Meet the 2026 TRIBEZA Curators

For a second year, TRIBEZA invited the community to nominate locals who are shaping Austin’s cultural landscape. After reviewing hundreds of submissions, these nine individuals were selected as this year’s class of TRIBEZA Curators — Austinites who inspire us with the way they live, create and connect. Get to know much more about these local legends.

Meet the 2026 TRIBEZA Curators

Katie Kime

Katie Kime is an Austin-based designer, entrepreneur and creative director who moved to Austin in 2008 after growing up in North Carolina and studying visual arts at Duke University. In 2013, she launched her namesake brand, transforming her hand-painted designs into a growing lifestyle company and opening her first Austin flagship store in 2015. Today, the Katie Kime brand is recognized for its colorful, globally inspired prints across fashion and home decor, with Kime featured in Forbes and recognized on Inc.’s 2025 Female Founders 500 list. Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Katie Kime.

Gilbert Tuhabonye

Gilbert Tuhabonye is a runner, coach, philanthropist and author who has spent more than two decades building community in Austin. A survivor of the 1993 Kibimba massacre in Burundi, Tuhabonye founded Gilbert’s Gazelles in 2002 and later co-founded the Gazelle Foundation, which has helped provide clean water to over 150,000 people in his home country. He is also the head cross-country and track coach at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and the author of “This Voice in My Heart: A Runner’s Memoir of Genocide, Faith, and Forgiveness.” Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Gilbert Tuhabonye.

Ray Benson

Ray Benson made Texas his home after he brought his now-legendary band, Asleep at the Wheel, to Austin in the early ‘70s. Since then, the band has gone on to win multiple Grammy Awards, while Benson himself has made it his mission to help his fellow performers, playing leadership roles in numerous charities that support local musicians, chief among them the SIMS Foundation and the Health Alliance of Austin Musicians (HAAM), for whom he headlined an annual “birthday bash” fundraising concert until 2026. Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Ray Benson.

Reyna and Maritza Vazquez

Reyna and Maritza Vazquez are a chef and restaurateur duo who have spent nearly two decades shaping Austin’s food culture. The sisters immigrated to the United States from Veracruz, Mexico, and founded Veracruz All Natural in 2008 as a single East Austin trailer. They grew it into a group of trucks and restaurants known for fresh, vibrant food that brings the flavors of Veracruz to Austin. Their full-service restaurant, Veracruz Fonda & Bar, earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and in 2026, they published “Veracruz All Natural: Fresh Mexican Recipes from Our American Home” with Simon & Schuster. Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Reyna and Maritza Vazquez.

Erin Stewart

Erin Stewart is a fitness expert, trained natural chef and wellness entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience. Stewart began her career as a professional dancer in New York City and later as a celebrity trainer. In 2009, She co-founded DEFINE Body & Mind, growing the boutique fitness concept into a global brand with 26 locations. After launching Savor + Sweat in 2021, she moved to Austin that same year, where opened a studio, continuing to combine her passions for movement, nutrition and wellness. Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Erin Stewart.

Trevor Scott

Having started his career working nights in a newsroom at age 19, Trevor Scott has since become a champion for our city’s nonprofits and arts organizations through his show “We Are Austin.” Since 2017, he’s co-hosted this award-winning program on KEYE, where he spotlights people doing good throughout our community. When he’s not on TV, he’s helping out with one of the numerous local charities he supports (like Mobile Loaves and Fishes and Austin Humane Society) or mentoring young Austinites through organizations like OutYouth, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Impact Arts. Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Trevor Scott.

Andra Liemandt

Andra Liemandt is a nonprofit founder, author, speaker and musician who has spent more than a decade building emotional health into Austin’s schools, workplaces and homes. Founder and CEO of The Kindness Campaign, Liemandt has grown the organization into a national nonprofit expected to reach 250,000 students this year through curriculum, community events and its signature character, Enoughie Buddy. A Victoria native and Texas Lutheran University graduate, she is also the author of “Enoughie Buddy Finds His Superpowers” and the former drummer for the all-female band The Mrs. Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Andra Liemandt.

Kevin Ivester

Kevin Ivester is a gallery owner dedicated to keeping Austin’s artists in the national conversation. After moving to Texas in 2015, he became involved in the local art scene, eventually opening the Ivester Contemporary alongside its partner business, East Side Picture Framing, both located in the Canopy complex on Springdale Road. Ivester is also board chair of the Austin Arts Alliance (A3) and is a co-founder of the Austin Friends Fair, an annual exhibition showcasing pieces from galleries across the country. Read TRIBEZA’s interview with Kevin Ivester.