Meet the Team

Cliff Kaplan – Program Director

Cliff first worked with the Hill Country Alliance in 2015 to coordinate a partnership between HCA and the University of Texas that resulted in the publication of a set of proposed regional conservation strategies. At the completion of that project, Cliff joined the HCA staff as a program manager. He now supports HCA’s Water, Night Skies, and Communities programs. He also co-chairs the Community Engagement Committee of the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network and serves as secretary of the Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM) coalition. He is a founding board member of the Comal County Conservation Alliance and the Friends of Lost Maples.

Before joining HCA, Cliff worked on invasive species management in the field with the Austin Parks Foundation and the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department. Cliff holds masters degrees in Community and Regional Planning and Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.

Daniel Oppenheimer – Land Program Director

A San Antonio native, Daniel grew up hunting and fishing with family in South Texas. These intergenerational experiences shaped his career. Since 2017, Daniel has overseen HCA’s Land Program, working with private landowners and partner organizations to support private land stewardship and conservation across the Texas Hill Country. Daniel also serves as Coordinator of the Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape Partnership.

Prior to joining HCA, Daniel worked for the Tamarisk Coalition, coordinating the Dolores River Restoration Partnership in southwestern Colorado and eastern Utah, and for the Nueces River Authority, implementing riparian restoration projects on the Sabinal and Nueces Rivers. He still enjoys hunting and fishing.

Lauro Martinez – Landowner Outreach and Stewardship Manager

Lauro is originally from Laredo, Texas, where he learned the importance of responsible land management and stewardship from his family ranch, La Selva. He has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy from St. Edwards University and spent his early career conducting erosion and stormwater inspections of construction sites throughout Central Texas.

Before joining HCA, Lauro most recently worked in South Texas as an Outreach Coordinator with Rio Grande International Study Center, where he assisted landowners and the broader community in protecting and preserving the region’s natural resources.

Chanee Carlson – Director of Philanthropy

Chanee grew up in Lubbock, Texas and is a graduate of Texas A&M University. Although she holds her degree in Sport Management, Chanee always had a strong passion for giving back and impacting the lives of others and her community.  She has worked in various non-profit organizations over the past 15 years and most recently served as the Director of Development for Concordia University Texas. Before her time at Concordia, Chanee worked on the development team at The Association of Former Students at Texas A&M and helped oversee the Annual Fund for the University.

When Chanee moved to Cedar Park in 2017, one of the first things she started doing was exploring the Hill Country. She enjoys going on hikes with her son and seeing all that this charming area has to offer. She can usually be found watching her son play football or baseball and enjoying a beautiful Texas sunset in her spare time.

Marisa Bruno – Water Program Manager

In her role as Water Program Manager at the Hill Country Alliance, Marisa works with local Hill Country partners, including grassroots advocates and elected officials, to promote policies and projects that advance water supply resilience and protect groundwater and surface water flows. She got her start in Texas water as a program strategist for the Texas Water Foundation. She currently serves as an alternate for the Water Conservation Advisory Council and Region L Regional Water Planning Group.

Marisa received her Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of the Environment, where she specialized in water resource management and policy. Her graduate research focused on Texas groundwater management and community water planning. 

Dawn Davies – Night Sky Program Manager

Dawn brings over a decade of astronomy outreach and dark sky preservation experience to Hill Country Alliance as the Night Sky Program Coordinator. Before joining HCA, she served on the board of the Austin Astronomical Society and as a volunteer advocate for the International Dark-Sky Association. A dedication to education and accessibility led her to become an ambassador for the Astronomy in Chile Educator Ambassador Program and the International Astronomical Union.

Originally from San Francisco, Dawn spent a large portion of her youth outdoors, camping, hiking, and attending astronomy events. By high school, she was speaking at local schools about the fundamentals of space science. These passions led to a degree in Culture, Ecology & Sustainability from New College of California. Working with HCA, she hopes to bring to the forefront the importance dark sky preservation plays in the everyday lives of animals, plants, and us.

Dawn and her husband moved to Austin in 2006, where they live with their son, two dogs, and a cat. Outside of work, she enjoys camping in the Hill Country, kayaking the Highland Lakes, and of course, amateur astronomy.

Grace Gilker – Communities Program Manager

Grace grew up in Dallas and got to the Hill Country as fast as she could. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelors of Arts in History and Plan II, she spent a decade building outreach programs in corporate, political, and nonprofit spaces.

Grace joined HCA in the spring of 2024, and manages the Communities Program which engages and serves as a resource for communities across the region, facilitates the Hill Country Leadership Institute, coordinates the Leading in the Rural Hill Country series, and connects leaders to Hill Country-specific policy resources.

Prior to HCA, she served as the Net Zero Liaison for Texas Water Trade, developing a comprehensive toolkit introducing Texas developers to onsite water reuse systems and resources. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, cooking, lichenology, and two stepping.

Cody Ackermann – Texas Hill Country Conservation Network Manager

A fifth generation Texan, Cody grew up west of San Antonio in the sma ll town of Castroville, where the ranches and farms of his youth shaped the way he views conservation and the respect he has for those that live with the land. Cody holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Texas State University and for the past 20 years, he has been connecting people to the natural beauty of Central Texas through every type of outdoor recreation available in the region. He enjoyed long tenures within the LCRA parks system and at REI where he was the Regional Experiences Manager for Texas.

Cody has experience in strategy and operations planning, bringing together stakeholders and aligning priorities in service of both specific goals and overall mission success. As Manager of the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network, Cody works to support member organizations in their individual missions and the collective impact they all strive to achieve.

Leah Cuddeback – Storytelling and Public Engagement Manager

Leah grew up visiting grandparents in Wimberley, which led her to pursue a B.S. in Wildlife Biology at Texas State University. She has spent over a decade working in science and environmental education for various nonprofits such as The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, El Ranchito at Shield Ranch, and the Saint Louis Zoo. Leah joined the Hill Country Alliance in October of 2018 and stepped into a full-time role as the Storytelling and Public Engagement Manager in the summer of 2021.

At HCA, Leah oversees the website, social media accounts, and newsletter and helps to manage the Hill Country Leadership Institute. In her free time, she enjoys bicycling, hiking, cats, and volunteering on the Wimberley Parks Board. She loves getting out into the Hill Country and is most passionate about inspiring others to protect the natural resources and scenic beauty that draw so many to Texas.

Sydney Beckner – Operations Manager and TRAM Coordinator

Sydney was born and raised in East Texas. She left the beautiful Piney Woods to obtain a B.S. in Environmental Geoscience and a Masters in Geography from Texas A&M University. Her passion for water resources was sparked during her Master’s project which centered on understanding stakeholder perspectives on the Vista Ridge Pipeline, a groundwater transfer project from Central Texas to San Antonio.

Sheila Holt – HR/Finance Manager

Sheila started working for HCA in July of 2014. Sheila brings extensive business and accounting expertise to her role as HR and Finance Manager, and the position with HCA provided her a chance to work with professionals who have a mission she shares – to preserve and protect the area she loves and lives in.

Prior to her position at HCA Sheila owned and operated Overhead Door Company of Austin, which she sold in 2011.  Prior to this position she owned and operated retail stores. Sheila manages HCA’s financials, payroll and office administration. She and her husband have lived at Canyon Lake for more than 40 years, where they raised one son.