Board Members
Meet the Team
Meet Our Valued Board Members
The Misty Carol Project wouldn’t be as successful without our treasured board members.
Mike Levingston
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Finance professional, family man, and family member of Misty Carol Levingston.
Mike Levingston
Chief Executive Officer
Education Presenter
Michael Levingston is a financial professional with 20 years’ experience. He was born in Austin and raised in Dripping Springs, Texas as the son of an Airforce Master Sargent and teacher, he and his family engrained themselves in the local community. Spending all his grade school in Dripping Springs and graduating at the top of his class, he excelled at school and friendship in not only the community he grew up in but also the surrounding areas.
He graduated from Texas State University in San Marcos with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in Finance. As a fiduciary his clients have entrusted him with their financial security for 2 decades. He started his career in Colorado working for IDS Financial and was then recruited to an LPL Financial firm in Highlands Ranch Colorado. After proving his skills as a young advisor, he was asked to start a branch in Dallas Texas. In 2012 he started his own finance company, Capital Securities of Texas and now has clients in several states.
Michael had a sister, Misty Carol, who was born with down syndrome and sadly died at the age of 3 which is part of why he is so passionate about this project. Michael and his family have always had a passion for helping the community around them and in particular the special needs and disabled families. The Misty Carol Project has been something he has wanted to start for several years, and he is now putting in every effort to make his dream a reality and give back to the communities he loves so much.
Blake Hutchinson
Chief Operating Officer
Education Presenter
Mr. Hutchinson was born and raised outside of New Haven, Connecticut, and relocated to Texas in 1992 to study at Rice University. During his time at Rice, he had internships in the consumer lending department of New Haven Savings Bank and in the brokerage arm of Smith Barney, Inc.
After earning a degree in Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice he was hired as an investment analyst at Daniel Breen and Company, LP (1996-97) in Houston, TX, and shortly thereafter went to work for Howard Weil, Inc. (1997-2005, 2010-2018) in a similar capacity, where he would spend most of his investment career. Mr. Hutchinson was a partner in the Austin based investment group Treaty Oak Capital Management, LP (2005-2008), and had a brief stint as Vice President of Corporate Development for Key Energy Services, Inc (2009).
Mr. Hutchinson and his family moved to Wimberley, TX, in 2019 where he has pursued local private investment opportunities including his position as a managing member of a start-up fitness and wellness entity RacFit Investments, LLC. He currently serves on the board of the RacFit Foundation as well as the Rice RBI Club.
Blake Hutchinson
Vice President of the Board of Directors
Connecticut-native with prowess in financial investments and start-up management.
Kelly Mattarocci
Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of Directors
Well-versed finance professional who is passionate about supporting families with special needs.
Kelly Mattarocci, CPA, CGMA & MBA
Education Presenter
Kelly Mattarocci is a financial professional with more than 25 years’ experience. She started her career by receiving her Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the University of Texas at Austin. Kelly then went on to receive a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Texas State University located in San Marcos, Texas. Additionally, Kelly obtained a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license through the State of Texas, and a Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA) certification issued by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA). Her education and years of experience culminates in operations, product, management, accounting, financial, compliance, and other technical knowledge.
Ms. Mattarocci nonprofit experience starts in the 1990’s where she held the fiduciary responsibility for the Texas Parks and Recreation Society including quarterly Board of Director’s presentations. Additionally, she also severed on the board for the Tammy Lynn Center, and various special committees for Band Together NC while living in North Carolina. Along with her nonprofit service while in North Carolina, Kelly also served as the Vice President and President of the North Carolina Society of CPAs Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, NC chapter.
Currently, she is the Chief Executive Officer of a thriving CPA firm, Market and Margin.
Ryan Durkin
Education Presenter
Mr. Durkin has been teaching and coaching for 20 years in public education. He started teaching in 2001 after completing his master’s and teaching certification at Prairie View A&M University. Mr. Durkin holds an undergraduate degree is in Sociology from Texas A&M University, and an Associate degree in radio, television, and film from Austin Community College.
Currently, he teaches in the Special Education department teaching occupational investigation and preparation, social studies and run the 18+ program.
Additionally, Mr. Durkin coordinates and coaches the Wimberley Special Olympics. The athletes participate in bocce ball, basketball, cycling, bowling, and track & field. In conjunction with my work with the Wimberley Special Olympics, Mr. Durkin also works closely with the adult Special Olympics delegation based out of the Dripping Springs YMCA.
My wife Jennifer works for the district and our three children attend Wimberley schools.
Our twin daughters, Abby and Emma are 12 and Owen, our youngest is 8 years old. All our children are active in sports and activities
Ryan Durkin
Board of Directors
Sports enthusiast with a passion for supporting education in the Wimberley, Texas, community.
Heather Smith
Board Member
Heather is passionate about helping “decode” the complex, bureaucratic system that limits access to the resources designed for our special needs loved ones.
Heather Smith
Education Presenter
Heather Smith Is the mom of seven children, three of whom were adopted from Russia and Kazakhstan. Her husband, Dino and her moved to Wimberley in 2019 from their South Texas cattle ranch after raising their children to adulthood.
Heather grew up outside of Lubbock and received her Bachelor’s of Nursing degree from Texas Tech University in 1991. She practiced in nursing in pediatric and neonatal intensive care before moving to Laredo, Texas. After that, she continued her nursing career in many areas of nursing before retiring. After their four biological children were born, Dino and Heather adopted their youngest child, Delaney, from Russia in 2002 and began their journey in the complex world of raising a special needs child. They also adopted siblings (ages 11 and 12) from Kazakhstan in 2007.
She served as a mentor and on the Board of Directors for a non-profit named Chosen.care from 2017-2022. Chosen’s mission is to help foster and adoptive children heal from trauma by strengthening their families. She served as the Board Secretary for four years before stepping down to serve with the Misty Carol Project.
Heather is passionate about helping “decode” the complex, bureaucratic system that limits access to the resources designed for our special needs loved ones.
Topaz Lurwick
Education Presenter
Topaz Lurwick earned her B.A. in History from the University of the Incarnate Word – San Antonio, M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Texas State University – San Marcos and is certified as a Teacher of Special Education in Texas. Since starting in education in 2009, Mrs. Lurwick has worked as a classroom Special Education Teacher for the Deaf, Transition Specialist, Transition and Employment Designee and as a Department Head. She is currently the chair of the Hays County Community Resource Coordination Group.
Topaz Lurwick
Board Member
History buff and special education educator.