board of directors

Mario Kato

Marathon Petroleum

.

Brian J. Klaes, P.E.,

LEED AP, PMP

Brian is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) in Texas and New Mexico, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP), and a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). Brian was born and raised in El Paso receiving his BS in Civil Engineering from UTEP.  He began his 22-year engineering career as a project engineer, then went on and became a project manager and then firm shareholder/Vice President with Moreno Cardenas Inc. He has served and held executive positions on numerous engineering societies and professional associations including the following: Texas Society of Professional Engineers (all board positions and Past President, El Paso Chapter), American Water Works Association (all board positions and Past President, El Paso Chapter), Texas Council of Engineering Companies (all board positions and Past President, El Paso Chapter), the State Board of the American Council of Engineering Companies (Treasurer/Vice-Chair Membership/Director, State of Texas), and the UTEP College of Engineering Alumni Network (past Co-Chair).   

Most importantly, Brian is a proud husband, father of 5 children, and grandfather to 2 children. He was a youth baseball, soccer, flag football, and/or basketball coach for well over 15 years and is currently serving on the Child Crisis Center of El Paso Board.

Ruth Godfrey

Spectrum Technology

With 25 years of experience in Business Management and Administration, Ruth proudly served on the board since 2017. Currently serving as the Board President, she feels blessed to be able to contribute to the Child Crisis Center and the children they serve. As a native El Pasoan, protecting the most venerable of in our community is personal and something she feels very strongly about.  It is her wish to be the best advocate for the Center that she can be and contribute to their mission any way.

Ruth has worked for Spectrum Technologies, a family-owned company in El Paso, for 27 years and currently serve as the Director of Administration. She holds a bachelor’s in business management. She has been married to her husband Grey for 31 years and has two awesome children and three beautiful grandchildren. 

Denice Vizcaino

Denice Vizcaino is an El Paso native and is passionate about serving her community. She is a Texas licensed Realtor®️ and has a strong, established network within the industry. As a former educator, and through her time in a corporate setting for the Diversity and Inclusion Chapter, Denice is dedicated to making a difference in children's lives by bringing awareness to the Child Crisis Center programs and generating participation and donations that are critical to the success of the organization.   

Faith and family are important to her. Denice is a mom of two, Andy and Samantha, and has been married to her husband Jesse for 20 years.

Lydia Ceniceros, CTP

Franklin Mountain Management 

Manager of Treasury and Risk Management 

.

Stephen T. Buraczyk 

Senior Vice President – Operations 

El Paso Electric Company 

Steve Buraczyk oversees the execution of all functions of Operations including Power Generation,Transmission & Distribution, System Operations, and Power Marketing & Fuels. Mr. Buraczyk has been with El Paso Electric since 1993 and has served in various capacities, including Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Vice President of Power Marketing & Fuels and Resource Delivery Planning, Vice President of System Operations and Planning, Vice President of Power Marketing and Fuels, Director of Power Marketing and Fuels, Manager of Power Marketing and Supervisor of Resource Management. Mr. Buraczyk holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree, both from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He is the Company’s executive committee member of the North American Transmission Forum and is on the board of the Western Energy Institute and the RMEL. He is also active in various community organizations and is currently on the Board of Directors of the Child Crisis Center of El Paso and serves on the Greater El Paso Football Showcase advisory committee. 

Judge Phyllis Martinez Gonzalez

Title IV-D Court

Phyllis Martinez Gonzalez is a native Texan. Raised in Houston, she earned her BA, with a dual major in Mathematics and Political Science, from Houston Baptist University and her JD from Texas Tech University School of Law. She and her husband are raising their two daughters, and enjoying their furbabies, in El Paso, where they have lived for more than 15 years. Mrs. Gonzalez serves as a Title IV-D Judge. Before that position, she served as State and Federal Assistant Attorney General in several capacities. Mrs. Gonzalez believes in the power of community, leading her to serve through various organizations, and is thrilled to join our board. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors, coffee, and time with her family. 

Dr. Stormy Monks, Ph.D. 

Texas Tech University  

Dr. Stormy Monks is an Associate Professor with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso Department of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Monks serves as the Regional Director for the Southwest Center for Pediatric Environmental Health (SWCPEH) – Region 6 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit. She has served on the Child Crisis Center of El Paso Board of Directors since 2015. She believes in the work of the Child Crisis Center of El Paso and will be forever grateful for the Center’s impact on her own family. Dr. Monks is passionate about bringing awareness to issues of child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence. Her free time is spent with her husband, Len, their nine children, and four grandchildren.

Daniela Sanchez

Daniela Lopez was born and raised in El Paso, TX. Throughout her college career, she studied abroad in Andalucía, Spain through the University of Texas at El Paso. She then moved to Minot, North Dakota where she received her Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Minot State University. Since then, she moved back to her hometown of El Paso and received her master’s degree in Business Administration from UTEP in June 2022. She has over 18 years of combined experience in marketing, brand development, campaign management, fundraising, non-profits, and public relations.

Since January 2021, she has served on the Advisory Council for El Paso Children’s Hospital / Children’s Miracle Network and Vice-Chair of the Council. Daniela is also a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters of El Paso where she sits on the Executive Committee as Secretary and Chair of the Board Development Committee.

Daniela is honored to serve on the Board of Directors for the Child Crisis Center and looks forward to continuing to share the organization’s mission of protecting children from abuse and neglect. Daniela is a proud mother of a 3-year-old son, Lucas and 9-year old stepson, Liam. On her spare time, she enjoys fishing, hiking, spending family time, and serving the community.

Bill Hicks

After graduating Texas Tech School of Law in 1997, Judge Hicks opened his own law office, the Law Offices of Bill D. Hicks in the hill country, outside of Austin, Texas. In 1998, he closed that practice and moved to El Paso, Texas where he joined the 34th Judicial District Attorney's Office.

​Judge Hicks served the citizens of El Paso County, Hudspeth County, and Culberson County, Texas for 12 1/2 years as an Assistant District Attorney, as a Special Prosecutor assigned to the Metro Narcotics Task Force, the Senior Trial Attorney on the Special Crimes Unit, the Senior Trial Attorney in Charge of Down-District Prosecutions, and finally as a Trial Team Chief in charge of supervising and training new prosecutors in the D.A.'s office.

​During his time with the District Attorney's office, he was cross-designated as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and prosecuted in federal court from 2003 to 2008. Then Assistant District Attorney Bill D. Hicks prosecuted every thing from Class C misdemeanor offenses all the way up to and including Capital Murder charges.

In 2010 a vacancy opened up in the State District Courts in El Paso County. Bill Hicks and about 22 other people applied with the Governor's office for the appointment to fill that vacancy. After a very long process, that involved an extensive background check and multiple interviews, Bill D. Hicks was appointed as the Judge of the 243rd State District Court, here in El Paso, Texas. Judge Hicks served from late 2010 until the very end of 2012. As Judge of the 243rd District Court, he maintained a positive case disposition, which means that throughout his tenure, he disposed of more case than were assigned to his court. Judge Hicks presided over 26 criminal felony and civil jury trials while on the bench, to include several multi-million dollar civil cases. Judge Hicks received very high approval ratings from the attorneys in the El Paso Bar Association.

​After leaving the bench, now former-Judge Hicks reopened The Law Office of Bill D. Hicks with a focus on mediation and arbitration, with Judge Hicks being a qualified Mediator. The practice was a general litigation practice.

​In 2014, the Law Office of Bill D. Hicks merged with the law firm Ellis and Ortega to form Ortega, McGlashan, Hicks & Perez PLLC. This law firm flourished for six years as a general litigation law firm with a focus on personal injury cases.

On May 1, 2020, Judge Hicks left OMHP and reopened The Law Office of Bill D. Hicks P.C., with a focus on excellent customer care as we navigate you through your legal issues. Although the focus of the practice is on Personal Injury, we stand ready to fight on your behalf, no matter what legal problems you find yourself facing.