Leadership Team

Rosamaria Murillo, Ph.D., LMSW – Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Murillo joined El Buen as its Chief Executive Officer in July 2019. As a recognized public health advocate with extensive experience in public policy, higher education, nonprofit and government management, for more than 25 years she has led within different systems to develop, implement, and strengthen services for underserved communities. She holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the School of Business at Our Lady of the Lake, a Master of Social Work degree from Our Lady of the Lake University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. Murillo has served as a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at San Antonio, and Texas State where she has taught graduate and undergraduate courses focusing on social justice, policy, nonprofit management, program development, organizational leadership, public administration and child welfare.

Lillian Acosta – Executive Assistant

Lillian provides support to the Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors and has been with El Buen since 2013. She brings over twenty years of office administration and management experience. Prior to El Buen, she was the office administrator for a nation-wide engineering & technical services firm. She also served as an assistant in Regulatory and Environmental Affairs at the Lower Colorado River Authority. Lillian is a proud native Austinite, has two children and four fur babies. She loves to travel and can often be found cheering for the Texas Longhorns in any sport setting.

Robert Steele – Chief Financial Officer

Bob leads the financial functions of El Buen, including accounting, budget, credit, insurance, tax and treasury functions. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and is a certified public accountant. Bob has held CFO positions with Federally Qualified Health Centers in Minnesota and Missouri and worked at Coopers & Lybrand in Dallas and New York City. Bob enjoys training his three Vizslas and taking them on the competition circuit.

Sandra Freitag – Director of Finance and Operations

Sandra oversees finance, operations and human resources and has been with El Buen for 15 years. She studied journalism at Texas A&M University and received TANO’s Nonprofit Leadership and Management Certificate in 2009. Sandra has more than 40 years of experience in business management and is a successful entrepreneur, having established and managed two prosperous businesses since 1981. Sandra loves watching Aggie sporting events and spending time with her five grandchildren and three great grandchildren. She has served as pianist and organist of her church for 61 years and also plays for the Elgin Community Choir.  

Maria Gomez – Administrative Assistant

Maria assists the Director of Finance & Operations. Prior to this role, she was El Buen’s receptionist for ten years and worked directly with clients to provide helpful resources and customer support. She continues to provide support to the front desk, allowing her to maintain the relationships she has built with students, volunteers and food pantry clients over the years. Maria grew up in southern Wisconsin, spending time outdoors fishing and camping with family. Her outdoor adventures continue with her husband and two sons, and they enjoy fishing, kayaking, snorkeling, snowboarding and even attend MLB, NFL & NBA games together.

Erin Wiegert – Associate Director of Development

Erin works with individuals, foundations, and corporations to solicit support for El Buen. Born and raised in Colorado, she holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a master’s degree from Georgetown University. Prior to joining El Buen, Erin worked at the Austin Symphony, where she oversaw the annual fund and special development initiatives. She has lived in Austin since 2017, and previously lived in Washington, DC, where she worked for several health and human services nonprofits including the United Nations World Food Program USA. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, kayaking, and searching for the best Indian food in town.

Roxanna Fuentes – Volunteer Engagement & Special Events Coordinator

Roxanna recruits and trains volunteers and oversees special events for El Buen’s programs. She is a first-generation college graduate from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science and Arts in biology and minor in rhetoric and writing. Roxanna was born and raised in Penitas, Texas, a border city along the Rio Grande Valley, and growing up she traveled yearly with her family as migrant labor workers from Texas to New York and Michigan. She’s passionate about working with nonprofits and families and has been involved with Planned Parenthood and Global Medical Brigades in Central America. Roxanna is bilingual in English and Spanish, which enables her to engage with volunteers, clients and students to welcome and empower them.

Luis Garcia – Technology and Data 

Luis manages El Buen’s technology infrastructure and data reporting. He was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico and graduated from Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon with a degree in Electronic and Communications Engineering. He moved to the U.S. in 2008 and has lived in Houston, North Carolina and New Jersey. After settling in Austin, Luis joined El Buen in 2014. In his spare time, Luis can be found running around Austin or camping with his family.

Frank Flores – Facilities Coordinator

Frank oversees facilities at El Buen. Born in Alice, Texas, he’s called Austin home since the early 70’s. Frank served in the United States Marine Corps for eight years as a Combat Engineer then moved to Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician (EOD). Before coming to El Buen in 2009, Frank worked in the construction and carpentry field where he banged nails for more than 28 years. During his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, coaching girls’ softball, training umpires and umpiring baseball and softball at all levels.

Gloria Sigala– Custodial Day Porter

Gloria has been with El Buen for four years and has over 17 years’ experience in the cleaning industry. Originally from Chihuahua, Mexico, she is the second daughter of a family of five children. She enjoys her job and being able to serve the community. Her pride and joy are her children and grandchildren, and she has been happily married for 35 years.

Patricia Reaynaga– Administrative Support Specialist/Receptionist

Mimi mans the front desk and is the first face clients see when they come to El Buen. She was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico where she attended and graduated Universidad Regiomontana with a bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts and started her own catering business. After moving to Austin, she worked as a nanny, personal chef and nonprofit coordinator in various organizations. Mimi enjoys working at El Buen and getting to know staff, clients, volunteers, partners and donors on an equal footing.

Isabel Bernal– Family Literacy Program Supervisor

Isabel manages El Buen’s Family Literacy programs which include adult ESL, computer literacy, basic education classes and youth programs. Prior to this role, she coordinated the Digital Literacy program. Originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, Isabel was raised in Austin and became a U.S. citizen in 2011. She received her associate degree in applied science from ITT Technical Institute and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ashford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. Isabel began her nonprofit career as an AmeriCorps member working with families and children in the PALS program, where she realized her passion for nonprofit work focused on family education. She is a wife and mother of three beautiful children and spends her spare time with her family and working as a professional photographer.

Diana Dominguez–Evening Assistant Program Coordinator

Diana helps coordinate adult ESL, computer literacy and basic education classes and works with adult students and volunteer teachers. Diana began her journey at El Buen as a volunteer in 2018 and later worked as a youth leader. She was born and raised in the border town of El Paso and is currently finishing up her senior year at Texas State University, where she expects to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in social work and minors in psychology and political science. One of her passions includes social justice for underserved communities and she intends to pursue a master’s degree in social work in the future to continue serving immigrant families in Texas.

Elsi Hernandez– Family Literacy Coordinator, Youth Programs

Elsi oversees youth programs including coordinating afterschool tutoring programs and summer camps for kids ages 6-12. She was born and raised in Lufkin, Texas and graduated from St. Edward’s University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a minor in Spanish. She has more than eight years’ experience working in various early childhood education and youth enrichment programs in private, public and out-of-school-time settings and is interested in pursuing a career in school psychology. She is trained in youth-friendly work and trauma informed care. In her free time, Elsi enjoys taking dance classes, running and exploring Austin with friends.

Ruth Gomez– Youth Leader

Ruth supervises youth in afterschool tutoring and evening enrichment as well as camps in the summer. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas. Ruth has 22 years of experience in education and has worked at Austin Independent School District and St. Ignatius Catholic School at early childhood bilingual, elementary, middle school and high school levels. She has been at El Buen for 4 years and enjoys working with her students. In her free time, she loves to garden, enjoys her house plants and actively volunteers with the church activities at San Jose and St. Paul's Catholic Church.

Mary McCormick– Youth Leader

Mary supervises youth in the afterschool and summer camp programs. She was born and raised in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Her passion for helping others led her to serve as an AmeriCorps member in 2015 in Austin, and she is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education at Texas State University. She has worked with children of all ages for over ten years in both school and out-of-school-time settings. Her future career goals include teaching elementary school and working to impact educational policy. 

Amanda Doenges– Associate Director, Health Literacy

Amanda oversees health literacy programming for El Buen, which includes the food pantry, community garden and community health worker programming and bilingual training center. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Southwestern University. Amanda brings with her a diverse range of experience working as a bilingual programs and development professional, including her time serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in urban Nicaragua working with youth and community leaders to develop outreach and education programming. She has worked with various international nonprofits to establish and maintain robust corporate donor portfolios. Amanda is proud to call Austin home, and she enjoys exploring the beautiful hill country as well as new State parks with her pup, Ballou, and eating her way through Austin with friends and family.   

Rosa Carroll– Basic Needs Coordinator

Rosa coordinates all activities for El Buen’s access to food programs, including the food pantry and community garden. Originally from Michoacan, Mexico, she moved to the U.S. in the 1980s. Rosa first came to El Buen as an ESL student, then started volunteering and eventually working part-time as a Promotora de Salud (community health worker) teaching Comenzando Bien, prenatal classes and cooking classes around Austin. In 2007 she became El Buen’s Basic Needs Coordinator. Rosa enjoys promoting healthy choices and nutrition education to food pantry clients. In her free time, she enjoys seeing live music and spending time with family and friends.

Kristin Van Diest– Basic Needs Assistant

Kristin supports the food pantry and maintains the community garden, including growing and harvesting fresh produce for distribution in the food pantry. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Kristin has made Austin and El Buen her home. She loves growing food for other people and tries to promote healthy eating choices by instructing clients on how they can use garden fresh produce to prepare healthy meals. Kristin is currently pursuing her Master of Library Science degree from the University of North Texas and plans to continue working in community programming and development for many years to come.

Juan Rosa– Community Health Worker Supervisor

Juan supervises our community health workers and is the instructor for El Buen’s Community Health Worker Leadership Institute. He has coordinated community outreach programs at El Buen for 12 years, has been a certified community health worker (CHW) since 2013 and has been certified to train CHWs since 2016. Born and raised in El Salvador, Juan found his calling for helping others when he experienced firsthand the hardships many of El Buen’s clients face after he became a client himself. He pulls from his experience with migrant farm worker communities when facilitating health classes in the community. Juan enjoys teaching others about healthy living, playing soccer, watching documentaries and traveling with his family.

Martha Lujan– Community Health Worker

As a Community Health Worker, one of Martha’s goals is to be able to reach and provide education to the community about resources available to help break the cycle of poverty. She was born and raised in El Paso and has an associate degree in Culinary Arts as well as a state certification in Mental Health Peer Support. She considers it a great honor to be able to walk alongside communities as they work to transform their lives and hopes to one day start her own nonprofit. She has volunteered for prison ministry and facilitated in surrounding institutions for over 10 years.

Anita Swayze– Community Health Worker

Anita serves El Buen’s Women’s Health Program, educating women about reproductive health and family planning. She is a native Texan originally from the Rio Grande Valley. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Speech Pathology and Special Education for Early Childhood from Sam Houston State University and began her career in public health at UT Southwestern Medical School’s Division of Maternal Health and Family Planning as a Health Educator. Since relocating to Austin, Anita has consulted on college campus-based HIV/STI education programs and served as a trainer and consultant to STD Public Health Follow Up programs in Texas.

Monique Arriaga– Community Health Worker

Monique provides health education and outreach to El Buen clients. Born and raised in Austin, she majored in Kinesiology and specialized in Community Health and Wellness from the University of Texas at Austin. Monique loves being active and finding ways to encourage others around her to take control of their own health. She has been working in nonprofits for almost two years and is happy to have the opportunity to provide services that improve the health of the community.

Sara DuPont– Manager, Strategic Planning and Special Initiatives

Sara manages El Buen’s strategic planning initiatives. Previously, she led fundraising and communications efforts for El Buen. Sara has a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and discovered her passion for helping others while working to establish a school at an orphanage in Moshi, Tanzania. She began her nonprofit career working as a STEM educator and community coordinator at a children’s museum and later transitioned to fundraising for institutions such as the New York Botanical Garden. She loves to travel and has taught English as a Second Language in Hong Kong. Sara and her husband Jules, a French national, moved to Austin to put down roots in 2018. Sara enjoys cooking, practicing yoga, playing with her two Siamese kittens and brushing up on her French.

David Bustamante– Project Manager

David manages El Buen’s strategic collaboration initiatives with clinic partner Lone Star Circle of Care. In the past, he has managed health literacy programs for El Buen. David holds a master’s in Wellness Management from Ball State University and a bachelor’s in Human Resources and Marketing from Purdue University. A strong believer in providing high-quality and affordable healthcare to all, David has over a decade of experience implementing a variety of public health projects, including mobile food pantries that offer produce to families in food deserts and serving as a contributing editor discussing LGTBQ+ care along the cancer continuum. David’s hobbies include attending various fashion weeks via YouTube, visiting art museums for inspiration and supporting LGBTQ+ artists. He is passionate about being of service and laughing.