Board of Trustees & Liaisons

Lauren Bradley

Board Member

Lauren Bradley is Assistant Vice President for Communications at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where she leads the Office of Strategic Communications within the Division of Enrollment Management and Marketing. She oversees internal and external communications, media relations, and issues management, provides counsel to campus partners and senior leadership, and coordinates communications during emergency situations.

A Winter Park native, Bradley joined Rollins in 2009 and was named Assistant Vice President in 2021, following more than a decade of progressive responsibility across the communications function at the College. Before Rollins, she held communications roles in the public and private sectors with the City of Orlando, Florida Dairy Farmers, and Chicago-based Public Communications, Inc.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations and a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of Florida, and is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Orlando chapter, the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) Orlando chapter, and serves on PRSA’s Counselors to Higher Education, a community of senior-level communications leaders serving higher education institutions.

Bradley serves on the advisory board of the Winter Park Blue Dolfins Foundation, volunteers in the College & Career Center at Winter Park High School, and is a member of the Central Florida Community Arts Choir. She lives with her family in Maitland.

Austin Kupke

Board Member

Austin Phillips Kupke is a policy and strategy consultant with more than 15 years of experience in government, nonprofit leadership, and public affairs. As Principal of Phillips Kupke Consulting, she advises organizations on policy development, community engagement, and strategic initiatives that advance nonprofit and public sector success.

Previously, Austin served in senior roles at the Texas Legislative Budget Board, including Assistant Legal Counsel and Manager of Federal Funds, where she advised lawmakers on large-scale budget and policy matters. She began her career working on youth initiatives in Boston and New York City and remains passionate about work that impacts our future citizens, neighbors, students, and workforce.

Austin holds a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law and a B.A. from Colby College. She lives in Winter Park with her husband, a Central Florida native, and three young children. She is honored to support Mead Gardens’ mission to preserve and cultivate one of Central Florida’s most treasured green spaces. 

Tom McMacken

Past Chair 

Tom McMacken earned a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Louisiana State University. He currently holds professional registrations in Florida and South Carolina. Over the course of his five-decade career, he has provided site planning, design and construction observation services to clients on resort, parks and commercial projects nationally and internationally.

Closer to home, Tom has been a member multi-disciplinary teams responsible for projects at Walt Disney World and Lake Nona, as well as Winter Park Village, Park Avenue, Blue Jacket Park, and the Park at Orwin Manor for which he received a design award from the Florida Chapter of American Society of Landscape Architecture.

Originally from Toledo Ohio, Tom has continued to invest his time in community boards and organizations. In Toledo, he chaired the Vistula Historic District and was Vice Chair of the Toledo Festival of the Arts. In Tampa, he served on the Board of Directors of the Gasparilla Sidewalk Art Festival and Co-chair of the event.

In Winter Park, he has served two terms on the City Commission. He has chaired the Public Art Advisory Board, Historic Preservation Board, Planning and Zoning Board and Tree Preservation Board. He also served on the Library Task Force, Fiber Optics Task Force and Orange County Community Action Board. He is a graduate of Leadership Orlando. He is a past trustee of the Winter Park Library, and has just completed his term as chair of the Mead Botanical Garden Inc. Board of Trustees.

Tom is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce where for the past 34 years he has been a volunteer on the Winter Park Autumn Arts Festival. 

Tom and his wife, Ann, have been married for 35 years, and have a daughter, Emily. While currently retired, he continues to be a consultant for landscape architectural services, and serves on the Mead Botanical Garden Inc. Board of Trustees.

Blair Cox

Board Member 

Blair Cox is an aviation operations and capital programs consultant with more than 25 years of experience in guiding airport authorities and airlines with major project work. As Principal of JSM & Associates, he manages a group of aviation professionals on technology applications to support aviation processes.

Previously, Blair was a currency options and futures trader on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange where he managed the portfolios of several traders serving as risk manager for the combined options position of the trading staff.  Prior to that Blair performed as an Instrumentation Engineer on the Space Shuttle Program at NASA where he supported 35 Space Shuttle Missions.  Currently, he serves as President of the Orlando College Park Lions Club where he can positively impact underserved Central Floridians.  Blair is actively engaged in supporting Special Olympics and spends many Saturday mornings assisting with local events.

Blair is a resident of Winter Park graduating from Winter Park High School in 1981 and holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Florida State University as well Master’s in Business Administration from University of Central Florida.  He lives in Winter Park with his wife who is also a Central Florida native.  Having spent many childhood days at Mead Botanical Garden, he is honored to support Mead Gardens’ mission to preserve and cultivate a green space all can enjoy. 

Ashley Devitt

Board Member 

Ashley Devitt is a CPA at Forvis Mazars, where she provides federal and state tax services to individuals and tax-exempt organizations. She specializes in private foundation compliance, charitable giving, and tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, including gift and estate tax matters.

Ashley grew up in Winter Park and interned at Mead Botanical Garden in 2011, where she helped launch youth summer camp programming during a period of growth and revitalization. She now serves on Mead’s Board of Trustees and is passionate about preserving and enhancing the Garden as a community resource for Central Florida.

Ashley holds a Master of Science in Accountancy from the University of Houston and a bachelor’s degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Psychology from Rice University. She is licensed as a CPA in Florida and Texas and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Florida Institute of CPAs. She also serves on her firm’s Foundation Committee and is certified as an advanced volunteer tax preparer through the IRS VITA/TCE program.

Ashley lives in Orlando with her husband, Jay, and their rescue dog, Frankie Jr., and enjoys composting, birdwatching, and spending time in nature.

Betsy Hughes

Board Member 

Since 1983, Betsy and her husband Jon have co-owned both Track Shack and Track Shack Events. Her passion for running began at age 14 while competing on the Glenridge Junior High school track team; she continued her running career at Winter Park High school and competed in local events during her college years at UF, while completing a degree in journalism.

Now, after 50 years of running Betsy’s experience allows her to share the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle with the community through many clinics, classes and guest speaking engagements.

Betsy served on the course measurement team of three Olympic Women’s Team Trials-Marathon. In 1994 Track Shack introduced the runDisney events to the world! Also in 1994, she and her husband Jon established the Track Shack Youth Foundation and to date have given over $3 million dollars to local youth charities.  Both she and Jon have been inducted into The Running Specialty Hall of Fame, the Running USA Hall of Champions and awarded Florida’s Retailer of the Year in 2015.  In 2017 Betsy and Jon were awarded “Most Influential People” by Winter Park Magazine. In 2022 Track Shack was voted the best shoe store in Winter Park. Track Shack is consistently voted one of the Top 50 Running Specialty Stores in the US. In 2025, Track Shack was one of 12 businesses awarded the Mills/50 Business of the Month.

Betsy and Jon just celebrated their 43th wedding anniversary…their daughter Emma and her husband Will, parents to Betsy and Jon’s eight-year-old granddaughter, Talia, are both teachers. … son Chris, and his wife Audrey are parents to little baby Adrienne, and manages the Track Shack retail side.  Betsy and Jon enjoy spending time in North Carolina.

Since 2020, Betsy has served on the Mead Botanical Garden board of trustees, and that is her “happy place!”

Charlene Hotaling

Board Member 

Charlene is a Sr Vice President, Commercial Banking Manager for Seacoast Bank. She is a graduate of the University of Phoenix with a business management degree. Throughout her career, she has gained valuable experience in operations management, retail and commercial management, mergers and acquisitions, business development, commercial and consumer underwriting as well as retail and commercial lending.

A graduate of Leadership Winter Park Class XXIII, OCBA Leadership Law, Leadership Orlando Class 101, and Political Leadership, Charlene is passionate about making a difference in her community. She is currently serving on the Winter Park Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee, The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra Board, The Gardens at Depugh Board, Mead Botanical Garden Inc. Board, Welbourne Day Nursery Board, The Mayflower at Winter Park and Winter Park Lifelong Learning Foundation Board. She is past Chairman of the board of directors for the Winter Park Chamber’s Board of Directors and the Mead Botanical Gardens Board of Trustees. Charlene was voted into the 2019 most influentials of Winter Park by Winter Park magazine. In the past, she has served as co-chair of the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Taser Task Force commission as well as a Winter Park Pop Warner board member and coach. Charlene has also been involved with the American Heart Association, Community Based Care of Central Florida, Junior Achievement and the Women of Distinction Committee for the Girl Scouts of Citrus Council.

Charlene has been married to her husband John for 30+ years and has two adult children that make her very proud.

Focused on true relationship banking, Charlene uses her 30+ years of experience to deliver superior service and results. Let Charlene put her local resources and financial expertise to work for you – she truly will “make the difference” as your financial partner.

Laura Walda

Vice Chair 

Responsive, caring and a good listener is how Lowndes’ clients describe Laura Walda, who understands that each client needs to feel special and receive the highest level of service. As a shareholder in the firm’s commercial real estate group, she handles complex contract and lease negotiation, real estate acquisitions and dispositions, negotiation and structuring of credit facilities. She’s known for solving problems quickly and keeping deals on track.

Her background in commercial litigation includes title insurance matters, landlord-tenant disputes, and banking litigation.

Community Activities

• Central Florida Vocal Arts, Board of Directors, 2024 – Present
• Mead Botanical Garden, Board of Trustees
• Indiana University Maurer School of Law Alumni Board, Executive Committee
• Winter Park Chamber of Commerce

– Board of Directors, Past Chair; Chair, 2025
– Executive Committee, Member
– Government Affairs Committee, Member

• CREW Orlando, Past President
• City of Winter Park, Planning and Zoning Board, 2017-2020
• City of Winter Park, Keep Winter Park Beautiful and Sustainable Board, 2011-2014
• Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden, Past President, Executive Committee and Member of the Board of Trustees
• Leadership Winter Park, Class XXV
• Legal Aid Society, Guardian Ad Litem
• Phi Beta Kappa

Mark Ausley

Board Member

Mark Ausley is an accomplished environmental scientist and regulatory specialist with more than 26 years of experience in ecological permitting, wildlife science, wetland delineation, and multi-agency regulatory coordination. As Vice President of Regulatory & Wildlife Sciences at Bio-Tech Consulting, Inc., he leads complex environmental permitting and ecological compliance efforts for major development and aerospace projects throughout the country.  

Throughout his career, Mark has built extensive expertise in environmental permitting, wetland delineation and assessment, protected species surveys, mitigation planning, water quality compliance, and regulatory coordination with agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, St. Johns River Water Management District, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. His work includes managing wetland delineations, UMAM evaluations, species surveys, permitting strategies, and mitigation programs for large-scale residential, commercial, and secure aerospace developments.

Prior to joining Bio-Tech Consulting, Mark served as President of Sunrise Environmental, Senior Scientist with VHB & Bowyer-Singleton, and Wildlife Biologist with Florida Environmental, Inc. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida and holds certifications as a Certified Wildlife Biologist, Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist, FDEP Qualified Stormwater Inspector and FWC Authorized Gopher Tortoise Agent. Mark is recognized for his ability to navigate complex regulatory environments while delivering practical, science-based solutions for clients and stakeholders. Mark was born and raised in Orlando and ​alongside his wife of 16 years, Amanda Ausley, they spend considerable time enjoying the garden and participating in all the activities that are offered. He is honored to serve on the Mead Botanical Garden, Inc. Board of Trustees, supporting the organization’s mission to connect people with nature through conservation and education.

Elijah Noel

Board Member

Elijah was born in Orlando FL, graduated from The Geneva School in Winter Park, and earned his degree in International Business from Rollins College (‘20).

Instilled in him at an early age and inspired by his faith, Elijah has a passion for community/public service that continues today. Elijah is a board member of “Club Blue” within the Boys & Girls Club of Central Florida as well as a board member of The Salvation Army.

After graduating from “Leadership Winter Park” and being nominated one of the Winter Park’s Emerging Leaders in 2021, Elijah also graduated from The Political Leadership Institute in 2022.

Elijah acts as the co-founder and President of a multimedia record label, Creative Control, and was inducted into his High school’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2025.