Meet the Board

Get to know your current board members who put the Riverside Pride mission in motion.

Merrie Fox
President

My journey to the LGBTQIA+ community was delayed until my early thirties, when a counselor helped me understand the disconnect I'd felt with myself for years. It was an exhilarating—and devastating—revelation. I finally felt comfortable in my own skin, but I was twelve years into a heterosexual marriage and had two young children. Fortunately, I was blessed with friends who created a safe space for me while I learned the importance of living my truth. A year later, I met the love of my life, and for the past two decades, she and I have raised two amazing kids, remodeled a home, earned our doctorate degrees, and built a life that is beyond blessed. As part of Riverside Pride, I'm honored to work alongside others who are dedicated to making New Braunfels an inclusive community where ALL people are valued and celebrated.

Wade Eernisse
​Vice President

Wade is the newest member of the Riverside Pride board and is looking forward to bringing his talents, activism, and determination to help support the LGBTQIA+ community in our area. He is a very talented and successful RV salesman and has also been in customer service for almost 20 years, so he knows how to treat everyone the right way. He currently lives in Seguin with his two dachshunds, Pebbles and Dixie, sits on the council at Faith UCC Church in New Braunfels, and he also shares his singing talents in their church choir every Sunday. Wade is excited to help facilitate our Facebook page to keep everyone informed with what’s going on with Riverside Pride as well as helping us with events and fundraisers. 
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“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”- David Brinkley

Jose Guerrero
Board Secretary

Jose is a full-time manager and a full-time college student getting a Master's Degree in Psychology to become a Psychologist. When he isn't working or studying , he likes to go for walks in the park, hang out with family, work out, make new friends and help out in any way he can. Jose is looking forward to bringing new ideas to Riverside Pride and can't wait to see the amazing things we can accomplish together. 

Cori Vela-Speare
Board Treasurer

Corinne "Cori" Vela-Speare is a New Braunfels native, who came back to New Braunfels in 2021 after living in Washington state and Austin for 10 years. She is a graduate from University of the Incarnate Word, with a Bachelors of Business Administration and a Masters in Organizational Development. She brings over 17 years of experience in the Corporate Human Resources world as a Sr. Program and Project Executive in the HR Technology and Strategy space, with the majority of those in Fortune 500 companies.  During her tenure in these roles she took on leadership positions within the company ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) for both LGBTQ+, Disability, Women, Latinx and other underrepresented groups. Given her expertise in running corporate ERG events, she hopes to bring value to the Board in future programs.  In her spare time, she loves spending time with her family (she has 5 children and 2 grandchildren, and a husband of 19 years), her furbabies (3 pups) and traveling the world. 

Sarah Simmons
Board Member

Sarah Simmons was born and raised in New Braunfels. She attended Texas A&M University and graduated with her Bachelors degree in 2015. She taught middle school English and Social Studies for four years. She, her husband, and son have recently moved back to New Braunfels after some years in Colorado. She is happy to be back in the wonderful place she grew up in. She is a stay-at-home mom of toddlers and enjoys Crossfit, cooking, and stand up comedy. She is thrilled to serve on the Riverside Pride board and continue to make the NB community a place where everyone feels welcomed and celebrated.

Jon Cooper
​Board Member

John Cooper brings a hands-on, no-nonsense approach to just about everything he does. With degrees in both Architecture and Engineering from LSU, he’s spent decades designing, building, fixing, and figuring things out—on job sites, in studios, and often in his own garage.
Over the years, John’s worn a lot of hats: emergency room ward clerk, welder, linotype operator, house painter, shipyard worker, and small business owner. He’s tackled plumbing, electrical, masonry, carpentry, roofing, and even auto repair—making him a one-man construction crew when needed.
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Now retired from full-time architecture work, John still stays involved in construction part-time and enjoys his days spoiling his wife and dog, dabbling in bonsai and woodworking, cooking new recipes, reading good books, and bird watching in the backyard.
He lives by a simple but powerful motto from one of his favorite characters, Harry Bosch:
“Everybody counts or nobody counts.” - -Harry Bosch (Michael Connelly)​