Austin’s Finest
Austin's Finest Honoree's are Central Texas professionals who strive to make a difference both professionally and personally through their dedication, innovation, and self-starter attitude.
Selected nominees will be provided the opportunity to grow, connect and celebrate while being surprised and highlighted from start to finish. Our 10-week program is designed to expand their network, develop professional skills, and generate experience impacting a mission with measurable outcomes.
2023 Austin’s Finest Honorees
Manny Arce
Manny Arce started his work in Real Estate at an early age while attending Texas State University. He graduated from Texas State in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science.
Manny is an ambitious, hardworking man, determined to help homeowners buy and sell real estate in the Austin area. Manny runs his business with a "Client first" philosophy allowing him to deliver the highest customer experience.
Manny has built a business on referrals and building long-lasting relationships. Every real estate transaction is different, and it takes an agent that will listen and understand every circumstance to help deliver the best home selling/buying experience! The strong professional and personal relationships Manny has built through the years have allowed him to become a top producer in his market.
When not selling real estate, Manny enjoys everything that Austin has to offer. With a growing city comes new restaurants and places to try out, keeping the adventures going! Manny is very active and enjoys being outdoors, throwing a football at Zilker, going to the gym, or just taking time to reflect on the 360 bridge viewpoint. Manny is also committed to giving back to his community and volunteering for worthwhile causes such as the Ronald McDonald House of Charities.
Click HERE to learn more about Manny and support his campaign
Allison Massey
Allison received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing with Honors from Texas Woman’s University. She previously practiced in the NICU serving as a Charge Nurse, Preceptor, 2nd RN for neonatal codes and primary nurse.
As a clinic nurse, Allison participates in the retention and recruitment committee assisting in programs and activities to help bring all staff of the Specialty Care Center together.
Since starting her new role in 2022, Allison has been awarded employee of the month and the Daisy award for excellence in nursing.
In the community, Allison participates in CF related events including Key for the Cure and Great Strides. She also assists with administering vaccines in Travis county. Allison has spent time volunteering in local organizations such as Casey’s Circle. She educates students on the importance of the nursing profession through her local PTA group.
Click HERE to learn more about Allison and support her campaign
Lyndsey Hollis
Lyndsey has been working for lululemon for over 8 years with 3 of them being in Austin. She has held many roles while at Lululemon including Assistant Store Manager and Guest Experience Lead.
While with Lululemon, Lyndsey earned her yoga teacher certification and attended World Happiness Summit.
Most recently, she started my own company for Infant Swim Rescue. She is passionate about providing children with the tools to save their own life. Drowning is the number one cause of death in children and she wants to do her part to prevent as many of those drownings as possible.
She also has her own 501c3, Lyndsey's TLC Foundation, that raises money to cover transplant costs for people with cystic fibrosis. As a CF thriver herself, she is very passionate about raising money for cystic fibrosis. In Lyndsey’s lifetime she has greatly benefited from all the money raised. She is honored and looking forward to be a part of Austin's Finest!
Click HERE to learn more about Lyndsey and support her campaign
Megan Suwek
Megan is originally from Upstate New York and relocated to Austin in 2015 to further her Risk Management and Insurance Career. Currently, she works for Texas Mutual Insurance Company as a Senior Underwriter.
As a prior officer of Gamma Iota Sigma at Utica University (formerly Utica College) she has always been an active member of the Risk Management and Insurance Industry. She has been a board member for the local chapter of Young Risk Professionals of Austin since 2021 and currently holds two positions as The Director of Marketing Chair & The Student Relations Director.
Megan is passionate about sparking student interest within the Risk Management and Insurance community and being a local industry representative.
Outside of her career, she is passionate about physical fitness and community involvement. Megan completed the MS-150 (150 mile bike ride through the Texas Hill Country) with Team Texas Mutual in April 2023 fundraising to combat Multiple Sclerosis. She has also recently completed her 1st Marathon in May of 2023, and is training towards her long time goal to run the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim.
Click HERE to learn more about Megan and support her campaign
Remi Orlinsky
Remi Orlinsky is not new to being an advocate for the CF Foundation. She is a former Congressional Captain, a National Volunteer Advocacy Committee Member, Participated in Teen Advocacy and served as intern, participant and alum from 2015 - 2018. Remi is also a 4 time March on the Hill attendee, where she visits Washington D.C. to met with members of Congress to advocate for the needs of the cystic fibrosis community.
Click HERE to learn more about Remi and support her campaign.
Vance Cobb
Vance Cobb is the owner and operator of Cobb Development is Austin's premier builder, focused on beautifully designed homes and quality construction. Prior to starting his own development company, Vance worked on the Realtor®/Developer team at The Davis Agency and with Keller Williams Realty, where he was awarded several top sales awards among thousands of agents.
Vance specializes in real estate development in Austin’s 78704 neighborhood. A longtime property owner and resident of the Zilker area, Vance has invaluable insight for ideal development opportunities. He uses his vision and talent for building residential properties that blend seamlessly with the iconic character of south Austin, using the highest quality material and design. He takes pride in being a part of creating someone’s future dream home, and lives by his own standard: he only builds homes that he, too, would want to live in.
Prior to real estate and development, Vance spent over 15 years in the music industry working in executive promotion and marketing for the country’s largest record labels. When Vance isn’t working tirelessly building your next home, you can find him grilling at his south Austin home with his beautiful wife Milly, their adorable son Bishop and two doggies while watching Auburn football.
Click HERE to learn more about Vance and support his campaign
Clara Duggan
Clara received her Bachelor's of Arts in Communication at Texas A&M University and shortly after completed her Masters of Science in Human Development and Family Sciences with a concentration in Child Life at Texas State University.
During her graduate career, she completed a practicum in Cape Town, South Africa and an Internship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. She has since began working at Dell Children's Medical Center in Austin.
She is currently in the Specialty Care Center and Wound Clinic where she sees patients with various medical backgrounds and complexities and provides developmentally appropriate medical preparation, education, support, and coping skills. She is a Pain Champion in her unit, helping to provide and maintain a pain-free environment.
Clara has worked with the CF outpatient clinic since she began working at Dell and has participated in CF events such as Great Strides. Clara has participated in various volunteer opportunities including supporting patients receiving COVID vaccines in Central Texas and providing virtual play opportunities for children with developmental disabilities. She is looking forward to continuing to grow within her community and providing developmentally appropriate support to patients and families.
Click HERE to learn more about Clara and support her campaign
Sarah Schwartz
Sarah Schwartz graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2007 with a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree focusing on Classical Archaeology and Ancient Greek. For eight years, she served as Office Coordinator for Dell Children’s Medical Group Pediatric & Adolescent Dermatology. During this time, she worked in close liaison with the dermatology providers and Research Department staff.
In July 2016, she was recruited to join the Ascension Seton Research Support Services department and the CF research team. In September 2021, the Pediatric Research Department transitioned from Ascension Seton to Dell Medical School with The University of Texas at Austin.
As a Senior Research Program Coordinator, Sarah manages the CF Foundation’s Patient Registry study for both Adult and Pediatric CF Austin centers, including data capture and entry. She is the first point of contact for our patients and families regarding new and upcoming research studies and clinical trials. She informs patients about all the exciting research opportunities going on in our clinic, and also assists the CF Research Coordinator Nurses with clinical trial study visits.
In her spare time, Sarah enjoys creek-walking, arts and crafts, baby animals, and playing piano.
Click HERE to learn more about Sarah and support her campaign
Kristina Ritcher
Kristina Richter is one of the Registered Nurses for the Adult Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Center of Central Texas. Her love of working with patients with cystic fibrosis started in January 2003 while working as a patient care tech on the respiratory unit in Seton’s Children’s Hospital of Austin. After graduating nursing school in 2008, she continued to work on the respiratory unit at Dell Children's until 2013.
She rejoined Ascension Seton Medical center in 2020. Since then, she has participated with her team in Quality Improvement initiatives, such as the VIP-F8 and PEP. She has also served as a speaker at NACFC in 2022 and will again be a speaker in 2023. Her abstracts have been accepted as posters in 2021 and 2022. She has also contributed education resources regarding pregnancy to CF Foundation. Kristina continues to attend various local CF Foundation chapter events and is an active member in the Central Texas CF Community.