Darryl Tocker, Board Chair

Darryl Tocker is the third Executive Director of the Tocker Foundation since its inception in 1964. Before joining the Tocker Foundation in 1990, Darryl Tocker was a financial analyst with the Zale Corporation from 1981 to 1995 in both the Dallas and New York offices. During his term with the Tocker Foundation, Mr. Tocker has advanced the organization’s commitment to public library advocacy. Due to the many initiatives and projects, the Tocker Foundation was one of the initial organizations on the American Library Association’s National Honor Roll and a recipient of the Texas Library Association’s Centennial Champion medallion.

In addition to his role with the Foundation, Darryl Tocker has served as President of the Friends of Libraries and Archives of Texas, the support organization to the Texas State Library. Mr. Tocker also serves on the Libraries Advisory Board of the University of North Texas. Most recently, Mr. Tocker was honored to be appointed by the governor of Texas as a commissioner of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Mr. Tocker’s affiliations include his long time memberships to the American Library Association, Texas Library Association and Philanthropy Southwest.

Mr. Tocker holds both a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Hon. Gigi Edwards Bryant, Immediate Past Chair

Gigi Edwards Bryant is a sixth generation Austinite. She started GMSA Management Services, an Austin based business development consulting firm started in 1993 after a 20 year career in information systems. The firm, recognized as one of Texas’ outstanding small businesses, focuses on community outreach/involvement, employee engagement and business development. Gigi serves her community through organizations that address issues surrounding family such as education, youth in the foster system, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation. Some immediate past public service includes gubernatorial appointments with two Chairmen assignments, Department of Child Protective Services and Texas School Safety Center, Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Council, Saint Edward’s University New College Advisory, Austin Police Department’s Blue Santa and the Austin Community College Foundation. Membership Organizations include: Douglass Club of Austin, American Association of University Women, Executive Women in Golf Association, Texas Exes – Life Member, Austin Chapter of the Links Incorporated and Balcones Women Golf Association. A partial list of community honors include: Distinguished Austinite, Campfire Promise, Outstanding Texan Award, CASA-Inspiring Leader and Fierce Advocate for Children, Girl Scouts Woman of Distinction, Ma Ferguson – Award of Excellence Finalist, Dedicated Volunteer of the Year, Outstanding Citizen for Leadership. Gigi started her education at Austin Community College in 1977 and transferred to St. Edwards University where she earned a degree in business with a minor in computer science. She earned a MBA in Global Leadership from University of Texas at Dallas. She is a 1992-1993 Graduate of Leadership Austin.

Andrea Rado Hamilton, 2nd Vice Chair

Andrea Rado Hamilton was raised in a real estate family and has been in the industry for over twenty years. She is a Global Real Estate Expert with Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty. In addition to helping clients buy, sell and lease residential real estate, Andrea has worked in a variety of capacities within the industry, from building high density urban homes, to selling small investment properties, to raising private equity for limited partnerships. A native Austinite, Andrea is passionate about the local community! She has chaired galas and fun runs for Rodeo Austin, The Texas Film Awards, and the Ronald McDonald House and is currently serving as a board member for the Dell Children’s Trust. In the past, Andrea has also volunteered for the Urban Land Institute, St. Austin’s Catholic School, I Live Here, I Give Here, and the Real Estate Council of Austin. She and her husband Chase have one daughter, Juliet, a son, David, and their dog Bodhi, adopted during the covid quarantine from Lucky Lab Rescue. They love exploring Austin’s culinary scene (and then burning off the calories with long walks on our extensive trail systems). Even though Community Service remains a family priority, she finds herself volunteering often to coach youth sports and can be found on the kickball fields or the volleyball courts most days after school.

Amanda Moore, Executive Member-at-Large

Amanda Moore attended the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Spanish. She received a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Texas School of Law. Moore is a writer, attorney, and book reviewer. Her short story, “The Corner Man,” received the highest award in a statewide short story competition sponsored by the Texas Bar Journal. Moore frequently interviews fiction and nonfiction authors as a book review contributor for Diverse Voices Book Review. Moore is an attorney with the law firm of Walsh, Gallegos, Kyle Robinson & Roalson, P.C. where she represents public schools in the state of Texas. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas School Law section, where she served on the Executive Committee for three years. In 2021, Moore was recognized as an Up & Coming Lawyer by the Austin Black Business Journal. She was also selected as an honoree for her work as an attorney by the National Women of Achievement, Inc., Austin Metroplex Chapter. She is a member of the Austin Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association, and the Austin Black Lawyers Association.

Ravi Vemulapalli, Treasurer

Ravi Vemulapalli has more than 24 years of management and executive-level experience in corporations such as GE, Kidde fire Safety and United Technologies. Vemulapalli is SVP of Warehouse Operations at TransPak. Most recently, Vemulapalli was the co-owner of Veteran Supply Services, a local solar contractor for homes and businesses and also general contractor for apartments and commercial businesses. Before that, Vemulapalli was the general manager of Enflite, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LifePort, a Sikorsky Company before it went private and is what brought him to Texas. Prior to his career as a civilian Ravi was history major at Annapolis in the naval academy and served in various roles as a naval officer. Positions included operational test and evaluation pilot, naval aviator flying H-60 Seahawks, and public affairs officer. Vemulapalli holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Duke University and a BS from the United States Naval Academy.

Archana Vemulapalli

Archana Vemulapalli is a technology leader whose work centers on building bridges – between people and opportunity, systems and equity, and communities and the stories that shape them. She leads large-scale programs at Indeed, managing marketplace platforms and ensuring technology serves users equitably. Previously, she worked on reducing bias for job seekers and responsible AI development, bringing her commitment to creating equitable systems and expanding opportunity.

A passionate advocate for literacy and storytelling, Archana has served the Texas Book Festival since 2019, as an advisory board member and community ambassador. She was also a founding board member of South Asian Austin Moms (SAAM) for six years and co-organized the 2018 Smithsonian exhibition Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, showcasing the contributions of Indian immigrants to American life.

An avid reader and published poet, Archana also holds degrees in Engineering, Computer Science, and an MBA from UT Austin. Born in Hyderabad, India, she moved to the United States for graduate school and has called Austin home for more than a decade, where she now lives with her husband, Ravi, and their two children.

Dr. Bergeron Harris

Bergeron Harris is an experienced educational administrator and leadership scholar. Dr. Harris brings more than four decades of service across K–12 education, higher education, and district-level leadership. He has served as a principal, assistant superintendent, executive director, and clinical assistant professor, with deep expertise in organizational leadership, instructional improvement, and school transformation. A Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator at Texas State University, he taught and mentored graduate and doctoral students while supporting principal preparation, leadership coaching, and performance assessment initiatives statewide. A respected leader known for his integrity, strategic insight, and exceptional interpersonal skills, Dr. Harris has been widely recognized for excellence in educational leadership, including honors from TASSP, the City of Austin, Phi Delta Kappa, and Texas State University. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to developing strong, ethical leaders and improving outcomes for students and communities.

Dr. Raka Sandell

Raka Sandell is a strategic leader whose life is defined by a holistic pursuit of excellence. She spent her career balancing professional roles with a devotion to classical dance and yoga, and her roles as a wife, mother, and daughter. Dr. Sandell served as the Vice President of Program Management at Campus Advantage for over a decade, following roles at Motorola, Northrop Grumman, and AMD.

Her commitment to the Texas Book Festival stems from a belief that storytelling serves as a vital bridge between diverse perspectives and community engagement. This dedication to service extends to her Board role with The Kindness Campaign and as a CAB member with Austin PBS, where she champions initiatives centered on empathy and public discourse.

In the last five years, she has translated her tenacity into a passion for mountaineering, summiting Kilimanjaro and reaching Everest Base Camp. Driven by a lifelong passion for education, she received a Doctorate in Business Administration in 2024. She also holds a Masters in Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Born in India and a longtime Austin resident, she finds her greatest inspiration in the pursuit of new horizons, whether in the community or on a mountain peak.

Dr. Sarah Coleman

Sarah Coleman is an Associate Professor of History at Texas State University. She specializes in modern U.S. history, with particular interests in political history, immigration and public policy. Dr. Coleman is the author of The Walls Within: The Politics of Immigration in Modern America (Princeton University Press, 2021), an award-winning book that examines how immigrant rights have been debated and defined in American politics and policymaking since the mid-twentieth century. Her current book project explores Congressional history and the political power of Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn. 

She received her BA from Yale University, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and a PhD in History from Princeton University. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Prior to academia, she worked in the White House and in the United States Senate.

Outside the classroom and archives, she lives in Austin with her husband and two children. By day she reads nonfiction for work; by night she happily escapes into fiction—often drawn from the stack of novels she brings home each year from the Texas Book Festival.

Tamara Dorrance

Tamara Dorrance is a respected ethicist and community leader based in Austin, Texas. She is Vice-Chair of the Leadership Board for Texas Performing Arts and works with Lighthouse Ethics Consulting, providing ethics-based guidance to nonprofits, businesses, and individuals. Tamara is also president and co-founder of the 4 Bears Family Foundation, formerly known as the Durant Family Foundation, a private foundation dedicated to community support through solution-oriented programs and advocacy. She has served on several nonprofit boards, including the Austin Advisory Board of the Texas Nature Conservancy and the National Leadership Board of The Blanton Museum of Art. Raised in Colorado, Tamara holds a B.A. from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Organizational Leadership and Ethics from St. Edward’s University. She moved to Austin in 2000 with her husband, and together they have two children.