Newsmakers: TCC taps campus president LeBlanc for new top job in administration

Portrait headshot of Dr. Elva LeBlanc.

After a nationwide search, Tarrant County College has selected the president of its Northwest Campus, Elva LeBlanc, to become the institution’s first executive vice chancellor and provost.

TCC Chancellor Eugene Giovannini made the announcement March 10.

The new position is the college’s highest-ranking academic and administrative officer after the chancellor. LeBlanc takes her new position on June 1.

As executive vice chancellor and provost, LeBlanc will be responsible for the planning, development and administration of the college’s core areas of academic affairs and student success. She also will oversee TCC’s six campus presidents, district academic programs, enrollment and support services, department chairmen, and economic and workforce development initiatives.LeBlanc will also have a “pivotal role in the execution and implementation of TCC’s strategic plan,” according to a news release.

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As president of TCC Northwest, LeBlanc has been a leader in creating and running the county’s first early college high school, increasing collaboration with the public schools, expanding strategic partnerships with business and industry, developing workforce programs in response to community needs and expanding a satellite campus at Alliance Airport, according to the news release.

LeBlanc previously was president of Galveston College and executive vice president for instructional affairs at Austin Community College.

She is a former TCC student and earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of North Texas.

Paint horse association leader

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resigns, replacement named

Fort Worth-based American Paint Horse Association announced that George Ready will step down as the association’s 2017 president and as a member of the APHA Executive Committee. The Executive Committee appointed President-elect Craig Wood as the acting 2017 president.

The decision came soon after APHA’s Annual Convention and Membership Meeting in Irving in early March.

“Based on events at the convention and obvious disagreements on how we go forward, and based on my heavy work schedule, I believe my resignation to be in the best interest of APHA and I wish the association continued success,” said Ready.

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Wood was elected to the APHA Executive Committee in 2012. A professor at the University of Kentucky, Wood has more than 40 years of experience in the horse industry and has worked as an APHA national director since 2006. He has served on the General Show & Contest, Ways & Means and Regional Club committees, as well as the Advisory Panel to the Executive Committee.

Wood praised Ready for his contributions to APHA and for assisting with the transition. “His five years of unselfish service on the Executive Committee has given us an opportunity to move forward in a positive way. His assistance with developing the Fort Worth Stockyards project was invaluable and saved the association hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

APHA Past President Dr. Travis Titlow, a California dentist, will fill the vacancy on the Executive Committee until the Nominating Committee has time to put together a slate of candidates for election at the 2018 convention.

APHA’s 2017 Executive Committee now includes: Acting President Wood, Owenton, Kentucky; President-elect Mike Short, Shiner; Vice President Casey West, Abilene, Kansas; senior committee member Karen Thomas, Morganton, North Carolina; fifth committee member Alison Umberger, Broad Run, Virginia; sixth committee member Titlow, Roseville, California; and Immediate Past President Susie Shaw, Parsons, Tennessee.

BANKING AND FINANCE

OverMont Consulting LLC has joined Whitley Penn, doubling the size of the firm’s forensic, litigation and valuation services team.

OverMont, based in Houston, focuses on financial, accounting, economic and statistical analysis for national and international clients both in and out of the context of high-stakes commercial disputes. OverMont provides economic damages analyses and other litigation support services in complex commercial disputes, including the areas of intellectual property, breach of contract, business interruption, fraud, and insolvency and bankruptcy. The OverMont team is led by Walter Bratic, Carmen Eggleston and Justin Blok.

“This will increase Whitley Penn’s firm size to more than 450 professionals including more than 35 professionals who focus on forensic, litigation and valuation services,” said Larry Autrey, Whitley Penn managing partner.

FOOD

Southlake-based Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group has named Sarah McAloon as brand president of Del Frisco’s Grille beginning April 3.

McAloon’s appointment marks the completion of the company’s implementation of brand presidents to lead the management and growth of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, Sullivan’s Steakhouse and Del Frisco’s Grille with the goal of creating greater distinction between the three restaurant brands.

Most recently, McAloon was chief marketing officer at Cicis, where she was instrumental in the brand turnaround. Prior to joining Cicis, McAloon was chief marketing officer at Sbarro and helped transform the concept’s positioning and profitability. She previously spent 13 years at Yum! Brands, where she led national marketing and media for Pizza Hut Inc.

McAloon holds a master’s degree in marketing management from Middlesex University in London and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sunderland in the North East of England.

Del Frisco’s Restaurant Group also announced it has appointed Pauline J. Brown to the board of directors.

GOVERNMENT

Gov. Greg Abbott has reappointed Rona Stratton Gouyton of Fort Worth and Katie McClure of Kingwood to the Texas Civil Commitment Office for terms set to expire Feb. 1, 2019. The office is responsible for the provision of treatment and supervision to civilly committed sex offenders.

Gouyton is the sales and office manager for Complex Printing. She frequently speaks to victim services groups and panels and law enforcement agencies regarding victim awareness within the criminal justice field. She is a founding member of Victims of Violence and Families of Murder Victims and was a member of the Board of Pardons and Paroles Victim Advisory Board. Gouyton has received the Courage Award from the Council on Sex Offender Treatment and the Mitch Poe Public Service Award from the Tarrant County Sexual Abuse Advisory Council.

McClure is an attorney at the Peterson Law Group. Previously, she was an assistant district attorney for Tarrant County, where she was a felony prosecutor in the Crimes Against Children Unit, lead juvenile division sex crimes prosecutor and the point of contact for families of abuse victims. She is a former member of the Ellis County District Attorney’s Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Team and a former member of the Scotty’s House Brazos Valley Child Advocacy Center Board of Directors. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas and a former legal writing instructor for the University of Texas at Arlington Paralegal Program. McClure received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

HONORS AND AWARDS

Texas Christian University and the University of North Texas have each received the 2017 Senator Paul Simon Award for Campus Internationlization from NAFSA: Association of International Educators. TCU received a spotlight award for its TCU Rhino Initiative and UNT received a spotlight award for its Heart of Mexico program. The institutions selected for the Simon Awards will be featured in NAFSA’s report, “Internationalizing the Campus: Profiles of Success at Colleges and Universities,” to be published this fall. The schools will also be honored at an event in Washington, D.C., during International Education Week in November. They are among seven U.S. colleges and universities selected for the awards.

LAW

McDonald Sanders law firm announced that Craig P. Barbolla and Donald A. Kaczkowski have been elected to the positions of shareholder and director of the firm.

Barbolla’s practice focuses on general corporate governance, business, and estate planning and related commercial, estate, and trust litigation. Craig earned his law degree from the Texas Tech University School of Law in 2008 and his bachelor’s degree cum laude in 2005 from the University of Notre Dame.

Kaczkowski’s practice focuses on business litigation, bankruptcy/creditors’ rights and insurance defense law. He practices in state and federal courts. He earned his law degree from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2008 and bachelor’s degree in 2005 from Texas A&M University.

NONPROFITS

Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth Inc. promoted Shay Dial Johnson – to vice president of community engagement, and hired Liz Confiliano as director of public relations.

Johnson will be responsible for leading marketing, public affairs, media and community engagement and special fundraising activities for the nonprofit. She has worked for Goodwill since 2006, serving as regional retail director and most recently as director of marketing and administration. She graduated from Texas Wesleyan University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in fine arts focused on theater management and organization. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Iota and Fort Worth Assembly and is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Fort Worth LeadingEdge.

Confiliano will manage media engagement for Goodwill. She has worked in various public relations, advertising and marketing capacities for local advertising agencies, including J.O., where she managed the Goodwill Fort Worth account. She most recently was community outreach coordinator for Moncrief Cancer Institute. Confiliano received an MBA with marketing concentration from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2012 and bachelor’s degrees in public relations and broadcast management in 2004. She is immediate past president of the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Send newsmakers to Robert Francis at rfrancis@bizpress.net.