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

 

Danica Premirelli, Parent of 3, Community Volunteer

 

Heather Rivers

Environmental Engineer, Valero Energy

 

2020 Youth Representative

Mindy Fu, Ball High Senior, Mu Alpha Theta (math honor society), volunteer recruiter

2019 Directors and Key Personnel

 

Board President

Suzanne La Forte, MD, FAAP

Pediatrician, UTMB

Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics

 

President Elect (2020 President)

Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA

Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company; 2019 President of United Way Galveston

 

Immediate Past President

Steve Mataro

Co-Owner, DSW Homes

 

Vice President and Co-Founder

Ginger Turner 

Manager Tech Transformation, Group Finance, Swiss Reinsurance Co., Zurich, Switzerland

 

Secretary

Laura Hughes McDermott

Associate Legal Counsel, American National Insurance Co.

 

Treasurer

Heather Rivers

Environmental Engineer, Valero Energy

 

Director and Co-Founder

Mark Greenwalt 

Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; President Texas Association of Schools of Art

 

Directors

Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA

Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB

 

Christal G. Burnett- Sanchez, Ed.D.

Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown

 

Veronica Hugger (served as President 2011 through 2015)

Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA

 

Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB

 

Martha Montenegro Norris

Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High

 

 

 

 

2018 Youth Representatives

 

Mindy Fu, Junior, Ball High School, Galveston

      

2018 Key Personnel

 

Elizabeth Turner, Executive Director and Founder

 

Amy McCarthy Musick, Assistant Director and Teacher

 

Christine Ortiz-Gatlin, Project Leader and Teacher

 

Linda Stevens, STEM Education Specialist  

 

Catherine Stroud, Artist and Art Teacher

 

2018 Key Contributors

 

Cindy Roberts Gray, Ph.D., Educational Program Evaluator, Third Coast Research, contributes scholarly research and program evaluation

 

Catherine Stroud, Artist, “Capture Video Project” and community art projects

 

Jim Turner, Carpenter, 1 Job at a Time, garden and maker construction projects

 

Nick McIntyre, Computer scientist, Tailwind Labs, virtual classroom and technology consultant for digital literacy and program evaluation app

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2018 Directors and Key Personnel

 

Board President

Steve Mataro

Co-Owner, DSW Homes

 

President Elect (2019 President)

Suzanne La Forte, MD

Pediatrician, UTMB

 

Immediate Past President

Christal G. Burnett-Sánchez, Ed.D.

Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown

 

Vice President and Co-Founder

Ginger Turner 

Chief of Staff, Group Strategy, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Zurich, Switzerland

 

Secretary

Laura Hughes McDermott

Assistance Compliance Attorney, American National Insurance Co.

 

Treasurer

Heather Rivers

Environmental Engineer, Valero Energy

 

Director and Co-Founder

Mark Greenwalt 

Professor of Art, College of the Mainland; Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery; President Texas Association of Schools of Art

 

Directors

Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA

Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB

 

Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA

Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company

 

Veronica Hugger (served as President 2011 through 2015)

Accounting Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA

 

Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB

 

Martha Montenegro Norris

Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High

 

2018 Youth Representative

Mindy Fu, Junior, Ball High School, Galveston

      

2018 Key Personnel

Elizabeth Turner, Executive Director and Founder

 

Amy McCarthy Musick, Assistant Director

 

Christine Ortiz-Gatlin, Project Leader 

 

Linda Stevens, STEM Education Specialist  

 

2018 Key Contributors

Cindy Roberts Gray, Ph.D., educational program evaluator, Third Coast Research, contributes scholarly research and program evaluation

 

Catherine Stroud, artist, “Capture Video Project” and community art projects

 

Jim Turner, carpenter, 1 Job at a Time, garden construction projects

 

Nick McIntyre, computer scientist, Tailwind Labs, virtual classroom and technology consultant for digital literacy and program evaluation app

 

Responsibilities of Board of Directors

 

• The SMART Board meets quarterly, but individual board members participate in projects, volunteer days, and committees in between quarterly meetings.  

• Board members must agree to respond to email in a timely manner, especially for voting on issues that arise between meetings. 

• 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

 

"The Early Catastrophe:  The 30 Million Word Gap" by Betty Hart and Todd R. Risley

2017 Directors and Key Personnel

 

Board President

Christal G. Burnett, Ed.D.

Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown

 

President Elect (2018 President)

Steve Mataro

Co-Owner, DSW Homes

 

Immediate Past President

Suzanne La Forte, MD

Pediatrician, UTMB

 

Vice President and Co-Founder

Mark Greenwalt

Associate Professor of Art, College of the Mainland and Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery

 

Secretary and Co-Founder

Ginger Turner 

Chief of Staff, Group Strategy, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Zurich, Switzerland

 

Treasurer

Jason Welch 

Formerly Senior Financial Analyst, UTMB (relocated to Dripping Springs, August 2017)

 

Directors

Abe DeAnda Jr., MD, FACS, FAHA

Professor and Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vice-Chairman Faculty Development, UTMB

 

Dominic Etienne, QPA, QKA

Pension Sales Division, American National Insurance Company

 

Tino Gonzalez

Executive Director, Sea Star Base Galveston

  

Veronica Hugger (served as President 2011 through 2015)

Administrative Assistant, Edward J. Walsh & Associates, CPA

 

Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Active Grandparent and Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB

 

Laura Hughes McDermott

Active Parent and Assistance Compliance Attorney, American National Insuran

ce Co.

 

Martha Montenegro Norris

Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High

 

Heather Rivers

Environmental Engineer, Valero Energy

 

 

2017 Youth Representatives

 

Vacancy

 

2017 Key Personnel

 

Elizabeth Turner, Executive Director and Founder

 

Christine Ortiz-Gatlin, Assistant Director and Teacher

 

Amy McCarthy Musick, Project Leader and Teacher

 

2017 STEM Education Interns: Martee Hathorn, Linda Stevens, Sarah Bordelon, Kirsten Smirl, Alejandra Jacquez

 

2017 Key Contributors

 

Cindy Roberts Gray, Ph.D., Educational Program Evaluator, Third Coast Research

 

Catherine Stroud, Artist, Videographer

 

Jim Turner, Volunteer, Construction of Garden Frames and General Events

 

Andrew Turner, Volunteer, General Events

 

Melody Van Kay, Volunteer, Financials and Human Resources

 

 

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2016 Board of Directors

 

President

Suzanne La Forte, M.D. - Pediatrician, UTMB

 

Vice President 

Steve Mataro - Owner, DSW Homes

 

President Elect

Christal G. Burnett, Ed.D. - Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown

 

Immediate Past President

Veronica Hugger - Active Parent and Yoga Instructor, Total Fitness

 

Secretary and Co-Founder

Ginger Turner - Senior Economist, Vice President, Group Strategy, Swiss Reinsurance Company

 

Treasurer

Jason Welch - Senior Financial Analyst, UTMB

 

Co-Founder

Mark Greenwalt - Associate Professor of Art, College of the Mainland and Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery

 

Directors 

Tino Gonzalez - Vice President for Business Development, Moody National Bank

   

Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret) - Active Grandparent and Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB

 

Laura Hughes McDermott - Research & Staff Compliance Attorney, American National Insurance Company

 

Martha Norris - Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High

 

Youth Representatives

Cyrus Pacht, Senior - HISD, High School for Performing and Visual Arts, Literacy Club President

 

Rebekah Clark, Junior - Home School, Galveston County 4H Club

 

Executive Director

Elizabeth Turner, Founder and Executive Director 

 

2015 Board of Directors

 

• Veronica Hugger, President – Active Parent and Yoga Instructor, Total Fitness

 

• Ginger Turner, Vice President and Co-Founder – Senior Economist, Vice President, Group Strategy, Swiss Reinsurance Company

 

• Mark Greenwalt, Treasurer and Co-Founder – Associate Professor of Art, College of the Mainland and Artist, Hooks-Epstein Gallery

 

• Christal G. Burnett, Ed.D., Secretary – Associate Professor and Assistant Chair, Department of Urban Education, University of Houston-Downtown

 

• Suzanne La Forte, M.D. – Pediatrician, UTMB

 

• Kathy Machol, LCDR, MSC, U.S. Navy (Ret) – Active Grandparent and Retired Social Worker, U.S. Navy and UTMB

 

• Steve Mataro – Owner, DSW Homes

 

• Laura Hughes McDermott – Research & Staff Compliance Attorney, American National Insurance Company

 

• Martha Norris – Physicians’ Assistant, UTMB Teen Health Clinic at Ball High

 

• Jason Welch – Senior Financial Analyst, UTMB