Our Board
501(c)(3) nonprofit · Austin & Round Rock, Texas
The people who keep us honest, healthy, and here for the long haul.
A volunteer Executive Board and a clinical and community Advisory Board, giving their time so more people can heal.
Cheryl Bell
Jeronimo Trevino
Dana Fisher
Michael Ikeya
Katy Raileanu
Dawn Richard
Claudia Ocampo
Audrey Perry
Dr. Omar Akhter
Ben Speich
Nonprofit Executive Board
Fiduciary leadership, two-year terms.
Our Executive Board carries legal and financial responsibility for the Collective. Members serve two-year terms, personally give and help raise funds, and attend board meetings throughout the year.
Ben Speich, Board Chair
Board Chair
Ben Speich
Fractional COO, Speich Consulting
Ben spent eight years as an aircraft engine mechanic in the Minnesota Air National Guard, then moved through operations from field technician to VP of Global Operations to COO. The scale changed; the work did not. His passion is helping companies find what is actually broken and fix it to a standard that does not tolerate “close enough.”
He works with businesses where growth has made the founder the default owner of too much, creating just enough structure for people to know what matters, own their work, and move forward. He brings that same calm, direct approach to Hope For The Journey Collective, helping people know that they matter, one healed human at a time.
Off the clock: An MMORPG and PC nerd who loves to travel and enjoys a good family board game night.
Cheryl Bell
Vice Chair
Cheryl Bell
REALTOR®, Bell Property Team
Cheryl loves to connect, whether pairing people with causes or clients with their ideal Texas property. A member of the Keller Williams International Luxury Division and a certified Resort & Second-Home Property Specialist, she leads Bell Property Team, a concierge-style team serving buyers, sellers, and investors from the Texas lakeshore to the Gulf shore.
Her early decades in nonprofit advancement built relationships with donors, volunteers, educators, and business leaders across the country. She is a driving force behind the growing village that helps all people heal and thrive after trauma. She also supports Legacy Thrift and Living Water International, is a past Big Couple of the Year, and holds REALTOR®, RSPS, CLHMS, and CTA (Galveston) credentials.
Off the clock: Friends call her the “bird dog” for house hunting. She is an introverted extrovert who doesn’t love parties but is happy as a lark with a role to serve, and she has drilled two clean-water wells in Honduras and El Salvador with Living Water International.
CFO, beginning Nov 2026
Jeronimo Trevino
Fractional CFO, Saguaro Finance
Jeronimo, CFA, brings more than 20 years of experience in finance, analytics, and strategic planning, including senior leadership roles at American Express and Synchrony Financial. Through Saguaro Finance, he provides fractional CFO services that help business owners turn complex financial information into practical strategies for sustainable growth.
He holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business, an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering, and coursework in government and nonprofit accounting. His interest in nonprofit service grew from researching charities and seeing the importance of financial transparency, accountability, and responsible stewardship.
Off the clock: Loves traveling, road trips, motorsports, and exploring the outdoors with his family. An avid national parks fan, he has visited 13 so far, and counting.
Dana Fisher
Secretary
Dana Fisher
Retired, corporate operations
A lifelong Austin resident, Dana is an alumna of Travis High School and the University of Texas at Austin. She brings an extensive background in corporate operations and a track record of nonprofit leadership as both a volunteer and trustee. Having seen firsthand how trauma affects people, she is deeply inspired by the mission of Hope For The Journey.
Her past board service includes Friends of the Austin State Supported Living Center and Partnerships for Children. She is a former member of the Women’s Symphony League, a sustaining member of the Junior League of Austin, and a Diamond-level Austin Pets Alive volunteer.
Off the clock: A big animal lover and long-time Austin Pets Alive volunteer (though she doesn’t have a pet of her own), Dana loves to travel and is recently retired.
Michael Ikeya
Director-at-Large
Michael Ikeya
Financial Planner, Northwestern Mutual
Originally from Denver and a former Florida resident, Michael has lived in Austin since 2007. As a comprehensive financial planner and Series 6 licensed financial professional, he helps individuals, families, and businesses make informed decisions about their futures with an education-focused approach.
Off the clock: Michael is happily married to Stephanie, and together they raise Penny, a border collie/Australian cattle dog mix with an abundance of energy. He turned his backyard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat, is reading his way through every Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner (about 35 so far; favorite: All the Light We Cannot See), and counts the beach as his happy place, with a small cottage in the Florida Panhandle. Gardening, dining out, and travel round it out.
Katy Raileanu smiling, wearing a white top and pearl hoop earrings
Headshot
Director-at-Large
Katy Raileanu, LCSW
Therapist
Katy Raileanu, LCSW is passionate about building stronger communities and believes meaningful change happens when people are willing to invest in one another. She previously served on the Hope for the Journey team and, after stepping away to spend more time with her son, was honored to continue supporting the organization's mission as a board member.
With experience in both nonprofit leadership and clinical practice, Katy is passionate about increasing access to quality mental health care, supporting sustainable organizations, and helping communities thrive. She continues to work part time as a therapist and is honored to contribute her clinical expertise to the Board.
Off the clock: An avid reader, animal lover, weight lifter, and kickboxer who rarely misses a Formula 1 race or a Texas Longhorn football game. Friends know her as passionate, quick to make people laugh, and just the right amount of chaos.
Founder
Traci W. Pirri, LCSW-S
Executive Director, Hope For The Journey Collective
Traci founded Hope For The Journey to give survivors a place where they could experience what it feels like to heal, learn to love themselves again, and live fulfilling lives — cared for by experienced, qualified professionals who genuinely care about their recovery.
As Executive Director she sees a limited number of clients, mostly for EMDR Intensives, provides EMDR consultation and supervision for provisionally licensed clinicians, and facilitates trainings and speaking engagements. She has spent most of her career honing skills for healing trauma — work that is more direct, more creative, and a little deeper than traditional talk therapy.
Clinical & Community Advisory Board
Expertise on call, no strings attached.
Advisory Board members lend their clinical, professional, and community expertise a few times a year. They carry no fiduciary commitment — just a shared belief in the mission.
Dawn Richard
Advisory Board
Dawn Richard, M.A.
Spiritual Psychology Coach & Author
Dawn is a speaker, best-selling author (The Gifts of Pain, volumes 3, 4, and 5), and host of the Wake Up to Real Love podcast, passionate about helping people find meaning through loss and new beginnings. A former Licensed Professional Counselor and Marriage and Family Systems Specialist, she helped many couples heal their marriages before choosing divorce after her own 27-year marriage.
Now a Spiritual Psychology Coach and Certified Trauma Facilitator, she empowers women to release pain, break unhealthy patterns, and build relationship skills after betrayal or divorce, so they can find their peace, power, passion, and purpose. She also serves with TEDxSouthCongress.
Off the clock: A dancer, world traveler, and lover of art and culture.
Claudia Ocampo smiling in a royal blue blouse with a black beaded necklace
Headshot
Advisory Board
Claudia Ocampo, MS, LPC-S, RPT-S™
Founder, Evergreen Journey Counseling
Claudia is a bilingual (English and Spanish) therapist, clinical supervisor, international speaker, and trainer with more than 25 years of experience with children, adolescents, adults, and families. She is the founder of Evergreen Journey Counseling in Georgetown, Texas, and an EMDR Certified Therapist, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, Registered Play Therapist Supervisor, Registered Sand Therapist Consultant and Trainer, and SoulCollage® Facilitator.
She specializes in complex trauma, attachment, anxiety, grief, and neurodiversity, blending EMDR, play therapy, sandtray, Internal Family Systems, expressive arts, and somatic approaches. She presents nationally and internationally, mentors the next generation of therapists, and serves on the UT School of Social Work Play Therapy Symposium committee and several Association for Play Therapy committees, including chairing its Award Committee.
Off the clock: Loves dancing (cumbia, two-step, salsa), trying new restaurants, and international cinema.
Audrey Perry
Advisory Board
Audrey Perry
AVP, Business Banker
With more than seven years in banking, Audrey is an AVP and Business Banker passionate about helping small business owners turn their goals into growth. She takes pride in offering personalized guidance that helps entrepreneurs navigate challenges and build lasting success. An Austin resident for over 13 years, she is deeply connected to the local business community.
Off the clock: Audrey has two tuxedo cats, enjoys playing sand volleyball, and is a superfan of Big Brother.
Dr. Omar Akhter
Advisory Board
Dr. Omar Akhter
Board-Certified Internist, Madina Medicine
Dr. Akhter is a Board-Certified Internist and the founder of Madina Medicine, a private practice in Austin focused on hormonal health and personalized medicine, with a particular focus on women’s health, perimenopause, menopause, and hormone-related concerns.
He is passionate about health education and uses speaking, writing, and digital education to make complex medical topics easier to understand. He is committed to addressing gaps in conventional approaches to women’s hormonal health, and the intersection of women’s health and well-being is one of the driving forces behind his support of the mission.
Off the clock: Loves soccer, is a dad of twins, and loves languages (he knows nearly three).
Join Our Advisory Board
Bring your expertise to the table.
We're always meeting people who could strengthen our Advisory Board — clinicians, finance and legal minds, community connectors, fundraisers. Advisory members attend two to three meetings a year and carry no fiduciary commitment. If that sounds like you, let's talk.