John Davis is a native Texan and graduate of The University of Texas who lived outside of Texas for 14 years after completing his doctoral work in Policy Analysis. John returned to the Austin area in 1994 with his family of four, and has been active in community efforts to conserve a fair government and a beautiful homeland. John is the principal owner and managing director of The Lazarus Group, a firm that provides planning and information services to guide some of the largest financial services companies in the USA. Having observed the impact of public growth management policy in the places he has lived, John understands the need for an informed citizenry and believes he can help guide HaysCAN in achieving its goal to educate, inform and motivate the citizens of Hays County.
Bruce Renfro is a professor at Texas State University where he has taught since 1985. He has won five teaching awards at Texas State, including the Presidential Award for excellence in Teaching. Dr. Renfro worked for the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Texas at Austin and edited a sailing magazine. He served as an Air Force pilot during the Vietnam era. Bruce and his wife, Dr. Paula Renfro have lived on East Gatlin Creek Road south of Dripping Springs since 1982. Their son, Cole, who also lives in Dripping Springs, teaches at Crockett High School in Austin Daughter Katie works at IBM-Austin, and daughter Elizabeth works for The Nature Conservancy in Honolulu. Dr. Renfro sees HaysCAN as an extension of his teaching career, and supports the HaysCAN vision of an educated citizenry.
A widely recognized sculptor, Grey Skelley is a native Texan from Houston and a graduate of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. Grey and her husband Larry moved to Hays County 16 years ago for its fresh air, wildlife and legendary starry nights. A mother of three children, all who graduated from the Dripping Springs school district, Grey worked with the schools as a substitute teacher and volunteered for many fundraising activities in the school district. For 13 years she helped to raise awareness of xeriscape using native plants found in her beloved Hill Country, and now has her own wholesale nursery promoting native plants.
As a Board member of HaysCAN, Grey sees an opportunity to help keep the unique Hill Country a place that generations will enjoy for its natural beauty. “HaysCAN provides a wealth of information for those who want to be involved, and to have a better source of information about how to participate more fully in the public process.”
Charles O’Dell
Born near Corpus Christi, Texas and reared on a small farm near Dallas, Charles obtained his BS degree in Agricultural Education, and an MS degree in Agricultural Economics from Texas Tech University. Completing his Ph.D. at Maryland University while working as an Economist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C., Charles served with distinction as Federal Liaison Officer at Prairie View A&M College, was assigned to President Nixon’s Cost of Living Council to provide food policy analysis, and later worked for the Anheuser-Bush Company in St. Louis, The Kroger Company in Cincinnati, and was CEO of AgriShip International Systems Inc. in Washington, DC. After he and his wife Susan moved to Hays County in 1999, Charles saw the need for a comprehensive effort to inform and educate Hays County citizens regarding public affairs and responsibilities, and joined with Erin Foster in incorporating HaysCAN.