ADVERTISING/MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS
Cooksey Communications recently added Kelly Colbert to its Creative Department as a graphic designer. Colbert supports all of Cooksey’s public and private sector clients with their digital and social marketing program, collateral design, brand development and event promotion needs.
BANKING/FINANCE
The Board of Directors of The Charles Schwab Corporation announced Oct. 12 the appointment of Rick Wurster as President of The Charles Schwab Corp. In his new role, Wurster will report to Walt Bettinger, Chief Executive Officer of The Charles Schwab Corporation.
Wurster was previously a Managing Director and head of Schwab Asset Management. He joined Schwab in early 2016 and has worked closely with Bettinger and other Schwab executives over the past five years.
Argent Financial Group has announced that Saiyida Gardezi has successfully completed the Chartered Financial Analyst Program.
Crestline Investors, Inc., a credit focused institutional alternative asset manager based in Fort Worth, on Oct. 26 announced that Keith Williams was promoted to co-Chief Investment Officer of the firm. Williams, who joined Crestline in 2012 as Managing Director & Senior Portfolio Manager, is a Managing Partner of Crestline and member of the firm’s Management Committee.
The National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP) Officers and Directors for 2021 through 2022 on Oct. 27 including one from North Texas and another from Georgetown.
Frank Sands, CPA, at Sands, Gililland & Company PC in Plano, was elected executive vice president and Gary R. Brown, CPA, at Gary R. Brown CPA LLC in Georgetown was elected vice president. Both are members of the organization’s Texas Chapter.
EDUCATION
The Oakridge School has named a new head of school to succeed Jon Kellam, who announced last winter that he will retire from the school he has served for nearly three decades.
Matthew R. Burgy, Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning at St. Mark’s Episcopal School in Houston, has been selected to lead Oakridge following a comprehensive national search that attracted a diverse pool of outstanding candidates.
He will begin at Oakridge on July 1, 2022. Kellam’s last day as head of school will be on June 30, 2022.
Burgy has served as a Head of School, Dean of Students, Director of Admission, Head of Middle School, Head of Upper School, Athletic Director, and mathematics teacher for 5th grade through AP Calculus. He holds a bachelor of business administration from Stephen F. Austin State University and a master of education in independent school leadership from Vanderbilt University.
Burgy and his wife Moira, a veteran educator with experience presenting at national conferences on curriculum and teacher development, have one daughter, Katie, who is a doctoral student at Tufts University.
The search was led by Board of Regents Chairman Charles Pierson and a committee of Regents and parents, in partnership with educational recruitment firm, Carney, Sandoe & Associates. The search committee reviewed nearly 60 candidates from around the globe, ultimately narrowing the number to four finalists.
Burgy has served St. Mark’s Episcopal Houston since 2013. St. Mark’s is a private co-educational school for students age 2 through grade 8.
Established in 1979, The Oakridge School is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory, day school for students age 3 through grade 12.
Child Care Associates (CCA) has named Catherine Worth Davis as its new director of policy. With nearly a decade of experience working in education, nonprofit and policy sector, she most recently served as the associate director of programs for The Principal Impact Collaborative at UNT Dallas (PIC), where she led the organization’s strategic growth, impact measurement and continuous improvement initiatives.
David Wolf, the University of North Texas vice president for University Advancement, has been selected by the Office of the Governor to participate in the Governor’s Executive Development Program (GEDP), designed for those with executive-level positions and responsibility for charting the strategic direction of their organizations.
As a member of CLASS XXXIX of the GEDP, Wolf will spend three separate weeks attending seminars in Arlington, Galveston and Austin. The intensive educational program will lead top executives in Texas state agencies and universities in organizational strategy, infrastructure management, resource management and personal effectiveness
GOVERNMENT
Gov. Greg Abbott has reappointed Cynthia Flores, Charles Richard “Rick” Huber III, John Henry Luton, Austin Ruiz, O.D. and W. Wintford “Ford” Taylor III and appointed Christine Giese and Helen Jimenez to the Brazos River Authority Board of Directors for terms set to expire on Feb. 1, 2027. Two are from North Texas.
Huber of Granbury is a retired American Airlines Captain. He is a member of the Fort Worth Air Power Council and the Grey Eagles. He is a member of the Granbury Regional Airport Advisory Board and Vice-President of Mesa Grande Water Supply Corporation. He is a former member of the Leadership Granbury Board of Directors and Lakeside Baptist Academy Board of Directors and former Chairman of the Hood County Appraisal Review Board. Huber received a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from Mississippi State University. He received an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force.
Luton of Granbury is Chairman of the Board of First National Bank of Granbury. He is member of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and former board member of the Brazos Valley Soil and Water Conservation District and the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District. Additionally, he is a member of the Texas Aggie Band Association, Former Students Association the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Association, and the Champions Council of the 12th Man Foundation. Luton received a Bachelor of Science from Texas A&M University. He received an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force.
Abbott has appointed Daniel Hall, Castlen Moore Kennedy, Joel Mickey and Phil Wilson to the State Energy Plan Advisory Committee for terms at the pleasure of the Governor. Two are from North Texas.
Hall of Hurst is the Vice President of Measurement and Billing for Oncor, and served in various roles at Oncor since 2009. Previously, he worked for Alcatel-Lucent and TXU Business Services. He is a member of the Southeast Electric Exchange Engineering & Operations Committee. Hall received a bachelor of science in engineering and technology from Texas A&M University.
Abbott has reappointed Lynn Gravley to the North Texas Tollway Authority Board of Directors for a term set to expire on Aug. 31, 2023. The nine-member board, which includes one gubernatorial appointee, governs and oversees the operations of the tollway authority that serves Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
Gravley of Gunter is president and CEO of NT Logistics Inc. He is a member of the University of North Texas College of Business Logistics Department Board of Advisors and the Transportation Intermediaries Association Board of Directors and chairman of the Highway Logistics Conference for the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Additionally, he is a former member of the Gunter ISD Board of Trustees, Gunter ISD Foundation Board of Directors, and the Christian Care Centers Board of Directors. Gravley received a bachelor of arts from North Texas State University.
ENGINEERING
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) named Chris Miguel Wilkie of Keller as chief executive officer effective Oct. 19.
Wilkie spent the last four years serving as SHPE’s chief operating officer, making him uniquely qualified to immediately capitalize on the momentum of growth and national impact the organization achieved during the leadership of the previous CEO, Raquel Tamez, the organization said in a news release.
Global management consulting firm Korn Ferry was hired to conduct an extensive, countrywide executive search for Tamez’s successor.
Prior to SHPE, Wilkie was the AVP of Regulatory, Oversight, and Monitoring for SourceAmerica, a national nonprofit that creates employment opportunities for people with significant disabilities.
HEALTH CARE
Jennifer Chavez, D.N.P., R.N., ACNP-BC, NEA-BC, CCRN, has been named chief nursing officer of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth.
Chavez joined Texas Health Fort Worth in March 2020 and led the strategic planning, program development, business plans and day-to-day operations of clinical support areas including Surgical Services, Radiology, Pharmacy and Laboratory.
HOSPITALITY
The City of Fort Worth’s Public Event Department (PED) has recently promoted and hired new executive team members.
Cynthia Serrano, CEM, has been promoted to Assistant Director/General Manager of the Fort Worth Convention Center. She has been acting in the position in an interim role since August 2019. Serrano holds a master of science in advertising and public relations from Texas Christian University, a bachelor of arts in interdisciplinary studies from University of Texas at Arlington and a Graduate Certificate in Public Administration from Texas Wesleyan University. She has been with the City of Fort Worth since 1999 and has worked in several departments, including Finance and Community Relations.
New to the team is Keith A. Chisolm, who has been named Capital Projects Manager for PED.
Chisolm was previously assistant director of Public Works at the City of Colonial Heights, Virginia\a. Prior to working there, he served in the U.S. Army for 22 years to include combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Dallas native, Chisolm received his bachelor of arts in criminology from Abilene Christian University and a master of public administration from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Capital plans for Public Events venues over the next five years include a $450 million expansion of the Fort Worth Convention Center (FWCC) and more than $21 million in upgrades and renovations for Will Rogers Memorial Center (WRMC).
Blake Moorman, CMP, has been promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing for the FWCC. He had been acting in the position in an interim role since April 2020. Moorman attended Texas Christian University and holds a bachelor of arts in music theatre and business from the University of Texas at Arlington. He was managing director for Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth before coming to the City in 1998, and is an active member of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, NAACP and Alpha Phi Alpha.
Andra Bennett, APR, joins PED as its first Marketing Communications Coordinator. Bennett brings 18 years of prior experience at the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, where she was Vice President of Communications. She holds a bachelor of arts in mass communications from Abilene Christian University and has been accredited by the Public Relations Society of America since 1993.
Rounding out the executive team are Mike Crum, director of the Public Events Department; Assistant Public Events Director Andrea Wright; and Assistant Director/General Manager Kevin Kemp and Director of Sales & Marketing David Reeves, both with Will Rogers Memorial Center.
LAW
Chris Taylor, an assistant criminal district attorney in Tarrant County, has been appointed to serve as the judge for the 48th District Court by Gov. Greg Abbott.
Taylor, who works in the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s civil division, will replace retiring Judge David Evans, who has served as this court’s judge since Dec. 23, 2003.
Taylor, who has been with the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office for nearly four years, will be the 13th judge of this court that was established in 1891. This is the second oldest court in Tarrant County. Taylor will serve a term that will expire Dec. 31, 2022.
He is a member of the Texas County and District Retirement System Board of Trustees, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Advisory Board and the Texas District & County Attorneys Association. He volunteers as a board member of the Women’s Center of Tarrant County and the Alliance for Children.
Taylor received a bachelor of arts in political science from the University of North Texas and his law degree from the Texas Tech University School of Law.
Ana Ibáñez joins Broude Smith Jennings & McGlinchey PC as an associate. Ibáñez received her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law with a B.A., in Sociology from Bowdoin College.
ORGANIZATIONS
The Board of Directors of the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce (FWMBCC) has voted to name Sultan Cole the interim president of the organization as it begins a search for a permanent CEO to replace the late Devoyd “Dee” Jennings who died in July.
Cole, who has been chairman of the board for the past five and half years, has stepped down temporarily from that position while the search for a president continues. He has announced his intent to apply for the permanent job.
The board, in a special meeting Oct. 21, also voted to make Board Vice President Reginald Gates the new Chairman of the Board. Gates, vice-chancellor for communications and external affairs at Tarrant County College, is a past president of both the FWMBCC and the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce.
RETAIL
Retail and Leisure International’s 16th Global RLI Awards, held as a hybrid event on Sept. 23, 2021, at The Londoner Hotel in London, UK, recognized and celebrated the most visionary and innovative retail and leisure concepts from across the globe. What does that mean for North Texas? A lot, as The Colony’s Grandscape was voted the most outstanding of an impressive array of international projects in the category of most innovative retail and entertainment project. Celebrating the most outstanding contribution to the retail and entertainment sector, this category rewards those projects that have created an extraordinary experience for customers and tenants alike.
JCPenney announced Oct. 25 the appointment of Marc Rosen as CEO, effective Nov. 1. Stanley Shashoua, Simon’s chief investment officer, has been appointed as executive chairman of the Board of Directors after serving as interim CEO of JCPenney since January.
Rosen brings more than 25 years of retail and e-commerce experience to the role, most recently serving as executive vice president and president of Levi Strauss Americas at Levi Strauss & Co., leading commercial operations for Levi’s, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co., and Denizen brands across all channels.