Meet Julia – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s events and marketing manager. Julia manages the day-to-day logistics of the Foundation’s annual fundraisers, mental health conference, and other special events. She also manages the Foundation’s social media channels and assists with other creative and graphic design projects.
Meet Yvonne – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s mental health education manager. For more than six years, Yvonne was an educator in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Through that experience, she gained social-emotional learning skills to help convey vital topics to students, parents, and educators to help and equip youth with coping skills.
Meet Kristien – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s office administrator. Kristien came to Grant Halliburton Foundation first as a mom in need of support for her child struggling with mental health issues. Passionate about the cause, she began volunteering at the Foundation weekly as a way to give back and to support other Coffee Days moms and families with their struggles. Kristien coordinates clerical and administrative tasks and supports other staff as needed for events and conferences.
Meet Meghann – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s mental health education presenter. With more than six years in the classroom, Meghann is dedicated to helping others thrive. This is her driving force for advancing the Foundation’s mission to help families and young people recognize the signs of mental illness.
Meet Diane – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s director of finance and operations. Diane manages day-to-day human resource needs and financial activities, including monitoring accounts, preparing financial reports, and processing donations and grants. She works closely with the Foundation president and board of directors to ensure the financial health of the organization.
Meet Justin – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s 2023 summer intern. Justin will soon be a sophomore at Greenhill School and sees mental health as an important part of life that he believes is not discussed enough in society. Justin is curious about the ways the Foundation helps people with their mental health, and he wants to make a difference in how mental wellness is viewed in the world.
Meet Lindsey – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s Thrive Strategy and education manager. Lindsey thrives on thoughtful connection through writing and speaking about her personal experiences with mental health conditions. She communicates with purpose and authenticity about losing her father, who died by suicide, when she was a teenager.
Meet Marenid – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s newest outreach and education manager. With more than 10 years of nonprofit experience providing services to multicultural families, Marenid is passionate about serving communities in North Texas. She’s committed to creating opportunities to educate and raise awareness about mental health and suicide prevention.
Meet Cerena Collins – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s office manager. Cerena manages a broad range of office and administrative functions, which allows the Foundation to operate efficiently. In general, she’s the office “go-to” person. With a background in fundraising and large events coordination, Cerena works closely with the events team and manages the Foundation’s donor database.
Meet Laura Montgomery Peña, M.Ed., BCBA – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s community engagement manager. Laura leads community engagement for the Foundation. She has a master’s degree in education specializing in early intervention and is a board-certified behavior analyst. After a personal loss to suicide, she is dedicated to cultivating strong community involvement surrounding mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Meet Shauna Barnes – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s mental health education manager. Shauna’s background in child psychiatry research has given her a passion for mental health awareness and advocacy. She’s motivated by the desire for adolescents, parents, teachers, and community members to have the knowledge and resources to recognize and support those struggling with a mental health condition.
Meet Blanca N. Garcia, LCSW-S – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s director of mental health resources. Blanca’s leads the Foundation’s Here For Texas program. A licensed clinical social worker, she has worked with children, teens, and families for more than 10 years as a bilingual mental health clinician. Blanca understands that navigating mental health services is a challenge and was critical in implementing the Foundation’s Here For Texas Mental Health Navigation Line to increase access to mental health resources in North Texas.
Grant Halliburton Foundation continues to experience organizational growth propelled largely by the continued need for mental health education and mental health resources in North Texas. The education and outreach team welcomed several new staff members last fall and early this year to reach more people with vital mental health and suicide prevention training.
Meet Sonya Parker Goode – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s director of outreach and education. Sonya’s passion for helping people led her to pursue a dual career in education and nonprofit work almost 25 years ago. As a certified life coach and anger management specialist, Sonya enjoys developing and equipping people with tools to increase their confidence, set and respect boundaries, and use effective communication and conflict resolution techniques.
Meet Jessica Look – Grant Halliburton Foundation’s Thrive Strategy and Education Manager. Jessica has a master’s degree in educational psychology and brings 20 years of experience working in public and private school settings. As a mother, educator, and mental health advocate, she’s committed to changing the conversation around mental health and providing resources to children and teens in North Texas.
I’ve written a lot of blogs during my time at Grant Halliburton Foundation. Blogs about stress, depression, trans youth, mindfulness – things in my comfort zone. Goodbyes are not in my comfort zone. The thing about homes is that sometimes they change. Sometimes you move to a different city or just down the road. Sometimes what you need from a home changes, but almost every time moving homes really sucks.
