Speaker Bios

Cassandre G Alvarado,

Executive Director, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy

Dr. Cassandre Giguere Alvarado is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at The University of Texas at Austin and is also the assistant coordinator of the M.Ed. Program in College and University Student Personnel Administration. A scholar/practitioner, Dr. Alvarado also serves in the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, directing initiatives in student success and enrollment management.

Dr. Alvarado's teaching, research, and professional practice focuses on college readiness and student success. She currently directs the PACE (Path to Admission through Co-Enrollment) Program, an innovative co-enrollment program with Austin Community College. She is the College Readiness Special Advisor to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and frequently works with national organizations on issues of readiness and retention. Her current research focuses on understanding college readiness, including the development and testing of readiness assignments designed to introduce students to the content knowledge and cross-disciplinary skills needed for success.

Dr. Alvarado is also a faculty affiliate of the Initiative for the Development of Academic Innovation at LASPAU-Harvard University, where she has worked with more than 500 faculties from Latin America and the Caribbean to help improve student success and retention.

A 20 year veteran of university administration, Dr. Alvarado's signature program at The University of Texas at Austin was the creation of the First-year Interest Groups (FIGS), a learning community initiative she began in 1998. The initiative focuses on bringing together the many facets of university life in one nexus for each student in an effort to maximize their success. The university now offers a learning community to all incoming first-year students. Additionally, Dr. Alvarado led the University's major Quality Enhancement Plan initiative, providing the blueprint and assessment of the University's first major curriculum reform in the last 30 years.

An alumna of Leadership Texas (LT'10), Dr. Alvarado has served as a member of the committee of the board for the Foundation for Women's Resources. Dr. Alvarado holds a bachelor of journalism, master of education and doctor of philosophy degree from The University of Texas at Austin.

Claudia Acevedo

Academic Dean at Manor New Technology High School

Claudia Acevedo has fourteen years of experience working with high school students in California and Texas and is currently the Academic Dean at Manor New Technology High School. She has been training educators in project-based learning since 2009 and has led workshops in team-teaching, facilitating inquiry, and project management.

Jay L. Banner

Professor, Jackson School of Geosciences

Jay Banner is the F. M. Bullard Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences in the Jackson School of Geosciences, and Director of the Environmental Science Institute. His research interests center on Earth surface processes, including climate and hydrologic processes, how they are preserved in the geologic record, and how human activity affects the sustainability of water resources. His teaching interests include sustainability, environmental science, and environmental isotope geochemistry. K-12 and public outreach programs include the Hot Science – Cool Talks Outreach Series and the Scientist in Residence program, which partners STEM graduate student researchers with K-12 teachers.

Banner's research and teaching interests center on Earth surface processes with the goal of understanding the interactions that occur between the atmosphere-land-ocean systems, and how these interactions are preserved in the geologic record. Avenues of investigation include the origin and evolution of carbonate rocks, groundwater, surface water, and the oceans. These subjects are explored using a range of approaches that include field studies, petrography, isotope and trace element geochemistry, geochronology, and modeling. Examples of research projects using these approaches are studies of cave deposits as records of the links between climate change and hydrology, studies of carbonate rocks as records of the chemistry of ancient oceans, and studies of modern aquifers in urbanizing environments.

Micheal Brown

Micheal Brown was born and raised in Texas. He is a passionate social justice advocate who is dedicated to ending bias in America, fixing the criminal justice system, and redistributing economic and political wealth. Micheal began a career in politics by working as a campaign intern for the Houston mayor.

Micheal is a varsity debater, a club officer in Key Club, Young Democrats, and Junior Statesmen of America; and a member of his school’s tennis, mock trial, and Model UN teams. Micheal founded his school’s diversity club, EENHEID and was awarded the Princeton Prize in Race Relations. He promoted civic engagement in the Mayor’s Youth Council and now serves on the student board of the World Youth Foundation. Micheal was also a participant in the 2017 Subiendo Leadership Academy.

Within the last year, Micheal garnered national attention by gaining admission to 20 of the nation's top schools. In the future, Micheal will pursue economics and political science at the undergraduate level at Stanford and aims to graduate from law school, all the while continuing to fight betterment of all throughout his career.

Julián Castro

Dean's Distinguished Fellow; Fellow, Dávila Chair in International Trade Policy

Julián Castro is the Dean’s Distinguished Fellow and Fellow of the Dávila Chair in International Trade Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Previously, he served as the 16th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017 and mayor of San Antonio from 2009 to 2014.

Castro, a native Texan, born and raised in San Antonio, launched his public service career in 2001, becoming San Antonio’s youngest councilman. He was elected to mayor in 2009 and re-elected in both 2011 and 2013. During his tenure as mayor, Castro focused on attracting well-paying jobs in 21stcentury industries and expanding education opportunities across the city.

Castro launched into the national arena with his keynote address – the first by a Latino – at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. In 2014, Castro accepted President Barack Obama's offer of the position of United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and upon confirmation, served in that role until 2017.

Manny Flores

Co-Founder, CEO of LatinWorks

Manny Flores is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Austin-based LatinWorks, an award-winning advertising agency specializing in cultural branding.

After spending nearly two decades at Anheuser-Busch as Vice President of Marketing Development where he spearheaded breakthrough marketing programs, Manny brings to LatinWorks brand development and segment-marketing expertise. Under his leadership, LatinWorks has been named Agency of the Year by Ad Age three times and recognized as one of the top ten agencies in the country as noted by the Ad Age “A” list. They’ve also been named small agency of the year by AD Week. Additionally, LatinWorks has been awarded 9 Cannes Lion awards and many national and global accolades for their work. LatinWorks remains the most awarded agency in their class.

In 2013, Manny was appointed to the Department of Public Safety Commission by Governor Rick Perry. He serves the State of Texas as DPS Commissioner and travels across Texas on state business. He is an advisory board member of Helping Hand Home for Children and United Way of Greater Austin. He is also past co-chair of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce “Celebrando Austin” event and past member of the St. Michael’s Academy Board of Trustees.

Manny lives in Austin with his wife Janice and has two daughters, Jessica and Caitlin. He’s an avid boater and enjoys hunting and fishing on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Rosa Flores

CNN Correspondent

Rosa Flores is a CNN correspondent based in Miami. She has covered domestic news stories across the U.S. and Puerto Rico and international news stories in over 10 countries for CNN's TV and digital platforms. Her yearlong investigation into the death of Roshad McIntosh, a Chicago teenager who was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer, led to the reopening of the city's investigation. Flores' investigation is documented in a three-episode CNNgo documentary called "Beneath The Skin," with a Spanish version of the work releasing on CNN en Español in both television and online under the title "Bajo la Piel."

Covering criminal justice stories is important for Flores. Her project "Disappearing Front Porch," which gave a voice to children in Chicago who are caught in the crosshairs of violence was viewed over 900,000 times online with an engagement time topping four minutes. The project was awarded the "Online Project: News" by the National Association of Black Journalists. In 2017, she was awarded the John Jay/H.F. Guggenheim Center on Media, Crime, and Justice Reporting Fellowship.

Flores covered Pope Francis, from the papal plane, during his visits to the United States, Cuba, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. She also traveled to Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay to cover Francis' first visit to his native South America. Flores covered President Barack Obama's visit to Argentina and also his attendance to the Seventh Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, which included the historic handshake between the US and Cuba after more than half a century of cold war rivalry. Flores also traveled to Cuba to cover the reestablishment of relations between the US and Cuba.

She also covers international breaking news stories including the 2017 earthquake in Mexico city, the 2015 explosion of a Mexico City maternity hospital, the 2015 detention of five Syrians in Honduras traveling with fake passports, the 2014 influx of unaccompanied minors across the US southern border and then their deportation back to Honduras. Flores also covered the lead up to the 2016 Rio Olympics from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2014, she spent more than two weeks in Mexico's southern state of Guerrero covering the disappearance of the 43 missing students of Ayotzinapa. Her coverage landed her the National Association of Hispanic Journalists' Large Market Television Hard News Award. Flores also worked with CNN's Documentary Unit on a one-hour CNN Special Report called "A Miner Miracle, Five years after the Chilean Rescue." She traveled to Chile in 2015 to revisit the stories of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped in a mine for 69 days in 2010.

Flores joined CNN in 2013. She was based in New York City for two years and Chicago for two years. Before joining CNN, she anchored the 4 pm newscast at WBRZ-TV, the ABC affiliate in Baton Rouge. At WBRZ, she uncovered soil contamination in the East Baton Rouge Parish School District, which led to the testing of all schools in the district. Prior to moving to Louisiana's capital city, Flores covered enterprise and breaking news stories at WDSU-TV, the NBC affiliate in New Orleans. Starting in September 2007, she reported for KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston and started her career in TV reporting at KWTV--TV in Oklahoma City in But news reporting is her second career. She earned a Bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism, Bachelor's degree in business administration, and Master's degree in accounting at the University of Texas at Austin.

Miguel Garza

Co-founder & CEO, Siete Family Foods

Miguel Garza leads the team at Siete, an Austin-based, fast-growing, healthy Mexican food company. Before launching Siete with his family, Miguel co-founded a strength and conditioning facility and also worked in the healthcare sector. Miguel has been active in the CrossFit community for several years, as both a coach and a competitor. He holds a BA from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and a JD from the University of Texas School of Law.

Jim Henson, Ph.D.

Director, Texas Politics Project

Jim Henson directs the Texas Politics Project and teaches in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also directs the Department of Government Internship Program and is associate director of the College of Liberal Arts Instructional Technology Services unit. He co-directs the University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll, the only regular public statewide poll in Texas, and has written frequently about Texas and national politics for The Texas Tribune since its inception in 2009. He helped design public interest multimedia for the Benton Foundation in Washington, D.C., in the 1990s and has written about politics in general-interest and academic publications. He lives in Austin, where he served from 2009-2012 on the City of Austin Ethics Review Commission, including a term as chairman, and is a current member of the Travis County Elections Study Group. He received a Ph.D. from UT-Austin in 1996.

Community Outreach Manager, We Are BloodRob Hill

Rob is Community Outreach Manager for We Are Blood. After years as a practicing attorney, he landed on a path that included 10 years helping produce the Austin Marathon, coaching a running group that raises money for animal charities, before leading him into the non-profit arena. He has a BA and a JD from UT Austin.

Kenneth M. Jastrow, II

Kenneth M. Jastrow, II served as Chairman and CEO of Temple-Inland Inc., an Austin-based Fortune 500 company with interests in paper, forest products, real estate, and financial services from 2000-2007. Jastrow worked at Temple-Inland for over 27 years. He served as President and Chief Operating Officer in 1998 and 1999, Group Vice President from 1995 - 1998, and Chief Financial Officer from November 1991 until 1998.

Jastrow is Non-Executive Chairman of Forestar Group, Inc., and serves as a Director of KB Home, MGIC Investment Corporation, and Genesis Energy, LP. He is past Chairman of Texas Taxpayers Research Association and Texas Mortgage Bankers Association. In 2007 he was awarded the Mirabeau B. Lamar Medal presented by the Association of Texas Colleges and Universities. In addition, he received the Texas Mortgage Bankers Association Distinguished Service Award and Boy Scouts of America (Midland, Texas) Distinguished Citizen Award.

At the University of Texas, Jastrow served as Chairman of the following: Development Board, Advisory Council of the McCombs School of Business, and Neighborhood Longhorns. Jastrow also served as Chair of the Commission of 125. Currently, Jastrow is Chairman of UT’s Capital Campaign. In 2004 Jastrow was named a Distinguished Alumnus of The University of Texas, and he was inducted into the McCombs School of Business Hall of Fame in 2003.

Daniel Lucio

Community Impact Manager at Google Fiber

Daniel is a native of the Rio Grande Valley and the first in his family to attend college. He earned a Bachelors of Psychology from the University of Texas at Brownsville and his Master of Public Administration from Texas A&M Corpus Christi. At Google Fiber, Daniel manages programs, investments, and partnerships with public organizations and community stakeholders including the City of Austin, Austin Public Libraries, the University of Texas and more. These partnerships focus on bridging the digital divide here in Austin and creating STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) learning opportunities for underserved communities. In his spare time, Daniel works with a number of nonprofits that focus on environmental protection, social justice, and open data. Before moving to Google he served as the statewide Field Director of Battleground Texas, a grassroots-driven political organization focused on turning Texas into a battleground state.

Wolfgang Niedert

Managing Partner, Duke Capital Management

Wolfgang is originally from Chicago, IL, with his maternal family, Farias, hailing from the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. Wolfgang and his wife Julie have been in Austin for nearly 20 years. He graduated from the University of Texas in 1998 with a B.A. in Government/Economics and a minor in Spanish, including a semester at La Universidad de Salamanca, Espana. He went on to complete UT’s Certified Financial Planner program in 2005. Duke Capital Management primarily operates in the Security Brokers and Dealers business industry within the Security & Commodity Brokers, Dealers, Exchanges & Services sector. This organization has been operating for approximately 7 years. He also spent several years as a financial planner with American Express, Ameriprise Financial, and as an independent advisor specializing in wealth management, estate planning, and corporate retirement plans. Wolfgang serves on the board of a number of private companies in both Texas and Illinois.

Wolfgang’s philanthropic involvement includes: the UT System Chancellor’s Council; Texas Coalition for Excellence in Higher Education; numerous councils and societies for UT Austin, such as the 1883 Council, Advisory Councils for the School of Information, the Ransom Center for the Humanities, Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders, UT’s Book Press, 40 Acres Scholarship Society, Littlefield Society, President’s Associates, Texas Leadership Society; Texas Exes Council, Hispanic Alumni Network, UT Advocates for Higher Education, and Public Affairs Committee; Board of Trustees for the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long Center for the Performing Arts; Director’s Council for Blanton Museum of Art and Butler School of Music; Texas Book Festival; Committee Chair of the 2014 Menuhin Violin Competition; Next Generation Project Texas/American Assembly; and Hispanic Voter Network of Texas.

Luis Patino

President/GM, Univision Media Group

Luis Patino is a seasoned Media Executive with experience managing large organizations including Broadcast Television, Radio, Digital Media, Experiential Event Management, and Government Relations. He currently serves as President and General Manager of Univision Media Group, in Los Angeles, at Univision Communications Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America. Univision (UCI) owns and/or operates 128 local television and radio stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico. Patino is responsible for the day-to-day management of station operations, including; ad sales, news production, consumer marketing and promotions. Prior to this role, he served as senior vice president and regional manager of Univision Television Group, overseeing general operations, for Univision TV and Radio stations in San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield, Phoenix, Tucson, San Antonio, and Austin.

Jeffery R. Patterson

PhD Lecturer/Instructor, The University of Texas at Austin

Jeffery R. Patterson, Ph.D., is an adjunct lecturer in the McCombs School of Business and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. He has extensive experience in political communications and public affairs management as a lobbyist/advocate in the Texas Legislature, the U.S. Congress, and governmental agencies. Patterson was previously the executive director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, Assistant Dean for Administration at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and a Program Officer/ Communications Director for the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Congress as a Deputy Press Secretary for U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen and as a Legislative Aide and Press Secretary for U.S. Congressman Michael A. Andrews. Patterson has a master’s degree in journalism and public affairs from The American University in Washington, D.C., a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Houston, and an associate’s degree in journalism from San Jacinto College.

Michael Powell

Director of Engineer Career Assistance Center, Cockrell School of Engineering

Michael received his master's degree in counseling psychology in 1994 from The University of Texas at Austin. He worked for the Upward Bound Program at Huston-Tillotson College from 1994 to 1997, counseling and testing students and teaching a course in college preparation. He joined the Engineering Career Assistance Center at in 1997 as a career counselor, became an assistant director in 1999, and then director in 2005. As ECAC director, Michael works with students, faculty, and recruiters in the job search and recruiting process. He is also a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers and the Southwest Association of Colleges and Employers (SWACE). As a member of SWACE, Michael has chaired the technology committee and served on the board of directors.

Katie Pritchett

PhDTBFSI Professional Development Instructor, Lecturer, McCombs School of Business

Dr. Katie Pritchett completed her Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at UT Austin last year. Prior to moving to Austin to pursue her doctorate, Dr. Pritchett worked in Washington DC for the U.S. Department of Education implementing federal student aid policies and working on the financial allocation and business process for two new grant programs.

After working two years at the Department of Education, she was recruited to the private sector to leverage her business background and specialize in educational market research. Her academic interests include access and equity for women and minority students, student persistence and success initiatives, higher education law, social entrepreneurship, and academic service-learning. Dr. Pritchett enjoys working with students on leadership development exercises. She recently joined as a lecturer in the McCombs School as a lecturer for upper-level UT Management courses and for the Texas State University Leadership Capstone program.

David Quintanilla

Vice President, Legal and Finance, Vivicare Health Partners

David holds a Masters in Philosophy and Public Policy from The London School of Economics (LSE), a Law degree from St. Mary's University, and a Government degree from UT Austin. He is VP for Legal and Finance at Vivicare Health Partners, a pediatric home health care organization that helps to care for medically fragile kids. David is also founder and co-owner of Cavanaugh Quintanilla, PLLC, a local law firm specializing in wills and estate planning. He teaches Business Law and Ethics at the UT McCombs School of Business. David and his wife, Laura, have two daughters, Kennedy and Atalie, and a son, David (Baby Dave).

Deanna Rodriguez

Vice President of Regulatory and Public Affairs, Entergy Texas Inc.

Deanna has served in her current role at Entergy since June 2012. She is charged with building and enhancing relationships with government officials throughout the state.

Rodriguez has held various roles throughout Entergy during the past 20 years. Most notable was her role as the director of external affairs where she coordinated a corporate-wide team seeing post-Katrina funding which resulted in more the $200 million in community development block grant funding for Louisiana, Mississippi, and New Orleans operating companies. During her time as the vice president for corporate contributions, Rodriguez oversaw Entergy’s social responsibility and philanthropic efforts while managing $11 million in corporate and foundation contributions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

She previously held positions as the associate vice chancellor of community relations for the University of Texas System and minority affairs liaison for the State Bar of Texas. In 2015, Rodriguez’s profile was selected as a Corporate Executive of the Year in Latina Magazine. She currently serves on the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Advisory Council and the Board of the Association of Women in Energy. She holds a master’s degree in public affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in government, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Victor B. Sáenz

Department Chair, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy

Victor B. Sáenz, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an Associate Professor in the Program in Higher Education Leadership and a Fellow in the A.M. Aikin Regents Chair in Junior & Community College Education Leadership. He also holds courtesy appointments with the UT Center for Mexican American Studies and the Department of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. Since 2008 he has also been a Faculty Fellow with the UT Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE). Dr. Sáenz has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and recently published two books, including one on Latino males in higher education (Stylus Publishing, 2016). His current research agenda seeks to advance research-informed best practices and policy solutions that improve educational outcomes for underserved students in postsecondary education, with a special emphasis on young men of color.

In 2010 Dr. Sáenz founded an award-winning initiative called Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success), a multi-pronged effort based at UT-Austin that is focused on advancing success strategies for male students of color across the education pipeline. In 2013 the project launched a statewide initiative called the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color. Supported by grants from the Greater Texas Foundation (GTF), TG, and the Kresge Foundation, this statewide collaborative focuses on improving educational outcomes for male students of color across the state of Texas. The Consortium is made up of over twenty institutional partners in K-12 and higher education, and it seeks to align and coordinate existing programs and services that target underrepresented male students across the education continuum. The Consortium is a coordinated response to the growing statewide educational imperative focused on male students of color.

Dr. Sáenz has received several notable accolades in his academic career. In 2009 he was named by Diverse Magazine as "One of 25 to Watch" diversity leaders in American higher education. In fall 2010, he was recognized as one of seven "ING Professors of Excellence" among over two thousand faculty members at the University of Texas. Over the years, he has been quoted and cited in numerous news stories, policy reports, and scholarly publications, and his research work on Latino males in higher education continues to gain national attention. He is a member of two distinguished editorial boards for peer-reviewed journals in his field, and he is an active member of several national associations focused on higher education issues, including ASHE, AERA, AIR, AAHHE, and TACHE. He has spoken about his research and programmatic work on Capitol Hill and at conferences across the country. He is also on the national boards of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education, the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience, the Hispanic Scholarship Consortium, and the Texas Puente Project (Catch the Next).

Dr. Sáenz earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education and Organizational Change in 2005 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he also completed a Master's in Education in 2002. He also earned a Master's degree in Public Affairs (1999, LBJ School of Public Affairs) and a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics (1996, College of Natural Sciences) from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Sáenz is a fourth-generation Texan and a second-generation Longhorn. He was born and raised in the Rio Grande Valley and currently lives in Austin, where he and his partner Erica live with their son Victor "Augie" Sáenz.

Jennifer Sarver

Sarver Strategies

Jenifer Sarver is CEO of Sarver Strategies and has more than 15 years of experience in media relations, crisis communications, speechwriting, coalition building, and media and presentation skills training.

She served as Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Commerce during the Bush Administration. She also served as the Director of the Archer Center and was a Senior Advisor on the Washington, D.C. staff of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. She is on the Advisory Councils of the UT Austin College of Communication and the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life, is on the board of the Archer Center and is chairman of the board of the Texas 4000 for Cancer. She was selected as a Texas Lyceum director in 2013 and as a member of the 2010 Leadership Austin Essential Class. In 2014 she was appointed as a member of the Texas Exes Council.

Jenifer graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Journalism and a Bachelor of Science in Communication Studies. She received the degree of Master in Public Administration from American University.

Mark A. Treviño

Oklahoma-Texas Area Manager, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Mark Trevino is the Area Manager of the Oklahoma-Texas Area Office, which includes most of Texas, all of Oklahoma and southern Kansas, making the area one of the largest geographical areas within Reclamation. As the Area Manager, Trevino is responsible for 11 Reclamation projects, which provide municipal and industrial water to over one million people. He also oversees significant recreation, fish and wildlife, and flood control benefits to the people of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Prior to accepting the Area Manager position, Trevino served two years as the Special Projects Director in Austin, Texas. Trevino started his career at Reclamation in 1980 as a Civil Engineer on the Nueces River Project in Three Rivers, Texas.

In 2005, Trevino received the U.S. Department of the Interior Commissioners Superior Service Award. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Cooperative Conservation Award. Trevino received a B.S. in Architectural Engineering from The University of Texas in 1980 and a Master’s degree in Civil Engineering in May 2000 from the University of Colorado-Denver.

Veronica Vargas Stidvent

Co-ChairPresident, CEA Consulting, LLC; Lecturer, McCombs School of Business

A longtime leader in state and national education policy, Veronica “Ronnye” Vargas Stidvent is the President of CEA Consulting, LLC and a lecturer at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. Most recently, she was Chancellor of WGU Texas. She has also served as the Head of Education and Training at Dimensional Fund Advisors and as Program Director for the University of Texas Hispanic Leadership Initiative and Subiendo: The Academy for Rising Leaders at the McCombs School of Business. In addition, Ronnye was the inaugural Director of the Center for Politics and Governance at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs.

From 2004 to 2007, she was the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Labor, where she provided advice and counsel to the Secretary of Labor on issues including immigration reform, worker health and safety, and job training. Prior to her appointment as Assistant Secretary, Stidvent served in the White House as Special Assistant to the President for Policy. She has held a number of positions for the University of Texas alumni association, including at-large representative to the Texas Exes Council, chair of the Hispanic Alumni Steering Committee, and member of the Board of Directors for the Texas Exes Scholarship Foundation.

Stidvent is also a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for Indiana University School of Public Affairs. In 2009, she was appointed to a six-year term on the Texas Commission on Human Rights. Stidvent was honored by the National Association of Hispanic Publishers as a Latina Role Model. A native of El Paso, Texas, Ronnye received her B.A from The University of Texas at Austin and a J.D. from Yale.