Speakers

• Fred Markham
  

  Fred Markham

  Fred Markham is a founding director and president of the Texas Pioneer Foundation, a Texas independent foundation that works to improve the quality of education in Texas by funding educational programs in underserved and disadvantaged areas that are able to build capacity and have measurable results. Fred earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Arkansas and is a graduate of the Southwestern Graduate School of Banking at SMU. Fred had a 30-year career in banking and retired as president of the Bank of America banking center in San Marcos. In 1996 he became Executive Director of the Central Texas Higher Education Authority and subsequently worked with members of the board of directors to create the Texas Pioneer Foundation in 2004.

• Holly McFarlin Director of Public Relations, East Texas Communities Foundation
  

  Holly McFarlin

  Director of Public Relations, East Texas Communities Foundation

  Holly joined East Texas Communities Foundation in the Fall of 2014 managing the Foundation’s multichannel communications, public relations, and marketing strategies building awareness, engagement, and partnerships throughout the 32 counties served by ETCF.

  Holly serves as the chief chaos coordinator for the regional online fundraiser, East Texas Giving Day. Since inception, the digital campaign has provided stewardship tools and resources for the nonprofit community and leveraged technology to broaden donor awareness of community needs.

  Holly currently serves on the boards of Bullard Education Foundation and Women’s Fund of Smith County. Some of Holly’s favorite volunteer service has come from participating in the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, Contact Club, The Tyler Rotary and Leadership Tyler, Class 30.

  McFarlin attended Stephen F. Austin and majored in Communications. She and her husband reside in Bullard where they enjoy raising their three children, cooking in chili cook-offs, and enjoying the outdoors.

• Janet Bubert
  

  Janet Bubert

  Janet Bubert focuses her practice on representing the boards of numerous independent school districts, charter schools, universities, community colleges and education foundations. She advises clients on all aspects of education law and represents schools in both federal and state courts and before the Texas Commissioner of Education as well as other federal and state agencies. Janet has significant experience advising schools about programs for students with disabilities and authored a book chapter on disability programs.

  Janet regularly provides training for boards, school administrators and staff, and she is a frequent speaker at state and national education conferences. She was named a Rising Star by Thomson Reuters from 2007-2012 in Schools and Education Law in Texas Monthly and was included in the List of Top Attorneys from 2011-2015 for Education and School Law in Fort Worth, Texas Magazine.

  Following law school, Janet served as a briefing attorney for the Honorable James A. Baker and the Honorable Michael Schneider, Justices of the Supreme Court of Texas.

• Laurie Cromwell
  

  Laurie Cromwell

  Laurie Cromwell, CFRE was the first woman elected to an at large position on the local school board, the first woman school board president, the first president of the local education foundation, the first woman president of the local Economic Development Commission, and a founding Board member of the local Chamber of Commerce. She was the first person to receive Chamber Citizen of the Year and the first to receive the Outstanding Service Award by the Texas Pioneer Foundation. She started her mission in the nonprofit field in 1984 and in 2003 founded Foundation Innovation, a consulting firm that has guided hundreds of education foundations and school boards to success.

  ​laurie@foundationinnovation.com
  ​(512) 535-2046 ext. 700

• Maya Bethany
  

  Maya Bethany

  Maya Golden Bethany is the founder and executive director of the 1 in 3 Foundation, formerly the executive director for the Tyler ISD Foundation and the Lindale ISD Education Foundation. Maya was voted the 2011 Texas Schools Public Relations Association’s Rookie of the Year for her work with education foundations and in public relations. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Maya is also a sportscaster and reporter. During her early journalism career, she worked for WFAA-TV and KESN (ESPN Radio) in Dallas. As sports director for KLTV in Tyler, Texas, Maya won three Texas Associated Press Broadcast awards, was nominated for two Emmy awards and was the recipient of the Excellence in My Market Award for the Lone Star Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Maya joined the field of education in 2009.

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  maya@foundationinnovation.com

  ​(512) 535-2046 ext. 706

• Shawn Callaway
  

  Shawn Callaway

  Shawn Callaway started his career in nonprofit management in 1993 and has accrued almost 30 years of experience in nonprofit management. From religious and education to business nonprofits, Shawn has served in most roles of nonprofits from Board Member all the way to President/CEO. Under Shawn’s leadership two different local Chambers have received Five Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber. Shawn currently serves as the first executive director of the award-winning Aledo ISD Education Foundation, which has raised over three million dollars since its founding in 2013. Shawn is actively involved in pro-education legislation and activism. Shawn earned a B.A. in Communications/Mass Communications from Texas Tech University and holds certifications in adolescent education from Southern Methodist University and Princeton University. Shawn is the President and CEO of Foundation Innovation LLC.
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  shawn@foundationinnovation.com

  ​(512) 535-2046 ext. 712