Stefanie has served on the Thrive Youth Center board since 2019. She has been involved with the annual gala, fundraising, reviewing board policies and procedures, and new board member onboarding. Stefanie was born in Okinawa, Japan and grew up on Army bases in Virginia and Kansas and eventually landed in Texas where she graduated from high school in Plano. She received a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at Dallas and a Master of Business Administration from Texas Woman’s University. Stefanie has worked in HR for over 25 years in manufacturing, in industries ranging from food manufacturing to construction materials and now has landed in the aviation industry.

Stefanie joined StandardAero as the Director, HR in Sept. 2021 where she helps support almost 700 employees at the facility in the Port of San Antonio. Prior to StandardAero, Stefanie worked at HEB and served as the HR advisor for the Pride PRG there.

Stefanie has been involved with the Human Rights Campaign (in Dallas, TX) and on the Fairway to Equality Committee.

Stefanie relocated from Dallas to San Antonio in 2018 where she resides with her wife, Renee, along with three wonderful stepchildren (Lily, Otto, and Henry) along with three dogs.

Human Resource Business Partner – Target Stores

Michael Lyssy has worked for Target Corporation for nearly 15 years; starting in 2009. As a Fortune 50 company with more than 400,000+ team members worldwide, Target is an iconic brand, focused on the company’s purpose of “helping all families discover the joy of everyday life.” Michael started his career with Target in San Antonio as an assistant Store Director, then worked as a Store Director (General Manager) for 4 years, and since June of 2018 has been a Human Resource Business Partner, overseeing HR and Community Engagement for all Target stores within San Antonio – totaling nearly 2,500 employees. In this multi-unit leadership role, Michael supports & influences store leaders, their teams, & district business leaders in bringing to life Target’s purpose, culture, and values, as well as HR strategies; through helping them build talented, diverse, and engaged teams, focused on delivering on financial, team, and community goals. Specifically, Michael works in recruiting, selecting, & developing non-exempt & exempt leaders who care for and invest in their leaders and team members who care about their guests, communities, and each other; ensuring a diverse workforce is in place, to create a positive impact on society today and for many years to come.

Caring for our local community is woven deeply into who Michael is, both personally & professionally. Through his time at Target, Michael has worked to establish strong district-wide partnerships within local Target stores and the community of San Antonio, working with & giving back to numerous non-profits & other local organizations and schools. In 2022 & 2023 alone, Michael led his local Target team to give back more than 11,000 volunteer hours across 25+ different organizations throughout San Antonio & Bexar County. Each of these partnerships are focused on collectively helping bring joy & inclusion to the local community today and creating a stronger future for tomorrow. Michael is also an active member of the San Antonio Human Resources Association, the National Human Rights Campaign, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, & the San Antonio Botanical Garden Society.

In addition, professionally, Michael is a member of Target’s Pride + Business Council, focusing on inclusivity, equity, & representation across the entire Target enterprise & within the communities in which it serves worldwide. Also, Michael serves on Target’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Business Council – supporting inclusion & equity for all across the organization.

Personally, Michael is a South Texas native and a 2003 graduate of Falls City High School. He has an extensive background in agriculture, farming, & ranching, as his parents, grandparents, and extended family have been in the dairy/ranching business for more than 50 years; of which he attributes his work ethic & values, servant leadership, and his focus & commitment to strengthening the community to. He is a proud Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi Alumnus; having received his BBA in 2007 & MBA in 2009; & recently completed a Strategic HR Leadership Certification through Cornell University in 2023.

Michael currently resides in San Antonio with his partner, Michael, and their dog Ginsburg & cat Harry. He has 3 young nieces, who are truly the light of his life.

Emily joined the Thrive Youth Center board in August 2022 as a local leader in nonprofit and higher education administration.  She has dedicated her career to serving youth impacted by trauma to open gateways for successful futures, including over 15 years of combined experience in the fields of foster care and the local homelessness response system.  She brings experience with federal grant administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care policies, child welfare, and authentic youth collaboration.  Emily spearheaded the development of the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Project grant proposal, later awarded to San Antonio in 2019 for $6.88 million to create housing solutions for youth ages 18-24.  She was instrumental in driving the foundation of the local Youth Action Board.

Emily has a Bachelor of Arts in English degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Master of Arts in Education degree from the University of Arizona Global Campus.  She currently leads the UTSA Fostering Futures Program as Associate Director and is the university foster care liaison.

As an LGBTQ+ Ally and Housing First advocate, she passionately believes that housing is a basic human right, and that the solution to homelessness is to collaborate across the community to build innovative housing solutions that meet the unique needs of people experiencing homelessness.  Emily is a dog mom to two rescue pups, loves to do hot yoga, and is always up for trying a new hot sauce.