Our board

Dr. Robert M. Gates

RiceHadleyGates LLC, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA and University President

Robert Gates served as the 22nd Secretary of Defense (2006-2011). He is the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in office by a newly elected President. Dr. Gates served eight U.S. presidents in total across both parties. He has led a distinguished career of service and institutional reform both in and out of government.

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Our Board

Dr. Ruth Simmons

President’s Distinguished Fellow at Rice University
Founding Board Chair

Ann Stern

The Houston Endowment
Vice Chair

Dr. Marta Tienda

Princeton University
Academic Affairs Committee Chair

Jim Postl

Pennzoil-Quaker State (Retired)
Advancement Chair

Charlie Clines

The Charles Butt Foundation
Audit Committee Chair

Guillermo Treviño

Southern Distributing
Finance Committee Chair

Wallace B. Jefferson

Alexander Dubose & Jefferson LLP
Governance and Nominating Committee Chair

Dr. Lindsay Whorton

The Holdsworth Center

Armando A. Perez

H-E-B

Bruce H. Esterline

The Meadows Foundation (Retired)

Elaine Mendoza

Conceptual MindWorks, Inc.

Elisa Villanueva Beard

Teach For America

Ellen Moir

New Teacher Center (Retired)

J. Puckett

Boston Consulting Group

Dr. Nolan E. Perez

Gastroenterology Consultants of South Texas

Robert S. Kaplan

Goldman Sachs

Dr. Shari Albright

The Charles Butt Foundation

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