Board of Directors

012023_DownwindersatRisk__ASHGPHOTO_192425

Misti O'Quinn, Co-Chair of the Board 2024 - present

Joppa Community Liaison (2019 - 2023) & former Particulate Matter Education Committee Chair (2018-2019)

Misti is a Dallas native, mother, and the North Texas Sierra club/Beyond Coal organizer. She's Community Liaison for our Joppa Environmental Health Project and SharedAirDFW Network if volunteer monitor hosts.  Misti is a 2018 graduate of our College of Constructive Hell-Raising.

012023_DownwindersatRisk__ASHGPHOTO_181900

Evelyn Mayo, Co-Chair of the Board 2018 - present

Particulate Matter Education Committee Chair 2017-2018

Evelyn Mayo is a community educator and organizer on environmental justice and neighborhood equity issues. Her day job is with Paul Quinn College as the Urban Research Fellow and Professor focused on Land Use Planning and Environmental Justice. She has an Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science and Race and Ethnicity from Columbia University, and finished her Masters in City and Regional Planning at UTA in May 2022. She is a loyal sister, avid painter and neighborhood gardener. Evelyn is a 2018 graduate of our College of Constructive Hell-Raising.

012023_DownwindersatRisk__ASHGPHOTO_181430

Cindy Hua, Outreach & Education Chair (2024 - present)

Former Chair of the Particulate Matter Education Committee 2019 to 2023

Cindy is a PhD candidate at SMU with a Masters in Sustainable Design and Bachelors in Biology. As a STEAM educator, Cindy is committed to  environmental justice and making science and data accessible to the public for advocacy efforts.

012023_DownwindersatRisk__ASHGPHOTO_180306

Satavia (Tae) Hopkins, Treasurer 2021 - present

Satavia is an Oak Cliff born-and-breed Air Force veteran who's now an independent project manager and consultant. As of 2021, she's also a new mom.

012023_DownwindersatRisk__ASHGPHOTO_184742

Essence O'Quinn, Youth Representation 2020 - present

Essence O'Quinn has been working with us as a youth volunteer and leader since 2020. She first got involved in the Shingle Mountain campaign as a theatre student, and is not pursuing her undergraduate degree at the University of North Texas, Denton. We love having her on board.

012023_DownwindersatRisk__ASHGPHOTO_181102

Laura Quintero-Chavez, Neighborhood Self-Defense Project Team 2021 - present

Laura started working with the Board on the West Dallas NSDP in 2021. She helped do outreach and engagement in the Singleton industrial corridor and has supported the GAFs Gotta Go/GAF Vete Ya campaign. She is a former DISD Architecture teacher, is pursuing her Masters in City and Regional Planning at UTA and currently works at Dallas Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation. Laura graduated from the College of Constructive Hell Raising in Spring 2022.

Laura-Q.-Chavez

Veronica Alvarez Vega, Board Member since February 2024

Veronica Alvarez Vega is the Director of Transformation at Dallas TRHT. Veronica is a native of Guanajuato, Mexico and originates from a small ranch and farming town known as Apaseo el Alto. Veronica has provided leadership in community engagement and relationship building for over a decade within the nonprofit sector. Veronica holds a Bachelor's in Psychology and a Master’s of Education in Student Development and Leadership in Higher Education. She has worked alongside local and statewide organizations to bring about transformative policies for city of Dallas residents through political activism and education. Prior to joining Dallas TRHT, Veronica served as the Family and Community  Partnerships Coordinator for Lumin Bachman Lake Community School. Here she was able to utilize her strengths and leadership to grow and foster long standing community partnerships as well as connections with valuable stakeholders. As Director of Transformation, Veronica aims to solidify and amplify relationships with current and future partners and organizations as well as enact transformative change through equitable policy building to ultimately create a radically inclusive Dallas.

vero headshot

Collin Yarborough, Secretary 2022 - present

Collin is a Dallas native and current PhD student at SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering. His research is focused on creating an equitable intersection of transportation and land use. In 2021, Collin Published “Paved A Way,” a book taking a historical look at the impacts of infrastructure, policy, and racism in shaping neighborhoods of color in Dallas. Prior to returning to school, Collin worked for seven years as an engineer and compliance manager in the utility industry in Texas. He serves on the boards of the Dallas Mexican American Historical League and Downwinders at Risk while volunteering in other environmental justice advocacy capacities across Dallas. On the side, Collin runs and bikes around Dallas and helps his mother with their non-profit cookie bakery.

012023_DownwindersatRisk__ASHGPHOTO_183308

Shannon Gribble Vorpahl, Particulate Matter Education Committee Member 2017 - present

Shannon is an original member of our Particulate Matter Education and Training  Committee and portable air monitor Trainer.  Shannon is a 2018 graduate of our College of Constructive Hell-Raising.