Chariot has been delivering exemplary senior transportation services to the community in one guise or another since 1988. Our pre-Chariot name, Drive a Senior Central Texas (DASCTX) was created in 2019 to clarify, and call attention to, the ever-expanding service area we now encompass: South Austin, Southwest Austin, Lakeway, northern Hays County and Elgin. The combination of three different Drive a Senior groups and our expansion into underserved neighborhoods and rural areas has resulted in a more impactful and efficient program. We recognize and appreciate the collaboration over the years with other greater Austin nonprofits with whom we share a similar mission. We are committed to enabling our rapidly growing aging population to age in place and look forward to continued collaboration with organizations who share our vision of every senior in central Texas having access to transportation, enabling them to age in place and enrich their quality of life.
The beginnings of Chariot goes back to 1988. Sister Madeleine Sophie Weber, faculty member at St. Edward’s University, was the impetus for the formation of South Austin Caregivers. One of her graduate students helped organize the West Austin Caregivers in 1985. In her application to the IRS, Sister acknowledged, “West Austin Caregivers (Drive a Senior West Austin) was instrumental in providing assistance during the formation of the South Austin Caregivers group.” The university did not have funds to support Sister Madeleine’s program; however, her resourceful determination brought support from the faith community.
In the summer of 2008, Southwest Austin Caregivers was formed as a faith-based 501(c)(3) initially sponsored by Westlake United Methodist Church, Westlake Hills Presbyterian Church, St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Riverbend Church, St. John Neumann Catholic Church and Life Austin Church. Initial funding, board members and volunteer drivers were primarily recruited from these congregations. Stratus Properties and a generous family foundation provided critical multi-year financial support during the start-up years.
Over the years, South Austin Caregivers changed their DBA a few times and in 2013 became Drive a Senior South (DAS South). In spring 2019, their board voted to combine with DASCTX.
Also In 2013, Southwest Austin Caregivers was changed to Drive a Senior Southwest. Between 2013 and 2019, DAS SW expanded into Lakeway, Bee Cave and neighborhoods along FM 620. In early 2019, the legal name was changed to DASCTX and the board voted to approve combining with DAS South to form a single entity with the same mission.
In July 2019, DASCTX expanded to serve seniors living in more rural northern Hays County. Then in late 2019, the board of DASCTX was approached by the board of Drive a Senior Elgin about the possibility of also combining with DASCTX. That combination was legally executed in March 2020.
There are other non-profits in the Austin MSA that share a similar mission, each with their own boards, fundraising and staffs:
Drive a Senior ATX
Drive a Senior Northwest
Faith in Action Caregivers (Georgetown)
Senior Access (Round Rock, Pflugerville, Hutto, Manor and parts of northeast Austin)
To minimize confusion for our donors, clients, volunteers and community partners and to set apart our expanding services, a rebranding of the DASCTX name, logo and tagline was executed in 2021 to Chariot, We’re Driving Your Thriving.
Our Mission
Chariot enriches lives and communities by providing transportation and socialization to non-driving seniors, helping them to age in place.
Elizabeth is a trilingual fundraising professional who contributes strongly to development and finance operations. She’s raised over $2 million for Central Texas nonprofits through long-term donor investment, award-winning grant seeking, strategic planning for marketing and events, and volunteer engagement. She has pledged her career to drive change and facilitate positive outcomes for our Central Texas community.
Elizabeth is an active member of The Junior League of Austin, a Fellow of the Texas Governor’s Commission for Women, serves on the Global Finance and Investment Committee for The Association of Fundraising Professionals, fosters German Shepherds through Austin German Shepherd Rescue, and volunteers on Austin Community Foundation’s Scholarship Review Committee.
In her free time, she loves volunteering, scuba diving, and coaching the Varsity High School Cheerleading team at St. Dominic Savio Catholic High School.
Kaylan is a proud born and raised Texan who is passionate about serving others and her community. She earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin in 2022 and has a certificate in business and public policy. She currently works as a paralegal and account manager at a law firm in downtown Austin. An active member of the Junior League of Austin, Kaylan has a heart for voluntarism and life-long learning. She seeks to further her career in the legal sector and is hopeful for admission to law school. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors, traveling to both new and familiar places around the world and spending quality time with her cat. She is also an avid cinephile and bookworm, with a particular fondness of the classics.
Steve has held engineering leadership roles with Compaq/HP, IBM, Lenovo, Emerson, and Dell. He currently leads an engineering team at Dell that delivers a roadmap hyperconverged platforms.
Steve and his wife of 35 years, Wendy, raised three children and have started over, adopting two great kids through the foster process. Five acres, 5 children, 7 grandchildren, 3 dogs, 1 cat, and 7 chickens keep things interesting at home.
Steve is new to the Chariot board and excited to advance Chariot’s mission in support of the wonderful seniors across the communities we serve.
Erwin is a native Austinite and is focused on giving back to his community. He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010, majoring in Finance, and his background includes working in the investment management industry, owning a bus business, and now leading the finances at his family’s manufacturing business.
In 2019, Erwin was on the board of the Young Hispanic Professional Association of Austin, helping lead their annual, gala fundraiser. He’s currently joining the board of Todos Juntos Learning Center. In his spare time, he enjoys frequenting local coffee shops and walking around Town Lake. Erwin hopes to bring a new perspective to Chariot while learning from everyone else!
With a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Texas Christian University and a Master of Science in Nursing degree from UT Austin, Ron has held many traditional and extended roles in nursing. He served in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps specializing in neonatal, pediatric and adult critical care. Ron then became involved in pre-hospital emergency medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio. After moving to the Austin area in 1993, he worked at Round Rock Hospital as the Director, Intensive Care and later as the Emergency Department Trauma Coordinator. From Round Rock, he went to the Texas Department of State Health Services where he ran the state trauma program and after 9/11, set up the Texas Hospital Preparedness program for the state. In 2005, He also worked with the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center. After retiring from the State, Ron became an Associate Professor of Nursing at Concordia University Texas and was the Assistant Director for the Traditional BSN Program until his retirement in 2018.
Today, Ron is active in volunteer work with the American Red Cross and his local Community Emergency Response Team. He is active with the Texas Nurses Association at both the district and state level. Mr. Hilliard worked with the Drive A Senior Elgin as a Board member for several years and now is a board member for Chariot. He is active in his local church where he plays guitar and sings and co-teaches the senior adult Sunday Bible Study.
Nasiha’s professional journey includes engineering and management roles at Dell, Emerson, and Cisco. Currently, she works on several engineering projects at Dell, focusing on next-generation products in the server space.
Since high school, Nasiha has participated in volunteering activities for various organizations, focusing on community, human rights, and animal welfare such as Amnesty International, IRC, and HandforPaw to name a few.
Nasiha resides in South Central Austin with her longtime boyfriend and two rescue cats. She takes great pride in serving on the Chariot board since November 2022.
Katherine is a proud native Austinite. She is a lawyer who works with businesses and people to manage regulatory compliance and corporate needs. Katherine has her own law firm and has held various positions with state agencies and other firms over the past 40-plus years of practice.
Katherine is active in the non-profit community. She is Past President of the Impact Austin Board of Directors and works with several smaller non-profits as a volunteer, committee member and attorney. She finds various ways to give back to this community that means so much to her.
Katherine is also a proud mother of two grown children and grandmother to six. Fortunately, the kids and grandkids are fairly close by, so she spends much of her time going to sporting and school events. In her spare time, Katherine likes to explore, quilt, cross-stitch and read.
Mike has spent his career helping financial services and insurance companies enhance their operations and leverage technology across all areas of business.
Inspired by his own family’s needs, Mike focuses his volunteer efforts on helping Central Texas seniors.
Mike enjoys traveling, lake activities, Longhorn sports events, and spending time with his family. A lifelong Texan and Longhorn fan, he holds a business degree from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the University of Houston.
Ashley was born and raised in New York, and has resided in Austin for just over four years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Media, Culture & Communications from New York University. She then went on to earn her master’s degree in Library & Information Science from Pratt Institute. She has attended many American Library Association conferences, and advocates for everyone to utilize their local libraries.
Currently, she works in the Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning department at Apple. Her passion lies in helping those in need, and strengthening organizations with similar goals. She has lent a hand volunteering for the Texas Advocacy Project, and the George Washington Carver Museum. As a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship, a full scholarship funded by Bill & Melinda Gates, she has put together various GMS workshops for high school students. In these workshops she assisted students in underserved areas with essay writing, college and scholarship applications.
Ashley is a court-appointed legal guardian, and is well-versed with the support and resources available to help individuals. She hopes to become an advocate for those who need assistance, and services to improve their quality of life. Beyond that, she enjoys writing, researching, documentaries and botany.
As Chariot’s Executive Director, Octavio is excited about the opportunity to fulfill our mission to provide free transportation and socialization for non-driving senior clients.
He is an accomplished nonprofit executive leader who has worked with a diverse profile of charitable organizations at the local, national, and international levels, which have greatly benefited from his leadership, management, and fundraising skills.
Octavio holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies from the University of Kansas and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) degree from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University
Additionally, he has earned a Certificate in Corporate Governance: Leadership in the Boardroom through the Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education Program and a Certificate in Corporate Executive Development Program (CEDP) through the SMU Cox School of Business Executive Education Program.
He is fully bilingual in both English & Spanish and is fluent in both French and Portuguese. He resides in Austin, Texas with his wife and three children.
