Board of Directors

Cecilia Guthrie Boone watched her mother, Marie Keene Guthrie, maneuver life with guts and pride in the face of gender bias. Mrs. Guthrie, who raised Cecilia and her two siblings on her own after the death of their father, went from being a high school graduate with a certificate from secretarial school to becoming the first women to be elected to a countywide office in the family’s home state of Kentucky. Though it was a history-making accomplishment for Mrs. Guthrie, her family and her entire community, it came with a world of men who often dismissed her simply because she was a woman.

Mrs. Guthrie’s life, along with Cecilia’s own witness to unconscious discrimination against women that happened while she worked for IBM, inspired Cecilia’s commitment to actively fight for gender equity. Her passion for creating a world with a gender gap that is one day closed for good is the reason The Boone Family Foundation focuses on advancing equity for women and girls as a key focus area. Cecilia and her husband, Garrett, founded The Boone Family Foundation with their three children in 2007. Cecilia is a member of the foundation’s board.

Cecilia has worked from the grassroots level up to change the lives of women, particularly poor women, for the better. The Dallas Morning News, which selected Cecilia as a 2016 Texan of the Year finalist, called Cecilia a person of “remarkable grace and courage in the face of unwavering opposition from far-right conservatives” and dubbed her work through her family’s foundation to improve women’s health a “game-changer.” Cecilia led the foundation’s efforts to partner with the Harold Simmons Foundation to provide $2 million for long-acting reversible contraception for low-income women who are clients at some Planned Parenthood health centers in North Texas. Prior to this bold step, the high cost of safe and reliable contraception pushed it out of reach for many women with the highest need. “For gender equality to be a reality, women have to be able to control their reproductive systems – to decide when they will have children,” Cecilia told the newspaper. “That’s especially true for poor women.”

Cecilia is the past chair of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Dallas Women’s Foundation, Girls Inc. of Metropolitan Dallas, Planned Parenthood of North Texas, Planned Parenthood of North Texas Action Fund and Annie’s List, a political action committee that recruits, trains and funds progressive female candidates running for statewide offices in Texas. She chaired the successful Dallas Women’s Foundation $30 million fundraising campaign. In addition, she has been on the Harvard-Kennedy School Women’s Leadership Board and the international Women’s Funding Network board. In Dallas, she is on the advisory boards of Children At Risk, Human Rights Initiative and Dallas Women’s Foundation.

Garrett Boone never considered a career in retailing. He grew up aspiring to become an architect, later opting for a bachelor’s degree in European history from Rice University and a master’s in history from the University of Texas at Austin.

In 1976 Boone and two friends, Dallas architect John Mullen, and Kip Tindell discussed opening a handmade furniture store. After two years, the idea came to Boone for an original retail concept following a visit to a home improvement show in Dallas in January, 1978. They decided to open a retail store offering exceptional, eclectic mix of products devoted to helping people organize and simplify their lives; The Container Store opened in Dallas July 1, 1978.

The Container Store is a FORTUNE magazine “100 Best Companies to Work For” 17 years in a row and ranked #1 the first year they applied. Mr. Boone was presented the Ernst & Young’s prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award in 1991 and is a recipient of the National Retail Federation’s 1998 Innovator of the Year Award. In 2006 he was inducted into the Retailing Hall of Fame and is a 2009 Junior Achievement of Dallas Business Hall of Fame inductee.

Garrett is now Chairman Emeritus of The Container Store, which was sold to a private equity firm in 2007. With proceeds from the sale, he, his wife Cecilia and their three children founded The Boone Family Foundation that same year.

Garrett has a strong interest in creating a more sustainable environment, which is the driving force behind The Boone Family Foundation’s efforts to promote environmental stewardship. He co-founded Texas Business for Clean Air (TBCA) Foundation in 2006. The organization promoted ‘clean air is good for business in Texas,’ was the subject of a Robert Redford documentary Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal Wars and earned the 2010 CATEE (clean air through energy efficiency) Outstanding Nonprofit Organization of the Year award. He also serves as vice-chair of The Trinity Park Conservancy and a board member for Greenspace Dallas. He is involved in helping to create National Park quality environments in the Great Trinity Forest in Dallas. In 2007, the year he and his family founded the foundation, Garrett was named first runner-up for Texan of the Year awarded by The Dallas Morning News because “he rallied businesses to stand up for clean air” and “spoke up at a time when it was neither expedient nor easy.”

Katherine is Co-founder and Editorial Director of Honored. She is the Vice Chair of the board at the Boone Family Foundation, a Texas-based organization dedicated to improving children’s quality of life through education, to advancing equity for women and girls, and to promoting environmental stewardship. She also serves on the board of the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, where she chairs the Education Programs Committee. Katherine has previously served on the boards of DC Prep, a Washington, DC-based public charter school, and Teach for America DC, Reading Partners DC, and the Greenhill School Alumni Association. Katherine graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Princeton University and received a master’s degree with honors in American History from the University of Texas. She and her husband, Joshua Geltzer, live in Washington, DC with their three children.

Jane is originally from Los Angeles. In 2011, Jane graduated with her Masters in Social Work from the University of Denver. After graduating, Jane worked as the Director of Client Relations for service dog agency Freedom Service Dogs for eight years before leaving the nonprofit world for motherhood. She is currently mom to 4 year old son Wellington (and a very good doggo named Callahan!), and is currently enrolled in culinary school.  Jane is passionate about causes related to kids, animals, gun control, and food security. Jane has also engaged with her local community to support programs aimed at helping unhoused or housing insecure families.

Guthrie grew up in Dallas and moved to Colorado to attend the University of Denver to work on a business degree and spend time closer to the mountains.

After graduation Guthrie worked in the corporate arena for about 10 years in a variety of roles  for Cochlear Americas, Prologis, and Vail Resorts.  In 2020, Guthrie switched careers to pursue a passion: smart home technology.  He’s currently working for Precision Media Solutions out of Denver, designing lighting control and smart-home systems. He also enjoys working on home improvement projects with his wife, Jane, and has developed a new passion for trampoline jumping with his 4-year old son, Wellington.

Aimee Cunningham is the President and CEO of The Boone Family Foundation and a highly experienced principal in the progressive movement with significant fundraising, strategic planning, and management expertise.

A graduate of the University of Virginia, Aimee worked as a campus organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation for three years before returning to Texas to work for a variety of progressive causes and campaigns. From 2011 to 2012, Aimee served as the Vice President of Development for Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas, where she led the affiliate’s fundraising efforts through a significant merger and in the face of major government funding cuts. In 2015, Aimee received the Robbie & Tom Ausley Leadership Award from Planned Parenthood of Greater Texas in recognition of her work on behalf of Planned Parenthood and its patients in Texas.

Over the last 20 years, Aimee has led work on the politics and policies that impact women and families, particularly around access to sexual and reproductive health care.  Aimee served on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood Federation of America from 2016 to 2022; from 2019 to 2021, she served as the Chair of the Board. Aimee has also founded several organizations designed to empower women to engage in politics and to fight for the right of all people to access affordable, high quality healthcare. Aimee has also served on the boards of a number of national progressive organizations, including the Center for Reproductive Rights, and EMILY’s List.

Today, Aimee leads The Boone Family Foundation in charting its mission to create equity for women and girls; to drive innovation and justice for students in public schools; and to steward and create accessible green spaces.

Aimee lives with her husband, Ed Cunningham, and their four children in Austin, Texas.