2024 Winter Conference Recap

The TASPA 2024 Winter Conference was held on December 11-13 at The Worthington Renaissance Hotel in Fort Worth, TX. We had a successful turnout with 255 attendees. This year’s conference also included a pHCLE Cohort held in tandem with a TASPA Conference for the second year in a row. Nineteen individuals took part in this professional growth opportunity. The spacious exhibitor area allowed for a record 44 exhibitors!

During the three-day conference, TASPA hosted three general sessions and 28 breakout sessions which included 42 speakers. Attorneys from Eichelbaum Wardell Hansen Powell & Muñoz, PC, Abernathy Roeder Boyd & Hullett PC and Thompson & Horton LLP presented breakouts in addition to presenters from TEA, TASB HR Services and TRS. School district sessions made a significant contribution to the conference this year with eleven districts presenting or co-presenting breakouts. These districts included: Argyle ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Greenville ISD, Harris County Department of Education, Hays CISD, Hutto ISD, Judson ISD, Leander ISD, Pearland ISD, Round Rock ISD and Spring ISD.

The conference opened with a rousing keynote from Dr. Joe Sanfelippo who inspired the audience with a message focusing on three tenets. Be Intentional: Every interaction matters because every interaction could be the one they talk about forever. Open Doors: When people outside your walls know what you are doing it gives value to those inside. Build People: People who feel that their work has value will go well beyond anything you ask of them. Joe’s inspiring message resonated with all in attendance, and he received a rare standing ovation for a TASPA conference keynote speaker.

During the second General Session the 2024 TASPA award winners and scholarship recipients were recognized.

Honorary Membership Awards

TASPA awarded honorary membership to two individuals who have been a part of TASPA for many years – Melissa Aguero Ramirez and Kay Clark. Melissa has served in the education field in various positions since 1999 including as Chief of Human

Dr. Diann Huber, iteachTEXAS founder with Kay Clark, iteach Director of Field Experience and 2024 TASPA Honorary Member

Resources with Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD and as an HR Director for various other school districts. She spent the majority of her career at Region One ESC where she was instrumental in implementing longstanding initiatives such as the online application system, ONE*APP, SubHub, the only sub program in Texas where substitute teachers contribute to TRS, and also a substitute teacher certification program for the Texas region. She has been a TASPA member for over 20 years and has served on various state level committees for both TEA and TASPA. She also served as a TASB mentor for new HR directors.

Kay has been a constant at TASPA conference for almost 20 years as the Director of Field Experience for iteachTEXAS. She has dedicated her career to ensuring that candidates completing certification requirements are of the highest quality for placement in school districts. We appreciate the continuous collaboration and partnership over the years as well as the steadfast friendships that have grown and will continue to grow. We wish Kay the best in her retirement!

Congratulations to both of our Honorary members!

Distinguished Service Award

Kimberly Rich, Executive Director of Human Resources for Dickinson ISD, was named the 2024 Distinguished Service Award recipient.

Kim Rich, Executive Director for

Kim has served as Executive Director for the last ten years, overseeing critical HR functions including talent acquisition, employee relations, compensation, benefits, and professional development. Prior to this position, she served 19 years in various educational and administrative roles, including junior high special education teacher, high school English teacher, middle school instructional technology specialist, intermediate special education teacher/ARD facilitator, CTE Director, assessment and accountability director, alternative school administrator, and grant manager (federal, state, local, and competitive). Her involvement in professional organizations like TASPA, where she has served on the board and as President, reflects her dedication to advancing HR practices and mentoring future leaders.

Congratulations Kim!

DR. MARY HOPKINS PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATOR OF THE YEAR

Charis Hunt, Chief Human Resources Officer for Prosper ISD, was named the recipient of the Dr. Mary Hopkins Personnel Administrator of the Year award. Charis began her career in public education in 1999 as a classroom teacher in Louisiana before relocating to the Dallas-Fort Worth area where she continued teaching in Richardson ISD. Over the years she has

Charis Hunt, Chief Human Resources Officer, Prosper ISD

Recipient of the 2024 Dr. Mary Hopkins Personnel Administrator of the Year Award held a variety of leadership roles, including Math Specialist, Administrative Intern, Assistant Principal, Principal, and Executive Director of College and Career Readiness. In 2016, she transitioned to the field of Human Resources, serving as the Human Resources Managing Director for Frisco ISD. In 2022, she became the Chief Human Resources Officer for Prosper ISD. With 25 years of experience in education, she is deeply committed to attracting and retaining top-quality teachers and staff.

Congratulations, Charis!

KIM ALVAREZ MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

The recipient of the Kim Alvarez Memorial Scholarship this year is Terri Ray, who is a senior at Southwestern University and will graduate in May 2025 with certification in Core Subjects (EC-6) and Special Education. She has maintained a 3.884 GPA.

DR. ANN BERG SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

TASPA President Kim Rich, Demetrius Elko from Southwestern University, Recipient of the Dr. Ann Berg Scholarship with Dr. Tamey Williams-Hill representing CTASPA

The Dr. Ann Berg scholarship recipient, Demetrius Elko, is a senior at Southwestern University and will graduate in May 2025 with certification to teach Secondary History (8-12). He has maintained a GPA of 3.00 while participating as a student athlete on the football team at Southwestern.

North Central Taspa Scholarship

The recipient of the North Central TASPA Scholarship, Gladys Lozano, is a senior at Texas A&M - Kingsville and will graduate in May 2025 with certification in Core Subjects with Science of Teaching Reading (Grades EC-6) and Bilingual Education. She has maintained a 4.00 GPA.

BARRY NETTLES SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

This recipient of the Barry Nettles Scholarship, Kendall Baker, is a senior at the University of MaryHardin Baylor and will graduate in May 2025 with certification in Core Subjects (4-8) and ESL. She has maintained a GPA of 3.47.

Pete Chernick Memorial Scholarship Award

The recipient of the Pete Chernick Memorial

Scholarship, Daisy Diaz, is a senior at Texas A&M - Kingsville and will graduate in May 2025 with certification in Mathematics (4-8) and Bilingual Education. She has maintained a GPA of 3.8.

Terry Ray and Demetrius Elko were on hand to convey their appreciation to the TASPA membership. Congratulations to all the 2024 TASPA Scholarship recipients!

The Winter Conference also included TASPA’s annual business meeting where the 2025 budget was presented and approved, and the 2025 Executive Board was elected. The President’s gavel was passed from Kim Rich, outgoing president, to the new president, Johjania Najera.

Dr. Joe SanFelippo, Keynote Speaker

Thank you to the speakers, facilitators, TASPA Executive Board , staff and members, and all conference attendees who helped make the conference a huge success! We especially appreciate the support of our 2024 Black Diamond Sponsors: ESS/Proximity Learning, Frontline, iteachTEXAS, and Red Rover as well as our Diamond Sponsors EduStaff, Gulf Coast Educators Federal Credit Union, Kelly Education, and Teachers of Tomorrow. With their support, TASPA continues to be able to provide continued services and professional development to our members through conferences and workshops.

During the 2024 Winter Conference, TASPA partnered with Experience Management Institute (EXMI) to offer a blended learning cohort leading toward certification as a Professional Human Capital Leader in Education (pHCLE). Participation in the cohort included two days of in-person learning on December 11-12, 2024 at The Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, followed by selfpaced online learning. Cohorts members were also able to participate in TASPA Winter Conference events including conference meals, receptions, after-hours events, and a breakout and general session on Friday.

Eighteen individuals took part in this professional growth opportunity. The cohort was led by Teresa Daulong and Michael Katz of EXMI.

The Human Capital Leaders in Education (HCLE) standards outline the competencies that leaders in PK-12 education and related organizations need to strategically manage human capital (HC) processes at the organization, department, team, or individual level. The standards define the core HC knowledge domains along with the skills needed to improve talent practices in education.

Feedback from the cohort was positive. If you would like to participate in a similar cohort in the future, please make your interest known to Jeannie Tomasek so that TASPA staff can plan for future cohorts.

There are currently 86 holders of active pHCLE certification in Texas, according to the American Association of School Personnel Administrators (AASPA).

We hope to see you at the 2025 TASPA Summer Conference and Summer Law Conference July 16–18 at The Worthington in Fort Worth!

Members of the Fort Worth ISD JROTC Joint Service Color Guard presenting the colors during the Opening General Session