STAFF
John Otwell
Executive Director
John joined the Cornerstone team after having spent 20+ years performing Subsea Robotics Engineering and Vessel Management all over the world. He has taken those professional skills and applied them to serving the Lord, others, and our community through Cornerstone Restoration. His hope is to share the abundant and reckless love of Christ with all those the Lord allows him to serve.
During his work abroad John has been to just about every continent and seen some of the best and the worst each of them have to offer, always finding the best place on earth right back here with his family and friends in the Hill Country of Texas.
John has a beautiful wife, Christina, and two beautiful daughters, Afton and Lillian. John has a deep desire to know the Lord better and spends much of his time in extended education and opportunities through his church, Austin Ridge Bible Church. John enjoys hunting, fishing, camping, riding his motorcycles - pretty much anything outdoors.
Kristin Coovrey
Administrative & Operations Coordinator
Originally from Minnesota, Kristin has called Texas home for over 20 years and moved to Austin in 2016. Following Hurricane Harvey, she felt the Lord’s calling to serve, leading to a seven-year career in non-profit disaster response ministry managing training, volunteers, and operations. After volunteering with Cornerstone Restoration and joining them on a mission trip to Reynosa, she stepped into her current role as Administration and Operations Coordinator. Kristin is excited to serve alongside volunteers to share the love of Christ throughout the greater Austin community. She has been happily married to Chris for 35 years, and they are blessed with three children: Genevieve, Liliana, and Jack. As certified SCUBA diving instructors, she and her husband love exploring the underwater world, traveling, and spending quality time with family.
Gustavo “Gus” Poveda
Volunteer & Donor Relations Manager
Gus joined the Cornerstone team in February 2026 following a 30-year career in clinical research and drug development. He brings extensive expertise in program management, cross-functional leadership, and relationship management to his role, and he is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. With over 25 years of ministry experience, Gus has a deep passion for serving the Lord through local church initiatives and international mission trips to Mexico, Lebanon, and France. He actively serves at Austin Ridge Bible Church - Southwest and loves studying God's Word. Gus has been happily married to his wife, Donna, for nearly 30 years, and they are blessed with three adult children. In his free time, he enjoys sports, traveling, playing board games, and spending time with family and friends.
Rusty Clark
Operations Manager
Rusty joined the Cornerstone team in August 2025 on the heels of a 28 year career in the Texas Army National Guard as an Armor and Cavalry officer. After 22 years on active duty, he was given a transitional internship period through the military, which he felt strongly convicted to use to serve with Cornerstone. After a few months, it was clear that he had a passion for the Cornerstone mission and upon official retirement from the military, he never left Cornerstone. He has a heart for serving others and a desire to follow where the Lord leads him. He loves watching the Lord's handiwork use unlikely people and circumstances to accomplish big things for His glory.
Rusty has been happily married to Mindy, his college sweetheart for 25 years. They have two teenagers, Reese and Caleigh. He enjoys the outdoors deeply, finding awe in the majestic places found in God's creation, where he also enjoys fishing and camping.
Steve Haynes
Project Coordinator
Steve joined the Cornerstone Restoration team in July 2025. He was raised in the Dallas, Texas area and most recently relocated from Houston. He is a father of 4 beautiful children. Steve is a people-first follower of Christ with a skill set in a wide variety of work and loves serving his community. He and his wife ran their own businesses in Houston, including a non-profit hygiene pantry during the COViD-19 pandemic. Joining the CR team has been a big blessing for the Haynes family, and they are loving the opportunity to spread the good news of the gospel while playing a crucial role in furthering Christ's mission.
BOARD of DIRECTORS
Chairman
Ellery Buchanan joined Cornerstone Restoration’s Board in November 2021. Ellery is a member of Austin Ridge Bible Church and has been a volunteer with God of Hope prison ministry for many years. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Rio Bravo Ministries, one of our partner ministries, in Reynosa, Mexico.
Currently Ellery serves as Chief Strategy Officer of Adaptive 3D, a Desktop Metal company providing the next generation of 3D manufacturing materials. He has a breadth of entrepreneurial experience in technology companies including semiconductor lithography equipment, electronic discovery and data storage, nano fiber production and additive manufacturing. Areas of expertise include growth, strategy, finance, start-ups, new product introduction, operational excellence, business management and corporate development.
Ellery moved his family to Austin from the Boston area in 1995. Ellery and Paulette were married in 1977 and have two sons, Ryan and Derek, who both live near Austin. Ellery and Paulette also have two wonderful grandchildren, Pierce son of Ryan and Natalie and Primrose daughter of Derek and Alyssa.
Ellery Buchanan
Travis Gray joined Cornerstone Restoration’s Board in June 2023. Travis is a pastor with The Church at Bee Cave and has been a volunteer with God of Hope prison ministry for over 15 years. Travis has been bringing church services into Lockhart Prison every fourth Sunday for the past 8 years. He serves with Open doors ministries in Marble Falls teaching the Bible and helping those recover from alcohol and drug addiction.
Travis is a singer/songwriter who loves to play music on his guitar. Travis shares his life experience and relationship with Christ through music and stories of faith. Travis and his wife Gay Bonorden Gray own and operate Best Tex Gardens, a landscape company located and serving in the Hill Country of Texas.
Travis and Gay live in Lakeway Texas have 5 Children and 7 grandchildren. They love to spend time at the ranch riding horses, boating on Lake Travis and serving their community through the Love of Christ.
Travis Gray
After growing up in Texas and New Jersey, Brian earned a BA from Rutgers University and a THM from Dallas Theological Seminary. At exactly the same time, he met his wife, Kathy, and came to understand that life is best lived missionally for Jesus. Working in creative and executive roles in Dallas and Memphis churches for most of his career, Brian proudly served as Executive Director of Cornerstone after moving to Austin. He continues to serve on its Board, supporting its mission of seeing vulnerable neighbors loved and care for in the greater Austin area, Reynosa, and beyond.
He loves finding great NY style pizza with Kathy, watching Christopher Nolan movies with his son Pierce, and learning obscure chemistry techniques from his daughter Ana. He likes running, hiking, reading old books, and watching Liverpool (“real” football). Brian also loves to see the life of Jesus grow inside the hearts of men at Austin Ridge Bible Church where he currently serves as the Men’s Pastor.
Brian Albrecht
Mark Blakemore
Mark Blakemore joined Cornerstone Restoration’s Board in February 2025. Mark is a partner of Austin Ridge Bible Church and enjoys serving however he is called.
Mark grew up in West Texas and graduated from Texas Tech University. He owns a healthcare consulting company that provides Network Development and Contracting Support to a number of Health Insurance companies across the county. Mark has over 35 years of industry experience negotiating complex provider and payer contracts to support risk sharing and value based products. He has developed networks at the state, regional and national level for commercial HMO and PPO products as well as governmental programs for Medicare and Medicaid.
Mark lives is Spicewood with his wife, Carrie Jo. They have four kids and four amazing grandsons. He enjoys golf and spending time with Carrie Jo listening to live music and all the great food Austin has to offer.
Mike Bastian
Mike Bastian joined the Board of Cornerstone Restoration (“CR”) in August 2025. He is a member of Austin Ridge Bible Church and actively serves in multiple volunteer capacities within its Men’s Ministry.
Mike grew up in Michigan and brings more than 25 years of finance and strategic advisory experience in investment banking, specializing in mergers and acquisitions (“M&A”) transactions. Mike led a distinct group of M&A industry group practices at Merrill Lynch and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (“BAML”), built and scaled an M&A advisory business at ABN AMRO, and headed the Chicago office for an M&A advisory business at BAML.
A follower of Jesus, Mike is dedicated to stewarding and advancing the purpose and mission God has entrusted to CR by applying servant leadership, disciplined governance, and thoughtful strategic planning to benefit those we serve.
Mike and his wife, Cathy, moved to Austin from the Chicago suburbs in 2024. They were married in 1978 and have three children and seven beautiful grandchildren.