Staff: Heidi Okla

An East Coast native, Heidi spent many years in Washington, D.C. in a career focused on creating websites and online materials for children, caregivers, and educators. Heidi was thrilled to work at National Geographic Society where she supported the nonprofit arm of the company developing online enrichment materials for National Geographic for Kids magazine and other educational classroom products. She then joined the team Reading Is Fundamental, Inc, the nation’s oldest and largest nonprofit children's literacy organization, where she enjoyed her work as Director of Online Communications and was passionate about the mission that reading can help set children on a path of growth and opportunity.

When Heidi and her husband started their family, they sought an ideal setting to raise their three boys, and decided that Austin was the perfect place to call home. Falling in love with Austin from the start, Heidi set out to take full advantage of all the wonderful activities and adventures that Central Texas provides, and soon she began sharing fun suggestions with fellow parents and caregivers by running the website Do512Family.com. While her experience at Do512 was wonderful for many years, she longed to return to a nonprofit setting that is doing impactful work to help local children and families. The opportunity to join the team at Friends Austin is a terrific fit for Heidi to utilize her passion and experience.

A true lover of the arts, Heidi volunteers on the Board of Directors of Zilker Theatre Productions, a nonprofit organization that annually produces a Broadway-style musical in Austin’s Zilker Park each summer – completely free of charge to ensure that all families have the opportunity to enjoy the magic of musical theatre.

In her free time, you can often find her exploring parks and trails with her husband, three boys, and two dogs on her ongoing quest to seek out Austin’s ultimate picnic spot.