As the first established community foundation in Texas, The Dallas Foundation takes its responsibility to heart. Established in 1929, this stalwart of partnership and transformational solutions awards millions of dollars in grants—$60 million in 2020 alone—to individuals and organizations intent on making the Dallas community the best it can possibly be.

Even the foundation’s smallest grants can have a big impact on fledgling nonprofits. Last September, for instance, the foundation gave $50,000 to seven local nonprofits on North Texas Giving Day.  And just last month, The Dallas Foundation awarded its $50,000 Pegasus Prize to FreeWorld, which gives “legit second chances” to the formerly incarcerated.

Today the foundation announced the appointment of four new members to its board of governors, which is chaired by Dr. Michael Sorrell, president of Paul Quinn College.

The new members—Robert Bisor, Jaimee Eddington, Susana Cordova, and Kevin Murphy—were chosen to help shape the vision and future of the foundation, and to carry forth its mission: Bringing together people, ideas and investments in Greater Dallas so individuals and families can reach their full potential.

Bobby Bisor [Photo: The Dallas Foundation]

Robert (Bobby) Bisor serves as a principal with First Western Capital LLC; CEO of The Bisor Group, a governmental and community relations consulting firm he founded in 2004; chairman of the board of the Beacon Hill Preparatory Institute; as a board member of the North Texas Commission and the Texas Association of Business; and as treasurer and board member of Freedom for All Americans. 

Bisor holds a bachelor of science degree and a master of science degree in educational administration from Texas A&M, from which he retired in 2019 after a 24-year career. He also worked for the State of Texas for 30 years. His previous appointments included chairman of the board, Bryan/College Station Chamber of Commerce; board member, Bryan/College Station Convention and Visitors Bureau; board member, Community Foundation of Brazos Valley; and board member, St. Joseph Regional Health Center.

Jaimee Eddington [Photo: The Dallas Foundation]

Jaimee Eddington is the Regional Leader for the Americas at Heidrick & Struggles. At this premier provider of global leadership advisory and on-demand talent solutions, she advises Fortune 500 small and medium-sized public and private companies, as well as private equity and venture-backed and private equity companies. Her expertise includes advising companies on board composition, talent management, and the changing role of the CFO.

Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Eddington was an investment banker whose main focus was primarily mergers, acquisitions, and equity and debt offerings. Throughout her career, she has advised clients in such industries as business services; branded consumer products; and retail, telecommunications, media, and technology. Eddington has a masters of business administration from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Virginia.

Kevin Murphy [Photo: Robert Seale/The Dallas Foundation]

Kevin Murphy is the president of ExxonMobil Foundation, which is the primary philanthropic arm of the Exxon Mobil Corporation, as well as manager of Corporate Citizenship and Global Community Investments for Exxon Mobil Corporation. Previously, he served as global issues manager, public and government affairs manager of ExxonMobil Gas & Power Marketing Company, as well as manager of state government regulations.

Prior to joining ExxonMobil in 2004, he held several positions in Washington, D.C., including deputy assistant secretary for Energy & Environmental Technologies in the International Trade Administration. He was a Marshall Memorial Fellow with the German Marshall Fund in 2008. Murphy serves on the board of directors of the National Forest Foundation. He holds bachelor of arts and law degrees from Indiana University.

Susana Cordova [Photo: David Schmidt/The Dallas Foundation]

Susana Cordova served as superintendent of Denver Public Schools before joining the Dallas Independent School District in early 2021. In her role as deputy superintendent, she oversees Leading and Learning for the district’s 155,000 students in 230 schools and Human Capital Management for DISD’s 22,000 employees.  

Cordova received her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver and a masters degree in education from the University of Colorado, which awarded her an honorary doctorate in education. During her more than 30 years in education, she’s served as a teacher and principal at elementary, middle, and high school levels. During her tenure in Denver as principal of Remington Elementary, which has a 95% poverty rate, she led the implementation of a visionary program of integrated literacy instruction. In four years, Remington improved by more than 33% on the state reading assessment.

Joining other board of governors members

In addition to the four new members, The Dallas Foundation’s Board of Governors include: Lydia B. Addy, co-founder of The Addy Foundation and community volunteer; Steffen Fuchs, senior partner (Dallas), McKinsey & Company; Chris Luna, vice president of legal affairs, T-Mobile US, Inc.; S. Todd Maclin, Principal, Maclin Management; Clint V. McDonnough, community volunteer; Mark Okada, co-founder and CEO, Sycamore Tree Capital Partners; Elizabeth Carlock Phillips, executive director, Phillips Foundation; Trevor R. Rees-Jones, Rees-Jones Holdings; Catherine M. Rose, community volunteer; Amber Scanlan, senior vice president and director of Client and Community Relations, PNC Bank; and Jeremy Smith, president, Rainwater Foundation.

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