Class Notes

Richard Evans ’69 (Bandera, TX)
Has been reappointed to the Board of the Texas Indigent Defense Commission by Gov. Greg Abbott. Evans is a county judge for Bandera County. The commission provides financial and technical support to counties to develop and maintain quality, cost-effective indigent defense systems.

Lewis Benavides ’85 (Crossroads, TX)
Was reappointed to the Texas Medical Board District 2 Committee by Gov. Greg Abbott. Benavides recently retired as the senior associate vice president for human resources at Texas Women’s University.

Michael Draper ’88 (Houston, TX)
Has been named chief operating officer for Hunter Buildings. He previously served as CFO. Draper is on the Accounting Advisory Board for the McCoy College of Business Administration.

Barbara Ezell ’88 (Portland, TX)
Has been named to the Continuing Advisory Committee for Special Education by Gov. Greg Abbott. She is the director of special education at Gregory-Portland ISD and a member and House of Delegates Representative for Region 2 of the Texas Council for Administrators of Special Education.

Richey Cutrer ’89 (Corsicana, TX)
Has been named executive director of the Navarro College Foundation. He previously served as executive director of maintenance and operations with Corsicana ISD.

Kevin Washington ’91 (Pittsburgh, IL)
Has joined Koppers Inc. as vice president of external affairs. He recently served as head of Government Affairs at Illinois Tool Works Inc.

Juli Black ’94 (Dallas, TX)
Was named a senior vice president at Allie Beth Allman & Associates Realtors.

Caryn Frey ’96 (Alpharetta, GA)
Was named Cox Communications market vice president for Middle Georgia. She joined Cox in 1999.

Abe Garcia ’96 (Dallas, TX)
Was named chief creative officer at Dieste LA/Dallas/New York.

Jeff Scarborough ’96 (Houston, TX)
Has been named by Stantec, a global design firm, to lead its new U.S. Federal Water Sector. Scarborough will lead the firm’s federal civil works and infrastructure programs, coastal protection, and water/wastewater programs.

David L. Simmons ’97 (Macon, GA)
Has written a new novel, “GIP: A Fishbowl Novel Based on an FBI Program (Archway Publishing, 2022). It is the story of a Capitol Hill janitor's experiences after he inadvertently overhears a confidential conversation between two congressional aides.

Nathali Parker ’98 (New Braunfels, TX)
Has been named chair of the Governor’s Commission for Women. Parker is co-owner and CEO of KLP Construction Supply. She serves as the associate co-vice chair for the Austin Chapter of the Association of General Contractors – Heavy Civil and Utilities Division.

Brad Molder ’99 (La Vernia, TX)
Is the head football coach and athletic director for La Vernia ISD. He previously coached at Clemens High School in Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD.

Dr. Federico Prado ’99 (Bali, Indonesia)
Has published his first book, Biodiversity in Paradise. A Natural History of Raja Ampat (Amazon, 2022). He received his doctorate at the University of Washington, Seattle. Prado is an independent consultant.

David Pierce ’00 (Kyle, TX)
Has been promoted to district deputy academic officer at Hays CISD. He was previously the principal at Hays High School and was named the 2020 Principal of Year.

Bryan Smith ’00 (Allen, TX)
Has written two new children’s book, Are you Working Hard or Hardly Working? and All About Sharing (Boystown Press, 2022).  

Lance Hoyt ’02 (Houston, TX)
Has joined a marketing partnership with Headlock Hot Sauce. He is one of the stars of All Elite Wrestling and his ring name is Lance Archer.  

Dr. Greg Bonewald ’03 (Wimberly, TX)
Was named superintendent by the Wimberley ISD Board of Trustees. He previously worked at Victoria ISD, serving most recently as deputy superintendent. Bonewald spent 14 years at Wimberley ISD, including seven years as Wimberley High School principal.

Barney Dill ’06 (Houston, TX)
Has been promoted to associate with the law firm of Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner. He earned his juris doctor degree from Regent University School of Law and joined the Abraham Watkins firm in 2017.

Leslie Hamilton ’06 (Bee Cave, TX)
Has been named director of business development for the Centre for Neuro Skills, a provider of treatment for traumatic and acquired brain injury.

Natalie J. Kidd ’06 (Bryan, TX)
Has been named senior vice president/commercial lender at Guaranty Bank & Trust.

Brian Poe ’06 (The Woodlands, TX)
Is the new chief operations officer for Holland Land Resources.

Kelly Reyes  ’07 (Kyle, TX)
Was recognized by Hays CISD as the 2022 District Secondary Teacher of the Year. She is the choir director for Wallace Middle School and oversees the largest choir in the district with 130 members.

Cristian Lira  08 and ’18 (Buda, TX)
Was recognized as teacher of the Year by McCormick Middle School.

Blair Manning ’10 (Burnet, TX)
Is the new tourism and marketing director for Burnet County. She previously served as assistant chief deputy at the Burnet County Treasurer’s office.

Tyler Wallach ’10 (Houston, TX)
Has joined the faculty of his alma mater, Cypress-Fairbanks High School as a theatre teacher.

Dr. Amy Dixon Hatch  ’11 and ’13 (Arlington, TX)
Has joined The University of Texas at Arlington as an assistant professor of instruction in music theory.

Maj. Gen. Cheryn Fasano ’12 (Scott Air Force Base, Illinois)
Has been officially promoted to major general, U.S. Army. She serves as mobilization assistant to the commander, U.S. Transportation Command, and commander, Joint Transportation Reserve Unit.

Taylor Watts ’15 (Houston, TX)
Has joined the McGlinchey law firm as an associate in the enterprise litigation and investigations section. Prior to joining McGlinchey, she served as an assistant district attorney for Fort Bend County and Galveston County. Watts received her juris doctor degree  in 2019 from South Texas College of Law Houston.

John Hernandez ’18 (Austin, TX)
Has joined the Texas Tribune as the assistant director of audience. He was previously a fellow at Minnesota Public Radio and its parent organization, American Public Media.

Megan Navarro ’20 (Kyle, TX)
Has been named editor of the Hays Free Press and News Dispatch.

Zachary Perkins  ’21 (Austin, TX)
Has published his first book, How Much Time Do You Have? The memoir is available from online bookstores.

Lyndsea Woodall ’21 (Bulverde, TX)
Was awarded the First Year Teacher of the Year Award at Rahe Bulverde Elementary School.

Micaela Lamas ’21 (Mission, TX)
Has joined the national touring company of  “Dear Evan Hanson.” The tour runs through June 2023.