Dr. Brad Cartwright  earned his B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin, his M.A. from the University of Texas at El Paso, and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado.  His research focuses on race, gender, and imperialism in nineteenth-century America and throughout the Pacific.  Dr. Cartwright teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on early and antebellum American history, as well as the pedagogy of history.  He is the Director of UTEP’s Center for History Teaching and Learning which supports history teacher education and promotes the scholarly teaching of history. He is also the Director of El Paso History Day.  In 2015, he was awarded a University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award and, in 2019, he became a member of UTEP’s Academy of Distinguished Teachers. 

Breakout: 1

Room: Rio Grande

Forrest Harding is the West Texas Representative for Lowman Education.  He is a retired teacher with over 25 years of experience in teaching RLA and Social Studies.  He is very lucky and blessed to have used Lowman from its inception.  From day one, Lowman’s curriculum changed his life as a teacher and hopefully it will change yours.  He is a proud father of three children.  Westin, who is a college football coach in Massachusetts, Keeley who is a biology major at Texas A&M University, and Lily Kate who is a sophomore at Canyon Randall.  For Mr. Harding, his job is to make teachers’ lives easier, and Lowman is the best curriculum company in the world to do that.  

Breakouts: 3 & 4

Room: Rio Grande

Ray Hughel Director of Educational Programs – SMU Cox School of Business Bridwell Institute. Twelve years teaching high school economics coming from a corporate background in marketing management for 25+ years. Marketing major and Economics minor from Indiana University and MAT from Louisiana Christian University. SMU Cox Teaching Free Enterprise program with 38 high school modules including 4 PFL units and 12 elementary modules.

Breakouts: 1, 2, & 3

Room: Scenic Drive

Erika Lowery  A veteran educator with 29 years of experience, Erika Lowery has a diverse background spanning middle and high school geography instruction, secondary social studies supervision, and her current role as a Regional Educator for the Institute for Curriculum Services. She received the National Council for Geographic Education Distinguished Teaching Achievement award in 2013 and was selected as the Texas Social Studies Supervisor of the Year in 2022. Lowery's leadership roles include serving as President of TXCSS in 2018 and President of NSSSA (now NSSLA) in 2021, in addition to her service on the 2022 World Geography TEKS revision workgroup. Her contributions to the field have been recognized with the Distinguished Alumnus award from The Florida State University College of Education in 2020 and the TXCSS Billy Sills Distinguished Service in Social Studies award in 2022.

Breakout: 3 & 4

Room: Sunset

Justin Yepez was born and raised in El Paso and proudly served in the U.S. Army before dedicating his life to education and innovation. He serves as an Instructional Technology Specialist for the El Paso Independent School District, and a TCEA Board Member. Over the years he has worked in several districts and held multiple positions, always pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in classrooms. He works tirelessly to inspire creativity, collaboration, and future-ready skills. A true pioneer in educational technology, Justin is an ambassador and innovator for numerous applications and platforms, and his mission is simple: to bring the latest tools and opportunities to students and teachers because they deserve it.

Breakout: 1

Room: Trans Mountain