Welcome to Our Newest Board of Director Members

We would like to give a warm welcome to the newest members of the AMIGOS Board of Directors:

Krisa Van Meurs, Jorge Ortega, Stacy Alexander, and Brian Austin!

Bringing expertise across law, medicine, marketing communications, and finance, we are excited to work alongside them as they contribute their insight, experience, and shared passion to expand AMIGOS’ impact for youth and communities across the Americas. ¡Bienvenidos!

In the sections below, learn more about the experience, perspective, and passion they bring into the organization.

Krisa Van Meurs

Krisa Van Meurs is the Rosemarie Hess Endowed Professor in the Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine and an attending neonatologist at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. Dr. Van Meurs has been actively involved in clinical care, clinical research, program administration, and mentoring during her medical career. Her specific areas of research interest are neonatal pulmonary disease and neonatal neurocritical care. Dr. Van Meurs is the medical director of the Neonatal ECMO program and the NeuroNICU, a specialized virtual unit focused on improving neurologic and developmental outcomes for critically ill neonates. She is the Stanford principal investigator for the Eunice Kennedy Shriver NICHD Neonatal Research Network and has held various administrative roles at Stanford including Associate Chair for Clinical Research for the Department of Pediatrics; Vice Chair, Appointments Promotions and Tenure Committee; Pediatric Mentoring Program Executive Committee member; Spectrum Child Health Executive Committee member; and interim Division Chief, Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine.

Krisa participated in AMIGOS for 5 years serving as a volunteer, route leader, assistant country director, and country director in Honduras, Colombia, and Ecuador. She had the honor of being the first female country director in Ecuador in 1974. Her daughter, Annalise, served as an AMIGOS volunteer in Mexico.

 

Brian Austin

Brian Austin is responsible for sourcing new investments and managing the development/acquisition process throughout the Eastern U.S. Mr. Austin brings 17 years of experience in development and project financing, and most recently served as Senior Managing Director for Mill Creek Residential Trust LLC (MCRT) in the Gulf Coast/Southwest Division. Mr. Austin is a past board member of the Houston Apartment Association and served as Chairman of the Houston Apartment Association Developer’s Committee. He is a founding member and treasurer of Houstonians for Responsible Growth, and a trustee for its related PAC. Mr. Austin received a BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University in 1995.

Brian is an AMIGOS alum (Brazil, 1990) and has been supporting the organization in recent years.

 

Stacy Keaton Alexander, JD  

Stacy Keaton Alexander, J.D. is a former attorney, mediator, and adjunct professor of Negotiations at St. Mary’s University School of Law.

As an attorney, she specialized in civil appellate law for almost 30 years in Houston and Austin, Texas, handling numerous multi-party, multi-million-dollar appeals. As a credentialed mediator, she has mediated a variety of civil disputes. She also coaches basic mediation training and has volunteered as a mediator at the Austin Dispute Resolution Center. As an adjunct professor, she developed a lecture on Gender in Negotiation. She authored an article based on that lecture, “Gender in Negotiation,” which is a chapter published in the textbook: “Negotiation: Behavioral Observation and Manipulation.”

She is a graduate student at Pepperdine University in their psychology program. At FIRE, she is a clinical researcher and has co-designed a research project on gender bias in the legal profession.

She enjoys speaking, presenting, and continuing research to promote equality for women. Her most recent presentations include “Negotiating Salaries” for Women in the Profession Committee State Bar of Texas, and “Navigating Gender Bias in the Legal Profession” for Women Empowering Leadership in the Law (WELL).

Mrs. Keaton Alexander is also an author and illustrator of a bilingual (English and Français) children’s book: “How to Pet a Kitty.”

 

Jorge Ortega

Jorge Ortega is the Executive Vice President at ChangeMakers, a reputation management, marketing, and social impact advisory firm serving clients and leaders across sectors. With more than three decades of experience in strategic communications and leadership development, Jorge has held senior executive roles at two of the world’s leading firms—Edelman and Burson—where he led cross-border initiatives for corporate, nonprofit, and government clients. He helped them manage their reputations, navigate crises, and build trust with diverse stakeholders. He has also served as interim Chief Communications Officer at three publicly traded companies.

Jorge brings deep experience in working with nonprofit organizations. His work with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has focused on leadership development and professional coaching, helping to strengthen the organization’s internal talent and culture. He was also the creative lead for the Dallas Regional Chamber’s award-winning COVID-19 vaccination campaign, which mobilized public health action through a multisector coalition of business and civic leaders. He has provided marketing counsel to global humanitarian organizations such as Mercy Ships, helping them communicate their impact and increase their visibility.

Jorge serves on the Corporate Advisory Board of ALPFA (the Association of Latino Professionals for America), the nation’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Latino students and professionals across the corporate, nonprofit, and public sectors. He is also a former board member of Camillus House, a nonprofit serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness in Miami-Dade County, providing housing, healthcare, and dignity to thousands each year.

Jorge is the co-founder and past board chair of the International Kids Fund, a program of the Jackson Memorial Foundation that raises funds and coordinates life-saving medical care for critically ill children from underserved regions across Latin America and the Caribbean.

A volunteer alum and former instructor for Amigos de las Américas, Jorge is fluent in Spanish and passionate about service, equity, and cross-cultural impact.

Born and raised in Miami, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from American University in Washington, D.C.