Good Neighbor Leadership Team
Barbara Bridgewater, President, has been volunteering with Good Neighbor since fall of 2015 and has served on the Board since July 2016. She works as a part-time case manager for Compassion Ministries, a transitional family shelter in Waco, and also teaches English as a Second Language to adults through McLennan Community College. She came to Compassion from Ohio where she was working for a transitional program and emergency shelter for 6 years. Barbara has a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from Miami of Ohio University and a Master’s Degree in Education, specializing in Bilingual Education from Ohio University. Barbara, who has two girls, is married to Phillip Bridgewater, a full-time employee of Habitat for Humanity. The whole family is very involved in Hope Fellowship, a neighborhood church ministry in Waco, as well as with Habitat and Compassion.
Craig Clarkson, Treasurer, is the Manager of Operations for Baylor University’s Academy for Teaching and Learning and teaches in Baylor’s Honors College. He came to Waco with his lovely wife and two young sons in 2006 to attend graduate school at Baylor. Craig now has a doctorate in religion and the boys are grown. His wife is as lovely as ever. Prior to his academic career, Craig was an information systems consultant and database developer but a long and winding road has produced a wide array of skills, experiences, and a general figure-it-out-and-make-it-work mentality. Craig served Good Neighbor as a technology consultant in its beginnings. He also helps out around the house by being a general handyman and tackling odd jobs that require the arcane and otherwise trivial skills he possesses. Currently, he serves the Board as Treasurer and overall financial gadfly. Craig loves blues music, pizza, driving and tinkering on his Jeep, and cave time.
Saraí Muñiz, Secretary, is a recent Baylor University graduate who completed a Master’s in Social Work and a Master of Divinity. Before coming to Waco, Saraí earned her Bachelor of Arts in History at East Texas Baptist University.
A daughter of Immigrants, Saraí was born and raised on the border. She grew up surrounded by immigrants and constantly strived for compassion and love toward our southern neighbors. Her academic and professional experience has served the immigrant community through adult education, legal matters, and case management.
Saraí is passionate about equitable and just policy and research. She loves to play the piano, spend time with her family and friends, and enjoy time outside.
Tyler Mowry is a PhD candidate and part-time lecturer in the Department of Religion at Baylor University. Before attending Baylor, he earned a ThM from Candler School of Theology at Emory University and an MA from Chicago Theological Seminary. Both throughout and prior to his academic journey, Tyler has participated in a number of community development efforts, primarily through education. After earning his BA in Spanish, he worked as an early childhood educator in barrio Santa Fe, Bogotá, Colombia. When he returned to the US, he remained in education, but as a parent liaison and advocate in West Chicago Elementary School District 33. There, he organized parents and teachers in a campaign seeking to expand Bilingual classrooms within predominantly Spanish-speaking communities in the Chicago suburbs. Tyler has also participated in community development via sustainable agriculture, most recently as resident and manager at Oakleaf Mennonite Farm in Atlanta, GA – an urban farm emphasizing in education and food justice advocacy. He is excited to continue participating in community-building work here in Waco through the mission and vision of the Good Neighbor House. Tyler is married to Anne, a biologist, and has two children. He enjoys cooking, making music, and telling stories.
Laine Scales, Founder, moved to Waco in 1999 to begin work at Baylor University as a social work professor. Laine moved to Sanger Heights in 2003, renovating an old home on Colcord Avenue. She has been engaged in Waco as a member of Hope Fellowship, the Community Race Relations Council, and Prosper Waco Education Steering Committee. In 2016 Laine was awarded the Master Teacher designation, Baylor’s most prestigious teaching award. Laine publishes books and articles on the history of women in higher education and social work. Inspired by this legacy, creating a settlement house that brings together neighborhoods and universities for community improvement has been an important goal for her, so in 2012 she gathered a group of advisors to create what would eventually become Good Neighbor Settlement House and Worship Center, which opened in 2016.