About Austin LifeGuard
Letter From the Director
Our Services
Our Funding
Our Staff

Our Staff

Melody Li | Staff Educator

Melody is a proud Canadian that grew up in beautiful Vancouver, BC. She obtained her degree in education at Simon Fraser University. Her passion lies in working with teenagers and cannot imagine a more fitting job than being a LifeGuard. She moved to Austin when she married a Longhorn named Pete, who unlike her, is brilliant with numbers. Beyond her job, she enjoys being a food writer, photographer, and entrepreneur. She dreams to one day experience every world cuisine, no matter how strange. She also once ate 6 dozen raw oysters on her birthday.

Jason DeGraaf | Staff Educator

Jason left his home in the St Louis area in 1996 to attend the University of Arizona. He, like many of our staff members, has some interesting hobbies. He likes swing dancing, practicing yoga and is a self proclaimed fantasy nerd who likes Star Wars, Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings. His favorite part about working for Austin LifeGuard is laughing with the other staff about all the wonderfully awkward questions and situations that we sex educators find ourselves in. I guess you have to have pretty thick skin to do what we do! Jason is married to his awesome wife Emily.

Sean Watkins \| Staff Educator
Sean Watkins was raised in Houston, Texas and later moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas at Austin. He enjoys speaking to students in schools and helping them understand the effects sexual activity can have on their lives. In his spare time he enjoys watching movies, reading, writing and spending time with friends.

Rachel Elam | Administrator

Rachel was born and raised in Austin, Texas. She actually heard the Austin LifeGuard presentation when she was a freshman at Anderson High School in Austin ISD. She volunteered with LifeCare for several years as a PAL before holding several positions on staff including: Office Manager, Volunteer Coordinator, Center Director – Pregnancy Services and now Office Administrator for Austin LifeGuard. She is married to her husband Harlen and they have a crazy toddler named Harper as well as a sassy mini dachshund named Lucy. In her spare times she likes to bake, be outside, chase her toddler around and try every frozen yogurt establishment in Austin.

Haley Byrnes \| Staff Educator / Training Coordinator
Haley was raised in Kansas, but unfortunately never met Dorothy or Toto. She moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas and is one of the only Longhorns we know that is not really into football. Haley is our little extrovert and loves spending time with people of all ages. Haley is married to Matt, and they have a dog named Molly that they treat like their first child.

Corey Tabor | Director

Corey Tabor was raised in Abilene, Texas and later moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas at Austin where he met his wife April. Since living in Austin, Corey has worked for a number of non-profit organizations in the community. He loves working with LifeGuard because of the impact he sees in the lives of teens on a daily basis. As the director, Corey works with various people in the community to promote LifeGuard but he also speaks to students in the classroom. He enjoys watching movies, reading spending time with friends, watching football and playing golf.

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