TASB Names Kelly Rasti as Its New Associate Executive Director of Governmental Relations

Austin— The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) announced today the selection of Kelly Rasti as its new associate executive director of Governmental Relations to advance the organization’s work in promoting educational excellence for all Texas public school children.

Rasti joins TASB from Northside ISD, where she is currently serving as the executive director of Outreach and Advocacy for the San Antonio district of more than 100,000 students, overseeing community and governmental relations and school, business, and community partnerships. She previously worked as a legislative aide within the Texas Senate, where she served as the subject matter expert for veterans’ affairs, education, and child welfare issues. Earlier in her career, she was a teacher for both Harlandale and Northside ISDs.

“We’re excited about welcoming Kelly to the TASB team where she’ll be able to bring her unique experience advocating on behalf of public education at the Texas Capitol with her frontline knowledge of the issues facing teachers and students from her work as an administrator and educator,” said TASB Executive Director Dan Troxell. “Kelly knows firsthand the challenges and opportunities facing public schools, and we’re thrilled that she’ll be bringing those insights to our association to advance the TASB Advocacy Agenda put forward by our members.”

Rasti will oversee the TASB’s governmental relations team, where she will lead and guide the association’s work at the Texas Capitol to ensure the issues that matter most to TASB members, including funding, teacher recruitment and retention, and school safety, are top of mind for lawmakers. Rasti will join TASB in May as its long-tenured AED for Governmental Relations, Grover Campbell, moves into a senior advisor role. The two will work together in the coming months to ensure a smooth and comprehensive transition, especially as TASB works with its members to prepare for the upcoming legislative session.

“I am extremely gratified for this opportunity to join the TASB team and look forward to being able to advance public education at the state level,” Rasti said. “I’m proud of everything my team and I were able to accomplish together at Northside and will continue at TASB to do everything I can to always put students first when considering the impact of proposed legislation and policy.”

During her time at Northside ISD, Rasti’s work helped amplify the needs of the Northside ISD students and surrounding community. Specifically, she led the Northside ISD School-Business Community Partnerships Department and also served as the executive director of the Northside Education Foundation. She launched Leadership Northside, a district-led program seeking to empower stakeholders with the knowledge and tools needed to advocate for continuous improvement of the Northside educational experience.

Rasti is herself a proud alumna of Northside ISD, having graduated from Taft High School. She attended Texas A&M University at San Antonio, where she received a bachelor’s degree in accounting.