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We are Step Onward Foundation, and we believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to rise above adversity—one step at a time.

Our Story

The Step Onward Foundation began in 2004 when co-founders Patrice Pike and Todd Young were inspired to help a young person in need who Patrice met while touring with her band. Determined to make a difference, they organized a benefit concert to raise funds. With the support of the Austin Community Foundation, they quickly pulled everything together, and eventually surpassed their fundraising goal.

What started as a spontaneous benefit concert quickly turned into a larger mission. With help from the Austin Community Foundation, they raised more than they ever expected, and the Grace Foundation was born.

In 2015, Grace Foundation rebranded and became known as Step Onward Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, whose mission is to break cycles of hardship and uplift those facing homelessness and extreme challenges.

Patrice Pike

Todd Young

Our Dream.

We envision a world where all people have a place to call home and thrive.

Our Mission.

Step Onward prevents homelessness and housing insecurity. We provide financial assistance for housing, education, food and counseling to individuals and families facing chronic or sudden hardship.

Our Values.

At Step Onward Foundation, we follow our core values of compassion, responsibility, stewardship, community, and grace.

Compassion

Through kindness, caring, and a genuine belief in the potential of each of the individuals we serve, we encourage them to believe in themselves and strive for sustainability. In this way, their success becomes our success as another cycle is broken.

Responsibility

We believe all people struggling to overcome housing insecurity deeply desire to have agency over their lives and want the opportunity to take responsibility for a home of their own.

Stewardship

We are committed to the responsible management of OUR resources for the benefit of recipients and in honor of our donors.

Community

We believe in the strength of community. Since our inception, we have partnered with others who are already in the business of breaking the cycle of homelessness. We complement our partners’ efforts by filling the gaps in the services that they provide while extending and expanding resources to maximize positive outcomes.

Grace

We believe when resources, trust, and supportive relationships are given to people who are ready to step onward toward their future, growth and sustainability naturally emerge as a result.

Staff Members

Patrice Pike
Co-Founder
Patrice Pike
Co-Founder

Patrice Pike is an acclaimed professional musician and singer/songwriter from Austin, TX. As co-founder and director of Step Onward, she has collaborated in raising over $1M to support the organization’s mission.

Todd Young
Co-Founder
Todd Young
Co-Founder

Todd L. Young is Step Onward Foundaton’s Co-Founder and former Chairman. He is more recently Co-Founder and the current Chairman of Riptide Society (RiptideSociety.org) and he is the Founder and CEO of Ballogy, Inc. (ballogy.com). As an entrepreneur with over 20 years of leadership experience, Todd has a strong track record of founding and building successful organizations that add measurable value to people’s lives.

Kris Weixel
Director of Operations
Kris Weixel
Director of Operation

Kris has a B.S. in Business Administration from Minnesota State University and is a former software engineer with IBM and finance and technology director at Spirit Reins.  She is in charge of Step Onward’s operations including finance, technology, and budgeting.

Kris is passionate about Step Onward’s mission and has had the privilege of hearing first-hand from Step Onward recipients about the enormous difference our support has made in their lives.

Board Members

Laura McFarland
President
Laura McFarland
Pesident

Laura McFarland is an educator and researcher with a passion for mental health. Laura serves as COO of the Natural Lifemanship Institute, a leader in the field of trauma-informed mental health and wellness services incorporating horses. She has a doctorate in Special Education with an emphasis on preparing educators to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse youth with disabilities and other learning or behavioral challenges. As an applied researcher, she has designed and conducted numerous program evaluations for not-for-profits in the education and mental health sectors. Laura is deeply inspired by Step Onward’s mission and the positive impact that our support has had on those we serve.

Rick Fine
Vice President Chair, Governance Committee
Rick Fine
Vice President Chair, Governance Committee

Rick Fine has been active in public affairs for more than 40 years at the local, state and federal levels. He has been a licensed attorney since 1979, working in both the public and private sectors. Rick’s practice has focused primarily on property tax valuations, business incentives, economic growth, public school finance, and state and local tax policy issues.

Rick serves on the Texas Advisory Board of the Environmental Defense Fund and chairs that board’s Governance Committee, as well. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, the state’s most influential research and advocacy group on tax, fiscal, and education policy.

Rick is a longtime supporter of Austin’s live music community. He has been practicing and teaching martial arts since 1976 and is currently an eighth degree black belt.

Sam West
Secretary
Sam West
Secretary

Samuel G. West has 19 years’ experience in recruitment, program development, event coordination, community outreach, and academic advising. He obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Social Work from Stephen F. Austin State University, and completed a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration at Texas Tech University in 2017. He researched interagency support for homeless community college students in a dissertation titled A Phenomenological Study Exploring the Perceptions and Experiences of College Students Who Have Experienced Homelessness and Student Support Services.

Annette LoVoi
Director
Annette LoVoi
Director

Ms. LoVoi has worked on behalf of consumers, particularly low-income and immigrant consumers, throughout her career. She was appointed by Governor Ann Richards of Texas as the State’s first Ombudsman to execute projects leading to policy and management change in government practice.

Ms. LoVoi has been elected twice as a public official, serving as an at-large trustee for the 85,000 student Austin Independent School District. Following her work for elected officials in Texas state and federal government.  She was selected in 1997 as the first Executive Director of Texas Appleseed. Under her leadership, Texas Appleseed spearheaded the passage of indigent defense reform, hailed as the most important reform of its kind in 25 years, as well as the design of the immigrant access to financial institutions project that has evolved into one of National Appleseed’s signature projects. This Texas state law served as a catalyst for more far-reaching federal legislation in the Dodd-Frank Act. Ms. LoVoi holds a Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin.

Volney Campbell
Director
Volney Campbell
Director

Volney Campbell is a real estate executive with Colliers, a songwriter, part of two Austin bands, Driver ATX and The Late Arrivals, and a weapon of mass compassion.

Susan Hillman
Director
Susan Hillman
Director

Susan has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. She has over ten years of comprehensive experience in health and human services.   She also has an extensive volunteer background with direct services and advocacy organizations including Planned Parenthood, AIDS Services of Austin, The SAFE Alliance, and Equality Texas. She is the proud mother of two, Gabe and Sam. She loves hiking and camping with her husband Ramon.

Partnerships

Deep Gratitude

Over the years, many talented artists have supported Step Onward Foundation’s mission by lending their time and talents to the organization. We are forever grateful for the support of the following:

Arc Angels

Doobie Brothers

Rosie Flores

Susan Gibson

Kalu James

Shelley King

Malford Milligan

Monte Montgomery

Lukas Nelson and the Promise of the Real

Patrice Pike Band

Pike and Sutton

Sister 7

The Reverent Few

Kathy Valentine

Vintage Trouble

Carolyn Wonderland

Graham Wilkinson

Together, We Can Make a Difference

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