Board of Directors
Jill Turner
Jill Turner serves as a Director / Trustee on numerous nonprofit boards and charitable pursuits in Austin, Texas where she resides.
Turner founded Painting Pandas after meeting a public school teacher and learning of how little funds public school teachers are given for student art supplies. She kept in touch with the art educator and helped secure items on the teacher’s wish list for the classroom. When the pandemic hit, Turner reached out to the educator to see what her students needed. It was then that the idea for privately-funded art kits was developed and they were soon distributed to students from Pre-K through 5th grade. Turner believes that art is the avenue for creativity, problem-solving, and emotional expression and should be accessible to all.
She is currently the Co-Chair of Austin Humane Society’s $32 million-dollar Comprehensive Campaign. The Building Compassion Campaign aims to establish a state-of-the-art new facility and programs that are focused on compassionate animal welfare for Central Texas. She and her family have together served as Chairs for the Austin Humane Society’s annual signature fundraiser, Rags to Wags, which raises much-needed operational funding for thousands of vulnerable four-legged animal companions.
Ms. Turner served as a Trustee of The Contemporary Austin, a contemporary art museum, and served as the chair of the Education Committee which is dedicated to bringing arts education to underserved communities in Austin and surrounding areas.
She has chaired many successful fundraising events for a variety of organizations including The Contemporary Austin, St. Stephen’s Episcopal School, and Dell Children’s Blood and Cancer Center.
Ms. Turner earned a BS from the University of Illinois – Urbana/Champaign and an MS in Real Estate Finance from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
FOUNDER
Norah Rudyk
Norah Rudyk is currently in the role of a VP Group Account Director at GSD&M. Rudyk leads all U.S. Air Force marketing efforts, which span digital, social, lead management, new technologies, and experiential strategies and endeavors. She and her team have successfully launched multiple Air Force experiences including marketing campaigns, platforms, websites, experiential and mobile tours, and lead management experiences on behalf of all Air Force brands.
With more than 20 years at GSD&M, Rudyk leverages her deep experience drawn from the ground up to leadership roles on additional iconic brands such as Walmart, AT&T, Texas Tourism, and Avocados from Mexico.
A Texas native and fluent Spanish speaker, Rudyk graduated from Texas State University where she earned a BS in Marketing. She is an athlete at heart and if you don’t find her in a pair of tennis shoes, you can guarantee she will be sporting a new pair of cowboy boots.
SECRETARY
Julia Curry
Following a nearly 20-year career in software development, Curry assists Painting Pandas with technology and philanthropic needs and efforts. With experience in coding, leading, sales support, and working with vendors to find and customize available solutions, she brings with her a vast knowledge of tech, customer service, and sales.
Curry has had a variety of volunteer jobs including being an officer for National Charity League Lake Austin Chapter, IT coordinator for local school boosters, Austin Pets Alive, Chi Omega Sorority University of Texas Chapter, and her women’s golf association. She is also on her homeowner’s association board.
And as luck would have it, Curry also loves Pandas. In fact, her long-time gift for welcoming new babies of friends and family has been a panda bear of some sort. She could not be more than thrilled to now help Painting Pandas make a difference in others’ lives.
BOARD MEMBER
Leslie Wingo
As the CEO, Leslie Wingo leads the Sanders\Wingo team, a Texas-based independent multicultural creative intelligence firm, delivering solutions for companies and their brands. Sanders\Wingo is focused on cultivating human connections through brand storytelling, strategy, and content development by partnering with brands like Pivotal Ventures, Tempo Novus, US Census, AT&T, and Croc's.
As a speaker, she confronts stereotypes, challenges labels, exposes bias, and has tough conversations around race and gender. Leslie works with companies to discover and strengthen their current practices around diversity and equity. Her goal is that every employee and culture is valued, their contribution is maximized and the company's organizational culture is inclusive.
Leslie also believes in philanthropy and gives her time to organizations whose values align with her own, like the Texas Book Festival, the New Philanthropists, and Ceresa.
Her most important role is raising her little humans (co-workers ages 7 and 11). They are her biggest gift (and sometimes the biggest challenge!).
BOARD MEMBER
Donna Wilkins
Former Founder and CEO of Charity Dynamics, a successful nonprofit technology company, Wilkins headed up efforts that raised more than a billion dollars for nonprofits. She is currently a board member for multiple early-stage technology companies and is a strategic advisor and mentor to CEOs, founders, and executives in various industries. With more than 20 years of creating, leading, and advising emerging nonprofit and tech companies, Wilkins brings with her vast knowledge and understanding of nonprofit strategies and successes.
Her passion for business financials and operations doesn’t stop with technology companies, as she is also a strategic advisor and co-owner of Juliet Kitchen in Austin and a member of The Paramount Theatre Board of Directors.
BOARD MEMBER
Alina Casner
As the principal and founder of Quintum Management LLC, a real estate company, Alina focuses on multifamily and commercial real estate investments and management. She has vast experience as a corporate lawyer, previously practicing in New York at two of the largest law firms, Davis Polk and Wardwell and Simpson Thacher and Bartlett, and most recently as Head of Legal responsible for two of the largest businesses at The Bank of New York Mellon.
Alina has a B.A. from Swarthmore College, where she double-majored in Economics and Political Science, during which time she also completed the one-year General Course program at the London School of Economics. She received her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Giving back and supporting her community are very important to Alina, and she was involved in many local charitable organizations while living in New York City including serving on the Board of Directors of Goddard Riverside Community Center, an organization that operates 27 programs at 22 locations across New York City. She has also been a long-time advisor to the GlamourGals Foundation and served on their Executive Council.
Having moved to Austin, she is excited to continue working to support her new home. As a mother of school-aged children, she is a strong believer in the importance of art for young children’s development and she is thrilled to help further Painting Pandas’ mission. Coincidentally, her son’s favorite stuffed animal for the past few years has been a Panda, so needless to say, pandas were already part of the Casner family!