To further the goals of its “Building Solutions for Brighter Futures” campaign, Dallas firm Building Solutions has named members to its advocacy committee.

Building Solutions recently launched a year-long campaign to bring awareness to the inequities in school facilities and create successful learning environments for K-12 students.

The campaign is expected to dedicate 3,000 hours to analyze 30 different schools in the North Texas area and highlight their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the team has created an advocacy committee to focus on policy goals, fundraising, and to help Dallas-Fort Worth schools make the necessary improvements identified by its assessments.

Bill Keslar, CEO (left), and Dennis Palmer, senior VP and COO, of Building Solutions [Photo: Building Solutions]

The Advocacy Committee is comprised of North Texas education, nonprofit, business, and real estate leaders. Here is its roster of members, per Building Solutions:

• Byron Sanders: President and CEO of Big Thought, an education nonprofit that connects people and organizations to prepare youth and children in under-resourced communities for tomorrow’s creative economy through quality in-school, after-school, and community-partnership experiences.

• Kathy Hubbard: Assistant dean of diversity, equity, inclusion at Southern Methodist University’s Lyle School of Engineering, a position that she became the first to hold at SMU. 

• Dr. Terry Flowers: A long-time educator who currently serves as the Perot Family Headmaster of St. Philip’s School and Community Center, a 75-year-old institution that includes an accredited Pre K-6th grade school serving low to moderate income families and a community center serving 2,000 neighbors in South Dallas.

• Froswa’ Booker-Drew, Ph.D.: Vice president of community affairs for the State Fair of Texas, responsible for grantmaking, educational programming, and community initiatives. She has an extensive background in leadership, nonprofit management, philanthropy, partnership development, training, and education and is the co-founder of HERitage Giving Circle.

• Doris Prescott: Head of volunteer and community services for Services of Hope, which seeks to transform the lives of low to moderate income families through wrap-around social, financial education and literacy, and workforce development services, using data-driven pioneering programs and combining community participation with sustainable funding.

• Tré Black: President of TreCo Investments, Ltd., the investment affiliate of On-Target Supplies & Logistics, a regional logistics management firm with global customers and international responsibilities.

• Bob Marshall: A civic volunteer who participated in the last three DISD bond campaigns, the earliest dating back to 2008. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Parish Episcopal School and Lumin Education, a charter school district in Dallas.

• Sam Coats: Retired airline and corporate executive and former director of several major corporations. As a volunteer, he recently chaired the DFW International Airport Board and served as Interim President and CEO of VisitDallas. He has also served as Chair of the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce and as a director of the Dallas Holocaust Museum and the Dallas area Salvation Army.

As part of the campaign, Building Solutions held its first Fireside Chat on Equity and Inclusion: COVID-19’s Impact on Students’ Academic and Mental Well-being yesterday where members discussed the growing impact of COVID-19, addressing its effect on students’ academic and mental well-being. 

“At Big Thought, we’re committed to closing the opportunity gap for our children, and with the events of the past year, it’s time we address the important link between school facilities and a student’s academic success and well-being,” Byron Sanders, president and CEO of Big Thought, said in a statement. “As a long-time advocate for education and creating equitable communities throughout Dallas, I’m thrilled to work alongside Building Solutions to empower schools to be better stewards of their buildings because if we don’t act now, students will continue to be left behind.”

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