Inspirational Women

5 Leading Ladies Explain the Heart Behind What They Do 

Words by Jess Hagemann Photos by Eric Morales

A teacher, an artist, a coach, a former athlete, and a sales woman with designer tastes. These five inspirational ladies are each, in their own way, transforming East Austin’s schools, streets, and job, art, and clothing markets respectively.

Chosen for their commitment to making others’ lives better, they are variously intelligent, driven, articulate, passionate, and funny. Most of all, they know their “Whys”—why they get up in the morning; why they keep fighting against sometimes ridiculous odds; and why they think you should care, too.

Meet Raasin, Kate, Andi, Candace, and Tanya.

Raasin McIntosh, Raasin in the Sun

This Houston-born Olympic athlete first moved to Austin in 2000 to run track at the University of Texas. After officially retiring from her career as a hurdler, Raasin McIntosh founded Raasin in the Sun, a nonprofit “urban beautification” initiative serving the greater Austin area and beyond.

Raasin in the Sun’s mission is to “support communities, unite residents, and erase deterioration” through neighborhood cleanups, vacant lot restorations, and mural projects that employ local artists. Variously referred to as “Project Clean” and “Project Green,” so far this year Raasin in the Sun has mobilized more than 75 adult volunteers and as many as 300 kids to beautify their immediate environments. [Read more…]

Kate Davis, Collective Humanity 

From 1975-1979, the country of Cambodia suffered the third most deadly genocide in human history. Taking advantage of the political instability left in the wake of the Vietnam War, the brutal Khmer Rouge regime began methodically slaughtering doctors, lawyers, and intellects of all stripes, “including,” says Kate Davis, founder of Collective Humanity, “anyone who wore glasses or spoke French”—ultimately decimating more than one-fourth of the population. Those who survived struggled to rebuild Cambodia’s basic infrastructure (schools, hospitals) and economy. Many jobless parents were coerced into selling their children to human traffickers for small amounts of profit, naively hoping that the kids stood a chance at a better life. Today, that generation of poverty-stricken, uneducated, and, in some cases, enslaved children are in their mid-40s with children of their own, and are still seeking meaningful work. [Read more…]

Tanya Tarr, Negotiation Coach

Tanya Tarr wears many crowns. A regular contributor to Forbes, over the past two years her reader-friendly articles on equal pay and negotiation have amassed her a huge Twitter following, which Tarr used to launch her executive coaching business, Your Edge Coaching, in 2017. The pivot came after almost two decades spent managing political and labor movement campaigns in Washington, D.C. and Texas.

Through Your Edge Coaching, Tarr primarily helps women and people of color practice the art of negotiation at work, at home, and at the Capitol (think salary increases, family relationships, and bids for political candidacies). According to the seasoned strategist, negotiation can be defined as “trying to understand what a person needs, what their problems are, and how to solve them.” [Read more…]

Candace Hunter, Educator & Coach

Sometimes a solution begins with a small conversation. For Candace Hunter, a former teacher and the founder of Teacher Boot Camp, her individual conversations with her colleagues quickly became a flood of questions asking for her guidance and mentorship. Recognizing that there was an unfilled need for ongoing support for new teachers within AISD, with passion and persistence she persuaded AISD that the glaring need she saw for supplemental teacher support was worth their investment.

Her drive to create individual solutions for each unique situation has now not only saved schools time and money, but she has also improved teacher confidence and the students’ quality of education. Unsurprisingly, she receives last-minute calls from administrators asking her to assist in reversing classroom situations that have been months in the making. [Read more…]

Andi Scull Cheatham, The Hope Campaign

At 17, Andi Scull Cheatham shared the exciting news with her immigrant mother that she wanted to become an art director. “In Chinese culture, you don’t go to college unless you’re planning on going to grad school, and only then to be a doctor or a lawyer,” Cheatham explains. It was “a big deal,” she says, to embrace her creative calling, especially in 1994, when post-graduation employment opportunities for artists were more limited than they are today.

At 22, Cheatham landed the job of her dreams, straight out of UT’s Creative Sequence by EnviroMedia (the nation’s first 100% ‘green’ ad agency, located in Austin). As the in-house graphic designer, she created logos for Don’t Mess with Texas, Hill Country Conservancy, and Keep Texas Beautiful, among other notable brands. A founding member of the agency, Cheatham was growing with the company when she decided to visit her aunt in Nairobi, Kenya. [Read more…]