SMART
Family Literacy
Board of Directors
SMART FAMILY LITERACY
2025 Board of Directors
Approved 11/15/24
A Coalition of Education, Medical, and Business Professionals
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Board President
Suzanne La Forte, MD, FAAP
Pediatrician, UTMB
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Interim Division Director of Complex Care
2015
President 2016, 2019, 2025
2024 Children’s Literacy Champion Award, September 14th
Immediate Past Board President
Dawn McCarty, Ph.D., LMSW
The University of Houston-Downtown, Professor of Social Work; BSW Program Director
2021
President 2024
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President-Elect (2025 President)
Steve Mataro, Senior VP of Community Relations
Grant Works, Inc.
2014
President 2018, 2026
Vice President
Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA
American National Insurance Company
Life Products - Development Manager
2017
President 2020, 2023
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Secretary and Co-Founder
Ginger Turner
Head Operational Excellence & Data Management; Director Life & Health Business Management, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Zurich, Switzerland
2004
Treasurer
Julio Rodriguez, CPA
Retired Auditor, Exxon Mobil Corporation
2024
Director and Co-Founder, Check Signer
Mark Greenwalt
Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; Past President Texas Association of Schools of Art
2004
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Directors
Veronica Hugger, Check Signer
Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA
2011
President - 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
2024 Founders’ Award, 20th Anniversary, Exemplary Volunteer, May 4th
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Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA
Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB
2017
President 2021
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Elizabeth Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Houston - Clear Lake
2020
President 2022
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​Laura Hughes
Associate Legal Counsel, American National Insurance Co.
2013
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Elizabeth Lien-Rodriguez, MD
Pediatrician, UTMB
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Associate Program Director, Pediatrics Residency Program
2023
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Samuel E. Mathis, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAFP
Assistant Professor
Fellowship Director, UTMB Integrative & Behavioral Medicine Fellowship
WD & Laura Nell Nicholson Family Professorship in Integrative Medicine
Department of Family Medicine
2024
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EMERITUS LEVEL - Non-voting
In recognition of a decade of service and dedication to literacy. Participation in meetings and other activities of the organization is optional.
Christal G. Burnett Sánchez, Ed.D.
Adjunct Professor of Education, Director of Rice Education
2011
President 2017
Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB
2013
STAFF - Nonvoting
Liz Turner, Founder, CFO, Co-ED
2004
Amy Musick, Co-ED
2025
2024 Board of Directors
Updated 5/15/2024
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Board President
Dawn McCarty, Ph.D., LMSW, ACUE
The University of Houston-Downtown, Professor of Social Work
Immediate Past Board President
Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA
Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company; 2019 President of United Way Galveston
President-Elect (2025 President)
Suzanne La Forte, MD, FAAP
Pediatrician, UTMB
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Vice President
Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA
Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB
Secretary and Co-Founder
Ginger Turner
Head Operational Excellence & Data Management; Director Life & Health Business Management, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Zurich, Switzerland
Treasurer
Christal G. Burnett Sánchez, Ed.D
Associate Professor of Bilingual Education and Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown
Director and Co-Founder
Mark Greenwalt
Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; Past President Texas Association of Schools of Art
​
Directors
Elizabeth Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Houston - Clear Lake
Veronica Hugger (served as President 2011 through 2015, VP 2021)
Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA
​
Laura Hughes
Associate Legal Counsel, American National Insurance Co.
​
Elizabeth Lien-Rodriguez, MD
Pediatrician, UTMB
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Associate Program Director, Pediatrics Residency Program
Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB
Steve Mataro
Grant Works, Inc.
Samuel Mathis, M.D.
Family Medicine, UTMB
Medical Director, Employee Health
Clerkship Co-Director, Family Medicine Clerkship
Fellowship Director, Integrative and Behavioral Health
Julio Rodriguez, CPA
Retired Auditor, Exxon Mobil Corporation
2023 Board of Directors
Approved November 12, 2022
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Board President
Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA
Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company; 2019 President of United Way Galveston
President-Elect (2024 President)
Dawn McCarty, Ph.D., LMSW, ACUE
The University of Houston-Downtown, Professor of Social Work
Vice President
Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA
Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB
Secretary and Co-Founder
Ginger Turner
Head Operational Excellence & Data Management; Director Life & Health Business Management, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Zurich, Switzerland
Treasurer
Christal G. Burnett Sánchez, Ed.D
Associate Professor of Bilingual Education and Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown
Immediate Past Board President
Elizabeth Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Houston - Clear Lake
Director and Co-Founder
Mark Greenwalt
Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; Past President Texas Association of Schools of Art
​
Directors
Veronica Hugger (served as President 2011 through 2015, VP 2021)
Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA
​
Laura Hughes
Associate Legal Counsel, American National Insurance Co.
​
Christina Koch
NASA Astronaut, Physics and Engineering
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Suzanne La Forte, MD, FAAP
Pediatrician, UTMB
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
​
Elizbeth Lien-Rodriguez, MD
Pediatrician, UTMB
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Associate Program Director, Pediatrics Residency Program
Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB
Steve Mataro, Disaster Recovery Specialist
DSW Synergy, Systems, Solutions
Martha Montenegro Norris
Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High
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​2022 Board of Directors
Board President
Elizabeth Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Houston - Clear Lake
Vice President
Suzanne La Forte, MD, FAAP
Pediatrician, UTMB
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Secretary and Co-Founder
Ginger Turner
Head Operational Excellence & Data Management; Director Life & Health Business Management, Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd, Zurich, Switzerland
Treasurer
Heidi Coggeshall, MBA
Managing Director (Retired), BNP Paribas; Board President for Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation
Co-Founder
Mark Greenwalt
Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; Past President Texas Association of Schools of Art
​
Christal G. Burnett Sánchez, Ed.D
Associate Professor of Bilingual Education and Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown
​
Veronica Hugger
Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA
​
Laura Hughes
Associate Legal Counsel, American National Insurance Co.
​
Christina Koch
NASA Astronaut, Physics and Engineering
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
​
Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB
Steve Mataro, Disaster Recovery Specialist
DSW Synergy, Systems, Solutions
Dawn McCarty, Ph.D., LMSW, ACUE
University of Houston-Downtown, Professor of Social Work
Martha Montenegro Norris
Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High
​
Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA
Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company; 2019 President of United Way Galveston
​
Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA
Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB