Austin ISD Board of Trustees
(from left) Tamala Barksdale, At Large 9; Cheryl Bradley, District 1; Lori Moya, District 6; Jayme Mathias, SECRETARY, District 2; Vincent M. Torres, PRESIDENT, District 4; Gina Hinojosa, VICE PRESIDENT, At Large 8; Robert Schneider, District 7; Amber Elenz, District 5; Ann Teich, District 3;

Vincent M. Torres, District 4, President
Term Expires: November 2014
1111 W. 6th Street A250
Austin, TX 78703
OFFICE: 414-2550

Vincent Torres was elected to the Austin ISD Board of Trustees in May 2006. He graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1979 with a master of science degree in engineering. A registered professional engineer, Mr. Torres has been employed by The University of Texas at Austin since 1986, where he is the Associate Director of the Center for Energy & Environmental Resources. His research interests include indoor air quality, as well as heating, ventilating and air-conditioning systems.

Mr. Torres and his wife Suzanne, who have two children, have been active volunteers in their children's schools and on district-wide committees. Mr. Torres was one of the tri-chairs of the Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee and a co-chair of the Community Bond Oversight Committee for the 2002 Health & Safety Bond. He was one of the tri-chairs of the $519 million 2004 Citizens' Bond Advisory Committee and the Community Bond Oversight Committee. In 2005, Austin Partners in Education named him District Volunteer of the Year and in 2001 he was named Volunteer of the Year by Hill Elementary School.

 In addition to his volunteer work with AISD, Mr. Torres has been active in the Austin community, serving on the Travis County Grand Jury and on advisory committees for the Gardner-Betts Juvenile Justice Center and the Travis County Community Justice Council. He is a member of the board of the Children's Environmental Health Institute. Mr. Torres has been instrumental in securing state legislation to obtain greater assistance benefits and improved counseling programs for victims of violent crime and established the Crime Victims' Institute at the Office of the Attorney General in 1995. He also served on the faculty of the first three offerings of the Texas Victim Assistance Academy. Mr. Torres worked with the Texas Rangers to obtain legislation that established in 2001 the statewide Unsolved Crimes Investigation Team of the Texas Rangers, which provides unique expertise to law enforcement agencies in the solution of unsolved homicides (cold cases). In 2003, the Texas Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers named Mr. Torres their Public Citizen of the Year.

Gina Hinojosa, At-Large Position 8, Vice President
Term Expires: November 2016
1111 W. 6th Street A250
Austin, TX 78703
OFFICE: 426-8361

Gina Hinojosa was elected to the Board in November 2012. Ms. Hinojosa, a 20-year resident of Austin, is a graduate of the University of Texas and earned a law degree from The George Washington University School of Law. She is a civil rights and employment attorney. Ms. Hinojosa, married to Austin attorney John Donisi, is the mother of a first grader at Pease Elementary School, and a 7-month-old AISD student-to-be.

Jayme Mathias, District 2, Secretary
Term Expires: November 2016
1111 W 6th Street, A-250
Austin, TX 78703
OFFICE: 414-2530

Dr. Mathias was elected to the board in November 2012. Dr. Mathias has lived in Austin since 2000. He possesses two undergraduate degrees, and four graduate degrees. He received a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. Dr. Mathias serves as Senior Pastor of Holy Family American Catholic Church.

Cheryl Bradley, District 1
Term Expires: November 2014
1198 Angelina
Austin, TX 78702
OFFICE: 576-2762

Cheryl Bradley was first elected to the AISD Board of Trustees in 2002, re-elected in 2006 and in 2010. She recently received the 2010 National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Central Texas Chapter, Outstanding Public Service Award. She attended AISD schools and Huston-Tillotson College, and has two children who recently graduated from AISD. Before joining the Board of Trustees, Mrs. Bradley was active with the Pearce Middle School PTA and the 1996 Pearce Bond Task Force. She served as vice president of the Austin Council of PTAs and chaired PTA committees at Winn Elementary School, Pearce Middle School, Kealing Junior High School, and LBJ High School. In 1999, she was appointed to the Texas Attorney General's School Violence Prevention Task Force. Mrs. Bradley is vigilant in her support of the district's efforts to close the achievement gaps between student groups and increasing the performance of all students. She is also a strong advocate higher education and extra-curricular opportunities for students.

Ann Teich, District 3
Term Expires: November 2016
1111 W. 6th Street, A-250
Austin, TX 78703
OFFICE: 414-2570

Ann Teich was elected to the board in November 2012. Mrs. Teich is a 1970 graduate of Lanier High School and received her BA from Southwestern University and attended graduate school at the University of Texas-Austin. She was a language arts teacher in AISD for 27 years at Porter Middle School and served as a substitute in Austin middle and high schools for the past 7 years after retiring from full-time teaching. Mrs. Teich has been active in the North Austin Civic Association for 7 years, serving as vice president for the past 3 years, and participates in the North Austin Coalition of Neighborhoods and the North Austin Community/School Alliance. She is the co-chair of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations and Social Service Agencies and is on the boards of the Religious Coalition to Assist the Homeless and the Foundation for the Homeless. She serves as a mentor to an AISD student through the Seedling Foundation. Ann is married to Randy Teich (Reagan 1971). The Teichs are parents of Lilly (McCallum 2003) and Alex (McCallum 2005).

Amber Elenz, District 5
Term Expires: November 2016
1111 W. 6th Street, A250
Austin, TX 78703
OFFICE: 414-2590

Amber Elenz was elected to the board in November 2012. She graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in Plan II (Honors Liberal Arts) and from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University with a master’s in management.

Ms. Elenz has been an active volunteer in the community since 1996. She was elected president of the Austin Council of PTAs in 2010 and served for two years while also sitting on the District Advisory Council. She is a 2011 graduate of AISD UpClose and previously served as a local PTA president and a member of campus advisory councils at Bryker Woods Elementary and O. Henry Middle School.

Ms. Elenz has worked professionally in marketing, finance and broadcast journalism. She is married to Dr. Douglas Elenz and is the mother of one current AISD student and one 2012 Austin High graduate.

Lori Moya, District 6
Term Expires: November 2014
1111 W 6th Street, A-250
Austin, TX 78703
OFFICE: 414-2610

Ms. Moya was elected to the board in 2006 and re-elected in 2010. She is a lifelong resident of Austin and attended the University of Texas at Austin and graduated from Travis High School in 1975. Ms. Moya's two children attended and graduated from AISD schools and her grandson attends public school in a neighboring district. Her community service with AISD include PTSA President at Bowie High School, Baseball Booster club President, Secretary of the Football Booster club, member of the CAC, ACPTA representative, member of the DAC, member of the AISD Budget Council, and recently member of the Community Bond Oversight Committee for the 2004 Bond Program. She represents the Austin School Board and the Austin ISD as a member of the Board of Directors of the Texas Association of School Boards. During her service on TASB, she has served on the following committees, By Laws and Resolutions, Nominations, and Member Services. Ms. Moya is employed by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts with 24 years of service.

Robert Schneider, District 7
Term Expires: November 2014
8031 Doe Meadow Drive
Austin, TX 78749
CELL: 619-3973

Robert Schneider was first elected to the Austin ISD Board of Trustees in May, 2002, re-elected in 2006 and in 2010. He has recently retired from fulltime work on massively parallel computing systems at The University of Texas at Austin after 30 years of research and departmental work. Mr. Schneider has a long history of community involvement serving on numerous neighborhood, environmental, and school committees and task forces. His primary interests include site-based decision making, promoting academic achievement, and studying models of board governance. Mr. Schneider serves as chair of the Board's Audit Committee. Mr. Schneider has been married to his wife, Kathleen, since 1986, and has four children who attend AISD schools.

Tamala Barksdale, At-Large Position 9
Term Expires: November 2014
1111 W. 6th Street A250
Austin, TX 78703
OFFICE: 414-9609

Tamala Barksdale was elected to the Board in 2010. Mrs. Barksdale has been a diligent volunteer in AISD through the PTA and on various fundraising and activity committees at the campus level. She hosted the professional component for LASA's interdisciplinary studies E-Zine classes for four years. She also has worked with Communities in Schools and AISD's Curriculum and Technology Education program to launch a mentoring program. The Austin Ad Fed Shadow Day program placed underserved students with local agencies and was recognized nationally as a best practice for public-private collaboration to address diversity disparities.

Mrs. Barksdale and her husband, Avery, have one daughter, who is a graduate of Austin ISD schools. Mrs. Barksdale is the Director of Outside Engagement at EnviroMedia Social Marketing where she works every day with schools districts and ECSs around the state to deliver public health and environmental programs.