Board of Directors

Abu Yilla, Board Chairman, received his master’s and doctorate degrees from Texas Woman’s University, and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Nottingham, England and the University of Texas at Arlington. He is a clinical assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and has been at the institution since the fall of 1996. Dr Yilla instructs undergraduate teacher preparation classes. His research focus is the explication of the lives of individuals with disabilities, elite disability sport, and in particular, wheelchair basketball. He also serves on a number of boards and advisory councils. Dr. Yilla has presented extensively throughout the USA and internationally including in Canada, Germany, Mexico, Poland, and Taiwan. He is a Paralympic medalist, has won 16 national championships in wheelchair basketball (8 in Great Britain as a player; 5 as a player, and 3 as an administrator in the United States), and has coached national and international championships in wheelchair rugby.

Henk Kool, Board Secretary, earned his master’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands and his MBA from Baylor University. He is currently Strategic Group Manager at Halliburton (an oilfield services company). Henk became involved in disability awareness and disability sport to support his son who has Spina Bifida. Henk’s extensive international business experience and new product development knowledge are an asset to RISE Adventures.

John Mabrey, Board Treasurer, earned his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy Degree from Northern Illinois University and his CPA Certificate from the University of Illinois. An auto accident in 1985 led to his paraplegia and he has been in a wheelchair since 1991. After a very rewarding career developing income tax software for accounting and tax preparation firms, John retired in 2004. He is currently Club Secretary of the North Texas Cricket Association’s Colonials Cricket Club, supporting the growth of the sport of cricket in the DFW area.

Lea Stewart earned her bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management and Youth Leadership with an emphasis in Therapeutic Recreation and a minor in Psychology from Brigham Young University in 2003. While in college, Lea served as an intern in the Recreation Department at Craig Hospital where she had once been a patient. At the age of 17, Lea was involved in a motor vehicle accident which left her with a C-7 spinal cord injury as a quadriplegic. While in rehabilitation she was introduced to Therapeutic Recreation as a treatment modality, at this time she decided to pursue a career as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS). After graduating she moved to Dallas, Texas to begin her career as a CTRS on a spinal cord injury team at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation. Lea enjoys a variety of leisure activities herself, such as: water skiing, handcycling, jet skiing, camping, and more! It is her hope to be involved in the community as a therapist to help improve the quality of life for spinal cord injured individuals and those with a variety of disabilities through adapted recreational activities.

Jacque Stauffer earned her bachelor’s degree in Special Education and master’s degree in Kinesiology from Texas Woman’s University. While in college, she worked in the Denton Autism Program and taught Adapted Physical Education at Ann Windle School. After graduation, Jacque taught Adapted Physical Education for Little Elm ISD. Adapted PE is a program designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities who cannot fully participate in general physical education.   Jacque is now teaching Special Education in Lewisville ISD.  In addition to teaching, Jacque coaches competitive gymnastics and a special-needs cheer squad in Frisco, TX. She is currently serving as a logistics officer in the Air Force Reserve.

Curt Simonds attended the University of Kansas while playing Ice Hockey and earned an associate’s of Real Estate Law from Rock Hurst College. Curt began his career in real estate with Musty Family Housing. He later worked as a sales representative for Invacare Corporation, the world largest wheelchair manufacturer, and achieved 100% of sales targets for several years in a row. After leaving Invacare, Curt launched a new branch of Allumed Medical in the Dallas area in 2001.

Charles Moses began his healthcare career in 1970 as a representative for a national pharmaceutical company where he excelled in managing sales associates, administering training programs and developing sales territories. In 1987 Charles left corporate life to found and preside over a successful home medical supply company whose mission was to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities. Upon retiring in 2004, Charles has continued his philanthropy as a participant, advocate and donor for causes that affect people with disabilities. Charles envisions working with the RISE board to establish an all-inclusive program that will allow every individual to achieve full potential.

Rick Brauer attended the University of Texas at Austin where he participated in many wheelchair sports. He left college to pursue a career with Xerox that spanned 20 years. Currently, Rick is employed full time with Pepsi Business Solutions Group based in Plano, TX. There he is a member of EnAble, a group within PepsiCo that is dedicated to creating a more inclusive environment for people with different abilities. Rick was born in Orange, TX in 1961. In 1977 he was in an auto accident which caused a complete paralysis at T12. He refers to this as the beginning of his second life. He took up SCUBA diving, fishing, marshal arts, and even historical recreation for fun. By assisting RISE Adventures, he feels he can share his life experience with others, hoping to show that anyone can achieve their dreams when they try. “Life is for living, so experience it.”

Rick Frame graduated with a degree in engineering design in 1988. He worked in the aerospace and defense industry as a manufacturing engineer specializing in CAD/CAM and FEA as well as CNC and CMM programming. In 1999 Rick was involved in a motor vehicle accident in which he suffered a spinal cord injury at the C3/C4 level leaving him a quadriplegic paralyzed from the neck down. Rick decided this was not going to keep him down and in 2003 attended the Texas Accessibility Academy in Austin where he earned his certification as a Registered Accessibility Specialist. When he returned home he started a consulting company where he has worked diligently with companies as well as municipalities, state and federal government agencies to not only ensure compliance with state and federal handicap accessibility laws but also to improve handicap accessibility in both architectural barriers and policies and procedures. Rick brings this same diligence to RISE Adventures to ensure everyone can participate and enjoy the programs provided.