Board of Directors
Pete Mangan
Board Chairperson
Pete Mangan brings more than 35 years of executive leadership to Austin Lighthouse’s Board of Directors, with a career spanning startups to Fortune 500 companies in the pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors. As the former COO and President of ProMed Pharma and ProMed Molded Products, he built and led high-performance teams focused on creating products that improve people’s lives.
Pete holds an MBA in Business and Finance from Rochester Institute of Technology. His leadership philosophy centers on developing teams and cultures that deliver results — experience he brings directly to his board service.
Pete’s commitment to Austin Lighthouse is both professional and deeply personal. With immediate family members affected by blindness, he understands firsthand why this mission matters and is honored to support the organization’s work to empower Texans with vision loss. When not at work, Pete enjoys all that Austin has to offer alongside his wife, Donna.xx
Elsa Zambrano
Vice Chairperson
Elsa Zambrano is a Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and global HR executive whose career centers on translating business strategy into talent, leadership, and culture priorities that drive results. She has partnered with CEOs and boards across complex organizations — guiding teams through acquisitions, large-scale transformation, and growth — in environments spanning 20+ countries and workforces of tens of thousands.
Elsa’s work includes building executive succession pipelines, strengthening leadership capability, and improving employee engagement beyond industry benchmarks. She brings hands-on experience in private equity environments, global integration, and organizational redesign — always with a focus on culture and sustainable performance.
Today, as CHRO for Bluejack Fire, Elsa partners with senior leaders to align people strategy with business growth. She serves on the Austin Lighthouse Board of Directors, contributing her expertise in leadership and organizational development to advance the mission of empowering Texans with vision loss.
Chase Rupe
Board Treasurer
Chase Rupe is CEO of Lencore Acoustics, a company focused on improving workplace environments through innovative sound management solutions. He also owns and operates Paint EZ franchise locations in Austin and Tampa, combining an entrepreneurial mindset with a dedication to building strong, service-driven businesses.
Chase serves as Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee for Austin Lighthouse for the Blind — roles that put his financial acumen and business experience to work in direct support of the organization’s mission. He brings strategic financial oversight and an entrepreneurial perspective to the Board’s work.
His leadership at Austin Lighthouse reflects a commitment to building organizations where mission and operations work together — where sound financial management creates the foundation for lasting impact.
Betty Huffman
Board Secretary
Betty Huffman’s career is a testament to what’s possible when lived experience drives professional purpose. A graduate of the Texas School for the Blind, Betty earned her bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin and began her career as a social worker with the Texas Department of Public Welfare, where she served for eight years.
Betty then joined the Texas Commission for the Blind as a counselor — including a role at the Texas School for the Blind and subsequent work as a field counselor. As Coordinator of Consumer Affairs, she hosted both a television and radio show, bringing visibility and resources to Texans navigating vision loss. Her career continued with Advocacy, Inc., where she worked as a rehabilitation specialist.
Betty later returned to the Texas Commission for the Blind to serve as a rehabilitation counselor at The University of Texas’s campus office until her retirement. She holds a Master of Education in Special Education from The University of Texas at Austin. Her board service at Austin Lighthouse is rooted in decades of direct experience serving — and as a member of — the blind community in Texas.
Eric Hicks
Board Member
PhD, Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, Occupational Therapist Registered
Eric Hicks brings 25 years of occupational therapy (OT) expertise to Austin Lighthouse’s Board of Directors. As Program Director and Assistant Professor at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in Austin, he leads the next generation of occupational therapists while advancing clinical scholarship in low vision rehabilitation.
Eric’s work centers on expanding access and quality of care for Texans of all ages who are blind or have low vision. His teaching, research, and service integrate clinical practice with a commitment to community impact – building the knowledge base that helps people with vision loss live with greater independence and purpose.
Eric’s board service reflects his belief that meaningful work happens when expertise meets mission. He brings both clinical insight and academic rigor to Austin Lighthouse’s work of redefining possibilities for the communities we serve.
Bobbi Dangerfield
Board Member
Bobbi Dangerfield is a global technology and operations executive whose 30-year career spans the Americas, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Europe. At Dell Technologies, she led teams managing multi-hundred-million-dollar budgets and profit-and-loss responsibility, driving operational excellence, customer experience improvements, and major business integrations.
Among her signature achievements was leading the IT and Order-to-Cash integration during the Dell-EMC merger — one of the largest technology sector mergers in history. Bobbi combines strategic vision with hands-on execution, a combination that has defined her career across complex, global enterprises.
Bobbi holds an MBA from Southern Methodist University. She serves as President of the Dangerfield Family Foundation and contributes to several Austin-area nonprofit boards. Her service at Austin Lighthouse reflects her commitment to building organizations that expand opportunity and serve community needs.
Stephen Portner
Board Member
Stephen Portner is CEO of Stephen Portner Consulting and the former CEO of JMJ Consulting, an international firm with 17 offices around the globe. At JMJ, Stephen led a practice that helped the world’s largest companies — including national oil companies in oil and gas, mining and metals — achieve organizational transformation and deliver major projects safely, on budget, and on time.
JMJ’s approach, and Stephen’s leadership philosophy, centered on developing who people are at their core as a foundation for breakthrough results. That philosophy translated into real outcomes: improved safety cultures, transformed leaders, and projects delivered without compromise. His work has touched the lives of thousands of workers and reshaped how major organizations think about leadership.
Stephen brings that same commitment to building strong people and strong organizations to his service on Austin Lighthouse’s Board of Directors. He is married to his partner for life, Eileen, and is the proud father of two, grandfather of six, and companion to three cats.
Yating Lai
Board Member
Yating Lai is a tenured President in the high-tech marine sector with a career shaped by multiple cycles of industry transformation, technological evolution, and entrepreneurship. She offers a rare combination of institutional depth and forward-thinking strategy — earned through decades of leading organizations through complex, dynamic business environments.
Yating brings a results-driven approach to navigating change, with a leadership perspective that spans start-up agility and enterprise-scale execution. She is committed to leveraging that experience in service of Austin Lighthouse’s vision — ensuring the organization is positioned to meet the community where it is today and lead it toward greater possibility.
Her board service reflects her belief that experienced leaders have a responsibility to invest in the missions that matter most.
Joey Berger
Board Member
Joey Berger is a partner at Rigby Slack, where he handles real estate transactions across Texas and throughout the United States. His practice covers the full spectrum of real estate work — from acquisition, disposition, construction, development and financing, to leasing and property management – across a wide range of property types including multifamily, hospitality, office, industrial, retail, and mixed-use.
Joey also represents clients in condominium, residential subdivision, and farm and ranch transactions. He brings broad transactional experience from his prior roles at Dickinson Wright PLLC and Egan Nelson LLP in Austin, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in Dallas — building the depth and range that makes him a trusted advisor to clients navigating complex real estate decisions.
Joey serves on the Austin Lighthouse Board of Directors, contributing real estate and business expertise in support of the organization’s mission. Outside the office, he enjoys time with his wife and two children, golf, fishing, reading, and following college and professional sports.
Jennifer Allison
Board Member
Jennifer Allison is a corporate communications executive based in Austin with more than 20 years of experience shaping narratives for Fortune 500 companies. She advises C-suite leaders on reputation management, crisis communications, and transformational change — helping organizations communicate with clarity and integrity through their most consequential moments.
Jennifer’s career has placed her at the center of high-stakes communications work across industries, bringing both strategic perspective and sharp storytelling instincts to complex challenges. She combines senior executive counsel with a deep commitment to the communities and causes that matter to her.
When she’s not advising organizational leaders, Jennifer explores the outdoors, supports local causes, and plans her next travel adventure — alongside her husband and two dogs.