Sandy Kress of Austin serves as chair of the commission.
Kress is a partner in the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P., where he focuses on public law and policy at the state and national levels. He served as senior advisor to President George W. Bush on education and as president of the board of trustees of the Dallas Public Schools. Kress currently serves on the Education Commission of the States. He previously served as counsel to the Governor's Business Council and Texans for Education, and as a member of the Texas Business and Education Coalition. Kress received his bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and earned his law degree with honors from the University of Texas School of Law.

Additionally, the following business, education and community service leaders were appointed to the Commission:

• Albert Black, President, On-Target Supplies and Logistics of Dallas
  
• Barbara Cargill, Member, State Board of Education
  
• José Cuevas, Jr., Founder and CEO, JumBurrito
  
• Dr. Robert Duron, Superintendent, San Antonio Independent School District
  
• Linda Evans, President of Grants and Planning, The Meadows Foundation of Dallas
  
• Bruce Esterline, Vice President of Grants and Planning, The Meadows Foundation of Dallas
  
• Dr. Larry Faulkner, President, The Houston Endowment; and former President, The University of Texas at Austin
  
• David Garcia, CEO, CEDRA Corporation of Austin
  
• Bill Hammond, President and CEO, Texas Association of Business
  
• Dr. Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jan Hanna Senior Fellow, Hoover Institute of Stanford University
  
• Woody L. Hunt, former Chairman of the Board of Regents, The University of Texas System
  
• Jodie Jiles, Managing Director, RBC Capital Markets of Houston
  
• Charles E. McMahen, Chairman, Governor’s Business Council
  
• George McShan, former President and President-elect, Texas Association of School Boards
  
• Sonya Medina, Executive Director, AT&T Foundation
  
• Elaine Mendoza, President, Conceptual MindWorks, Inc.
  
• David Merrill, Vice President-Investments, AG Edwards & Sons, Inc.
  
• Dean Nafziger, Ph.D., CEO , Edvance Research, Inc.
  
• Dr. Richard M. Rhodes, President, El Paso Community College
  
• Dr. Ricardo Romo, President, The University of Texas at San Antonio
  
• Zeynep Young, Michael and Susan Dell Foundation

Also included as members of the Commission are eight co-chairs who oversee the four subject-specific vertical teams:

• Dr. Linda Ferreira-Buckley, Chair, Department of Rhetoric and Composition English, The University of Texas at Austin
• Selina Jackson, English Teacher, Wall Independent School District
  
• Linda Gann, Mathematics Instructional Specialist, Northside Independent School District
  
• Dr. Selina Vasquez-Mireles, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Texas State University-San Marcos
  
• Mercedes Guzman, Science Teacher, El Paso Independent School District
  
• Dr. C. O. Patterson, Professor of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station
  
• Larry Garibaldi, Instructional Team Leader, Houston Independent School District
  
• Dr. Jonathan Lee, Associate Professor of History, San Antonio College

Ex-officio members of the Commission include:

• Commissioner of Education Robert Scott, Texas Education Agency
  
• Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
  
• Susan Combs, Texas State Comptroller
  
• John Fitzpatrick, Executive Director, Texas High School Project – Communities Foundation of Texas

Home | Commission | Schedule | CCRT Documents | Meeting Information | Resources | News