Shield Ranch Foundation Trustees

Pat Ayres is the founder of the Shield Ranch Foundation. She treasures her experiences on Shield Ranch Barton Creek since it was purchased by her parents, Fred and Vera Shield, in 1938. A native of San Antonio, Pat visited often during the days when cattle, sheep, Angora goats, and quarter horses were raised on the Ranch.

She attended Wellesley College, and soon after married Robert M. Ayres, Jr., an investment banker in San Antonio. Pat and Bob shared their love for the Ranch with their children, Bob and Vera, as they were growing up.

In 1977, Pat and Bob founded the Shield-Ayres Foundation. Pat served as president until 2014. She has been an advocate to feed the hungry through her Bread for the World board service and for youth in the State of Texas. She was appointed to the Texas Youth Council by Governor Dolph Briscoe and served as chair of the board. She also served on the board of Texans Care for Children, an organization she helped to found.

Pat and Bob built their casita at Shield Ranch Barton Creek where they lived until Bob’s death in 2018. Pat continues to enjoy time on the Ranch and remains engaged with family and staff in planning for the future of Shield Ranch.

Bob Ayres relishes the multi-faceted challenges and opportunities inherent in land stewardship. He is passionate about connecting people with the outdoors through the expanding programmatic offerings of the Shield Ranch Foundation. Bob has been an active member of the land trust community at the local, state, and national levels. He served on the founding board of the Hill Country Conservancy as well as the board of the Texas Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Most recently, Bob served on the board of directors of the Land Trust Alliance. He is also a trustee of the Shield-Ayres Foundation.

Bob received his bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of the South. He holds a Master of Theological Studies from Virginia Theological Seminary and a Master of Fine Arts from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. A native of San Antonio, Bob and his wife Margy moved to Austin in 1985, where they raised their two daughters Kathleen and Elizabeth. Bob enjoys exploring the Hill Country and the Davis Mountains of West Texas. He is an avid birder and loves visiting parks, nature centers, and wild places whenever he travels.

As vice president of the Shield Ranch Foundation, Vera Ayres Bowen's focus is outdoor education and outreach programs. She is passionate about providing opportunities for children and adults to experience beauty and mystery in the natural world.

In her role as Shield-Ayres Foundation president, Vera cultivates community financial support for the nonprofit family foundation’s mission to support human services, social justice, and environmental conservation. She also serves on the advisory council of A ROCHA USA and enjoys actively serving as a member of her church.

Vera finds joy in exploring the natural world and expressing gratitude through artistic expression. She loves playing with her grandchildren and enjoys sharing the Ranch with her grown children and their spouses: Marshall (and his wife Madison), Gentry (and his wife Margaret), Sophie (and her husband Johann), and Mallory. Vera earned a Bachelor of Arts in religion from the University of the South. Born and raised in San Antonio, she now lives in Austin. 

Marshall Ayres Bowen is a member of the fourth generation of the Shield-Ayres family. Marshall is an attorney in the Austin office of Butler Snow LLP where he practices appellate law, commercial litigation, and government relations. In addition to serving as a trustee of the Shield Ranch Foundation, Marshall serves as secretary of the Shield-Ayres Foundation and as a board member of the Texas Agricultural Land Trust and the Texas Advocacy Project.

Marshall is passionate about land and wildlife conservation and is grateful for the opportunity to help steward Shield Ranch for future generations. He enjoys hunting on the Ranch and particularly loves giving others the opportunity to experience the outdoors. Marshall holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Texas A&M University, a Master of Arts in theology from St. Mary’s University, and a Juris Doctor degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law. Marshall resides with his wife, Madison, in central Austin with their daughter Atlee and their yellow lab, Hank.

Madison Alinka Bowen is a native of San Antonio and an accountant at Marbella Interests in Austin. In addition to serving as a trustee of the Shield Ranch Foundation, Madison has previously served on the board and the executive committee of the San Antonio Public Library Foundation.

Madison’s deep love for connecting children to the beauty of the outdoors drives her devotion to the Shield Ranch Foundation. She spent her college summers working at Laity Lodge Youth Camp in Leaky, Texas, which instilled in her a passion for outdoor education.

Madison holds a bachelor of business degree in accounting from Texas A&M University. She loves to spend time on the Ranch with her husband, Marshall; their daughter, Atlee; and their yellow lab, Hank.

Margaret Bowers Ayres is an enthusiastic ambassador for El Ranchito, the Shield Ranch Foundation’s nature immersion camp.

Margy grew up in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. She received her Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of the South. In addition to her service as a founding trustee of the Shield Ranch Foundation, Margy has been a trustee of the Shield-Ayres Foundation since 1980. Margy enjoys learning about and visiting organizations that the foundation supports. She served on the vestry and as the senior warden of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Austin, and on the board of the foundation supporting the Cloud Forest School in Monteverde, Costa Rica.

Margy is the mother of two grown daughters, Kathleen Ayres and Elizabeth Domenech. She lives in Austin with her husband Bob and loves spending time at the beach in North Carolina and in the mountains of Tennessee. She is an avid reader, plays the piano and has sung in school choral groups and church choirs her entire life.

Elizabeth Domenech is a writer, naturalist, and advocate for conservation and wildness. She is a fourth-generation member of the Shield-Ayres family.

Early days exploring the Ranch with Grandma (Pat) gave Elizabeth a keen spotting eye, while hikes with Dad (Bob) interspersed with plant and bird quizzes taught her to be curious about the plants and animals with whom we share this land.

Elizabeth’s deep respect for ranch life and land stewardship informs her work. Previously, Elizabeth worked for Ranch Advisory Partners where she partnered with ranchers, land management agencies, and nonprofit organizations to improve the ecological and financial health of rangelands across the West. She also served as the conservation fund advisor to the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

Elizabeth holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from the Yale School of the Environment and is a certified Montana Master Naturalist. Prior to graduate school, Elizabeth served as the director of the Shield-Ayres Foundation.

Elizabeth currently serves on the board of the Shield-Ayres Foundation and is a community advisory committee member of the Gallatin Valley Land Trust. She is a mentor to a 10th-grade student through Thrive’s Child Advancement Project (CAP) program. She lives in Bozeman, Montana with her husband, Chema, and flat-coated retriever, Dory.