Ruby's Rainbow is a 501(c)(3) non-profit org.

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Directors & Staff

liz-director

Executive Director / Co-founder

Liz Plachta

In 2016, after having been entirely volunteer-run for its first four years, Ruby’s Rainbow took on its first full-time Executive Director, Liz Plachta – co-founder and mom to Ruby – to meet the demands of this rapidly expanding organization. Still largely volunteer-run, the organization is made up of parents, family, and friends of people who happen to be rockin’ that extra chromosome. Everyone involved with Ruby’s Rainbow is passionate about spreading the word about these inspiring and capable individuals.

Liz’s drive to start Ruby’s Rainbow came from her adoration for her family. Her passion to provide her children with the best inspired her to help other families like hers with educational costs and support, as well as helping to raise standards and expectations of individuals with Down syndrome. She truly is the driving force behind Ruby’s Rainbow.

Liz resides in Austin, Texas, with her handsome hubby, Tim, and their daughters, Ruby and big sister Ella Mae. The Plachtas enjoy spending time as a family and look forward to continuing their mission and passion of showing the world just what people who are rockin’ that extra chromosome are made of!!

tim-co-founder

Secretary / Co-founder

Tim Plachta

Tim Plachta is the co-founder, board member, and Secretary of Ruby’s Rainbow. As Ruby’s father, Tim has been passionately involved with the organization since its inception in 2011.

Tim brings a wealth of experience in business operations and financial planning. He currently serves as an Equity Partner at ABA Connect, where he has overseen substantial growth and expansion since 2018. His background in wealth management and business consulting further enhances his ability to guide Ruby’s Rainbow’s financial strategies and operational efficiency.

Tim’s commitment to supporting individuals with disabilities extends beyond Ruby’s Rainbow. From 2015 to 2018, he served as the Presiding Officer of the Texas ABLE Advisory Committee, assisting the Texas Comptroller’s Office in launching ABLE Accounts throughout the state.

Through his work with Ruby’s Rainbow, Tim continues to champion educational opportunities for adults with Down syndrome, inspired by his daughter Ruby and driven by a vision of inclusive higher education for all.

kelle-hampton

Vice President

Kelle Hampton

Kelle is thrilled to be joining Ruby’s Rainbow after helping them promote their 3/21 Pledge campaign starting in 2015. That year, she had the pleasure of spending the day with two Rockin’ Recipients at Western Carolina University for a day-in-the-life experience that changed how she views the future for her daughter Nella and for the opportunities that inclusion provides all of her children.

Kelle is a writer, blogger, and photographer who lives with her family in Naples, Florida. Her blog, Enjoying the Small Things, has provided hope for many families new to the world of Down syndrome. Bloom, the New York Times best-selling memoir, is the story of Kelle’s first year with her daughter Nella.

jon-michel-rogers

Treasurer

Jon-Michael Rogers

Jon-Michael and his family live in West Hartford, CT where their 3 children are in school (1st, 5th, and 11th grade).

Jon-Michael works as a Senior Director for the Alamo Drafthouse and served the Board for Ruby’s Rainbow for 7 years.

“Helping this amazing organization grow and help more people has been a truly fulfilling and life changing experience for me. When I joined, we were small but mighty, full of purpose. I’m glad to say the purpose has only grown along with the organization and I can’t wait to see what it will do for this community in the future. Onward!”

catherine-avril-morris

Administrative Director

Catherine Avril Morris

Catherine first met the Plachtas in 2012 when her daughter, Pearl, was a baby. (Pearl is rockin’ an extra chromosome and is less than a year younger than Ruby!) Instantly, Catherine knew she wanted to get involved with this awesome family and their amazing organization, so she offered her services as a freelance writer and editor on a volunteer basis.

Over the next few years, she wrote website content and articles for and about Ruby’s Rainbow, with the goal of helping to spread the word about the organization and its inspiring Rockin’ Recipients. She also served as a Board member as well as on the Scholarship Review Committee from 2013–2015.

In 2017, Catherine came on as the Social Media Representative for Ruby’s Rainbow, and then, in January 2019, began working in-office as the organization’s Administrative Director. She loves working alongside Liz and helping Ruby’s Rainbow run smoothly and efficiently, and flourish!

Along with Pearl, Catherine is also mom to Zephyr and Emil, and she’s a freelance writer with work that’s been published all over the Web. She is the author of eight romance novels as well as co-author with YouTube star and motivational speaker Lizzie Velasquez of Dare to Be Kind: How Extraordinary Compassion Can Transform Our World. You can visit her on the Web at CatherineAvrilMorris.com.

rachel-heinz

Communications Director

Rachel Heinz

When her son, Hudson, was diagnosed at birth with Down syndrome, Rachel started on a path of advocating for people with disabilities and educating about inclusion to increase opportunities in both education and employment for people of all abilities. Rachel helped establish Bear POWER, an inclusive college program for students with intellectual disabilities at Missouri State University. She worked as the Director of Bear POWER for four years and also graduated with her Master’s Degree in Special Education and Counseling from Missouri State University.

Rachel met Liz and got connected with Ruby’s Rainbow in 2015. She became very passionate about the mission and joined the Pledge Committee to help raise funds for scholarships. Her favorite part of being involved with Ruby’s Rainbow is surprising students with scholarships and watching the reactions of both the students and the parents. Along with her longtime volunteer-based involvement with the organization, in 2022 she came on board the team at Ruby’s Rainbow as Special Projects Manager and recently moved into a new role as Communications Director. She loves being part of the “Dream Team” to help support and grow the organization.

Rachel is married to her husband Jordan and has three amazing kiddos — Hudson, Harper and Hadley. In her free time she enjoys photography, yoga, and traveling.

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Special Projects Manager

Rachel Bhatia

Rachel Bhatia is a longtime fundraiser on the 321Pledge Committee, volunteer and now Special Projects Manager for Ruby’s Rainbow! To date, her and her family have granted 7 Ruby’s Rainbow scholarships and counting!

She lives in Northern NJ with her husband, two boys and poochie, Winter. Her oldest son, Miles, is rockin an extra chromosome and the motivation behind her love for the mission of Ruby’s Rainbow.

“Discovering Ruby’s Rainbow when Miles was an infant gave me hope for his future and what could be possible. I have a strong connection to advocacy work especially in the Down syndrome community. Every human being deserves the right to live in a world of belonging with opportunity to learn, grow and find purpose. Ruby’s Rainbow offers that opportunity and I’m overjoyed to have found my purpose through their mission!”

marc-lippincott

Board Member

Marc Lippincott

Marc Lippincott, a lawyer and managing partner of the Austin-based law firm The Lippincott Law Firm, PLLC, and a Realtor with Stripe Realty, had little personal connection with the Down syndrome community prior to being introduced to Ruby and Ruby’s Rainbow. However, upon meeting the Plachtas and hearing about the organization and its purpose, Marc immediately made his firm an event sponsor, organized a bowling team, and began volunteering his time, ideas and effort to help Ruby’s Rainbow grow. Marc has been a director since 2015.

Marc and his wife Elisa have lived in Austin since 2000. Marc is a Texas Tribune Founding Member, a “Love” sponsor with the Austin Film Society, and a Life Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, and a licensed HAM operator. Marc is also proud to be known as potentially the worst bowler ever to lace it up at a Rockin’ RainBOWL event, and one of the worst golfers ever to play in the Maudie’s Cup golf tournament. But hey, there’s always next year, right?

sara-plachta

Board member

Sara Plachta-Elliot

Sara has worked in the nonprofit community for over 25 years and currently operates an evaluation and learning consultancy called Gather Insight, LLC. She was previously the founding Executive Director of the Youth Development Resource Center in Detroit, Michigan, for 9 years. She works on projects related to youth development, post-secondary success, child and family well-being, and nonprofit strategy and capacity building.

She loves college so much that she went three times! She holds a bachelors of social work, masters in applied sociology and social policy, and PhD in child, youth, and family policy. She loves spending time helping Ruby’s Rainbow grow and improve to provide even more young adults rockin’ an extra chromosome with opportunities to pursue their post-secondary learning dreams.

Sara loves making art and being outside with her family. She is a proud mom to two girls and an aunt to five girls, including Ruby and Ella.

ross-clurman

Board Member

Ross Clurman

Ross and his wife, Lesley, are good friends of the Plachtas. After meeting Liz and the Plachta family in 2013, Ross worked with Liz and Tim to rebuild Ruby’s Rainbow’s website and digital presence. A long-term friendship was born.

As a board member, Ross loves applying his experience in marketing and software to help support the organization’s digital infrastructure, growth initiatives, and operations. Ultimately, working to increase Ruby’s Rainbow’s reach and impact more people’s lives.

stephanie-bomely

Board Member

Stephanie Bomely

Stephanie and her husband, Chris, moved to Austin in 2006 with no intention to stay very long. Thirteen years later, they love this town and the opportunities it has brought for their daughter, Grace, who happens to be rockin’ an extra chromosome.

Stephanie is an active member of the Down syndrome community, and she has served as a volunteer for the DSACT Buddy Walk and at The Rise School of Austin. In her professional life, Stephanie sells and produces corporate events and trade shows. She focuses on coming up with fresh ideas and new ways of looking at things to help her clients achieve their goals. In her personal life, she loves traveling, enjoying all the new restaurants that pop up around town, and hanging with her hubby, daughter, and friends.

Stephanie is a former educator and has always believed college is a stepping stone to enhanced confidence, opportunity, and greatness. When Grace was first born, Stephanie wasn’t sure what that meant for a person with Down syndrome. Now, because of Ruby’s Rainbow, she knows Grace has the ability to take the next step with all her friends and cousins.

tyrel-mcelroy

Board Member

Tyrell McElroy

Tyrell has spent his entire career working in the non-profit sector, only taking a brief 2½-year hiatus to do strategic planning in the public sector. Tyrell currently works for Boys & Girls Clubs of America as a Director of Organizational Development, assisting local Boys & Girls Clubs in establishing and achieving their organizational goals.

Tyrell met Liz after his wife attended the Lucky Mamas Retreat in 2017. After chatting with Liz about Ruby’s Rainbow’s mission, he quickly realized this was an organization that he knew he wanted to support. Tyrell’s passion for increasing organizational impact and organizational effectiveness is what he looks forward to bringing to the board of Ruby’s Rainbow.

Tyrell and his wife Katie, have two children, Charlie and Ansleigh, and reside in Tampa, FL. They adopted their son Charlie at birth, who rocks that extra awesome chromosome. Their plan had always been to adopt a child with Down syndrome, while also having a biological child six months younger to help with the developmental needs of their adopted child. Six months after Charlie was born, Ansleigh made her way to this world. Now that is some serious strategic planning.

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