Legal Assistance Fund Board

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 serves as chief financial officer of 14 companies. 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. 

Hetrick is in her fourth term on the Dripping Springs ISD Board of Trustees, currently serving as vice-president.  

Her professional experience includes working as an adjunct professor for Auburn University at Montgomery (AUM), Troy University, and Austin Community College. In 2014, she founded a nonprofit consulting business. Hetrick received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from The University of Texas Pan American (now UT Rio Grande Valley), a master’s degree in public administration and a certificate in nonprofit management from AUM, and a doctorate in public administration and public policy from Auburn University. 

She is a 2017 Leadership TASB graduate and Master Trustee. 

Micciche was elected to the Dallas ISD Board in 2012.  

He is partner emeritus at the law firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. He joined the firm after his graduation from law school in 1981. During his time with Akin Gump, Micciche started and chaired a school partnership program with James W. Fannin Elementary School in Dallas.  

Micciche received his undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University in New York, his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, and his master’s degree in education policy and analysis from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.  Micciche also holds a master’s degree in public leadership from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. 

Jennifer Powell is an attorney with Eichelbaum Wardell Hansen Powell & Muñoz, P.C., where her practice focuses on labor and employment, constitutional, and civil rights issues, as well as school law. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas Labor and Employment, Litigation, Appellate, and School Law Sections, as well as an officer of the Texas Association of School Board’s Council of School Attorneys.

Tanya Rachal Porter has served as the first General Counsel of Pearland ISD since 2013. She has worked in school law since the inception of her legal career, having represented both school districts and educators. She is a member of the State Bar of Texas School Law, Government Law, and Administrative and Public Law Sections as well as an officer of the Texas Association of School Board’s Council of School Attorneys. 

Chris Moran is the President-Elect of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA). He has worked in education for over 30 years and joined San Angelo ISD in January 2024 with 12 years of experience as a school superintendent in Whitehouse ISD and Brownsboro ISD. He was named the Region 7 Superintendent of the Year in 2019.

He received his undergraduate degree from Evangel University and his graduate degree from The University of Texas at Tyler. He earned his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Stephen F. Austin State University in 2005. He has also received Post-Doctoral training through the Lamar University Center for Executive Leadership and the SMU District Leadership Fellows. 

Roosevelt Nivens is the President-Elect of the Texas Association of School Administrators and has served as Lamar CISD superintendent since 2021. Before joining Lamar CISD, Nivens served as the superintendent for Community ISD in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

He was named the 2025 Region 4 Superintendent of the Year, the 2019 Region 10 Superintendent of the Year, and the 2019 National Superintendent of the Year for NABSE. In 2022, Nivens was honored as the Association of Latino Administrators and Superintendents Latino Serving Superintendent of the Year. In 2024, he was elected Vice President of the Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA).

Nivens received his Bachelor of Science from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and his Master of Education and Doctor of Education from Texas A&M University-Commerce. He also trained at the Harvard Executive Leadership Institute, the Harrison Williams Collins Executive Leadership Institute, and the Thompson Executive Leadership Institute.

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.