Powerhouse for Good: TASB President Brings Empathetic Leadership to Role 

When Mary Jane Hetrick and her family returned to Texas in 2012, her three children enrolled in different schools in Dripping Springs ISD. Hetrick quickly got involved with each school. 

“I joined the PTA at all campuses to get acclimated to a very different community from where we had been for years,” Hetrick said. While in Montgomery, Alabama, public education back in Texas had undergone major changes, particularly in the areas of funding and standardized testing. Hetrick wanted to fully understand and embrace her new landscape. 

A commitment to learning, a deep background in nonprofit governance, and an empathetic approach to leadership have defined Hetrick’s professional career and community service — qualities she now brings to her role as TASB president for 2026-27. 

“Mary Jane is always the most prepared person in the room and has thought through very complex issues, considering all sides of an issue. This helps the board reach wise decisions,” said Tony Hopkins, TASB immediate past president and president of the Friendswood ISD school board. “She thinks through issues with a lens of nonprofit governance that is unique among our board members and keeps us focused on making decisions in the best interest of the Association when acting as directors.” 

Growing up With Educator Parents 

As the daughter of two K-12 teachers, Hetrick grew up in a Texas home where education, she said, was immensely important. 

“My dad was obsessed with grades and standardized tests, but he was also a tennis coach and pushed me as hard athletically as he did academically,” Hetrick remembers. “Imagine being raised in 2A towns, Sabinal and Comfort, and having weightlifting equipment in your garage. It might be more common now, but it wasn’t in the 1970s, especially for a girl.” 

Hetrick tells people her father “willed” her to be the highest-ranking student at her two high schools, and to be a UIL tennis state champion. 

After graduating from Comfort High School, Hetrick received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas-Pan American (now UT Rio Grande Valley), where she was a tennis student-athlete. In 2020, she was inducted into the UTRGV Athletics Hall of Fame. 

Tennis also played a pivotal role in her personal life. She met Tom Hetrick on a tennis court in Harlingen the summer before her senior year in college. 

“He was a few years older than me, and I thought I wanted to focus on my studies. But he swept me off my feet. We had fun playing in mixed doubles tournaments after I graduated,” she said. 

Hetrick continued to pursue her studies. She earned a master’s degree in public administration and a certificate in nonprofit management from Auburn University at Montgomery, and a doctorate in public administration and public policy from Auburn University. She also earned a certificate in business law and compliance from Texas A&M University School of Law. 

The Importance of Public Education

As she and her husband started a family, her interest in public education deepened. In Montgomery, the public school system had popular and competitive-entry magnet schools, which two of her three children attended. 

The Hetrick family returned to Texas when her husband, an FBI agent, was transferred to the San Antonio office. The couple started researching various communities with a short window to make a decision. 

“Our visit to Dripping Springs High School, combined with finding something we could afford, sealed the decision,” she said. 

Besides participating in multiple PTAs, she served on the district’s education foundation board and attended school board meetings. She also started Foundation Logic, a consulting firm focused on helping nonprofits with performance, strategy, and operations. 

She became well-known for her experience and commitment. It was that dedication, along with her educational and nonprofit backgrounds, that prompted three Dripping Springs ISD trustees to approach her about seeking a position on the school board in 2015. 

“I encouraged her to consider leveraging her doctorate-level expertise in public administration and nonprofit management to run for a position on school board,” said Ron Jones, a Dripping Springs ISD trustee from 2014 to 2023. “She has a long and successful history of community service and is a true servant and innovative leader.” 

At first, Hetrick declined. “As the wife of a longtime FBI agent, most of my marriage had been spent trying to avoid attention.” But it was her husband who encouraged her to reconsider. 

“I said yes because it felt like the proverbial ‘rolling up my sleeves’ to help the district at another level,” she said. 

Addressing the Challenges 

Hetrick was elected board president in 2021. Shortly before, a unanimous board had selected Holly Morris-Kuentz as the district’s new superintendent. At the time, there was a lot of community skepticism and pandemic-related distrust, Hetrick recalls. 

“My first goal as board president was to reach as many community members as I could who had been vocal in their displeasure of the district — inviting them to have coffee, to meet at our administration building, or to just talk on the phone. There were so many misconceptions that had spread like wildfire, but there were also differences of opinion that needed to be heard and understood.” 

Additionally, she created a “Team of 8” email account so community members could send a single email to reach the entire board and superintendent. 

“Whether viewed from an individual trustee perspective, or from the district as an organization, communication is paramount and must be delivered in ways that actually reach today’s parents and community members,” Hetrick said. “We often think of communication in terms of quantity and transparency, but we must allow for two-way communication, while abiding by open meetings laws.” 

Morris-Kuentz noted that the relationship between a superintendent and board president “can make or break a district’s trajectory.” She appreciates Hetrick’s “discipline to stay in the governance lane by building a trusting relationship with district staff.” The result is a productive team dynamic. 

“Throughout our time together, Dr. Hetrick has consistently been supportive, responsive, and student- and staff-focused in her leadership,” Morris-Kuentz said. 

As much as she enjoys working on solutions, Hetrick also loves getting out into the district. 

“What I enjoy most is campus tours that allow us to see kids, teachers, staff, and parents in action,” she said. “All the boardroom discussions and reports come to life. For instance, we see the fruit of curriculum changes, or hear students talk about tracking their own progress, or fully realize the safety enhancements we authorized, or see a buddy bench that is the result of a student leadership grant.” 

Hetrick’s fellow trustees agree that she brings a range of important qualities to her board service. 

“What we [fellow trustees] admire about Mary Jane is that she doesn’t need to be the loudest voice in the room to be a leader. Her leadership is steady, thoughtful, and poised,” said Shanda DeLeon, board president. “She listens carefully, takes time to understand issues, and when she speaks, her comments are concise and purposeful. You can tell she has thought through the facts and the bigger picture.” 

Those traits are particularly important on a school board, which has to deal with complicated issues and strong opinions, DeLeon said. “She handles difficult conversations with grace and treats people with respect, even when there are differences of opinion.” 

To know Hetrick is to understand her “heart for service,” DeLeon added. “She is often described as a ‘community helper’ involved in organizations and efforts throughout our community. She is the kind of person who sees something that needs to be done and gets to work.” 

Commitment to Community 

Hetrick’s public service extends well beyond the district boundaries into the greater Dripping Springs area where she is admiringly called a “powerhouse for good.” 

She started Foundation Logic as a consulting business to support nonprofit organizations. When Hetrick was first elected to the school board, she decided she wouldn’t charge any nonprofits within the district boundaries for her services. 

“Maybe it was being married to a G-man, but I did not want any ethical quandaries to arise,” she explained. “The beautiful silver lining of that decision was that smaller nonprofits that would not have been able to afford a consultant reached out for help with everything from grant writing to visioning to strategic planning. All that work expanded my experience — an intangible benefit for me — while it also allowed me to make community connections and better understand the interconnected fabric of the greater Dripping Springs area.” 

In addition to her nonprofit consulting work, Hetrick is a co-founder, along with the late Ronnie “Shorty” Barnett — a veteran, actor Kyle Chandler (aka Coach Taylor on the famed Friday Night Lights television series), and his wife, Kathryn, of Patriots Hall of Dripping Springs. The nonprofit serves all active duty and veterans and their families and works to help them connect and find support. 

She also is a “First Follower” of Foster Village, which helps bridge the gap between foster families and those who want to help them. Her many community efforts led the Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce to honor her as its “Hometown Hero” in 2020. 

“I genuinely enjoy many aspects of nonprofit service, such as writing notes to donors. I also love personally meeting them and discovering their ‘why’ for supporting a cause,” Hetrick said. “It doesn’t have to be a nonprofit I work with directly. I want to connect people to missions that resonate with them. I believe a rising tide lifts all boats in the nonprofit sector; plus, people will find more enjoyment in life by serving something that touches their soul.” 

Hetrick is enjoying her latest effort — co-leading a new initiative called DSTXtogether, which focuses on helping Dripping Springs handle its tremendous growth and change without losing what makes the Hill Country town special. 

Getting Involved in TASB 

Immediately after her election to the board in 2015, Hetrick attended her first TASB Summer Leadership Institute. She also completed Leadership TASB, graduating in 2017 as a Master Trustee. 

“The most obvious way TASB has helped me as a local school board member is through training. Not only am I assured TASB can provide almost all legislatively required training, but there are sessions on best practices or specific focus areas, such as superintendent evaluation or school safety or community ambassador programs,” she said. “I believe we can learn so much from other trustees across the state, whether they are presenting on a topic, or just bouncing ideas across the lunch table, and TASB provides several opportunities to do this.” 

When a Region 13 ESC director on the TASB Board stepped down in 2019, Hetrick applied for and received a partial appointment, which gave her the opportunity to spend more time with fellow directors from across every region of the state. 

“When I had served long enough to apply for an officer position, I was nudged by a board member to apply. I would have been perfectly happy serving as a regional director, but being tapped as an officer feels like something I am supposed to do,” Hetrick said. 

Hetrick officially became president at TASB’s Delegate Assembly, which was held recently during txEDCON in Houston. 

“As TASB president, I know without a doubt Dr. Hetrick will work tirelessly to advance the mission of public schools with her state and federal-level advocacy. She is passionate about what people can achieve when they align around a shared vision, and I know she will bring that same unifying spirit to leading TASB,” Morris-Kuentz said. 

DeLeon and her fellow trustees agree that Hetrick’s passion for public education, along with her knowledge and thoughtful advocacy, will serve her well in the president’s role. 

“She will bring a willingness to listen, a commitment to understanding issues, and the ability to communicate clearly and respectfully — even when the issues are difficult,” DeLeon said. “Most importantly, I think she will lead TASB the same way she has served our district: with integrity, humility, and a genuine desire to help. She doesn’t seek the spotlight; she seeks to make a difference.”

Photo: TASB officers, including Hetrick, and TASB Directors met this July in Houston for TASB’s summer board meeting. Photo by TASB Media Services.

This story first appeared in the October/November 2026 issue of Texas Lone Star.