TASB Recognizes 33 Leadership TASB Graduates
Fort Worth— The Texas Association of School Boards is pleased to announce the 33 school board members from the Leadership TASB Class of 2025 who have successfully completed the year-long program.
The members celebrated their graduation from LTASB during a special ceremony on June 20, held in conjunction with TASB’s Summer Leadership Institute in Fort Worth. Each member earned the designation of Master Trustee.
“We at TASB are pleased to recognize these 33 outstanding school board trustees who have spent the last year exploring best practices in board governance, leadership, and advocacy,” said Dan Troxell, TASB executive director. “LTASB continues to be one of the most transformative training programs that TASB offers its members, and every year we are excited to watch trustees expand their knowledge through this learning experience.”
LTASB is the premier trustee leadership training program of its kind in Texas, connecting school board leaders to their purpose in serving Texas’ 5.5 million public school students. More than 1,000 trustees have completed the year-long program since its founding in 1990.
Each year, a cohort of experienced board members are selected based on demonstrated leadership in their local school district and communities. The trustees represent districts from across the state that vary in size and the student populations they serve.
In September 2024, the cohort kicked off its inaugural session in San Antonio with visits to Fort Sam Houston and Randolph Field ISDs. From there, they traveled to El Paso in November 2024, making visits to schools at San Elizario and El Paso ISDs.
In February, the cohort took part in the inaugural Leadership TASB Connect & Ignite Conference, where the trustees networked with other LTASB alums and visited lawmakers at the Capitol. In addition, they also explored schools at Hutto ISD. Then, in April the group traveled to Brazos and the Research Valley for on-site visits at Bryan and College Station ISDs.
Including the final event in Fort Worth, the group traveled more than 2,300 miles by land and air, visiting districts that in total serve about 120,000 students.
Each member of the class of 2025 was recognized for completing all of the requirements, including attending the five required sessions.
“As a Leadership TASB alum myself, it’s exciting to recognize the Class of 2025 and all of their hard work over the past year in support of Texas public school children,” said Rolinda Schmidt, TASB Board President, Kerrville ISD trustee, and LTASB Class of 1999. “As we celebrate this cohort’s successes, we look forward to the future of LTASB as it continues to advance educational excellence for all students.”
The graduates from the Leadership TASB Class of 2025 are:
- Jennifer Alfaro, Rio Hondo ISD
- Robert Anderson, West Rusk County CISD
- Sara Burleson, Midland ISD
- Emilio Carrasco, East Central ISD
- Dawn Champagne, Katy ISD
- Ginger Collier, Lake Dallas ISD
- Carmen Correa, Spring ISD
- Sylvia De La Garza, Plainview ISD
- Conception (Connie) Esparza, Aldine ISD
- Amber Feller Landrum, Round Rock ISD
- Melody Fowler, Arlington ISD
- Rick Garcia, Fort Bend ISD
- Melissa Gonzales, Gregory-Portland ISD
- Courtney Gore, Granbury ISD
- Elvia Guadian, Del Valle ISD
- Jean Hichen-Williams, Henderson ISD
- Russ Johnson, Lorena ISD
- Lisa Kallies, Crosby ISD
- Amanda Kington, Pecos-Barstow-Toyah ISD
- Jeff Larson, Clear Creek ISD
- Lloyd Lietz, Three Way ISD
- Lisa Lobb, Irving ISD
- Kimberly McAdams, College Station ISD
- Francisco (Harvey) Oaxaca, McKinney ISD
- Marco R. Ortiz, Taylor ISD
- Bill Parker, Allen ISD
- Ranna Raval, Coppell ISD
- Lauren Rothe, Lumberton ISD
- Janet Spurlock, Alief ISD
- Mary Belle Unger-Robles, Southside ISD
- Michael Valdez, Edgewood ISD
- Viola Z. Vela, Lyford CISD
- Alex (Alejandro) Ybarra, Channelview ISD
About TASB
TASB is a nonprofit organization established in 1949 to serve local Texas school boards. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The number of public school students served by TASB members is more than 5 million.