Texas Lyceum Names Laura Dixon of Spurs Sports and Entertainment As 2020 President and 18 Texans Join Board of Directors

(AUSTIN)  The Texas Lyceum, a nonprofit, nonpartisan statewide leadership organization announced today that Laura Dixon of Austin has been named the 2020 Texas Lyceum president. Dixon has been on the leadership team at Spurs Sports and Entertainment since 2009. She led community engagement for five professional sports franchises and served as Executive Director of Silver and Black Give Back. In 2017 she was named head of external relations for the parent company. Dixon earned her bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University and her Master of Business Administration from the McCombs School at the University of Texas at Austin. 

In addition to electing a new president, the Texas Lyceum announced 18 new Directors have joined the governing board (see roster below).  Their work is focused on identifying the public policy challenges facing Texas, convening thought leaders to explore these issues and producing conferences, polls, and fellowships for the benefit of leaders across the state. 

“In working alongside exceptional teams for over a decade at Spurs Sports and Entertainment, I have gained the experience and insight to know what great teams look and feel like.  They are thoughtful, hardworking, diverse and care more for others than themselves – just like the Directors and Alumni who make up the Texas Lyceum” said Dixon. “This is one of the reasons why serving as the leader of the organization in 2020 is a tremendous honor.” 

On February 6, Ms. Dixon and the new Directors were invested at the McClennan County Courthouse in Waco, Texas where the organization hosted its first conference of the year: “At What Price? The Hidden Costs of Housing in Texas.” 

During the Waco conference Texas Lyceum Fellow, Michael Migaud, of the Texas A&M Bush School Mosbacher Institute presented his research and white paper on “Property Buyouts After Natural Disasters: The Economic Implications for Texas Residents.”  Mr. Migaud is the 4th Texas Lyceum Fellow.  The Lyceum Fellowship program is expanding to the Master of Public Administration program at Texas Tech University in 2020.  

Throughout the remainder of the year, Lyceum Directors, Alumni, friends and sponsors will convene at three additional conferences around the state and in Mexico, focusing on the economic, political and cultural impact of tourism, prisons and spirits. Directors and Alumni will also participate in a 40th anniversary retreat.   

Finally, the Texas Lyceum announced that Castlen Kennedy of Houston will serve as the 2021 President.  She serves as Vice President of Public Affairs for Apache.  

The organization named the following outstanding Texans to serve as Directors in the Class of 2020 and announced the 2020 Executive Committee. 

HOUSTON

Laird Doran, Vice President and of Government Relations and Senior Counsel, the Friedkin Group

Veronica Gorczynski, President, East End District

Manpreet Singh, Supervising Attorney, Fanaff, Hoagland, Gonzales & Baldwin 

DALLAS

Glenwood Hill, Assistant General Counsel, Preston Hollow Capital, LLC

Dustin Marshall, Hazel’s Hot Shot & Board of Trustees, Dallas Independent School District
Joanna Ridgway, Senior Vice President & Head of Southwest Mid-Corporate Banking, Santander Bank, N.A.
Elizabeth Souder-Philyaw, Assistant Editorial Page Editor for the Dallas Morning News 

FORT WORTH

Chandler Merritt, Chief of Staff, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley 

EL PASO

Monica Perez, Attorney, Mounce, Green, Myers, Safi, Paxon & Galatzan, P.C. 

AUSTIN

Caroline Craven, Area Manager, External Affairs, AT&T

Ryan Lilley, Senior Director, Oracle

Victor Saenz, Chairman, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy

University of Texas at Austin 

SAN ANTONIO

Justin Rodriguez, Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 2

JR Trevino, Vice President of Business Development, Treco Enterprises Inc. 

DRIPPING SPRINGS

Katie Jones, CEO, National Domestic Violence Hotline 

LUBBOCK

Kristina Butts, Vice Chancellor, Governmental Relations, Texas Tech University System

LIBERTY HILL

Kevin Roberts, Executive Director, Texas Public Policy Foundation

MIDLAND

Kate Williamson, Basin Hill Group, President

2020 TEXAS LYCEUM EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chairman: Sanjay Ramabhadran
President: Laura Dixon
President-Elect: Castlen Kennedy
Immediate Past Chairman: Brad Morrison
Secretary/VP Policy: Judge Kristen Hawkins
VP Think Tanks: Holly Kuzmich of the Bush Institute
VP Development and Stewardship: Molly Quirk of the General Land Office
VP Finance: Jason Schenker of the Futurist Institute
VP Communications and Marketing: Lillian Riojas of Valero Corporation
VP Fellowships: Sarah Jackson of the Dallas Citizens Council
VP Poll: Crayton Webb of Sunwest Communications
VP Membership: Michael Crain of the City of Fort Worth
VP Legacy Fund: Fayruz Benyousef of FB Consulting
VP Alumni Relations: Alicia Knight of Texas Tech University
Public Conference Co-Chairs: City of Waco, Mayor Pro Tem, Andrea Barefield and State of California, Secretary of Business and Housing, Lourdes Castro Ramirez
Conference Chairs: Dr. John Edwards, Amy Laine, Ryan Lindsey, Michelle Lugalia-Hollon, Casandra Matej, Representative Dade Phelan,  Amanda Saldana, Yvette Casares Willis

About the Texas Lyceum 

The Texas Lyceum is a forty-year-old leadership organization focused on identifying the next generation of top Texas leaders who have demonstrated leadership in their community and profession, together with a deep commitment to Texas. For more information, please visit www.texaslyceum.org. The Texas Lyceum is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/texaslyceum, on Twitter @Texas Lyceum http://twitter.com/texaslyceum and on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/texaslyceum/

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