Gloria Casas Elected TASB First Vice-President

(Dallas) – The Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) elected its 2014-15 officers during the Association’s recent annual Delegate Assembly and Convention in Dallas. New TASB President Andra Self of Lufkin ISD (LISD) succeeds Immediate Past President Faye Beaulieu of Hurst-Euless-Bedford (HEB) ISD. Bret Begert of Fort Elliott CISD will serve as president-elect. First vice-president will be Gloria S. Casas of La Feria ISD, and second vice-president will be Charles Stafford of Denton ISD. Joe Adams of Katy ISD will serve as secretary-treasurer.

Elected to the La Feria ISD board in 1994, Casas has served as president and vice-president and currently serves as secretary. A graduate of Leadership TASB and master trustee, Casas was also a Region 1 representative on the Association’s Legislative Advisory Council before joining the TASB Board in 2004.

In her role as a Regional Housing Value Chain Facilitator with Community Development Corporation of Brownsville, she facilitates the implementation of a multipronged approach to increase affordable housing in the rural and underserved areas in Cameron County. Casas works jointly with local city government, businesses, school districts, churches, community leaders, and social services agencies to address economic development. For more than 45 years, she has been involved in developing, organizing, implementing, and managing a variety of innovative programs that address women’s health care, career development, community development, energy-efficient affordable housing, and educational programs.

Casas graduated from Howard Payne University. She also is a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Leadership program and was the recipient of the Dale Carnegie Course Highest Award for Achievement for the class of 2002. She also is a graduate of National Healthy Start Leadership Training Institute 2007, a leadership training program in designing and implementing health and social services for the vulnerable women and children of our communities. The Cameron County Commissioners Court presented a resolution in 2006 recognizing Casas for her dedication to public service and contributions to the community.

TASB is a nonprofit association established in 1949 to serve local public school districts. School board members are the largest group of publicly elected officials in the state. The districts they represent serve approximately 5 million public school students.