Debbie Wilder, Founder & (Acting) Executive Director
Debbie has a master’s in pediatric nursing but for the last 34 years she has pursued volunteer passions while raising two children, and now helping with 3 grandchildren. She and her husband, Fred, live with a very cute Aussie doodle named Lily. Debbie started volunteering with Austin Smiles in 1988 as a recovery room nurse, helping infants and children after cleft lip and palate operations in third world countries.
In 2001, Debbie started “The Gathering”, a weekly respite program for people with Alzheimer’s disease and similar dementias. This came about in part after watching her sweet grandmother develop dementia after a fall and head injury. She also started “New Connections” (now re-banded as Memory Connections), to address a community need for meaningful, purposeful programming for people experiencing the early-stage dementia.
Volunteering with the Gathering and New Connections made Debbie extremely aware of the need for well-trained dementia caregivers. The need became even more acute in 2020 when families were isolated at home with their relatives with dementia, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This awareness led to the desire to help train people to become excellent dementia care specialist caregivers.
Lloyd Wilson, Board Member, Resources & Recruiting
As a native Austinite, Lloyd’s heroes growing up were his grandparents. Many of his best childhood memories came from spending time with them swimming at Barton Springs and exploring the ranches and rivers of Central Texas. Their love, stories, and wisdom shaped his character and drove his interest in helping older Americans.
Lloyd is concerned about memory care caregivers burnout, workforce shortages, and inexperience, especially as more families require this extra level of care for their loved one’s safety and independence. Any way we can promote caregivers and support this profession is a worthy and necessary cause.
Lloyd’s love of older Americans led him to form a community-based hospice, Sonder Hospice, in 2019. Outside of his service with Sonder Hospice, look for Lloyd on Lake Austin and Lake Travis with his wife, Claire, and two boys. Lloyd graduated from Washington & Lee University and obtained a Master’s in Health Administration from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Alex Bass, Board Secretary, Marketing & Operations
Alex studied Engineering at Trinity University, is a licensed Texas PE, and has worked as a project manager in the energy sector since 2008. Her professional passions lie in people, operations, and project management. She moved to Austin in 2014, and lives with husband, Davis, and son, Harris.
She grew up in Houston and spent most holidays with her maternal grandparents (and high school sweethearts), Jack and Ruth (pictured), learning life lessons and responsibilities. As she grew older and developed friendships with her living grandparents, she came to deeply value their wise perspectives and tender hearts.
Alex joined the board of MCAA in 2021 to connect her passions for education and mentoring with her deep values of caring for and learning from our elders.
Kim Doramus, Board Member, Dementia Support
Growing up my memories are filled with family reunions, baking cookies with Grandma Betty and her giving manicures and pedicures to all the grandkids. Playing chess, poetry and photography with Grandpa Joe. Days at my grandparents’ house were filled with playing, reading and being surrounded by family. We would have talent shows where everyone had to bring something to showcase as their talent. My Grandfather recited a poem that he had written and later published about Grandchildren, it is treasured in our family.
I am a true Texan and have moved all over the great state. At Texas Tech, I majored in Recreational Therapy and wanted to make sure whatever I did, that I was actively improving the quality of life of those around me. I have over 20 years of experience in Senior Care. I have been able to oversee two start-up Assisted Living/ Memory Support communities. I am currently at Querencia at Barton Creek overseeing Assisted Living and Memory Support.
It is an honor to serve on this board and I know my grandparents would be proud.
Todd Wehner, Board Member
Todd is a financial executive with 45 years of professional experience across four industries. Each position included management responsibilities for Finance, Risk Management, Human Resources and Information Systems, along with other roles. He is a CPA with a degree from the University of Texas and an MBA from the University of Houston.
Todd has participated in community leadership with board and committee positions with preschool, grade school, church and homeowners’ associations. These roles primarily focused on grade school kids, which drew him to the work of MCAAustin.
He recognizes the rapidly-growing need for caregivers for the elderly as the population ages and the need to introduce young people to a viable vocation at the start of their career search. He looks forward to joining a proven leader in Debbie Wilder to help guide the formative launch of the organization.
Genie Nyer
Ms. Nyer has more than thirty years of grass roots experience in healthcare delivery, public health research, and policy development. Since becoming president of Nybeck Analytics in 2001, she has provided professional management consulting services to numerous public, private, and nonprofit organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Texas Department of State Health Services, and the Texas Hospital Association.
Ms. Nyer has always held older adults in high esteem. She grew up one block from her maternal grandmother and has many loving memories of her “Lolo.” She was a founding member of the Aging Services Council in Austin. While in graduate school, she researched the Mexican healthcare system and the elderly, publishing a White Paper: “Mexico Embraces the Third Age.” The third age is a Spanish language term for the sequel to middle age, beginning after age 60.
Ms. Nyer has a Master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs with a focus on health policy. She has undergraduate degrees in both sociology and nursing.