Texas Association of School Boards Elects New Officers

For Immediate Release: October 5, 2009
Contact: Barbara Williams, 800.580.8272, ext. 6418

(Austin) —The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) elected its 2009-10 officers during the Association's recent annual Delegate Assembly and Convention in Houston.

New TASB President Sarah Winkler of Alief ISD succeeds Immediate Past President Robert Seward of Mesquite ISD. Sylvester Vasquez Jr., Southwest ISD, will serve as president-elect. Gary Inmon, Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD, and Viola Garcia, Aldine ISD, will serve as vice-presidents. Faye Beaulieu of Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD will serve as TASB's secretary-treasurer.

Winkler joined the Alief ISD Board in 1997 and holds the position of president. She previously served as president, vice-president, secretary, and assistant secretary. Elected to the TASB Board in December 2001, she has participated in the Association's School Board Advocacy Network. A Leadership TASB graduate and Master Trustee, Winkler has served on the planning committee for the Texas Education Agency's Statewide Parental Involvement Conference and represented the Region 4 Education Service Center on the TASB Legislative Advisory Council. In addition, she has been a member of the Alief ISD Mentoring Initiative, Mata Intermediate Safe and Drug-Free Committee, the Harris County Department of Education After School Initiative Committee, and the Shared Decision Councils at Holub Middle School and Hastings High.

Winkler currently serves as a director on the Executive Board of the Gulf Coast Area Association of School Boards and previously held the positions of president, immediate past president, and second vice-president. She also serves her community as a member of the SPARK PARK Board. A homemaker and volunteer, she earned a bachelor's degree in economics and managerial studies and a master's of accounting from Rice University.

Vasquez has served as a member of the Southwest ISD Board since 2000 and is currently the board's vice-president. Elected to the TASB Board in 2003, he has participated in Delegate Assembly and the School Board Advocacy Network. Vasquez also has served as chair of various TASB Board committees, including Member Services, Bylaws, and Budget and Finance. In addition, he served as vice-chair of the TASB Planning and Development Committee.

A construction estimator/supervisor for SANTEX Painting and Drywall, Vasquez has been a member of numerous volunteer organizations, including the Southwest High School
Band and Athletic boosters and PTA. He also has coached with Youth Pony League and CYO. Currently Vasquez serves as a founding member and current vice-president of the Bexar County Board Coalition and as southern regional director of the National School Boards Association Hispanic Caucus. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Texas Lutheran College. Vasquez also is a parish member at St. Rose of Lima Church.

Inmon joined the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City (SCUC) ISD Board in 2000. He has served as president, vice-president, secretary, and assistant secretary. He joined the TASB Board in 2002. A Leadership TASB graduate and Master Trustee, he also has been active in the TASB School Board Advocacy Network, Federal Relations Network, Delegate Assembly, candidate forums, and the Grassroots Advocacy Process. An attorney, Inmon operates his own law office in Schertz. He also serves as a founding director of the SCUC-ISD Education Foundation and as a board member of the Schertz Chamber of Commerce.

Garcia joined the Aldine ISD Board in 1992 and has served as president, vice-president, secretary, and assistant secretary. She was elected to the TASB Board in September 2004 and served as a member of the Lone Star Investment Pool Board from 2003 to 2009. She also has served as TASB secretary-treasurer, chair of the Resolutions Committee, and vice-chair of the Legislative Committee. Garcia, an associate professor at the University of Houston-Downtown, is a graduate of Leadership TASB and Master Trustee.

In addition, she is a fellow of the American Leadership Forum-Houston Education Class 2, has participated in the Reform Governance in Action program with the Aldine ISD Board and administrative team, and is actively involved in the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Leadership Initiatives. Garcia earned her undergraduate degree from Texas Woman's University and master's and doctorate degrees from the University of Houston.

Beaulieu has been on the Hurst-Euless-Bedford (HEB) ISD Board for the past 14 years. During that time, she has served as president for four years, having previously served as secretary. A Master Trustee and graduate of Leadership TASB, she has participated in the TASB Delegate Assembly for many years.

Beaulieu is a regional director for United Way of Tarrant County, serving the northeast portion of the county. She is the current past president of the North Texas Area Association of School Boards, finance chair for First United Methodist Church of Bedford, and member of the American Association of University Women. She also serves as secretary for the Northeast Leadership Forum. A school board liaison for the HEB ISD Council of PTAs for several years, she has served as HEB ISD liaison to the North Central Texas Council of Governments, was PTA President of Meadow Creek Elementary, and served on the PTA Executive Board for Harwood Junior High and Trinity High schools. She attended Mississippi University for Women and the University of Mississippi and holds bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in English.

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local Texas public school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve more than 4.7 million public school students.