Class Notes
Kelly Frels ’66
Houston, has been named a 2021 Texas Bar Foundation Outstanding 50-year Lawyer. The award recognizes attorneys whose practice has spanned 50 years or more and who adhere to the highest principles and traditions of the legal profession and service to the public. Frels served as president of the Houston Bar Association before becoming the managing partner of Bracewell & Patterson. He is a Texas State Distinguished Alumnus.
Ed Komandosky ’66
Taylor, was recognized by the U.S. Department of Defense with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 40 years as an active member of the Texas Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). After five years in the Army including 18 months in Vietnam, Komandosky served 28 years in the Texas National Guard retiring as a colonel.
Deborah J. Kissire ’75
Dallas, has been elected to the board of directors of Celanese Corp., a global chemical and specialty materials company. She is a retired partner from Ernst & Young LLP, a member of the Advisory Board for the McCoy College of Business Administration, and a Texas State Distinguished Alumna.
Samuel E. Lockhart ’79, ’01
Lockhart, was elected to the Lockhart ISD Board of Trustees. He was previously principal of Pride High School and district testing coordinator for Lockhart ISD.
Leslie Kinsel ’82
Cotulla, has been reappointed to the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Counsel by Gov. Gregg Abbott. Kinsel is an attorney, and a third-generation rancher. Her term will expire on Feb. 1, 2027.
Randy Hill ’83
Phoenix, has joined Trox as chief technology officer. Trox is a leading provider of education technology and collaboration solutions. Hill previous served as vice president and CIO at Community Intervention Services.
Ira Kennedy ’83
Llano, recently signed on with Moda Fabrics for a line of fabrics called Dreamscapes, based on his vibrantly colored artworks.
Craig Moll ’85
McLean, Virginia, has joined SpaceLink as vice president of commercial business development. He is the founder and president of PATHFINDER Space Advisors, which helped emerging space companies enter new markets.
Rose Vela ’85
Brownsville, has been appointed director of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships, U.S. Office of Personal Management. She is a retired Texas State District Judge and Texas Appellate Justice. She graduated from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 1988.
Alan Hemphill ’86
Smithville, was named president of the Smithville School Board. He was first elected to the board in May 2009.
Keith Lane ’87
New Braunfels, has been named chief of police of New Braunfels. He was previously chief of police of Haltom City.
Theresa Scepanski ’87
San Antonio, is the new president and CEO of Community First Health Plans.
Jennifer Truitt ’87
Taylor, has written a cookbook, Lil Country, Lil’ Gourmet, Lotta Variety (Xulon Press, 2021). Truitt started a catering business in 1994 and opened the Gourmet Country Café, two years later.
Ronald Misage ’88
Lubbock, was named global head of human resources at Cielo Global Holdings.
Tim Pruski ’91
San Antonio, joined the executive team of the Greater San Antonio Builders Association as vice president secretary. He currently serves as land manager at Bella Vista Homes.
Martha Castex-Tatum ’92, ’97
Houston, was elected to serve as president-elect of the Texas Municipal League. She currently serves on the Houston City Council and is vice mayor pro tem.
Marivel Sedillo ’92, ’93, ’97
Buda, has been named chief academic officer for Hays CISD. She was previously chief of human resources at Hays CISD.
Eddie Galindo ’93
Edinburg, has been named head football coach for the Pioneer Diamondbacks in Sharyland ISD. He was previously the assistant head coach.
Lewis Benavides ’95
Denton, was reappointed to the Texas Medical Board District 2 Review Committee by Gov. Greg Abbott. Benavides is the senior associate vice president for Human Resources at Texas Women’s University.
Christopher Turner ’97
Dallas, is the CEO and founder of EMERGICON, and emergency medical billing company. It was recently named to the 2020 Dallas 100 list and the 2021 Inc. Top 250 fastest growing private companies in Texas.
Tammy Garza ’98
Victoria, has been named executive director of elementary student learning and talent development by the Victoria ISD Board of Trustees. She was previously principal of Rowland Elementary in Victoria ISD.
Kent Laster ’98
Waco, has been named head football coach at University High School. He previously served as head football coach at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Melissa Neel ’99
Pflugerville, has been named director of finance for the city of Pflugerville.
Clifton Ellis ’00
Temple, is the new head coach for Temple College basketball team. He previously coached Texas high school basketball. Ellis was a Bobcat guard from 1997 to 1999.
Kimberly Winters ’01
Belton, is the new principal at Belton New Tech High School @ Waskow. She was previously the principal of Pearson Ranch Middle School, a STEM focused campus in Round Rock ISD.
Michael D. Harmon ’03
Leander, has been named chief of the Cedar Park Police Department. He joined the department in 1998.
Priscilla K. Delgado ’05
San Marcos, was selected to serve on the Pura Belpré Award Committee, charged with selecting a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose work best portrays, affirms, and celebrates the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth. Delgado works for teachingbooks.net as a research classification specialist.
Vincent Davis ’06
San Antonio, has won a Texas APME 2021 award for his feature series “San Antonio Stories” at the San Antonio Express-News.
Carlie C. Gause ’06, ’09
Waco, was honored as Veterans Clinic Advocate of the Year by Baylor University Law School. She works for Pakis, Giotes, Page & Burleson PC in Waco. She has represented veterans and their spouses in estate matters since 2016 for the Veterans Clinic.
Felicia Frazar ’08
Kingsbury, was part of a team at the Seguin Gazette-Enterprise that won a Texas APME 2021 award.
Christine Simpson ’08
Leander, has been named an area superintendent for Leander ISD. She was previously principal of Rouse High School.
Teyan Allen ’09
Pflugerville, has been named principal for Dessau Elementary in the Pflugerville ISD where she once taught fourth grade. She has been the principal of Spicewood Elementary in Round Rock ISD since 2018.
Joseph Molis ’07, ’19
Georgetown, has been named assistant city manager for the city of Lakeway. He was previously director of planning and development for the city of Harker Heights.
Simona Nava ’07, ’09
Syracuse, New York, has been named director of SRC Inc.’s electronic warfare and services division. SRC Inc. is an independent, not-for-profit research and development company that develops solutions for customers in the defense, environment, and intelligence industries.
Adriana Nunez-McDermott ’07
Round Rock, has been named manager of economic development for the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce. She previously served as regional economic development coordinator for the Greater Houston Partnership.
Elizabeth Matney ’09
Des Moines, Iowa, has been named Iowa’s Medicaid director by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Michael Richards ’11
Washington, D.C., has joined the staff of U.S. Rep Scott Franklin, R-Fla., where he is deputy chief of staff and legislative director. Richards previously served as deputy chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-TX.
Dr. Anne Li Kringen ’14
Austin, has been named the Training Academy Division Manager for the Austin Police Department where she will be revising the APD police cadet program as part of the city’s reimaging public safety process. She is an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven. She currently serves on the Research Advisory Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
Octavia Anderson ’15
Sumter, South Carolina, was named 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year for the Lee County School District. She serves as a family and consumer science teacher and joined the school district in 2016.
Dylan Thompson ’15
Houston, has joined Houston Trust Company as assistant vice president, investments.
Mariah Medina ’16
San Antonio, has joined the San Antonio Police Department as the public affairs manager. She previously worked for KENS 5-TV as an investigative reporter.
Autumn Bernhard ’17
Kerrville, has joined the Kerrville Area Chamber of Commerce as marketing and events coordinator.
Cody West ’17
Houston, has received the Energy Policy Fellowship from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and the American Petroleum Institute. He will work in the office of U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-TX, in Washington, D.C. West studied law at the University of Houston Law Center.