Tony’s Place Staff

  • Carrie Rai, MA, MSW, LMSW has over 15 years of experience working with individuals, groups, and communities. Growing up in Canada, Carrie saw the injustices and violence that has continuously been perpetrated against Indigenous populations, which compelled her to fight for change of systems, policies, and institutions.

    Carrie has worked in many different systems including addictions, mental health, child welfare, homelessness and most recently public health. She brings a wealth of experience in community collaboration and team building as well as strategic planning, research and training skills. Carrie has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Toronto, earned Master’s degrees in Anthropology and Social Work, and is a licensed social worker in the state of Texas.

    She has made Texas her home for the past eight years along with her husband who is a native Texan and trans. Carrie and her husband share their home with two dogs, and in her spare time she enjoys running and hiking.

  • Alyssa was born in Houston and has lived in various parts of the city throughout her life. She went to University of Houston Clear Lake and received her Bachelor's of Science in Psychology with a certificate in Women’s and Gender studies. 

    Alyssa began at Tony’s Place as a volunteer in 2017 when she was coming into her own queer identity to connect to the LGBTQ community and find space for herself while also being able to give back. Since then, Alyssa has held case management positions in Houston and in Austin before coming full circle back to Tony’s Place as staff. Alyssa found her passion working with young adults and the LGBTQ+ community and seeks to always uphold Tony’s Place mission to affirm, support, and empower the Houston community.  

    In her spare time Alyssa likes to expand on her knowledge of advocacy and empowerment, and enjoys reading, spending time with friends and family, and going to local coffee shops.

  • Gianna, a lifelong resident of the greater Houston area, is currently a student at Lone Star College with plans to transfer to a four-year university for a Bachelor of Social Work degree. Her ultimate goal is to obtain a Master of Social Work, focusing on supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. As an openly transgender woman, Gianna recognizes the need for more transfeminine mental health providers and aims to contribute to filling this gap. Over the past eight years, she has worked in the private sector, owning and operating small businesses with her husband.

    Gianna also brings valuable experience from previous roles in nonprofit development and volunteer coordination. In her free time, you'll often find Gianna with her head in a book, as she is both an avid reader and a book reviewer. Additionally, she's a passionate supporter of the performing arts scene, regularly attending local theaters, ballet performances, and classical music concerts to soak up the best of what Houston has to offer.

  • Lindsay is a Houston native and has been volunteering for as long as she can remember. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Communication at Texas A&M University, with a minor in English. She draws on her many years of experience in marketing, branding and communication to support Tony’s Place.

    From a young age Lindsay has been volunteering with many local and international organizations. She has donated her professionals skills to many charities through the Catch A Fire network, as well as having spend many hours working with local community organizations such as Memorial Park Conservancy, Plant It Forward, and Kid’s Meals.

    In her free time, Lindsay loves exploring Houston, reading, and enjoying a meal at one of the many amazing patio restaurants with her family.

  • Danielle holds a Bachelor's degree from Georgia State University and an Undergraduate Certificate in Marketing from the University of Phoenix. As a Nonprofit professional with over twelve years of experience in the social services / nonprofit sector, she has had the pleasure of serving in various capacities; from developing and facilitating community service programs, to managing communications, events and media to supporting fund development and advancement, stewardship and database management.

    As a Media Consultant, Danielle’s "niche" is focused on assisting small businesses, artists and nonprofits to build and maximize their presence. This includes working with media outlets, pitching interviews, developing social media presence, constructing websites, working media campaigns and brand building.

    Danielle was born in Manhattan, NY and raised in Queens, New York. She has lived in Atlanta, GA and now enjoys this “H-Town” living. In addition to her career as a nonprofit professional, she is also a licensed Life Insurance agent for the great state of Texas.

    A self proclaimed “foodie” - she enjoys traveling, volunteering, reading, writing, the theater, music and spending time with friends and family. Danielle lives by the principle “Put God first, live in your purpose and watch how abundant your life will be!”

  • Loren grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and relocated to Houston in early 2021. Having found support within the LGBTQ+ community and connection through volunteering, Loren decided to leave their job as a dog groomer and pursue a career empowering others. They are currently in their final semester at UHD pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work and will begin their masters in the Fall.

    Loren openly identifies as non-binary, queer, and asexual. Having seen little to no representation of their gender and sexual identity growing up, they feel that it is important to be visible to the younger generations.

    Outside of work and doing homework Loren enjoys spending time with their two dogs and cat, journaling, going for long walks, and being in the company of good friends.

Tony’s Place Board of Directors

  • Chair and founding member of the Tony’s Place Board, has more than 30 years of diverse trial, appellate, and business management experience, both in private practice and in house as Director of Latin America for a global fitness company.  He is also a private mediator, arbitrator, and dispute resolution and trial consultant.  Mr. Amado is currently a consultant to the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) and the National Center for State Courts, as well as Academic Consultant to the Merida Initiative of the U.S. State Department.   Additionally, he is the Executive Director and Founding Director of the nonprofit Latin American Collaborative Education Project (LACEP).  

    He holds a J.D. from Emory University and a B.B.A. and an LL.M. from The University of Texas at Austin, where his course of study focused on international law, conflict resolution and interdisciplinary Latin American studies. He is fluent in Spanish and has been a frequent instructor, facilitator, and adjunct faculty member at diverse university courses in the United States, as well as throughout Latin America.

    In his free time, he has enjoyed multisport endurance athletic events, including Ironman triathlons, multiday adventure races, and mountain climbing. He loves relaxing at home with his roommates -- his service and therapy dog, a golden Labrador retriever, and his life partner, Justin Haynes.

  • Sean grew up in Houston and returned to the city in 2015 to start a business. He has a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Sean was a Senior Member of the Technical Staff at the Aerospace Corporation before pursuing a career in public policy at the RAND Corporation, where he was Senior Engineer and Associate Program Director. After nine years as a homebrewer, he turned his passion into a career when he co-founded Great Heights Brewing Company in Houston. In his spare time, Sean enjoys rock climbing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He lives in the Heights with his wife, son, and two dogs.

  • Steven grew up in Houston and has a decade of experience working in Houston area non-profit organizations.  Steven is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Board Approved Supervisor who currently serves in the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work as a full-time clinical Lecturing Faculty professor.   Steven is a Registered Play Therapist & Supervisor (RPT-S) and training director of the A Time for Play | Play Therapy training series based in Houston, TX.  He also maintains a small private practice in Sugar Land, Texas and specializes in working therapeutically with children, adolescents, and adults.  Steven is an active volunteer in several LGBTQ+ non-profits.  Outside of work Steven engages in walks with his three dogs, long bike rides through Houston, and cooking at home as his favorite forms of self-care.

  • Jenny is the founder and CEO of Like Minds Communications, a Houston-based marketing and communications agency that supports mission-driven businesses (many of which serve the LGBTQIA+ community). Jenny currently serves as chief strategist for the agency's clients and oversees its team of empowered womxn.

    Outside the office, Jenny is actively involved in the Houston community where she currently serves on the Board of Directors as Co-Chair of the Education Committee for the Anti-Defamation League Southwest Region. She also sits on the Development Committee, is a Words To Action facilitator, was an Associate Board Chair and graduated from the GLI program in 2010. She is a current member of ADL's national ACT program for young professionals. She is also an active member of Impact100 Houston, a proud Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce member, Chaired Girls Empowerment Network's We Are Girls Conference in addition to chairing its Young Professionals board for two consecutive terms, serves as Marketing Chair for the ERJCC Book & Arts Festival, was an inaugural member of Mental Health America of Greater Houston's Next Gen Steering Committee and more. Jenny is a proud mom of three and is a passionate and unapologetic ally!

  • Vice Chair and Treasurer of the Tony’s Place Board, grew up in Houston and called it home for more than 20 years. He lived in Montrose for 10 of those years, before recently moving to Austin. While working on his degree in music at the University of Houston, he pursued another one of his interests, information technology. That led to his current position in security consulting at Accenture, the global consulting company.

    Mr. Haynes’s work focuses on information security, including cybersecurity, and support of tools that enable security operations centers. His work has taken him to the offices of many Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and internationally. His professional skills include project management, solution architecture and software design, network architecture, and many disciplines in information security. He has served as Treasurer for Tony’s Place and is a founding board member. In his role as the board’s Technology Executive, he has responsibility for computer, information management and data systems within the organization.

    When he's not busy working with technology, Mr. Haynes enjoys running, swimming, biking, yoga, listening to and playing music, and anything outdoors. His latest passion is gardening, including studying and caring for Texas native plants, and he has recently started studying Spanish. 

  • Erin is a native Houstonian. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of the Holy Cross and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston. She is the founder and managing partner of a staffing firm specializing in organizational change management consulting. As a mom, she is passionate about promoting the safety and well-being of all teens. She hopes to bring a unique perspective and to apply her consulting skills to support Tony's Place continued growth. Erin enjoys taking walks, traveling to and recharging in nature, and camping. She lives in West Houston with her husband, two teen children, and two cats. 

  • Elizabeth Wilson has directly experienced, and been involved in, LGBTQ issues her entire life and strongly supports the LGBTQ community.  Her primary interest is in transgender societal issues and the problems affecting homeless transgender youth, issues they experience daily that prohibit their being positively accepted and allowed to function productively in society.  She is extremely proud to be a part of Tony’s Place and is dedicated to helping the organization improve the lives of LGBTQ homeless youth in every area possible.   Her professional experience involves Professional Engineering and Project Management positions with various corporations and federal agencies, nationally and internationally, throughout her 40-year career.  With her experience in the areas of engineering, supervision, budgeting, management, safety and real property, she brings a practical perspective of problem solving.

  • Britton Tempton volunteered at Tony’s Place for two years before joining the board in May 2019.  He has a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s in Business Administration from Louisiana State University. Mr. Tempton currently works at an industrial construction firm as a Cost Controller/Database Manager. He provides IT support for Tony’s Place and continues to volunteer at the center. In his spare time, he enjoys traveling, going to museums, seeing plays at the Alley Theatre, exploring Houston’s many cultural festivals and hanging out with his cat, Mia.

  • Joshua Zuber is a Senior Public and Community Affairs Specialist with AAA Texas and AAA New Mexico, where he focuses on outreach efforts to promote AAA’s messages on traffic safety-related issues, travel and more through various local news platforms around the Lone Star State. Joshua comes to AAA from the broadcast news industry. He’s worn every hat in a newsroom, from Anchor to Camera Operator. Joshua earned a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He also studied Geosciences with a concentration in Broadcast Meteorology at Mississippi State University. Originally from the Pittsburgh area, Joshua has lived in many spots around the country. Currently, Joshua and his partner, Bobby, live in Houston with their two dogs. They both enjoy exploring Houston’s food scene and traveling to new destinations whenever they can.

  • Born in Houston and raised in San Antonio and later Tulsa, Oklahoma, Andres Gomez graduated with an International Baccalaureate degree from Booker T. Washington High School and received a Dual Degree B.S./B.A in International Business and Language: Spanish and a certificate in Creative Writing from The University of Tulsa.

    From there he shifted his attention to receiving an international education and completed a Máster en Edición from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and a Master in International Business Management from the Escuela de Alta Dirección (EADA) in Barcelona, Spain and spent time in the Nagoya University of Commerce and Business (NUCB) in Nagoya, Japan as a graduate exchange ambassador. Currently, he is a doctoral student with the University of Houston College of Education studying Literacy Curriculum and Instruction.

    Andres has a love for learning! He carries this love through all aspects of his life, including his service to Tony's Place. He and his wife, Amanda, own a music education studio and Andres does reading and language arts interventions. He works everyday to make lessons engaging and meet students where they are in their interests and abilities. He believes the love of learning is contagious!