Board Members
Adair Aranda: board Chair
Adair is passionate about community-led urban planning and has been a dedicated partner for RAYO since 2021. Adair is a graduate from the University of North Texas, where he received his Bachelor’s in City/Urban, community and Regional Planning. Adair is currently a Project Manager at Aranda Planning.
Email: boardchair@rayoplanning.com
LinkedIn
Stephanie Epps: board Member
Stephanie is a Stanford grad with collaborative experience in the non-profit and tech industries with a passion serving youth, particularly in workforce development and college access for first generation, low income youth. Stephanie currently serves as the Vice President of Programs for /dev/color/. She has strong interests and experience in tech, marketing, operations, education, equity, public service, and social justice.
LinkedIn
Evelyn Mayo: Co-Founder & board Member
Evelyn’s last point of departure before leaving the U.S. as a child was Austin, Texas. She spent her childhood moving around Europe and Asia, which exposed her to different cultures, languages, foods and ways of life. After graduating High School in Singapore, she moved back to the U.S. and where she pursued an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science at Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City. In 2017, Evelyn moved to Dallas, Texas to pursue her interests in environmental justice and community organizing in the “belly of the beast”. She worked in poverty law as an advocate for fair housing and environmental justice issues from 2017 to 2021 with Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and Disability Rights Texas, while also acting as Chair of the Board of Downwinders at Risk. Evelyn is AICP certified and received her MCRP from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is the inaugural Urban Research Initiative Fellow at Paul Quinn College, where she leads research and advocacy efforts to use planning as a tool to address systemic racial injustices in Southern Dallas.
Email: emayo@rayoplanning.com
Co-Founders
Jennifer Rangel: Co-founder
Jennifer is a Mexican-American urban planner dedicated to advancing equitable development and community empowerment. She brings extensive experience in fair housing, grassroots organizing, and participatory planning processes. Jennifer has led and facilitated educational sessions for community members, designed engagement strategies for municipalities, and developed curriculum for audiences ranging from high school students to adults.
Jennifer focuses on improving outreach and engagement with historically underrepresented populations, ensuring that community voices shape decisions around housing, economic development, and environmental justice. Her work bridges technical planning with grassroots leadership to create inclusive and resilient neighborhoods across North Texas.
Jennifer remains actively involved with the organization, contributing as a subcontractor and volunteer.
Email: jrangel@rayoplanning.com
LinkedIn
Victoria Ferrell-ortiz: Co-Founder
Victoria’s interest in urban planning began in high school, while attending the Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center. But it wasn’t identified plainly as “Urban Planning” at the time. She first became indoctrinated when she learned what gentrification was through a friend's experience around displacement in Old East Dallas. In 2016, she received her Bachelors of Arts in Integrative Studies from the University of North Texas in Denton, with concentrations in international studies, sociology, and public administration and community service. After graduating from college and returning home to Dallas she experienced it personally through the gentrification of her West Dallas neighborhood (Victoria has family in Ledbetter, a barrio of West Dallas) and Oak Cliff. She served on the Arts and Culture Advisory Commission for the City of Dallas as an at large member for one term. Victoria is a Barrio Historian of the Cemento Grande and Oak Cliff Barrios. Victoria was RAYO’s first Executive Director and before acted on the Board of Directors as the founding Treasurer.