San Antonio Youth Literacy Staff

Patricia Medina, Executive Director

Patricia Medina joined SAYL as the Executive Director in May, 2005. She brings 25 years of experience in the non-profit environment to SAYL, having previously worked with the YMCA of Greater San Antonio and the Mt. Diablo YMCA in Pleasant Hill, California. Prior to that, she held the position of Director of Religious Education at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in San Antonio.

Pat holds the distinction of being the first female executive director for the San Antonio YMCAs, taking that position in 1992. Her experience includes extensive management, fundraising, marketing, and program administration.

Pat and her husband, Joe, have been involved with the local Lions Club over the last several years. Pat is a previous member of the San Antonio Founder Lions Club and her husband is a past President of the Edgewood Lions Club. She has also been involved in numerous civic organizations, serving on the Martin Luther King March committee, Suddenly Senior committee, and Leadership Northside committee.

Mary Flannigan, Community Development Director

Mary joined SAYL as the Community Development Director in March, 2008. She attended Alfred University in Alfred, NY where she received her Bachelors of Arts and Fine Arts degree in 2002.

After graduation Mary joined AmeriCorps, a national service organization, where she served as a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio for two years. Most recently, Mary comes to us from Habitat for Humanity of Omaha where she held the position of Volunteer Manager.

Amber Farr, Program Director

Amber Farr joined the SAYL team as Program Director in July, 2004. She comes to SAYL with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from Saint Mary’s College of California (2001). While at Saint Mary’s, Amber was one of few selected for a prestigious semester program to attend American University in Washington, DC, where she was also hired for an internship at the United States Capitol, working for Senator Diane Feinstein (Fall, 2000). 

After receiving her undergraduate degree, Amber moved to South Korea where she lived and worked for a year teaching English to children ages 3-13.

Amber then went on to graduate school, where she obtained a Masters of Arts in International Policy Studies for The Monterey Institute of International Studies, with a focus on Gender and Human Rights (2004).