October 2025 Staff Highlights

Here’s a snapshot of the presentations made, events hosted, and honors received by the talented and dedicated staff of the Hogg Foundation during the month of October 2025. 

Alison Mohr Boleware, director of policy, and Jason Castillo, policy program specialist, presented on the 89th Texas Legislative Session at the Bexar County Area School Safety and Mental Health Summit.

Jason and Maddie Garza, policy fellow, also offered training on providing legislative testimony to students in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs graduate level course, “Collaborative Leadership Through Public Private Partnerships,” taught by Stacey Jordan, assistant vice president for interdepartmental affairs. 

Vicky Coffee, director of foundation initiatives, participated in the Healthy Minds, Healthy Families Conference in Houston, hosted by the Harris County Department of Education’s Head Start program and supported by the Hogg Foundation. Guided by the theme, “Level the Wellness Scale,” the conference provided early childhood educators, community partners, and parents with resources and professional development to help balance mental, emotional, and physical well-being.    

Vicky also participated in the Young Minds Matter (YMM) Conference: Meeting the Moment Together in Houston, led by Prevention Institute (PI) and sponsored by the Hogg Foundation. As program lead for the foundation’s collaborative efforts in partnership with PI and the conference design team, Vicky helped coordinate this biennial event that focuses on mental health and wellness for children, youth, and families.  

Additional Hogg Foundation staff that contributed to the success of YMM include Jessica Arons, executive assistant, Lexi Arons, grants manager, Ike Evans, communications manager, Tammy Heinz, senior program officer and community and family liaison, Amy Loar, administrator of the Texas Grants Resource Center (TGRC), Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director, Krystal Mullins, senior operations associate, and Ed Reed, systems administrator. 

Maddie Garza, policy fellow, provided training on building advocacy skills through lived-experience storytelling to conference attendees at the NAMI TX Annual Conference: Going to Bat for Mental Health. 

At the Bastrop County Youth Summit, she represented the Hogg Foundation as a resource for high school youth who are interested in getting involved in policy and advocacy. 

Tammy Heinz, senior program officer and consumer & family liaison, presented “Let Them, Let Me: Using the Let Them Theory as a Wellness Tool” at the International WRAP (Wellness & Recovery Action Plan) Symposium. Designated as an evidence-based practice by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), WRAP is a process for incorporating recovery concepts and wellness tools into one’s life using a facilitated peer group model.  

Tammy also presented the keynote address at the Healthy Minds, Healthy Hearts Mental Health & Wellness Conference hosted by Hug Me, Ink, a peer-led nonprofit organization working to increase mental health awareness and sustainable recovery through the arts. 

Amy Loar, administrator of the Texas Grants Resource Center (TGRC), presented an introduction to program evaluation as a guest lecturer in the “Advanced Practice and Policy” course taught by Alison Mohr Boleware, policy director at the Hogg Foundation and adjunct assistant professor in the School of Social Work. 

Amy also provided an overview of the services offered and resources available at the TGRC to the “Nonprofit Management” class taught by Dr. Francie Ostrower of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. 

Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., executive director, attended the Healthier Texas Summit, where he joined public health, policy, and community leaders to share evidence-based strategies for improving health outcomes across Texas. 

Dr. Martinez also attended the annual Philanthropy Southwest Conference serving as a panelist for the session “Systems Thinking and How It Can Inform Philanthropy.” He joined peers in discussing how systems perspectives can shape funding strategies, improve understanding of complex social issues, and support lasting, population-level outcomes. 

Elizabeth Stauber, archivist and records manager, presented on the foundation’s Dialogues on Mental Health Records project at the annual conference of the American Society for Bioethics in Health Communication. This year’s conference explored issues surrounding how the past can guide our present, how diverse perspectives can offer unique insights into perennial issues, and how the intersections between bioethics and humanities may be greater than the sum of their parts. 

She also facilitated a virtual meeting as part of the ongoing Dialogues on Mental Health Records project. Researchers, historians, genealogists, family members, and descendants provided feedback on issues surrounding the preservation and accessibility of historical public mental health records. 

Rick Ybarra, senior program officer, represented the Hogg Foundation at the annual Grantmakers in Health Rural Health Philanthropy Partnership Meeting: Enhancing Rural Health Across Lifespan through Collaboration and Partnership. This annual forum brings together philanthropies, federal staff, and select rural health partners to explore emerging rural health issues and opportunities to enhance health in rural America.