Blanca earned her bachelor’s degree in International Marketing in Mexico and has been living in Houston for the past 10 years. Two years ago, she also earned an associates degree in Business Administration with a minor in Marketing. Most of her professional experience has been customer service oriented, with her...

Graciela joined Avenue in 2020. As Client Services Coordinator, she provides customer service and support for prospective clients in the Education and Counseling departments. She has a background in non-profit management and the arts, having worked at Rothko Chapel, American Institute of Architects, and Cultural Arts department at the City...

Justine joined Avenue as Development Associate in 2020.  She has worked in development for over fifteen years, managing a variety of projects and events.  Justine holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Houston, Downtown.

Deborah, a Registered Nurse, joined the board in 2002. She lives in Avenue’s target area, is active with GO Neighborhoods and B.O.N.D. (Fifth Ward Blocks Organizing Neighborhood Defense) civic club, and serves as the Community Outreach Committee Chair.

Yuraima Rodriguez is currently the Vice President, Texas Portfolio Manager at Amerant Bank, formerly Mercantil Bank. In this role, which she has held for over 2 years, she is responsible for the asset quality of the Bank’s loan portfolio. Yuraima’s has been with Amerant since 2004 and has held positions...

Kyle Shelton joined the board in 2019 after serving on the Avenue Building Committee for several years. He is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research where he leads research on housing and urban development, transportation and placemaking, as well as on urban and...

Mark joined the board in 1992, shortly after the organization’s founding, and has been a resident of our target area since 1987. He has restored 11 historic housing units in the area. Mark is a small business consultant and also serves on the City of Houston Building and Standards Commission.