Legal Assistance Fund Board

Rodriguez is serving his fifth term on the Canutillo ISD Board, where his fellow trustees have elected him as president, vice president, and secretary.

Professionally, he is the business development manager of Hellas Construction Inc. Rodriguez has the distinction of being one of the youngest people ever to be elected to office in El Paso County. A graduate of Canutillo High School and The University of Texas at El Paso, Rodriguez is one of the founding members of the Canutillo Alumni Foundation for Education — the only organization specifically designed to award scholarships to Canutillo graduates.

He currently serves on the board of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and has also served as president of the Mexican American School Boards Association and president of the Far West Texas School Boards Association.

Rodriguez is a Leadership TASB graduate and Master Trustee.

Rolinda Schmidt has served on the Kerrville ISD Board of Trustees since 1996, holding various officer positions, including president, vice president, and secretary.

Schmidt is actively involved in local youth education programs, including the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club, Rotary Club Foreign Exchange Student Program, Head Start, and the Kerrville ISD sixth-grade outdoor education program. In 2014, she was named Families & Literacy’s Champion of Education.

Schmidt has a bachelor’s degree in social services from San Jose State University. She is a managing partner in her family-owned and family-operated commercial real estate development and management company.

She is a graduate of the Leadership TASB program and a member of the School Board Advocacy Network.

Hopkins has served on the Friendswood ISD Board since 2008 and is currently the board president.   

He is president of Four Creeks Investments LLC, an independent energy consulting and investment firm, and also vice president of Modular Plant Solutions LLC. Hopkins earned a bachelor’s degree at Lamar University and a master’s degree at Rice University. 

He is a Leadership TASB graduate and Master Trustee. 

Carrie Galatas is serving in her 26th year as the general counsel for Conroe ISD. Prior to coming to Conroe ISD, Galatas worked as a prosecutor in both the Montgomery County Attorney’s Office and the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. Galatas is a graduate of South Texas College of Law Houston and the University of North Texas. Before attending law school, she was a fifth-grade teacher in Irving ISD.

Leandra Ortiz is an attorney at Walsh Gallegos Treviño Kyle & Robinson P.C., where she practices in the areas of litigation, employment law, student law, board governance, and immigration. Before joining Walsh Gallegos, Ortiz served as the first in-house staff attorney for Brownsville ISD.

LaTonya Goffney is the 2023-24 president of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA). She has served as the superintendent of Aldine ISD since 2018. Prior to joining Aldine ISD, Goffney served as the superintendent of Lufkin ISD. In addition to her role at TASA, Goffney is a member of the Texas School Alliance, University Interscholastic League Legislative Committee, Texas Association of Black School Educators, and Texas Council of Women School Executives.

Goffney earned her bachelor’s degree in history, a master’s in educational administration, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Sam Houston State University. She was named the 2017 Texas Superintendent of the Year.

Martha Salazar-Zamora is the President-Elect of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA). She has worked in education for 30 years and has served as the superintendent of Tomball ISD since 2017. Prior to joining Tomball ISD, Salazar-Zamora worked in leadership positions in Round Rock, Houston, Spring, and Kingsville ISDs.

She received a doctorate in education from Texas A&M University, a Master of Education in educational administration and a Master of Education in special education at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and a Bachelor of Science at Texas A&M University. She was named the 2023 Texas Superintendent of the Year.

Dan Troxell is the executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). He has more than 30 years of experience as a public school leader and was named the TASB Superintendent of the Year in 2008.

Troxell began his career in public education in 1987 as a middle school social studies teacher at Round Rock ISD. He quickly moved on to administrative roles, serving as assistant principal and grade-level principal at Round Rock ISD, principal at Allen ISD, principal and assistant superintendent at Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, and superintendent at both Kerrville ISD and Leander ISD.

Holding a doctorate in education administration from The University of Texas at Austin, Troxell has taught university-level courses as an adjunct professor and authored several journal articles, including an article on multicultural competencies and one on board president-superintendent collaboration.

At TASB, Troxell is responsible for advancing the association’s mission of promoting educational excellence for Texas schoolchildren through advocacy, visionary leadership, and high-quality services to school districts.

Kevin Brown is the Executive Director of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA). Prior to joining TASA in 2018, he served as superintendent of Alamo Heights ISD. In addition to his role at TASA, Brown has held top leadership roles at the Texas School Coalition, Texas Association of Mid-Size Schools, and Texas Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Brown holds a doctorate in education administration from Texas A&M University, a master’s degree in education administration from Texas State University, and a bachelor’s degree in government with honors from The University of Texas at Austin.