2021 Board of Directors
The Board of Directors includes professionals from the education, medical, and business sectors; expertise from the fields of science, math, art, reading, technology; expertise from early childhood, health, and bilingual literacy fields, and representatives from all age groups.
President
Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA
Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB
President Elect (2022 President)
Elizabeth Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Houston - Clear Lake
Immediate Past President
Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA
Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company; 2019 President of United Way Galveston
Vice President
Veronica Hugger (served as President 2011 through 2015)
Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA
Treasurer
Heidi Coggeshall, MBA, Harvard
Retired Investment Banker, BNP Paribas; Goldman, Sachs, & Co.; Board President for Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation
Secretary and Co-Founder
Ginger Turner
Director, Life & Health Business Management, Swiss Reinsurance Co., Zurich, Switzerland
Christal G. Burnett- Sanchez, Ed.D. (served as President 2017)
Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown
Mark Greenwalt, Co-Founder
Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; Past President Texas Association of Schools of Art
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
Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB
Steve Mataro (served as President 2018)
Co-Owner, DSW Homes
Martha Montenegro Norris
Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High
Heather Rivers
Environmental Engineer, Valero Energy
2021 Youth Representative
Position vacant
2020 Board of Directors
The Board of Directors includes professionals from the education, medical, and business sectors; expertise from the fields of science, math, art, reading, technology; expertise from early childhood, health, and bilingual literacy fields, and representatives from all age groups.
Board President
Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA
Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company; 2019 President of United Way Galveston
President Elect (2021 President)
Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA
Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB
Immediate Past President
Suzanne La Forte, MD, FAAP
Pediatrician, UTMB
Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Vice President
Laura Hughes
Associate Legal Counsel, American National Insurance Co.
Secretary and Co-Founder
Ginger Turner
Director, Life & Health Business Management, Swiss Reinsurance Co., Zurich, Switzerland
Treasurer
Veronica Hugger (served as President 2011 through 2015)
Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA
Co-Founder
Mark Greenwalt
Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; Past President Texas Association of Schools of Art
Elizabeth Beavers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Houston - Clear Lake
Christal G. Burnett- Sanchez, Ed.D. (served as President 2017)
Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown
Heidi Coggeshall, MBA, Harvard
Retired Investment Banker, BNP Paribas; Goldman, Sachs, & Co.; Board President for Benign Essential Blepharospasm Research Foundation
Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)
Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB
Steve Mataro (served as President 2018)
Co-Owner, DSW Homes
Martha Montenegro Norris
Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High
Heather Rivers
Environmental Engineer, Valero Energy
2020 Youth Representative
Mindy Fu, Ball High Senior, Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society), volunteer recruiter
New Board Member Tool Kit
SMART Family Literacy welcomes new applicants to our active and dedicated Board of Directors. To learn more about the skills we are seeking and to serve as a member of the Board of Directors, complete commitment form and conflict of interest statement and return to: SMART Family Literacy, 2728 Avenue Q, Suite 1A, Galveston, Texas 77550.
Responsibilities of Board of Directors
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The SMART Board meets quarterly, but individual board members participate in projects, volunteer days, and committees in between quarterly meetings.
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Board members must agree to respond to email in a timely manner, especially for voting on issues that arise between meetings.
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Directors and Officers sign a Board Member Commitment.
From the SMART Board: Thinking About Literacy
"No Laughing Matter: Can Comic Books Teach?" by Marina Krakovsky
School readiness has long been touted as a way to ensure the best educational outcomes, but a new study indicates that it can also help with health outcomes too. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/kindergarten-readiness-has-long-reaching-education-and-health-outcomes
School readiness has long been touted as a way to ensure the best educational outcomes, but a new study indicates that it can also help with health outcomes too. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/kindergarten-readiness-has-long-reaching-education-and-health-outcomes
https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/06/01/615188051/lets-stop-talking-about-the-30-million-word-gap
"The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap" by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley