Texas Women’s Foundation Announces Board Chair Elect, New Directors

The Texas Women’s Foundation announced eight new board members, who will serve three-year terms from 2020-2023, and also named Hilda Galvan as chair elect. Galvan, partner-in-charge at Jones Day and Park Cities resident, has served on the Foundation board since 2016, and co-chaired both the Economic Leadership Council and the Leadership Forum and Awards Dinner.

“Our legacy of inclusion is unique in many ways. Texas Women’s Foundation was built on dedication to equity and deep commitment to ending injustice. Our history speaks volumes – from the racial, cultural, ethnic and social diversity of our founders, to the fact that today our board is 49 percent and our staff 53 percent women of color and LGBTQ. As chair, I am proud of what we have achieved, yet I know we have so much more to do as advocates for gender and racial equity. Happily, we are welcoming Hilda as chair elect and eight outstanding new board members. Together, our 47 board members make up one of the most diverse and powerful boards in this region. We’re here to support the magnificent work of TXWF on behalf of women and girls, and to use our power, influence, voice and resolve to advance equity for all,” said Texas Women’s Foundation board chair A. Shonn Brown.

The Texas Women’s Foundation seeks to empower women and girls in Texas to build stronger, more equitable communities, as well as advance social and economic change for women and girls. The Foundation raises funding from a broad base of donors, including individuals, foundations, and corporations. These resources support more than $7 million in annual investments that advance economic security and leadership for Texas women and girls. The Foundation’s statewide research on issues affecting women and girls provides decision-makers and lawmakers with critical data to inform policies, practices, and programs in the state. 

The new Texas Women’s Foundation directors are:

·      Avery Belyeu, Regional Director, South Central Region Lambda Legal

·      Darcy Cowell, Principal, EY

·      Sakina Foster, Partner, Haynes and Boone, LLP

·      Melissa Orth, President and CEO, The Legacy Senior Communities

·      Gwen Parker, Community Leader and Volunteer

·      Holly Reed, Principal and Practice Leader, U.S. Advocacy Services Practice, Ryan

·      Gowri Sharma, Co-Owner, Top Pot Donuts

·      Julia Simon, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, Mary Kay

The executive committee members are:

·      A. Shonn Brown, Chair (Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Kimberly-Clark) 

·      Hilda Galvan, Chair Elect (Partner-in-Charge, Jones Day)

·      Roslyn Dawson Thompson, President & CEO, Texas Women’s Foundation 

·      Bonner Allen, Programs Committee Chair (Community Volunteer)

·      Cheryl Alston, Secretary (Executive Director and CIO, Employees’ Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas)

·      Stacey Doré, Member-At-Large (CEO, Sharyland Utilities, L.L.C.)

·      Bev Goulet, Investment Advisory Chair (Retired, American Airlines)

·      Betsy Healy, Advocacy Chair (Associate Director, Harold Simmons Foundation)

·      Michelle Hudson, Treasurer/Finance Chair (Principal, Hudson Peters Commercial)

·      Debra Hunter Johnson, Member-At-Large, (President/Owner, Reciprocity Consulting)

·      Lisa Montgomery, Governance Committee Chair, (Owner and Creative Director, Luxe Events)

·      Laura Nieto, Member-At-Large, (Director, Community Outreach, Southwest Airlines)

·      Charmaine Tang, Member-At-Large, (Executive Director, J.P. Morgan)  

Parker and Sharma are also Park Cities residents and Foster and Simon are Preston Hollow/North Dallas residents.