Advisory Board

John Kinnaird is a Vice President and Trust Officer at Community Bank & Trust, where he serves as one of the firm’s investment portfolio managers. He is a Baylor University Graduate and is a CFA Charter holder and is currently working towards fostering financial empowerment programs and policies within the community in conjunction with Prosper Waco, the community’s collective impact initiative. His desire for effective and lasting change can be seen in his previous work in the community, such as:

• Former Waco City Councilman
• Chair at Waco McLennan County Public Health District
• Chair at Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Chair at Downtown Waco Cultural District Committee
• Chair McLennan County Appraisal District
• Board of the National League of Cities
• Waco Symphony Board
• H.O.T. Community Loan Center and Baylor Club
• Member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Committee

His interest in advising for the McLennan Community Investment Fund arises from his desire to see broader, safe, and affordable financial services be made available to those who traditionally have been cut off from such services in the community, especially as it relates to equitable small business development.

John Alexander brings over 29 years of experience working with nonprofits. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1986 with a degree in Recreation and Parks. John began his career in nonprofits as a full-time volunteer with Habitat for Humanity International. John has worked with the following nonprofits:

• Habitat for Humanity International in 1987
• Mennonite Central Committee
• Executive Director of Waco Habitat for Humanity from 1998-2013
• Accessibility Inspector from 2013 to 2019
• Returned to Waco Habitat in 2019

Before moving to Waco, John volunteered in Nicaragua for 3 years. He then moved to Waco where he has been living and working in the McCIF investment area ever since.

Fernando serves as an Advisory Board Member at McCIF and the Chief of Staff of Waco Family Medicine where he supports healthcare workers to keep the community safe and healthy. He graduated from Baylor University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and an MBA. From there, Fernando pursued his Masters in Educational Administration at Concordia University. His interest in bettering the community was fostered through his experiences serving as a global business and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) consultant and advisor for a Fortune 50 high-tech firm, as well as a public and private school educator and administrator, an organizer who mobilized community members, and a nonprofit leader who catalyzed socioeconomic betterment initiatives.

Some of the ways he currently is involved in the Waco community include:

• Finishing multiple terms on the City of Waco Building and Standards Commission
• Championing entrepreneurs on the StartUp Waco founding board
• Board member of Inspiración Waco
• Board member of City Center Waco

For fun, you can find him enjoying live music, hiking with his children, perfecting (or unintentionally ruining) Yucatec Cuisine, or raising pond koi fish.

Dexter R. Hall is a retired veteran that serves McCIF as an advisory board member. Dexter grew up in East Waco, Texas, but was raised in East Oakland, California. He received a bachelor’s in Business Administration and Public Affairs Administration from California State University. Before joining McCIF, Dexter served as the Regional Banking District Manager in Wells Fargo’s Texas Region covering the Waco Brazos Valley Market. He also managed the Hillsboro, Fairfield, and Centerville areas. Through this experience and others, Dexter has led teams to curate valuable partnerships that help clients financially succeed. He also managed and consulted Business Banking Teams, Learning & Development, and Peer/Senior Management for Wells Fargo.

In his current role, he supports city-wide efforts in partnership with:

• The City of Waco
• Asset/Wealth Building
• Small Business Development
• Financial Education
• Consumer Financial Protection and Banking Access
• Prosper Waco
• He is currently on the Board of Directors of:
  • LeadersUp
  • Black College Expo Advisory
  • Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise
  • YMCA of Central Texas
• And previously on the Boards of:
  • Eden Housing Developers
  • Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce
  • Berkeley Youth Alternatives
  • Working Solutions CDFI
  • Bay Area Chapter of the 100 Black Men of America

Dexter currently serves as Chief of Staff and Senior Content Specialist for Financial Security at Prosper Waco and is the owner of Noir Kith Consultants. He has three daughters, Reagan Alexandria, Kennedi Anna-Louise, and Madison Olivia.

Jo Welter serves as an Advisory Board Member at McCIF. She studied at University of Wisconsin and Baylor University where she majored in Botany and Spanish and went on to work in residential and commercial property management, community relations, and healing from racism since 1993. Her interest in nonprofit began working with race relations. For the last four years, Jo has been one of the frontrunners of the establishment of Texas State Historical Commission Memorial acknowledging lynching culture in Central Texas and providing workshops on race and teamwork to various community businesses and organizations.

Some of her previous experiences working with the Waco community include:

• Baha’i Race Unity Committee
• Annual Race Unity Forum Community Race Relations
• Lynching Issue Task Force: working with the City of Waco and McLennan County Commisssioners Court Resolutions Composure 2006 and 2007
• 2010 CRRC/Baylor collaboration Church Swap
• Commemoration of the Jesse Washington Lynching in 2016
• Cultural Arts of Waco
• Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Baylor University
• Waco Immigration Alliance
• McLennan Community College
• Chair at the Board of Directors for Community Race Relations Coalition of Waco
• NAACP Community Service Award in 2018

Jo has been married to her husband, Tim Welter, for 44 years, and they have three children, two of whom are adopted.

Kay Bell serves McCIF as an Advisory Board Member. She is deeply rooted into the Waco community, being here since 2018, and cares deeply about helping the community learn how to eat from the land. With her Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and a minor in English from Paul Quinn College, Kay went on to teach for 27 years at LaVega Intermediate school and went on to be the director of Global Revive Children Summer Camp for the years 2016-19. Alongside her teaching, she is heavily involved in organizations around the city, even starting her own. Kay is the founder of the Global Revive Organization, the East Waco Farmer’s Market, and the Inclusion Luncheon of the National Women in Agricultural Association. Within that, she also founded the Learning Important Farming Training Skills for New and Beginning Farmers. Other signs of involvement include:

• Texas President of National Women in Agricultural Association
• Board Member of Baylor University Collaborative Hunger Initiative
• Waco Downtown and East Waco Farmers Market
• Waco Rose Society
• American Community Garden Association

Kay also has impressive achievements, such as the Cen-Tex Chamber of Commerce 2017 Citizen of the Year Award, Minority Landowners Magazine 2018 Farmer of the Year Award, Landowners Association of Texas 2019 Outstanding Achievement Award, and speaking at both the Texas Organic Farmers Association Conference in 2018 and the SWAG Conference in 2019. Her passion for McCIF comes from wanting to eliminate the food desert problem for East Waco. In all, her passion is to help the community grow, and she believes that there is no culture without agriculture.