Marianne serves as Texas Book Festival’s CEO. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University where she documented the story of her family’s immigration experience from Cuba to the US. Marianne dedicated over three years to full-time volunteer service in the United States Peace Corps (Republic of Moldova from 2000-2002) and AmeriCorps VISTA (Dallas, Texas from 2002–2003) where she developed a passion for fundraising for mission-driven organizations. She has since spent the last two decades developing her skills as an organizational leader and social entrepreneur. Most recently, she served as the Chief Revenue Officer for Pease Park Conservancy, where she helped finalize the $15M capital campaign to revitalize, operate, and maintain Austin’s beloved Pease Park. She currently serves on the boards of directors for Raasin in the Sun and Austin Outside. In her free time, she totes around her teenage son (who is her brightest star), catches up on her reading, and avidly walkables (aka the formal combination of the verbs walk and Audible which clearly go hand-in-hand.)
Category: TBF People
General category for Posts describing TBF Staff, BOD, and others.
Anna Herd
Anna Herd is a community volunteer and mother of two. She formerly worked for American Campus Communities and the Seton Medical Center. Since moving to Austin in 2004, Anna has served on the Elizabeth Ann Seton Board, the Springhouse Foundation Board of Trustees, The Dell Children’s Trust, and the YMCA Camp Moody Leadership Advisory Council. In 2018, she co-chaired the Explore Austin Quest for the Summit gala. Community First! Village, The Trail Conservancy, Austin Diaper Bank, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School are some of her favorites for volunteer work. Anna has an MBA from the Tulane School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University. In her downtime, Anna manages and writes for Calling All Explorers, her outdoor travel blog.
Dr. Daniel Guerrero
A native of San Marcos, Daniel Guerrero is a Distinguished Alumnus of San Marcos High School, holds multiple certificates from Austin Community College, a Bachelor of Mass Communications from Texas State University, a Master of Organizational Leadership and Ethics, and a Doctor of Leadership and Higher Education from St. Edward’s University. Daniel received the St. Edward’s University Presidential Award in April 2023.
Daniel has served in nonprofit leadership roles as the Executive Director for INROADS/Central Texas, Inc. and led fundraising development campaigns for the San Marcos Education Foundation.
Daniel previously served as the Assistant Dean of Students for Student Development and Leadership Programs at Texas State University. At his alma mater, he taught Global Business and Leadership as an adjunct professor in the McCoy College of Business and University Seminar courses.
Daniel joined Concordia University as an adjunct professor within the MBA program, teaching Business, Society, & Public Policy; Leadership and Community; and Organizational Behavior, Ethics, & Change. He is the institution’s MBA Program Chair and Business Advisory Board Chair.
In addition to his faculty role, he is a senior business development consultant for J.L. Powers & Associates, where he brokers relationships between industry clients, government agencies, and community leaders.
Daniel served six years as mayor of San Marcos and is currently a gubernatorial appointee to the Texas State Board of Pharmacy. Daniel is a trained family law mediator and Court Appointed Special Advocate. He has served as the Vice President for the San Marcos Family Justice Center and board member for Karana Rising, a nonprofit which supports the recovery of victims of global human trafficking. He previously served as a regional leader on the Austin Area Research Organization board of directors.
Daniel is a 41-year cancer survivor, an avid world traveler, a Blue October fanatic, a certified NAUI scuba diver, and enjoys spending time with his rescued pets, Winter (dog), Diego (tortoise), Chiquito (tortoise), and Poquito (tortoise).
Adriana Pacheco
Adriana Pacheco, PhD, is the founder and producer of the Hablemos Escritoras Podcast, along with its companion website, hablemosescritoras.org, and the online bookstore, Shop Escritoras. She holds a PhD in Iberian and Latin American Literatures and Cultures. Currently, she serves as an Affiliate Research Fellow at the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and as member and previous chair of the International Board of Advisors at the University of Texas Austin. Among other associations, she is an active member of the Pan American Round Table of Texas in Austin. In 2012, she was recognized as a Featured Author at the Texas Book Festival. Her academic work and book reviews have been published in reputable literary magazines worldwide. She has also edited various critical books and documentaries, aiming to promote literacy and showcase the accomplishments of Iberian, Latin American and Hispanic-heritage women writers from around the world. Born in Puebla, Mexico, Adriana Pacheco, she is a naturalized American citizen.
Hopeton Hay
Based in Pflugerville, he has over 25 years of experience producing and hosting talk shows for
noncommercial radio. He is the founder, host, and producer of Diverse Voices Book Review (formerly
known as KAZI Book Review), a podcast featuring interviews with authors of recently published fiction
and nonfiction. It also airs weekly on KAZI 88.7 FM. He is the co-editor of Austin Noir (May 2023), a
short story collection featuring writers providing a kaleidoscopic view of the city—not just in where they
set the stories, but in their different social, economic, and cultural perspectives.
He is also the founder and producer of the Celebration of Diverse Literary Voices of Texas, an annual
event bringing together writers discussing fiction, nonfiction, and contemporary issues centered on people
of color.
Becky Gomez
Becky serves as the Digital Content & Design Coordinator for the Texas Book Festival. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in Industrial Engineering with a minor in Art & Art History. Prior to joining TBF, she worked as a product designer in New York City but decided to move her pursuits of a creative career to her hometown, Austin TX. As a creative with a passion for self-expression in many forms, she is excited to pursue her role with the hope of continuing to tell visual stories. Her love for reading can be traced to bedtime stories her parents would read to her, and memories made with TBF programming growing up. In her free time, she can be found collaging, crocheting, acting, or styling herself or others for her small personal styling business.
Jose Rodriguez
Jose serves as the Texas Book Festival’s Communications & PR Coordinator. He holds a B.B.A. in Marketing and a B.A. in English with a creative writing focus in fiction from Texas State University. Following graduation, he joined GoDaddy’s social media team helping hundreds of small businesses across the United States succeed online via marketing, branding, and paid advertising. He’s volunteered with local literary organizations including the Writers’ League of Texas and Austin Bat Cave. He serves as a reader for Story Magazine and continues working furiously to develop his own writing for publication. In his free time, Jose enjoys roller skating, dancing with his friends, enjoying a good piece of speculative fiction, and attempting to live inside the minds of the characters he’s invented.
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