, retail, landscaping, sports, real estate, community non-profits, fine arts and more. Before forming Paula Mele Design, Paula developed and directed in-house creative departments for companies distinguished as first of their kind in terms of innovation and concept. She serves as Creative Director and Member Board of Directors for The Clark Hulings Fund for Visual Artists and is a member of Executive Women of Dallas.

Patti Monger
Membership Committee Co-Chair

Patti Monger is committed to her philanthropic work with the Episcopal Church of the Incarnation. She has held leadership positions with the church’s Belize Mission Trip, Angel Tree campaign, Altar Guild, and the Growth Group. In Oak Cliff, she is a member of the North Oak Cliff Breakfast Club and co-chaired the Breakfast Club float in the Winnetka Heights Mardi Gras Parade.

Travis-Lee Moore
Membership Committee Co-Chair 

Having grown up in Fort Worth and spent most of his adult life in Dallas, Travis-Lee is a well-anchored native. He developed an affinity for taking great care of people and honed his sales and negotiating skills during a twenty-five-year career in the special events industry.  Other community involvement includes service to Heritage Oak Cliff, Preservation Dallas, the MetroTex Association of Realtors and a marketing calendar of events that benefit great organizations like the SPCA of Texas, AIDS Services of Dallas and the Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

Travis-Lee lives in South Oak Cliff with Steve, his partner of more than twenty-five years, a cat named Molly and a Husky named Jake.  “Free” time is spent entertaining friends and family and remodeling their 1966 bungalow located adjacent to beautiful Kiest Park.

Cynthia Paine-Drennan
Board Member

Cynthia is a Texas proud third generation Dallas realtor following in her grandmother and mother’s footsteps. Since 1997, she has worked with Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate. Cynthia has served on the board of the Rosemont Early Childhood PTA and is an experienced fundraiser.

Veta Redmond
Board Member

Veta Redmond is a native Texan, who spent 25 years in Houston before moving to Dallas 14 yearsago with her husband and daughter. She graduated from the University of Houston with a degree in Psychology.  She spent 15 years in the real estate industry managing and leasing residential, commercial and, industrial real estate throughout Houston.  She has spent the last 10 years working for Stroud Companies, a Senior Housing Real Estate company that builds and owns Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s communities throughout Texas. Veta has been on the design and build team for 6 communities, and most recently has been both a regional and executive director for several of the communities owned by her company.  She currently manages an Assisted Living and Alzheimer’s community in Carrollton and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner and leads a monthly Alzheimer’s support group.  

Bart Thrasher
Vice President
Chair – Building Committee

Bart has many years working with a multi-disciplinary design studio designing and building furniture, cabinetry, and interior spaces. He also designs and builds anything from a new house to an addition, historic preservation remodel to leveling a pier and beam foundation. With an aesthetic ranging from the traditional craftsman style to mid-century Modern designs, Bart enjoys exploring what makes design speak to the individual while creating a product that emphasizes material, comfort and utility. In addition to design and building, Bart works as a realtor specializing in Oak Cliff historic properties. 

EMERITUS BOARD