Amy Daley

Hostel/Council Executive Director

Amy became the Executive Director in 2008. She has been addicted to traveling since visiting Bulgaria at 15. Amy has worked and volunteered in the Austin nonprofit community for seven years, including leadership positions at the Austin Independent Business Alliance, KOOP Radio and Anthropos Arts. Before moving to Austin, she served as a community development Peace Corps volunteer in Uzbekistan and taught English in Peru. In May 2005 Amy earned her MBA at St. Edward's University. She loves hiking, cycling and volunteering in our Central Texas parks and has thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. Email her at director @ hiaustin dot org.

Ali Pharmakidis

Hostel Manager

Ali has been working with HI-Austin since 2005 and has been the General Manager since May 2007.  She has travelled extensively throughout the US and Europe and plans to one day expand her travels to China, India, and South America.  She thoroughly enjoys backpacking, and has trekked through the Rockies, the Ozarks, most of New England, Washington State, and the High Sierras.  A transplanted Yankee, she loves Austin for its greenbelt, music scene, and abundant vegetarian food.  She is an active member of Sasona Co-op, and is thrilled to be working with another organization that builds a strong sense of community , camaraderie, and culture.  She finds posting photos of herself and writing in the third person rather difficult, but would like to tell you that she is a graduate of the University of Vermont  :)

Trevor Evenson

President

Trevor has been a Director of the Hostel since March 2005 and has served as President since March 2006.  Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, he has travelled extensively though Europe, the Americas, Australia, and the Middle East. A lifetime member of Hostelling International, he volunteers his free time with numerous non-profit groups around Austin. Mr. Evenson has a varied educational background with credentials in Business Administration, Culinary Arts and Information Technology. He is currently employed with Check Point Software Technologies as an Information Security Consultant.

Shaya Zucker

Vice-President

Shaya, 57, has been a Director of the Hostel since March 2003 and has been serving as Vice President since March 2006. Mrs. Zucker has 20 years of experience working with not-for-profit organizations. She has served as President of the Reconstructionist congregation Shalom Rav. She has served as both a Director and Executive Director of a community not-for-profit radio station in Champaign, Illinois. Mrs. Zucker has volunteered with Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve in Austin and Austin Habitat For Humanity. She works in the Eanes school district as a certified substitute teacher. She and her husband have lived in Austin since 1989.

Ron Anderson

Treasurer

Ron, has been a Director of the Hostel since March 2001 and has been serving as Treasurer since March 2003. A two-time graduate of the University of Texas, he works as an engineering manager for the Lower Colorado River Authority. Mr. Anderson has published numerous articles on the topic of water resources. He has enjoyed traveling - from Solola, Guatemala to Portland, Maine, from Samara, Russia to Hamburg, Germany to Kusadasi, Greece. Mr. Anderson has been an Austin resident for over 20 years.

Annie Schwartz

Secretary

Annie has been a Director of the Hostel since March 2005 and has served as Secretary since April of 2005. She is an attorney specializing in open source software-related issues at IBM. She has traveled through five continents and has high hopes to visit the other two in the near future. Ms. Schwartz holds a B.A. in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College and a J.D. from Temple University.

Jackie Kenyon

Jackie Kenyon, 40, has been a Director of the Hostel since March 2004. She also serves on the Historic Review Board of Elgin, Texas and on the Events Committee of United Way Capital Area's Young Leaders Society. She currently works at Texas Mutual Insurance Company as a Sr. Staff Attorney and the Subrogation Manager. Ms. Kenyon holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Texas and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

David B. Miller

David, 59, has been a Director of the Hostel since March 2003. Mr. Miller is the retired Director of The Foreign Service Review, Inc., a company that prepares students to take the United States State Department Foreign Service Exam. Previously, he was involved with executive search and work assessment for engineering and construction companies in the power generation industry.

Kevin Yang

Kevin has been a Director of the Hostel since March 2006. He is originally from Taiwan and has backpacked, lived, studied and volunteered in over 25 countries. He is passionate about being a responsible world citizen. He holds a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering and a BA in Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently dreaming about and planning his around-the-world trip.