Once again, the Texas Legislature will determine whether or not Texas slides down the slippery slope of spending taxpayer dollars for the benefit of mostly affluent Texans who already send their children to private school, or sending state-funded debit cards to families who homeschool. Should the Texas House not stand firm against vouchers, the projections are that, not only will this significantly hurt public schools, it will empty the coffers of the state in short time.

Voucher and education research experts mentioned include Dr. Joshua Cowan and Dr. David DeMatthews. Education podcaster mentioned is Jennifer Berkshire with the Have You Heard Podcast. 

As Charlie points out, call your representative to stand against vouchers. Don't let Greg Abbott bully Texas into bad education policy. 

Pascale is a visionary and outcomes-driven leader deeply committed to student success. An alumna of Aspen’s year-long Rising President Fellowship, Pascale plays a lead role in crafting and overseeing CEP’s strategy to develop a network of transformational college presidents who share a relentless commitment to advancing excellence and equity in student outcomes.  Chief among these programs are Aspen’s Presidential Fellowships, which have graduated over 100 presidents of community colleges that together educate over a million-and-a-half students. In the Fellowships and across CEP’s work, Pascale helps lead efforts to strengthen the inexorable connection between institutional reform and student success.

Prior to joining CEP, Pascale was at Aspen Prize-winning Miami Dade College, where she most recently served as president of the Kendall campus, the largest of the college’s eight.  Pascale was also dean of Miami Dade’s highly regarded Honors College, where she developed and implemented a pathways strategy that increased the number of first-generation students who went on to attain a bachelor’s degree.  Herself a transfer student, Pascale brings substantial expertise to one of Aspen’s core priorities: advancing post-graduation outcomes for students of color and low-income students. Demonstrable student learning, equitable talent development, and social mobility for students and families are key levers that inspire Pascale’s student-centered approach.

A graduate of Duke University and the University of Michigan Law School, Pascale also held leadership roles at both New York University and Rutgers law schools earlier in her career.

A link to the process of selecting the Aspen Prize winner can be found here.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Ted Beard Bio

Theodore “Ted” Beard was elected to the Longview ISD Board in 1998 and has served in various capacities, including assistant secretary, secretary, vice-president, and twice as president.

He earned a bachelor’s in human services from LeTourneau University. Beard is a retired sergeant major from the United States Army and a combat veteran of Desert Shield/Storm, in which he was awarded the Bronze Star,  and also an Iraqi Freedom veteran. He also retired from the Social Security Administration, where he worked as a technical expert and also as a collateral duty equal employment opportunity (EEO) counselor.

Ted currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB).  Also in 2007, he was appointed to the TASB Risk Management Fund Board and currently serves as chair. He is a 2012 graduate of Leadership TASB and a past president and current member of the Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members.

Ted and his wife Rosalind are the parents of three sons and two daughters.

Helen Warwick Bio

Helen Warwick served as a Trustee for Marshall ISD for 17 years, where she served as Board President for many years. She is a proud graduate of Leadership TASB Class of 2014. Advocating for the public schools of Texas and the nation is a passion that strengthened through her involvement in the Leadership TASB program. 

Helen’s involvement with the students of Marshall ISD is extensive. She has served the students and the community through her involvement in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Helen has held leadership positions in the PTA from the local to state levels, including campus level, City Council PTA, Area 13 PTA and the Texas State PTA Board. She has also been awarded a Texas Life Membership. Helen continues to volunteer in the classroom through the Junior Achievement program, as she has for the past 20 years. She enjoys being invited to campuses and interacting with the students.

Helen has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and Masters of Education. She taught Kindergarten and worked as a substitute teacher. She also served on Site Based Decision Making Teams and School Improvement Committees as well as the Marshall ISD School Health Advisory Council. She is a past Cub Scout leader and Girl Scout leader. The Girl Scouts recognized her as an Outstanding Leader. As a Girl Scout leader, she participated in a statewide curriculum review committee.

She is also a regular volunteer with the local food pantry within Mission Marshall and serves as a tutor with the Harrison County-Marshall Literacy Council. Helen and her husband, Mike, have two children who are both proud and successful graduates of Marshall ISD.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Music by Bret Boyer.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Evan Smith is the CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, a pioneering nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization whose deep coverage of Texas politics and public policy can be found at its website, texastribune.org, and in newspapers and on TV and radio stations across the state. Since its launch in 2009, the Tribune has won international acclaim and numerous honors, including a Peabody Award, 23 national Edward R. Murrow Awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association and three general excellence awards from the Online News Association. Evan is also the host of “Overheard with Evan Smith,” a weekly half-hour interview program that airs on PBS stations around the country. A native of New York, he's a graduate of Hamilton College and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Throughout his 30-year career in Amarillo ISD, Superintendent Doug Loomis has made an impact across the District, working in schools in every cluster and at every level. He began as a PE teacher at Wolflin Elementary and soon found his career growing along with the students he taught, as a science and health teacher at Fannin Middle School, assistant principal of Houston Middle School and Palo Duro High School, principal of Amarillo High School and executive director of the Caprock High School cluster. For the past five years, he has been the District’s chief human resources officer.

Mr. Loomis is a graduate of Oklahoma Panhandle State University and earned a Master of Education degree from West Texas A&M University. He and his wife Gisele, a retired teacher, have been married 32 years and have two grown children. 

Mr. Loomis was named interim superintendent in October 2018 and the lone finalist for superintendent in early March of 2019. Trustees finalized his appointment on March 27, 2019.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Dr. Jim Largent graduated high school in 1983 and attended Lamar University and Sam Houston State University. He spent 31 years in public education as a teacher, coach, athletic trainer, principal, and superintendent. 

Jim is a four-time nominee for the Texas Superintendent of the Year, was named Citizen of the Year and was given the Key to the City on his retirement.  He has written a memoir, has several published articles, and founded a consulting firm. He can be found on golf courses around the country and at www.largentconsulting.org.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Arthur Levine is a distinguished scholar of higher education at New York University, a senior fellow and president emeritus of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, and president emeritus of Columbia University's Teachers College. A thought leader in higher ed for decades, Arthur is also author and coauthor of a number of books, including The Great Upheaval, discussed here.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Denese Skinner has 29 years of leadership experience in higher education as well 7 years of successful public school service as a teacher and a coach. 

At Amarillo College, Denese coordinates the efforts of the talented team within the Division of Student Affairs to ensure student success by enhancing the classroom experience through purposeful co-curricular activities and support services.

Denese has prior higher education experience at West Texas A&M University where she served in various leadership roles: the director for Career Services, the interim vice president of Student Affairs, the interim dean of Enrollment Management, the senior director of Enrollment Management, and the director of Student Counseling Services.

A few of Denese’s professional honors include: twice receiving the WTAMU Clarence E. Thompson Staff Excellence Award; recipient of the WTAMU President’s Community Service Award; honored with the Texans Caring for Texans recognition given by State agencies in the Panhandle region. Also on Denese’s list of accomplishments, you will find that she was a head coach of a state championship girls’ basketball team that, at that time, set a national record of 12 state championships. Denese is a graduate of and past board member for Leadership Amarillo & Canyon. Denese was also a part of the efforts of Panhandle Twenty/20.

Denese is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Supervisor as well as a Certified Professional Vocational Counselor.   She is certified as a Six Sigma Black Belt as well as a Gallup-certified CliftonStrengths coach.  Denese holds a M.Ed. in School Counseling from West Texas A&M University and received her B.S. in Education from Texas Tech University. 

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

The earlier podcast with Patti can be found here, from September of 2020.

Patti Everitt is a consultant on state education policy with a focus on the impact of charter schools on public education.  She collaborates with many statewide education organizations, school districts, and parent groups to increase understanding about how charter schools operate and to make charter schools more transparent. Patti has worked with national and international foundations, school districts, and nonprofit organizations to develop innovative education and employment programs for youth.  She is a graduate of public schools, and her son attended Austin ISD from K – 12.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Episode produced by Darwin Carlisle. Music by Bret Boyer.

Greg Satell is a transformation & change expert, international keynote speaker, and bestselling author of Cascades: How to Create a Movement that Drives Transformational Change, whose work has appeared in Harvard Business Review, Barron’s, Forbes, Inc., Fast Company and other A-list publications. His earlier book, Mapping Innovation, was selected as one of the best business titles of 2017.

A Lecturer at The Wharton School, accomplished entrepreneur, executive and one of the foremost experts on transformation and change today, Greg speaks to audiences around the world and works with leading organizations to better compete in a disruptive marketplace. He is consistently ranked as one of the top innovation bloggers in the world and was named by IDG as one of “10 Digital Transformation Influencers to Follow Today.” Greg helps organizations overcome resistance to change and blaze a path toward a better future.

Greg was formerly a senior executive for the Publicis Groupe, one of the world’s largest marketing services companies. Before that, Co-CEO of KP Media, which he scaled from a small privately held company to a market leading, publicly held firm valued at $100 million with over 800 employees. The firm was sold to Ukraine Media Holding in 2010.

A global citizen, Greg spent 15 years living and working in Eastern Europe where, among other things, he managed a leading news organization during Ukraine’s Orange Revolution. You can learn more about Greg on his LinkedIn profile and follow him on Twitter @DigitalTonto. For rates, programs and testimonials, please visit his eSpeakers Page.

Greg is available for advisory, workshop and speaking engagements. If you would like to hire him for an engagement or an event, feel free to contact him directly at innovate (at) digitaltonto (dot) com 

Saldaña is a CIS alumnus, whose journey from former student supported by CIS to national leader of Communities In Schools, sends an inspiring message to young people nationwide about the power they have to write their own success story.

Most recently, Saldaña served as the Regional Advocacy Director for the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation and the Chair of the San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Agency-VIA. Prior to that, he successfully served four terms on the San Antonio City Council where he was first elected at age 24, becoming the youngest council person in that city’s history.

During his four terms, Saldaña focused on helping to meet the needs and harness the skills of young people and working families in his community. He championed the expansion of park space and community clinics in underserved areas, fought for increased funding for the city’s public transportation system, successfully campaigned for funding of the city’s early childhood initiative (Pre-K 4SA), and streamlined the city and county’s child truancy court. He chaired the city’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee, where he worked closely with state and federal legislators on law making and local policy development.

Concurrent with his elected position, he taught as an Adjunct Professor at Trinity University and Palo Alto Community College. Additionally, he worked with The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Office of Community Engagement and served as Chief Engagement Officer with KIPP San Antonio Public Schools.

In recognition of his accomplishments and enduring interest in the mission of Communities In Schools, in 2017, Communities In Schools invited Saldaña to serve on the CIS National Board of Directors, making him the first alumni to join the Board.

Saldaña holds a master’s degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education where he studied policy, organization and leadership studies, and two bachelor’s degrees in political science and communication from Stanford.

The son of immigrants who came to this country from Mexico, Saldaña was born and raised on the South Side of San Antonio and is the product of Title I Texas public schools. He is a proud first-generation American and first in his family to graduate from college. He and his wife Jessica are the happy parents of Eli, Olivia, and two rescue dogs.

More ways to follow the work of KHUB:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukrainebakerykindhouse/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kind_houseub?igshid=t3sdsnjp9gol

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KindHouseUB

Amazon Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2GEKZWSCSRZKJ?ref_=wl_share

Audio editing by Darwin Carlisle of First Class Reels.

Throughout his career, May has expanded opportunities for students who want to pursue a bachelor’s degree by starting at a community college. At the same time, he brings a strong commitment to improve the Dallas economy by helping to grow middle-class jobs. He is known both nationally and internationally as a result of his relentless advocacy for the role of community colleges in solving today’s most challenging social issues.

As a community leader and educator, he strongly believes in achieving academic excellence and has worked closely with public school districts, sponsored charter schools, career academies and early college programs.

A hallmark of his leadership approach for community colleges is the creation of public-private partnerships.

May previously served as president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System; system president for the Colorado Community College System; and president of Pueblo Community College before he accepted the system’s CEO position. Respected throughout the world, May has delivered consulting services to new community college initiatives in Japan, the United Kingdom, Russia and Saudi Arabia. He also served in leadership roles at Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas; Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas; and Vernon College in Vernon, Texas.

A native of East Texas, Dr. May earned his doctorate in education from Texas A&M-Commerce.

What has long passed for educational accountability has nothing to do with building trust, but rather, is based on the model used to force compliance with safety and other standards. This is a legitimate but also a limited model and must be deployed thoughtfully, because when such systems reach too far, they will create the very problems their creators intended to avoid. Their far-reaching use in schools has done just that, trapping them in a narrative of failure, with the poorest, most vulnerable of our students experiencing the greatest amount of harm as a result.

John has long believed that school accountability should be to students, their parents, and the communities they come from. His time and effort are dedicated to finding and putting in place what he calls True Accountability. True Accountability begins with the question: “what are your hopes and dreams for your children?” and then looks forward and determines what must be done to make that happen. Two questions show the power in this: was my child safe yesterday? is an important question but an after the fact report. Will my child be safe tomorrow? is the true accountability question, since it will be the one that directs future efforts. True Accountability in schools must be focused on generating enough trust with stakeholders that they entrust school leaders to shape schools in anticipation of the future.

John has spent his entire educational career focused on educational accountability. He started his career in testing when that was considered the best means for an educational accountability and has served as a state test director and an executive at a leading test publisher. He served as the director of accountability efforts for one of the leading educational organizations in the country, which is when he began formulating the ideas for what a True Accountability should look like. He founded bravEd (formerly Test Sense) in 2009, an organization dedicated to the True Accountability movement he helped create. John lives and works in San Antonio, TX.

Links to more of John's work: 

Texas Accountability Series

The Accountability Mindset

Policy Brief

Kel Seliger was first elected to the Texas Senate in 2004. Senate District 31 spans 37 counties from the Panhandle to the Permian Basin and includes Amarillo, Midland, Odessa, and Big Spring.

Born in Amarillo and raised in Borger, Senator Seliger is a graduate of Borger public schools and Dartmouth College. He spent 35 years in the steel industry.

Senator Seliger currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and sits on the Senate committees for Health & Human Services, Natural Resources & Economic Development, Veteran Affairs & Border Security, and Nominations.

Prior to his election to the Senate, Seliger served four terms as Mayor of Amarillo and as a member of the Amarillo City Commission and the Amarillo Civil Service Commission.

He and his wife, Nancy, reside in Amarillo, and have two sons, Jonathan and Matthew, and a granddaughter, Collins Gray Seliger.

David Hudson became president of Xcel Energy’s New Mexico and Texas Southwestern Public Service Company (SPS) operations Jan. 1, 2014.  SPS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc. and a member of the Southwest Power Pool, a regional transmission organization. SPS supplies retail electric utility services to 400,000 customers in eastern New Mexico and West Texas, in addition to wholesale power and interstate transmission services. 

The company owns and maintains over 7,700 miles of transmission and more than 16,000 miles of distribution lines in the region spanning southwestern Kansas, the Oklahoma Panhandle, the Texas Panhandle and South Plains, and east and southeast New Mexico. It owns and maintains 500 substations and eight power generating plants, totaling just over 4,900 megawatts of generation capacity.  SPS recently placed into service two large wind projects including the 478 MW Hale Wind Project south of Plainview, TX, and the 522 MW Sagamore Wind Project south of Portales, NM.

Hudson is on the board of and previously served as president of the United Way of Amarillo & Canyon. Hudson also serves on the board of directors for the Boy Scouts of America’s Golden Spread Council and the board of directors for the West Texas A&M University Foundation.

Hudson earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Texas Tech University, and a Master of Business Administration from West Texas A&M University.  He is a licensed professional engineer by the state of Texas. He is also a registered Texas high school football official.

Carol A. Scott, APR, Fellow PRSA is chairman of the Community College Association of Texas Trustees board.

Carol was first elected to the Del Mar College Board of Regents in November of 2014 and re-elected in 2020. She is serving her second term as DMC Board Chair.

Carol is a public affairs consultant from Corpus Christi serving a variety of business sectors including energy, manufacturing, refining, financial, retail and government. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America’s College of Fellows and received PRSA’s Paul M. Lund Public Service Award.

Carol is a graduate of Texas A&M University – Kingsville. She is past president of the Javelina Alumni Association, serves on the President’s Leadership Council and is a Distinguished Alumni from the University. Previously she was elected to the Corpus Christi Independent School District Board of Trustees and served three terms as president of the board. She is a past president or chairman of the Texas Public Relations Association, Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, and the Arts Council among others. She is a graduate of Leadership Corpus Christi and Leadership Texas.

Dr. Manuel Gonzalez serves as Director for the Community College Association of Texas Trustees (CCATT), a membership organization representing more than 400 elected trustees and regents across the state’s 50 public community college districts. Dr. Gonzalez builds trustee and regent capacity through professional development, supporting CCATT’s leadership and committees, and engaging CCATT members with legislative issues and strategies coordinated by the Texas Association of Community Colleges (TACC). 

Prior to joining CCATT, Dr. Gonzalez served as Senior Institutional Support Consultant and Project Success Operations Lead for Trellis Company where he supported a portfolio of under-resourced 2-year and 4-year Minority-Serving Institutions across the south/southeast region. Dr. Gonzalez’s career includes work for the University of Texas at Austin, the Texas House of Representatives, and the White House Domestic Policy Council. 

Dr. Gonzalez holds a baccalaureate degree from Trinity University, an M.Ed. in College & University Personnel Administration and Ph.D. in Higher Education Leadership & Policy, both from the University of Texas at Austin. During his higher education academic career, Dr. Gonzalez received several graduate fellowships to support his studies, along with various recognitions commending his scholarship. 

In his free time, Dr. Gonzalez enjoys spending time with his wife Andrea and their three young children, watching his favorite teams (Chicago Cubs & San Antonio Spurs), and weightlifting.

Coach - Personal Leadership

Podcaster – Educators Leading Change

Author - Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change

Jonathan brings more than 15 years of experience in education as a teacher, organizer and nonprofit leader. He serves as the State Director of Texas, where he works with and supports partners statewide to advance educational equity for students of color and from low-income backgrounds.

For more info:

Learn More about Ed Trust in Texas

Why Equity Matters in Texas

87th Texas Legislature Regular Session Wrap-Up

Prior to joining Ed Trust, Jonathan worked at the Commit Partnership, where he led community engagement and advocacy efforts to bring together a wide range of systems leaders and directly impacted stakeholders to improve cradle-to-career outcomes for students in Dallas County. Before that, Jonathan worked as a middle school and special needs teacher, and continues to engage directly with educators, students and other leaders to deepen learning and commitment to racial equity.

A native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Jonathan credits his public schooling experience for instilling a deeply-held appreciation for diverse educators and peers and for exposing him to the wide, persistent opportunity gaps affecting students of color and students from low-income families. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University in American Studies with a concentration in Ethnic Studies.

The article mentioned by Brad on transfers, written by Clifford Adelman, can be found here.

Dr. Brad Johnson is Vice President for Community College Relations at West Texas A&M University. He has served in higher education for the past 27 years, working in various roles from educator to administrator and more recently as President of Northeast Texas Community College in Mt Pleasant, Texas

Brad grew up in Canyon, and raised his family in Amarillo before moving to East Texas.  He returned to the Panhandle in 2018 to assist with the implementation of the University’s new strategic vision.

Dr. Johnson holds degrees from Texas Tech University and West Texas A&M University, as well as his doctorate from University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Prior to his move into higher education, Dr. Johnson owned an advertising business as well as a 13-year private practice in psychotherapy and family counseling. 

Dr. Johnson lives with his wife of 41 years, Vicki.  They have two married sons and nine grandchildren. 

Darwin produces this podcast (most of the time!), and does a great job through his business, First Class Reels.

A former teen mother who put herself through the College of William & Mary with her three-month old daughter in tow, Nicole now works every day to change the statistic that less than 2% of teen mothers will earn their degrees before age 30. Generation Hope rallies around teen parents to help them earn college degrees and forge a path to economic opportunity and is now expanding its work nationally to help colleges and universities and policymakers across the country better meet the needs of the nearly 4 million parenting students who are working toward their degrees.

Nicole is a member of the board of trustees of Trinity Washington University and a National Advisory Board member of The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice. Most recently, she was honored with the inaugural Black Voices for Black Justice Award, which “recognizes incredible leaders who have been on the frontlines working to dismantle the deep-rooted, racist systems that have plagued our country for centuries,” and the Boulder Fund award through Education Leaders of Color, which “supports the innovations of leaders of color in education.” She has received various awards, including being honored as a CNN Hero and the national grand prize winner of the Roslyn S. Jaffe Award, and has been featured on major news outlets including “Good Morning America,” CNN, “NBC Nightly News,” and The Washington Post. She is also a nationally known author and speaker with her next, highly-anticipated book, Pregnant Girl, released by Beacon Press in the spring of 2021.

Nicole holds a Master’s degree in Social Policy and Communication from George Mason University and a Bachelor’s degree in English from the College of William & Mary. Nicole and her husband, Donté Lewis, live in Maryland with their four children.

Dr. Pan received his Bachelors of Arts degree in Creative Studies – Biology Emphasis with high honors from the University of California Santa Barbara in 2002 and his Doctor of Philosophy in Geology – Paleobotany Emphasis from the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas in 2007. Dr. Pan served as the Curator of Science at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History from 2008 – 2012 and as the Executive Director of the Don Harrington Discovery Center in Amarillo, Texas from 2012 – 2020. Dr. Pan joined the Museum of Texas Tech University as its executive director in May 2020. Dr. Pan actively conducts research in paleobotany, entomology, and malacology and publishes scientific articles on prehistoric African forest plants, abalone systematics, velvet ant mimicry and evolution, and the ecology, behavior, and conservation of native bees. Pan is also a research associate at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas(B.R.I.T.) in Fort Worth (BRIT), serves on the Texas Tech University Black Cultural Center’s Advisory Committee, Texas Tech Public Media Community Advisory Board, and Board of Trustees of Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch.

Seth is an entrepreneur, best-selling author, speaker, AND teacher. In addition to launching one of the most popular blogs in the world, which Anette reads daily, he has written 20 best-selling books, including The Dip, Linchpin, Purple Cow, Tribes, and What To Do When It's Your Turn (And It's Always Your Turn), Thiis and his newest book is The Practice, Shipping Creative Work.

Seth also founded two companies, Squidoo and Yoyodyne (acquired by Yahoo!).

Seth has lots of thoughts on education, including his manifesto Stop Stealing Dreams, his TED Talk, and a course on Udemy called Seth Godin on Learning and Education. Seth has inspired Anette for years now, and he helps thousands learn through his Akimbo courses, including Anette, through The Podcasting Fellowship!

Thank you, Seth and Maria, for talking education today!

To learn more about Maria, listen to Episode #34.

As Program Director of the Economic Opportunity Team, Chandra oversees Every Texan's work on education, workforce development and job quality. She joined CPPP in 2010 and focused on school finance and education policy ranging from early education to higher education access and success. Prior to joining the Center, Chandra was the manager of Advocacy and Public Policy with the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) in New York City. At WPA, she educated formerly incarcerated women on the legislative process and researched options for pregnant women in the criminal justice system. Chandra has also served as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow with the Congressional Hunger Center with placements in Tucson, Arizona and Washington, DC. Chandra earned a Master of Public Administration from New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a Bachelor of Arts from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

There are loads of great resources on the Trellis Foundation website, including the main study covered, "Studying on Empty," focused on food insecurity among college students and more.

Jeff Webster has overseen numerous studies on college affordability, student debt burden, and student success. His area pioneered the use of predictive modeling to improve student loan default prevention efforts, evaluated a state financial education program, assessed the efficacy of federal student loan counseling, and administers the Student Financial Wellness Survey. Jeff has presented to many groups including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, and the Financial Literacy and Education Commission.

Jeff loves roots music and formerly was a freelance music writer for the Austin American-Statesman. He once performed folk songs – in Hungarian -- in the second largest concert hall in Budapest, Hungary.

With a degree in jazz guitar and years of experience both playing and teaching, Bret Boyer understands the importance of the arts in education. Bret is Anette's ukulele instructor, and their lessons most often happen via FaceTime, as he lives in Austin. Anette and Bret discuss his knowledge of many kinds of music, as well as his background in playing and teaching various instruments. Bret tries to adapt his lessons to fit the student's personal interests, to better engage them. Anette shares the challenges that some of the varying approaches Bret uses challenge her in a way that mirrors the challenges many of our youth face on a daily basis in our schools. Enjoy this slightly different though very relevant episode! And enjoy listening to Bret play!

Educational Career

• Jay has 36 total years’ experience in public education. He has been principal at Amarillo Area Center for Advanced Learning (AACAL) since 2008 and has served as principal in AISD for a total of 26 years, with stops at Forest Hill Elementary and Travis Middle School. He has also served as assistant principal at Tascosa High School and associate principal at Palo Duro High School. Before that, Jay taught English and coached tennis at Pampa after doing his student teaching in Rota, Spain.
• In June 2021, Jay will become the principal of AmTech Career Academy

Recent Awards

• 2019 HEB North Texas Secondary Principal of the Year
• 2019 Elbert K Fretwell Outstanding Educator of the year by the Golden Spread Council of Boy Scouts

Community Involvement

• Deacon, First Baptist Church
• Amarillo College Regent
• Secretary, Community College Association of Texas Trustees Board of Directors
• Panhandle PBS Board of Directors
• Amarillo College Foundation Board of Directors
• Chamber of Commerce Governmental Advisory Council
• Amarillo Police Training Advisory Board
• WT Enterprise Center Board of Directors
• Panhandle Workforce Development Board of Directors, Executive Committee
• Amarillo Technology Initiative Board of Directors
• Golden Spread Council, Boy Scouts of America Board of Directors
• Maverick Boys' and Girls' Clubs in Amarillo Board of Directors
• Co-Founder, Gateway to Health Careers

Patrick was elected at age 25 to a 6-year term on the Amarillo College Board of Regents in May 2015 where he currently serves as the board secretary. After graduating from Palo Duro High School in 2008, Patrick, a first-generation college student and a native of Amarillo, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in pre-law studies from West Texas A&M University in 2012. He decided to forego law school and obtained his teaching certificate instead. In 2014, he earned a Master of Arts degree in teaching from WTAMU. Also, Patrick earned a Master’s in Educational Leadership from West Texas A&M University in December 2020.

During his tenure at Travis Middle School, Patrick was recognized as the 2015-2016 Teacher of the Year. After completing four years as a classroom educator, he was promoted to serve as the Curriculum Assessment Specialist at Whittier Elementary. 

Patrick received the Influential Community Leadership Award from Pentecostal Temple Church in February 2017. In November 2018, he was the recipient of the Community Service Award from the Amarillo Branch NAACP (6151), and in May 2019, was recognized with at Top 2% Educator Award from Palo Duro High School.

In his spare time, Patrick enjoys playing basketball, reading, and watching political documentaries. He is happily married to his high school “sweetheart,” Deana, and the two enjoy spoiling their Yorkshire Terrier named Lulu. 

Jim Larimore is Chief Officer for Equity in Learning at Riiid (pronounced “rid”) Labs, where he leads strategy, programs and partnerships to leverage Riiid’s strengths in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to close gaps in educational opportunity, achievement and student success.

Jim previously led ACT’s Center for Equity in Learning, served as deputy director for student success at the Gates Foundation, and has been a student affairs leader at campuses including Stanford, Dartmouth, Swarthmore, and NYU Abu Dhabi.

Jim has served on the Gates Millennium Scholars Advisory Council, the Stanford Alumni Association Board of Directors, the International Student Affairs Advisory Board for the Universidad de Monterrey in the State of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, and the Advisory Board of the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice.

He currently serves on the advisory councils of the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions, the Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success at American University, and the Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of Iowa’s College of Education. Jim also serves on the Board of Directors of the Branch Alliance for Educator Diversity, which is based in Austin, and the NROC Project, based in Monterey, California, which works with educational organizations to promote student success in math and English at scale.
 

Jim is a first generation college graduate with a Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University – Commerce (formerly East Texas State University), and a Master’s degree from Stanford.

Linda Crompton (Dallas, Texas) is an international thought leader with a passion for helping women advance personally, financially and professionally. With more than 25 years experience in leading organizations to achieve both profitability and mission-driven objectives in various markets, she has served as senior executive, consultant and strategy advisor in nonprofit and for-profit sectors.

Linda began her career in the Canadian banking industry in 1987, where she advocated for organizational and regulatory change. In less than 10 years, she made history, becoming Canada’s first female bank president. Linda served as Founding President/CEO of Citizens Bank of Canada in Vancouver from 1996 through 2001. Since 2001, she has called the U.S. home, when she was named President and CEO of the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute. From 2007 to 2013, Linda was named President/CEO of BoardSource. A lifelong advocate for women, she has used a gender lens in her work to ensure equality and leadership opportunities for women. In the banking industry, Linda spearheaded the creation of Return to Work, a program designed to encourage women to stay engaged with their work while taking maternity leave. As CEO of Citizens Trust, the predecessor to Citizens Bank of Canada, she revised loan criteria in order to level the playing field for female entrepreneurs.

Linda has also been a columnist for Woman to Woman magazine and, in more recent years, advocated for more women candidates in corporate board roles. Since 2013, she has been an adviser to organizations wanting to expand their capacity and respond to new market demands. Linda has served as President & CEO of Leadership Women since 2015, focusing on expanding Leadership Women’s role in preparing women to lead in an increasingly global environment.

Follow the links to videos of Leadership Café and our 2020 Virtual Summit. 

Dr. Mark David Milliron is an award-winning leader, author, speaker, and consultant who works with universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, foundations, corporations, associations, and government agencies across the country and around the world. He serves as Senior Vice President and Executive Dean of the Teachers College at Western Governors University (WGU), a nonprofit university founded by 19 U.S. governors more than 25 years ago. WGU has since become a beacon of instructional innovation, affordable access, competency-based education, and workforce connection, serving over 130,000 full-time students nationwide. Founded with support from the U.S. Department of Education, WGU’s Teachers College is now the largest college of education in the U.S., serving more than 30,000 teachers, leaders, and other education innovators in all 50 states.

In addition to his work with WGU, Mark helps catalyze positive change in education through his service on the boards and advisory councils of leading-edge education organizations, including the Trellis Foundation;Bennett College; the Global Online Academy;Civitas Learning; the Mastery Transcript Consortium; the Hope Center for College, Community, & Justice; and ISKME/Open Education Resource Commons. He also holds an appointment as a Professor of Practice in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin.

In 1999, The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education named Mark a Distinguished Graduate for his service to the education field. In 2007, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) presented him with its prestigious  National Leadership Award. In 2013 he was inducted into the United States Distance Learning Association’s Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was chosen by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the “Top Technology Innovators” in higher education; and in 2018, Mark was listed by EdTechDigest as one of the Top Influencers in the education technology field.

Regardless of all of his activities and accomplishments, he will quickly tell you that the most important job and the greatest blessing in his life is serving as Julia’s husband, and as father to Alexandra, Richard, Marcus, and Max.

Dr. Michelle Smith, Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Raise Your Hand Texas, shares her perspective on public education, with experience that ranges from her time as a classroom teacher to being a lobbyist at the Texas Legislature.

David D. Anderson

David Anderson joined HillCo Partners in 2003 and represents the interests of the firm’s clients at the Texas Legislature and with various state agencies.

David is widely recognized throughout Texas for his expertise in public education policies and issues.  Formerly the Managing Director for Curriculum at the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Anderson has expertise on a wide range of education policy issues.  Prior to his work at TEA, David spent eighteen years in the educational publishing industry, including sixteen as a regional vice president for three publishers. He was a teacher and school administrator in Austin ISD and worked in an administrative role in both Killeen ISD and ESC 13 early in his career.

Since joining HillCo Partners, Anderson has worked with numerous clients in the educational arena, including the Texas School Alliance, the Texas Fast Growth School Coalition, and several Texas independent school districts.  His client schools enroll more than three-fourths of the students in Texas and he has developed relationships with school leaders in a variety of positions and in every corner of state. David also works with Raise Your Hand Texas, THSCA, and TASBO. He has advised non-profit and private sector clients about the pursuit of state, regional, and local contracts and helped develop agreements between private sector entities.

As an advisor to school leaders on a myriad of topics, David has developed keen insights into economic and program needs in Texas public schools. Superintendents, senior level district administrators, and school board members rely on his advice and recommendations as important financial and program decisions are made in school districts across the state. His in-depth experience in a variety of roles makes him a valued consultant for school leaders in Texas.

Over the course of his career, Anderson has earned the respect and goodwill of key decision-makers in Texas public education, as well as among the members of both Houses of the Legislature and the State Board of Education.  

Kelly Barnes

Kelly Barnes, who joined HillCo Partners in 2019, focuses on assisting the firm’s clients in various important areas of public policy.

Barnes worked for six years in the Texas House of Representatives, prior to joining HillCo. He served as chief of staff for a State Representative, where he helped guide many pieces of legislation all the way to the Governor’s desk. The office Barnes worked in possessed the highest bill passage rate of any other House office during the 84th legislative session.

Prior to working in the Texas House, Barnes was a government affairs consultant for the Texas Association of Business (TAB). While at TAB he assisted hundreds of companies and local chambers of commerce to improve the state’s economy, workforce, and quality of life.

Barnes also worked in Washington, DC as a legislative aide for a U.S. Congressman from Texas.

Raised in Austin, Barnes received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Spanish at Texas Christian University (TCU), and a Master’s degree from George Washington University. He lives in Austin with his wife.

Nelda Hunter

Nelda Hunter is a consultant at HillCo Partners and works primarily in the areas of state budget and fiscal policy, as well as health and human services.

Hunter has over fifteen years of experience working within Texas government, and her various roles provide her with a wealth of perspectives on legislative process, budget and policy development, and state agency operations.  She served as Director for the House Committee on Appropriations while simultaneously serving as Chief of Staff for Chairman John Zerwas, M.D.  While overseeing the development of two state budgets, Hunter also led the advancement and passage of several statewide policies, including a constitutional amendment to extend and fund the Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas, and a bill that repealed the widely unpopular Driver Responsibility Program and that reconfigures and preserves trauma funding for the state’s hospitals.  She recently volunteered her time and expertise to the Governor’s Strike Force to Open Texas, which is focused on responding to the novel coronavirus.  Hunter was honored for her legislative work by several groups, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACSCAN), the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, the Coalition of Texans With Disabilities, and the Texas Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs.

Hunter received her Master of Public Service and Administration from the Bush School of Government & Public Service at Texas A&M University in 2004.  She was named a Distinguished Alumna of the Bush School in May 2014.

Kyle Mauro

Kyle Mauro joined HillCo Partners in 2020 and focuses primarily on HillCo’s health care practice.

Kyle’s most recent experience is his time working in the Texas Legislature guiding legislative strategy and policy development as the Chief of Staff and Committee Director to a senior member of the Texas House of Representatives who chaired the House Committee on Human Services.

During his time in the Capitol, Kyle worked to craft legislation related to Medicaid managed care, Medicaid’s prescription drug benefit, oversight of the state’s health and human services agency and more. While primarily focusing on health care, he worked within a broad array of policy areas and helped to pass legislation related to taxation, gaming, transportation, telecommunications, and the electric industry.

Kyle leverages his experience and relationships in the health policy arena providing insight to those inside the capitol and superlative advocacy on behalf of his clients.

Kyle is a graduate of Texas A&M University. He lives in Austin with his wife Megan and their Great Dane, Barnaby.

"I'm a new bird nerd, but an old nature lover. After years of camping with my husband and visiting national and state parks all over the country, in 2019 I started birding in earnest from my home base in Amarillo, Texas. Counting birds, identifying subspecies and posting lists on eBird are all recent hobbies for me. But walking a beautiful trail at sunrise, listening to bird calls, and trying to spot wildlife is my lifelong passion.

"I am blessed to be married to Rohn Butterfield, who teaches Earth and Space Science at Caprock High School in Amarillo. His endless curiosity and vast knowledge help me to appreciate and better understand both nature and life. We have an amazing adult son, Hart, three poorly-trained but very sweet rescue dogs and one lazy basement kitty.

"When I am not outdoors, I am a full-time employment lawyer in Amarillo and have been for 32 years. I help my business clients comply with the laws prohibiting discrimination, the overtime and minimum wage requirements, the Family and Medical Leave Act and other employment regulations. I practice with the firm of Wright Wilmarth Byrd, PLLC."

Anette would like to encourage you to help NTFB or your local food bank. The High Plains Food Bank serves the Texas Panhandle.

Anette and Trisha met through Leadership Women programs and board service.

Trisha Cunningham is President and CEO of the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), a $200 million nonprofit focused on eradicating hunger in a diverse 13-county service area. It is estimated that more than 960,000 in this area do not know where they will find their next healthy meal. Through direct and feeding partner programs, Cunningham and the NTFB team of 180 employees and thousands of volunteers provided access to 97 million meals in their most current fiscal year. This was 20 million more than their prior year and it exceeded their 2025 goal of 92 million meals five years ahead of schedule.

Prior to North Texas Food Bank, Cunningham was a 30-year global marketing, communications, branding, and public affairs executive at Texas Instruments where she most recently served as Chief Citizenship Officer. While there, she founded the Dallas Fort Worth Corporate Citizenship Network creating a collaborative model for area corporations to strengthen social impact and sustainability.

John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Educate Texas, previously served as Executive Director of the Capital Area Training Foundation (now Skillpoint Alliance) where he worked to build relationships between the business sector, educational interest groups, and community partners for the benefit of Central Texans. Concurrently, he served on the Austin ISD Board of Trustees and as the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President for Education and Workforce Development. He spent four years on Capitol Hill working on education and workforce development policies for the US House of Representatives and Senate. John began his career in education as a middle school teacher and coach. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and master’s degree from the LBJ School of Public Affairs.

Shout out to my friend, Diane Wyzga, author of the Stories of Women Who Walk podcast, for the inspiration for today's episode!

Dr. Brian T. Woods, a longtime Northside ISD educator, became Superintendent in July 2012. He began his career in Northside in 1992 as a social studies teacher and has also worked as an Assistant Principal, Vice Principal, Principal, Assistant Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent. Dr. Woods has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree and doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Dr. Woods is President of the Texas Association of School Administrators and is a member of the Go Public Steering Committee, the Board of P16Plus Council of Greater Bexar County, and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce.  He also serves as an officer in Texas School Alliance.

Dr. Woods and his wife Meredith have a son who attends a Northside ISD high school.

Ross is executive editor and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, the only member-supported, digital-first, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. He writes regular columns on politics, government and public policy. Before joining the Tribune, he was editor and co-owner of Texas Weekly. He did a 28-month stint in government with the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Before that, he reported for the Houston Chronicle, the Dallas Times Herald, as a Dallas-based freelancer for regional and national magazines and newspapers, and for radio stations in Denton and Dallas.

Chris' expertise is bringing complex public data from the Texas Ethics Commission to regular citizens through easy-to-understand graphics and clean language. Chris is respected by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents for his non-partisan approach to the truth of campaign finance in Texas. By understanding where the money comes from, people can understand who their legislator is really representing. Find his website at http://christackettnow.com, and watch his introductory video, Charting Texas Politics. Take Anette's challenge and see what you can learn from the Texas Ethics Commission website.

Some key info on Chris:

- Granbury ISD school board trustee 2014-2017

- Co-founder of Project Educo, a Public Education Scorecard for the Texas Legislature

- Former executive board member of Texans for Public Education

- Source for Texas Monthly, Austin Statesman, and Texas Tribune

- Dad to two public school kids, one in college, one in High School, and Husband to Mendi

- Group Director of Human Resources for large beverage company in North Dallas

- Makes waaaaaay too many pie charts

Twitter for Chris and Mendi Tackett: @christackettnow & @mentack.

His website.

More about Craig.

Movers Mindset.

Patti Everitt is a consultant on state education policy with a focus on the impact of charter schools on public education.  She collaborates with many statewide education organizations, school districts, and parent groups to increase understanding about how charter schools operate and to make charter schools more transparent. Patti has worked with national and international foundations, school districts, and nonprofit organizations to develop innovative education and employment programs for youth.  She is a graduate of public schools, and her son attended Austin ISD from K – 12.

The link to the San Marcos testimony can be found here.

Estela Mara Bensimon is Dean’s Professor in Educational Equity at the USC Rossier School of Education and the Founding Director of the Center for Urban Education (CUE). Known for her creation of the term "equity-minded," Dr. Bensimon has worked tirelessly to normalize racial equity, helping higher education leaders, faculty, and staff feel empowered to address the subject on campuses across the country and make changes leading to improved outcomes for minoritized students. Find more info on CUE's Equity Tools here. Links to some of Dr. Bensimon's work on equity can be found here and here.

Peter J. Hammer was named the A. Alfred Taubman Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School in fall 2018. Hammer has taught at Wayne Law since 2003 and is the director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne Law. The Keith Center is dedicated to promoting the educational, economic and political empowerment of under-represented communities in urban areas and to ensuring that the phrase “equal justice under law” applies to all members of society. Hammer was instrumental in editing and compiling Judge Damon J. Keith’s biography, Crusader for Justice: Federal Judge Damon J. Keith (2013).

Hammer has become a leading voice on the economic and social issues impacting the city of Detroit, and has added new courses to the law school curriculum on “Race, Law and Social Change in Southeast Michigan” and “Re-Imagining Development in Detroit: Institutions, Law & Society.”

Hammer has spent more than 25 years engaging issues of human rights, law and development in Cambodia. He was a founding board member and past president of Legal Aid of Cambodia, an organization providing free legal services to Cambodia’s poor. He is presently a board member of the Center for Khmer studies and the Life & Hope Association, an organization in Siem Reap, Cambodia, founded and run by Buddhists monks to address the needs of orphans, vulnerable children and at-risk young women.

When in Southeast Michigan rather than Southeast Asia, Hammer is equally engaged in the community. He is a member of the board of directors of the ACLU of Michigan. He works actively with groups such as The Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion, We the People of Detroit and the Detroit People’s Platform.

Prior to entering academia, he was an associate at the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers, where he maintained an active practice in antitrust, health law and the presentation of expert economic testimony. Hammer received his undergraduate education at Gonzaga University and completed his professional and graduate education at the University of Michigan, where he earned a J.D. and a Ph.D. (economics). Before entering private practice, he clerked for the Hon. Alfred T. Goodwin, former chief judge of the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Hammer spent eight years on the faculty of the University of Michigan Law School. He was the first openly gay professor ever to be considered for tenure at the law school and the first male in the living memory of the institution to be denied tenure. The final vote was 18 in favor of tenure and 12 opposed (2 votes short of the required two-thirds majority). Hammer tells the story of his experiences attempting to internally grieve the tenure denial in an article, “In the Shadow of Gratz and Grutter: Grieving Diversity at the University of Michigan.”

And if you wonder what the image is, Anette mentions it at the very beginning! 

Glenda is an educator and missionary. Glenda has given her heart to education, children, and the war on poverty. She not only is an assistant principal by day, she also runs a nonprofit to raise money for the funds to care for orphans and for the elderly and disabled that live in the active war zone there. Kind House Ukraine Bakery, KHUB saves lives with the aid of medicine, food, and coal to heat the homes that have not had electricity, running water, or gas since the war began in 2014. In the winter of 2018-2019 KHUB heated nineteen homes, this past winter, 2019-202, they heated thirty-three homes.

Kind House Ukraine Bakery is in her kitchen. Daily there are “porch presents” that arrive on her porch. There is flour, sugar, butter, eggs, powdered sugar and the list goes on and on. 98% of everything that is baked in the bakery comes from these donated porch presents. People call, text, send messages through our Face Book page to order all the things that they would like to order. There are no prices. She believes that people can and should give from the heart.

Glenda taught in the classroom for six years, worked with curriculum for two years, and has been and assistant principal for the past six years. Glenda says that she believes that children are children no matter what socioeconomic status or part of the world they live in. They are the same as people. Poverty is poverty. People are people. 

To follow Kind House Ukraine Bakery on Facebook, click here.

Ann Beeson is CEO of Every Texan, formerly known as the Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP). Ann embraces creative strategies to champion policy changes that improve people’s lives. A renowned social justice lawyer, former philanthropy executive, and frequent public speaker, Beeson joined Every Texan in 2013. Under Ann's leadership, Every Texan has deepened its commitment to gender, racial, and ethnic equity and strengthened its state and local advocacy. Prior to Every Texan, Ann was Executive Director of U.S. Programs at the Open Society Foundations, where she promoted human rights, justice, and accountability nationwide. She was national Associate Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union for 12 years, where she argued twice before the U.S. Supreme Court to protect free speech and privacy on the Internet. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and a law degree from Emory University. 

Since its founding in 1985, Every Texan has expanded opportunity and equity for Texans of all backgrounds. Based in Austin, Every Texan is an organization pursuing social justice through public policy. Their dedicated team researches, analyzes, and advocates for public policies to expand equitable access to quality health care, food security, education, and good jobs. Learn more at everytexan.org.

Todd McLees is an internationally known strategist, speaker, and thought leader. His focus is on the convergence of people, emerging technologies and Exponential Collaboration.

He helps prepare business leaders and educators to effectively anticipate and react to disruptive changes in technology and its impact on education and work. As an innovation strategist, Todd has worked with diverse teams in corporations and academia to address market-driven paradigm shifts.

He helps organizations identify their strategic advantage during an era of unprecedented opportunities for growth. His corporate clients range from small and medium sized enterprises to publicly traded, Global 100 companies. He assists corporate executives in rethinking their business models, product and service offerings, and organizational structures to become resilient in the face of constantly evolving markets.

Todd works with academic and workforce development leaders to prepare students and workers by developing Exponential Skills related to the Future of Work. He works closely with the Center for Occupational Research and Development, as a regular contributor to Preparing Technicians for the Future of Work throughout the United States.

He works with economic regions and their industry partners to better understand the regional impact of Exponential Technologies and the Future of Work to chart a course for sustainable success.

He is the architect of TENxOS and the Exponential Skills frameworks. His strategic frameworks are used to construct and operationalize Innovation Ecosystems.

Todd serves on multiple boards including the Higher Education Regional Alliance, Pathways High, the advisory board at Marquette University’s Center for Supply Chain Management, and ADHD America. 

After twenty years of her international corporate career in product development, technology, innovation, and marketing, Maria advises enterprises on their growth strategy through marketing, innovation, mergers and acquisitions. She is also the host of Impact Learning, a podcast that guides students and professionals to design their learning journey and build the life they want. Together with her guests, Maria explores the future of learning through the stories of those who are disrupting how we learn, live and work today and in the future. The podcast also serves as a platform that offers resources and tools to help listeners navigate the future of learning and create meaningful work. Maria has lived in four countries on three continents thus far and loves to travel. She enjoys reading, writing, taking long walks and connecting with people from all walks of life around the world.

Kate Rogers brings more than 25 years of experience in public relations, community engagement and nonprofit leadership to her work at the Charles Butt Foundation where she leads efforts to support and improve the quality of public education offered to all Bexar County students.  This follows 18 years in corporate communications at H-E-B where she earned a reputation for creating programs that positively impact the organization and its community, from an employee stock program to an early literacy program and the state’s largest monetary awards program for public school professionals.  

Kate founded SA Works and a network of career-themed high schools known as the Centers for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) with the goal of building stronger partnerships with industry and the local school community.  Most recently, Kate served as the founding President of the Holdsworth Center, a leadership institute for school administrators.  

When she is not working, you can find her cheering on her two sons at their favorite sporting events or sweating it out in the hot yoga room, her “ultimate stress relief.”

As Program Director of the Economic Opportunity Team, Chandra oversees the Center for Public Policy and Priorities' work on education, workforce development and job quality. She joined CPPP in 2010 and focused on school finance and education policy ranging from early education to higher education access and success. Prior to joining the Center, Chandra was the manager of Advocacy and Public Policy with the Women’s Prison Association (WPA) in New York City. At WPA, she educated formerly incarcerated women on the legislative process and researched options for pregnant women in the criminal justice system. Chandra has also served as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow with the Congressional Hunger Center with placements in Tucson, Arizona and Washington, DC. Chandra earned a Master of Public Administration from New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a Bachelor of Arts from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington.

The mission of TASA is to promote, provide, and develop leaders who create and sustain student-centered schools and develop future-ready students.

Brown, who holds a doctorate in education administration from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in education administration from Texas State University, and a bachelor’s degree in government with honors from The University of Texas at Austin, has a wealth of experience in public education.

Prior to joining the TASA staff in 2018, he led Alamo Heights ISD as superintendent for 10 years after serving as a teacher, assistant principal and principal, and in district-level positions in human resources and communications in Southwest, Round Rock, New Braunfels and Alamo Heights ISDs. Dr. Brown has also taught graduate courses at Texas State University and guest lectured at Trinity University.

During his career, he has held top leadership roles in TASA, the Texas School Coalition, the Texas Association of Mid-Size Schools, and the Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Dr. Brown is a passionate advocate for public education and believes that quality teachers and a supportive community are critical components to the success of children and to the continued success of our democratic way of life.

There are loads of great resources on the Trellis Foundation website, including the main study covered, "Studying on Empty," focused on food insecurity among college students and more.

Jeff Webster has overseen numerous studies on college affordability, student debt burden, and student success. His area pioneered the use of predictive modeling to improve student loan default prevention efforts, evaluated a state financial education program, assessed the efficacy of federal student loan counseling, and administers the Student Financial Wellness Survey. Jeff has presented to many groups including the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, and the Financial Literacy and Education Commission.

Jeff loves roots music and formerly was a freelance music writer for the Austin American-Statesman. He once performed folk songs – in Hungarian -- in the second largest concert hall in Budapest, Hungary.

Learn about becoming a teacher, or filling out the FAFSA! Karla covers it all!

She worked as a disc jockey, medical assistant, and journalist before teaching, as she says, chose her.

Shanna taught middle and high school English in low-income schools in Amarillo, Texas for 14 years. Because Amarillo is a resettlement area for refugees, students as diverse as the Karen people of Myanmar to the Bantu people of Somalia, make up classes in her former assignment at Palo Duro High School.

Currently, Shanna is an Equity and Access Fellow in residency at the Council of Chief State School Officers to complete a doctorate in Education Leadership at Harvard Graduate School of Education. At Harvard, she was a Teaching Fellow and is part of two teams: one, an education startup for STEM learning, the other, a leadership consultancy.

A former reporter for the Amarillo Globe-News, Shanna won awards for reporting on health issues, schools, and music criticism. Her writing has appeared in Education Leadership, Education Week, the Washington Post and the New York Observer; currently, she writes for multiple publications on Medium.

Her book, Think Like Socrates: Invite Wonder and Empathy Into the Classroom, was  chosen by the National Education Association Foundation and PDK International for their membership.

Mark Nair is the chair of Business Systems and Emerging Technology at Amarillo College where he teaches economics and technology. He has spent more than 20 years building digital platforms that handle digital content, rights management, and digital distribution. He has an extensive patent portfolio on a variety of innovative technologies. As president of Redigi, Inc, he built the world’s first used digital marketplace with blockchain and crypto tokens and currencies. He is a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors, a founding business mentor for the Texas Tech Innovation Hub, and a National Science Foundation iCorp mentor.

He has worked closely with large retailers, including Walmart, to develop digital marketing strategies for in-store promotions and events including the first generation Walmart.com website. He has built retail custom CD and DVD burning kiosks, in-store ringtone distribution stations, music and book promotional stations, digital signage displays, and back-end massively scalable content management systems, the world’s largest book scanning and AI analysis of indexes and meta-content.

He has also produced one of the Internet’s earliest and largest live streaming events for Nick Lachey and 98 Degrees, as well as producing innovative digital marketing campaigns for Willie Nelson, Stephen King, and many other well-known artists. He’s worked with Thomas Dolby and Headspace Labs on the design of early polyphonic ringtones.

He has also worked with Nokia in Helsinki on content for their early digital smartphone prototypes as well as with Phillips Electronics in Eindhoven on smart audio waveform interpretation for digital compression and has worked with Quanta in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, China to designing a new type of e-book reader based on dynamic LCD light sensitive displays.

Mark has his undergraduate and Master’s degrees from Texas A&M University and attended law school at the University of Texas School of Law.

He has been a member of the San Antonio Arts and Grants Commission, a board member of the Don Harrington Discovery Center, Wildcat Bluff Nature Center, Big

Brothers Big Sisters, the Amarillo Adult Literacy Council, Panhandle Twenty/20, Haven Health Clinics, the Amarillo Little Theatre, and Mariposa Eco Village.

He’s been invited to speak for a variety of panels and institutions including: the National Association of Broadcasters, QuickTime Live, the Consumer Electronics Show, Texas Tech University, Rice University. He has spoken about music and interactivity at the South by Southwest conference, postmodern literature and art at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the abstraction of modern American literature and science at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and quantum mechanics at the Hong Kong science museum.

He currently lives in Texas with his wife and three children. He enjoys languages and speaks German and Mandarin, as well as English.

See Texas Educators Vote's brochure here, and learn more about them and their partners!

Julie was an elected trustee on the Austin ISD school board in 2014-2018, and she was secretary of the board. During her board tenure she was president of the Central Texas School Board Association and a member of the Texas Association of School Boards Legislative Advocacy Council. She also served on the Austin Ed Fund Board and currently serves on the United Way and Austin ISD PreK Partnership advisory board. Previously, Julie was president of the Doss Elementary PTA, Murchison Middle School PTSA, and Anderson High School PTSA, as well as their campus advisory councils. Julie also was vice president of the Austin Council of PTAs and served on many district-wide committees, including the 2008 inaugural class of AISD UpClose, the 2008 Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee, 2007 and 2008 Budget Task Forces, 2009 ELA AP/IB Textbook Adoption Committee, and the 2008 Middle School Strategic Plan Task Force. Professionally, Julie has held positions as a legislative aide in the Texas House of Representatives and as a physician and community relations specialist at multiple Texas hospitals. She most recently worked as a school improvement facilitator at Anderson High School. In the community, she was president of the Travis County Medical Alliance and co-chair of the St. David's Foundation Alliance. Julie attended Southern Methodist University where she earned a BA in political science, BFA in public relations, and a lifetime secondary teaching certificate in the subjects of government and journalism. An active member of St. Theresa Catholic Church, Julie has taught religious education, vacation bible school, and currently serves as a Eucharistic Minister. She and her husband, Dr. Rob Cowan, have three children.

Carolyn co-founded Texas Parent PAC and was its Chair from 2005 to 2019. She was a PTA leader in the Austin Independent School District for 13 years, including serving as President of the Doss Elementary PTA and member of the Executive Committees of the Murchison Middle School PTSA, Anderson High School PTSA, and McCallum High School PTSA. Carolyn also represented parents on Campus Advisory Councils at three schools. During 1997-2005 she was Coordinator of the Coalition for Public Schools, which is comprised of 40 organizations that oppose using public money for private school tuition vouchers. She earned bachelor and master of arts degrees in journalism from The University of Texas at Austin. Earlier in her career, Carolyn held communications and marketing positions with the Texas Education Agency, state and national education organizations, Brackenridge Hospital, and Children’s Hospital of Austin. She is a member of Alpha Delta Pi alumnae and United Methodist Women, and former Lay Leader and Sunday school teacher at Saint John’s United Methodist Church. In addition, she was a Girl Scout leader for 13 years. Carolyn and her husband, Jim, have one daughter.

Dinah, a seventh generation Texan, became passionate about state legislative education issues as a member of Prestonwood Elementary PTA in Richardson ISD. She served as Richardson ISD Council of PTAs legislative chair for three years, as well as chairing PTA carnivals and book fairs. Dinah was a co-founder of Texas Parent PAC in 2005 and has served the PAC as vice-chair. Dinah is a proud class member of Leadership Texas 2008, Leadership America 2012, and Leadership International 2015, India. One of her favorite annual volunteer activities is being a walking scorer at the Byron Nelson PGA tournament, the largest charity tournament on the PGA tour, benefiting the Momentous Institute. Dinah is a longtime member of Dallas Women’s Investment Network and holds a certificate in entrepreneurship from Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. Her memberships include Junior League of Richardson and Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. Dinah holds a bachelor of arts degree from Texas Tech University. She and her husband, Scott, have a daughter and son, and they are members of Arapaho United Methodist Church of Richardson.

Charlie speaks his mind on social media.

Charlie is also founder and co-pastor of Bread, a faith community in Fort Worth, Texas. Throughout his forty-year pastoral ministry he has served churches in Mississippi, Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas.

​Rev. Johnson served on the faculty of McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, as Visiting Professor of Preaching. He has served as a pastoral mentor for students at Perkins School of Theology (SMU) and Brite Divinity School (TCU), where he currently serves on the Board of Directors. He is involved in civic and denominational life. and was has been twice named “Baptist of the Year” by the Baptist Center for Ethics (in 2004 and 2018). Rev. Johnson was inducted into Morehouse College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers in 2008.​

Advocacy for children has long been a cornerstone of Rev. Johnson’s work. He served on the Board of Trustees of New Horizons Treatment Center for Children and the Child Friendly Faith Project. In 2013, he founded Pastors for Texas Children, a statewide ecumenical organization mobilizing the faith community for public education support and advocacy. PTC now has over 2,000 faith partners throughout Texas and sister networks in four states.

Rev. Johnson is a frequent preacher and speaker in university, church, business, education, and non-profit circles. He has written for numerous publications, and has made guest appearances on cable network news shows. He is married to Jana, has three children, and three grandchildren. He enjoys reading, hunting, and spending time at his ranch in Desdemona, Texas.

Libby joined the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation in August 2018 to lead the organization’s efforts to develop a grassroots advocacy network across the state. Previously, Libby worked as an organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation in Baltimore, Maryland. There she worked with top neighborhood and institutional leaders to restore deep funding cuts to public schools; win a standards-setting community benefits agreement attached to the new Under Armour world headquarters; secure millions of dollars in improvements for West Baltimore neighborhoods; and clear interstate markets for illegal drugs, among other efforts.

Libby holds a PhD in economic and social history from the University of Oxford, where she was a Rhodes scholar. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English and public policy at the University of North Carolina, where she was a Morehead-Cain scholar.

Originally from Dallas, Libby is a sixth generation Texan and is delighted to have the opportunity to strengthen public institutions in her native state. She is a lifelong student of ballet and fan of baseball, and she loves exploring the Austin barbecue scene with her husband, Jake.

Since 2016, Mr. Fraire has provided leadership to TACC, a nonprofit advocacy organization whose core mission is advancing state policy, institutional practice, and research in support of the 50 public community colleges of Texas. Mr. Fraire further provides leadership to the Community College Association of Texas Trustees, a nonprofit organization serving more than 400 local-elected trustees and regents who govern the state’s community colleges. Texas community colleges serve more than 742,000 students enrolled in credit-bearing programs and countless students enrolled in continuing education, non-credit bearing courses.

Before joining TACC, Mr. Fraire served as Vice President of Philanthropy at Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation, now known as Trellis Company. Acting as the chief architect of the corporate philanthropy, Mr. Fraire stewarded $80 million in competitive grants to advance college access, need-based financial aid, student success, and research. Mr. Fraire has served on multiple state and national boards and advisory committees, including the Institute for Higher Education Policy, Grantmakers for Education, and federal Advisory Committee on the Measure of Student Success.

For more than a decade, Mr. Fraire served in advocacy and lobbying positions in Washington, DC. He served as Director of Legislation and Policy Analysis for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities and a senior legislative coordinator for a DC-based law firm representing colleges and universities.

The son of migrant farmworkers, Mr. Fraire grew up in El Paso, Texas. He holds a Bachelor of Science from St. Edward’s University and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. In May 2013, he was awarded an honorary associate's degree from El Paso Community College.

The Chronicle of Higher Education calls Sara “a defender of impoverished students and a scholar of their struggles."

I am honored to serve on board of the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, along with some other amazing folks. Watching Sara do this work is an inspiration to all. To help Sara help struggling college students, donate to her Fast Fund.

Sara is best known for her innovative research on food and housing insecurity in higher education, having led the four largest national studies on the subject, and for her work on making public higher education free.

Brandi brings a creative and innovative combination of training and subject matter expertise to her leadership role as Chief Knowledge Officer of AMPED2PLAY Inc. Brandi’s exceptional knowledge of inclusion strategies, implementation solutions and user directed tools reflects her Adapted Physical Activity and Play Development Specialist experience, now reflected in the vision and mission of AMPED2PLAY.

Brandi’s 20-year career as both a Builder and Instructional expert utilizing accessible play as the foundation of her programming and post-secondary teaching has positioned her as a sought-after international resource in play solutions. Brandi has taken her experience, expertise and passion for accessible, multigenerational play and has established multiple programs within AMPED2PLAY including PLAY6S, Ramshackle Play and Play2Perform.

Brandi is a founding member and former Lead Program Design Specialist for the Red Deer Children’s Adapted Sport Association. Her unique community programs include Play2Move, Play2Learn and Play2Build, which are focused on igniting potential and exploring physical, cognitive and social opportunities for children with disabilities and their families in a play-based environment. As a recent recipient of the Women of Excellence – Athletics and Recreation Award, presented through the Central Alberta Community Foundation, Brandi continues to be a community leader, now delivering her program knowledge as a Co-Founder of AMPED2PLAY.

Jennifer has been working in the nonprofit space for over 15 years, first as a program and development director for nonprofit and higher education institutions, and later as executive director for the KDK-Harman Foundation in Austin.

Jennifer has been working in the nonprofit space for over 15 years, first as a program and development director for nonprofit and higher education institutions, and later as executive director for the KDK-Harman Foundation in Austin.

Anette and Jennifer met when both worked for Raise Your Hand Texas as Community Ambassadors, and enjoy working to build stronger support for Texas public education in their various roles.