Governance
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chris Wallace, Chair
North Texas Commission
Claire Bocchini, MD
Texas Children’s Hospital
Donald Bowers
Federal Reserve Bank
Jason Durham
Lincoln Financial Group
Allison Esenkova
Texas Children’s Hospital
Doe Florsheim
Community Advocate
Victoria Garcia
Stellus Capital Management
Asha George
Salesforce
Juan Carlo Hernandez
Herflo Inverna
Jay Jayasuriya
Sendero Consulting
Dan Longoria
Mattress Firm, El Paso
Michelle Lopez, MD
Baylor College of Medicine
Yves Mombeleur
Clearinghouse CDFI, FVLCRUM Fund
Kindel Nuno
Somnigroup International
Manish Panjwani
Accenture
Jay Pasale
Salamander Solutions Inc.
Ben Patton
Reed Smith
Chris Pedigo
Cook Children’s Hospital
Nina Rand
Bespoke Communications
Jeremy Samuels
Samuels Family Foundation
Robert Sanborn, Ed.D.
CHILDREN AT RISK
Adolfo Santos, PhD
Arkansas Tech University
John Seo
JSEO LLC
Alessa Serda
Salesforce
Chris Watt
Reed Smith
Ed Wolff
Beth Wolff Realtors
Daniel Yoo
Surestone Group
NORTH TEXAS ADVISORY BOARD
Amit Parikh, Chair
Resultant
Chris Wallace, Co-Chair
North Texas Commission
Garren Alexander
Truist
Janel Barksdale
Independent Financial
Melonie Carnegie
Rebelution
Aidan Casey
Urban Logistics Realty
Catherine Davis
Child Care Associates
Ron Jeans
Entrepreneur
Ashley Kreklau
Landside Banks
Chris Pedigo
Cook Children’s Hospital
Yves Mombeleur
Clearinghouse CDFI
LaSheryl Walker
Forest Forward
Will Holtz
Holtz Law Firm
EL PASO ADVISORY BOARD
Ben Arriola, Chair
Southwest University
Ernesto Avila
Sunflower Bank
Richard Castro
Castro Enterprises
Rosamaria Gonzalez
Grupo De la Vega
Tita Hunt
Community Volunteer
Michael Kelly, PhD
Paso del Norte Health Foundation
Dan Longoria
Mattress Firm
Ricardo Samaniego
County of El Paso
Kelly Tomblin
El Paso Electric
HONORARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS
EMERITUS BOARD
Dr. Carolyn Farb, h.c.
Kathleen Gallagher
Diana Davila Martinez
Virginia McFarland
James S. Mickelson
Richard W. Mithoff
Laurence Payne
Rev. Joe Samuel Ratliff
Jack Segal, Rabbi Emeritus
Melissa Wilson
Philamena Baird
Community Volunteer
Pam Humphrey
Chubb
Michael Maher
Presenture, LLC
David Roylance
Prism Energy Solutions
Jeffrey Starke, M.D.
Texas Children’s Hospital
Buddy Steves
Community Advocate
Robert Zincke
Former President, Kroger
LAW ADVISORY BOARD (LAB)
CHILDREN AT RISK’s Law Advisory Board oversees the research and advocacy efforts of the Public Policy and Law Center. Comprised of over forty dedicated attorneys from across Texas, the board meets on a quarterly basis to discuss current issues affecting Texas’ children and the possible legal solutions to address these issues. The guidance and legal expertise provided by the Law Advisory Board has helped CHILDREN AT RISK to achieve legislative victories on human trafficking, education, juvenile justice, and health issues. With the support of the Law Advisory Board, CHILDREN AT RISK will continue to employ the law and advocacy as tools to improve the quality of life for Texas’ children.
Bruce Hurley, Co-Chair
King & SpaldingLLP
Jennifer Tomsen, Co-Chair
Greenberg Traurig LLP
Wafa Abdin
Catholic Charities
Bob Baker
Attorney at Law
Sherie Beckman
Mithoff Law Firm
Christopher Borrecca
Thompson and Horton LLP
Melanie D. Bragg
Legal Insight Inc.
Andrea Backsheider Burridge, Ph.D.
University of Houston
Katherine Cabaniss
Judge of the 248th Criminal District Court of Harris County
Kate Champion
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Judie Cross
Patient Care Intervention Center
Will Denham
Attorney at Law
Dennis Duffy
Kane Russell Coleman & Logan
Linda M. Dunson
Donovan & Watkins
Joshua Farkas
Dynegy Inc.
Sally Green
Thurgood Marshall School of Law, Texas Southern University
Lauren Harrison
Jones Walker
Eyvette Hetherington
Attorney at Law
James Holtz
Holtz Law Firm PC
George Jordan
Fullbright & Jaworski LLP
Ellyn Josef
Vinson & Elkins LLP
Karyl M. Lawson
Attorney at Law, Retired
Susan Lindberg
Eni Petroleum Co., Inc.
Karen Maston
Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold LLP
John Meredith
SpringSpirit
Silvia Mintz
Plake and Mintz PLLC
Susan Pennebaker, Esq.
Pennebaker Fifth Ring
Yohanna Romero Baca
Garza & Associates
Lynn Sessions
Baker Hostetler
Lisa Sherrill
Attorney at Law
Ann Stephens
Shell Oil Company
Andrew Strong
Kalon Biotherapeutics LLC
Angie Truitt
Collier Legal
CHILDREN AT RISK INSTITUTE
The CHILDREN AT RISK Institute is an academically oriented policy and research collaborative focused on facilitating research and scholarship to promote new and innovative public policy solutions to the challenges faced by children.
Jayna Dave, PhD
Assistant Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Angelo P. Giardino, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical Director, Texas Children’s Health Plan
Clinical Professor, Baylor College of Medicine
Christopher Greeley, M.D., FAAP
Associate Professor, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston
Deanna Hoelscher, Ph.D.
Director, The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living, Professor at UT School of Public Health
Stephen L. Klineberg, Ph.D.
Professor, Rice University
Quianta Moore, M.D., J.D.
Scholar in Health Policy, Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy
Rebecca Pfeffer, Ph. D
University of Houston-Downtown
Jean Raphel, MD, MPH
Baylor College of Medicine
Texas Children’s Hospital
Cathy L. Rozmus, Esq.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University of Texas Health Science Center- Houston
Steve Schnee, Ph.D
Executive Director, Harris Center for Mental Health and IDD
Ruth SoRelle, M.P.H.
Chief Science Editor, Baylor College of Medicine
Whitney Stewart, PhD.
Assistant Professor, UT Dallas
Lori Taylor, Ph.D.
Professor and Head of Public Service and Administration Department, Bush School of Government and Public Service Texas A&M University