Heather Guidry

Heather is a 2013 graduate of Texas Wesleyan University’s School of Business, earning her bachelor’s degree in finance.  By taking a non-traditional path and earning her degree later in life, Heather believes her life experience brought a different perspective to the classroom.  After graduation, Heather took a position in the risk management department of a local credit union.  It was quickly determined her experience, education, and skills were well suited for the rapidly growing field of regulatory compliance in banking.  In 2017, Heather earned her Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager certification – the highest certification in the field.  Currently, Heather is the Senior Vice President, Fair Lending and Responsible Banking Officer at First Financial Bank in Fort Worth

 

W. David White

David is an Adjunct Professor of Management who began his teaching career following a 44-year career in banking. He served for the past 23 years as president and CEO of First Command Bank. David has a BBA in Finance from the University of Texas and an MBA in Management from TCU. He has been married for 45 years, has two children, two grandchildren and a two-year-old puppy who is a beautiful mutt. He enjoys music and college athletics. Go Rams!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vernon Wright

Vernon (@TheWrightLeader) is a speaker, author, consultant, leader, and educator. He has over 18 years of experience working in large, urban school districts and has previously served in the roles of teacher, teacher leader, campus leadership team member, and district-level leadership. A proud graduate of the Texas Wesleyan University School of Business, Vernon has leveraged knowledge from that education and professional experiences to share with audiences at campus, district, regional, state, national levels, and beyond. Vernon is a speaker and leadership consultant for School Pro K-12 and Edumatch, assisting clients in realizing synergies, maximizing impact, and building high-performing cultures. He has as well impacted educators on an international level via his collaboration with the joint venture between Microsoft EDU and CUE Inc.

Vernon’s passion is in adding value to other’s lives through the various podcasts he’s appeared on, his speaking appearances, and other endeavors such as proudly serving on the Texas Wesleyan University Alumni Board as Vice President, the Texas Wesleyan University School of Business Strategic Advisory Board, Texas Wesleyan University Esports (Alumni Board Supporter), and the Texas Wesleyan University Football Mentor Group. He is a proud member and Vice President of Public Relations for the Toastmasters International Club, Power Communicators in addition to being a proud member of the Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. Vernon’s philanthropic endeavors also include serving as a Debate Judge for the Dallas Urban Debate Alliance. Vernon has an established presence on social media (@TheWrightLeader across all platforms), and he unabashedly stands as a voice for the people with zero apologies (ZeroApologyZone.com). You can connect with Vernon’s previous speaking and podcast appearances at TheWrightLeader.com and various podcasting platforms. He is committed to a life of mentoring others in their pursuits of excellence.

 

Derek Armstrong

Derek has over 19 years of supply chain management experience at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics supporting multiple aerospace and defense programs. Derek is the Sr. Manager of the Integrated Fighter Group (IFG) and leads a team to shape the strategy and execution for F-16 subcontract management. His team manages both domestic and international suppliers. Derek strives to develop employee talent by coaching buyers to solve complex problems, develop negotiation skills, and grow relationships through effective communication. Derek has experience with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR), Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations (DFARS), and Department of Defense Contracts (DOD). He has experience with general subcontract management including cost, quality, schedule, technical program performance for development, production, and sustainment.

He holds a Bachelors (2004) and Masters (2007) degree of Business Administration from Texas Wesleyan University. Derek also played baseball (3rd base) at Texas Wesleyan where he was the team captain. Derek enjoys spending time in the outdoors with activities such as hunting and western equine competitions with his wife. He is available by email: derekarmstrong517@gmail.com, and he is also available on LinkedIn.

 

Tommy Lee

At 35, Tommy is the Board’s youngest member, but the energetic Wesleyan alum is no stranger to the rough and tumble reality of entrepreneurship. After earning a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing, Lee cut his teeth reviving ambitious, but flawed, start-ups. Fast forward to today, and Lee, a recipient of Wesleyan’s Smaller. Smarter. Promise Scholarship, is out “to make small businesses look big.” He founded Newlee, a niche marketing agency, in 2019. Like Lee, Newlee’s message cuts to the point: “A marketing team for small businesses with big ideas and no clue to how to talk about them.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vincent Davila 

Vincent is a Partner in the Audit Division of Sproles Woodard LLP, and is also the Director of Accounting and Auditing for the firm. He is also the partner in charge of the Fort Worth Office. He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting degree from Texas Wesleyan University and his Master of Business Administration in Information Systems at Texas Wesleyan University. Vincent’s experience in accounting and auditing spans over 21 years and includes real estate, oil and gas exploration and production, hedge funds, fund of funds (FOF), private equity funds, manufacturing, construction, employee benefit plans, and not‐for‐profit organizations. Additionally, Vincent’s experience includes both public and private companies ranging from accelerated filers to family partnerships, alternative investment management, and private equity companies. His professional affiliations include the American Institute of Public Accountants, Texas Society of Public Accountants, Council of Petroleum Accountants Societies, Inc., Fort Worth Club, Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Petroleum Club of Fort Worth, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and BDO Alliance.

He is a Sunday School teacher at his church. He also enjoys coaching his children in different sports. Vincent and his wife, Michele Davila, are parents of five children: Miranda, Marissa, Marie, Valerie, and John Michael, and grandparents to three: Matthew, Mason, and Madeline. The family enjoys spending time together. Vincent especially enjoys taking his family to Texas Rangers games. In his spare time, Vincent enjoys watching football and boxing, playing softball, golf and fishing.

 

 

Steve Courington

Steve's career in Human Resources spans more than 35 years living and working globally for many Fortune 500 organizations across eight different industries. His diverse experience in Human Capital includes roles in Talent Management, Leadership Development, Organization Effectiveness and Training. In the next chapter of his career, Steve has created En@ble Growth, an HR advisory firm focused on growing leaders, teams and businesses to reach their fullest potential. Additionally, he has joined CEO.works as the General Manager, Talent-to-Value Academy, where he will be building a global community of practitioners focused on Connecting Talent to ValueTM.. As a graduate of Texas Wesleyan University in 1987, Steve is also a member of the School of Business Advisory Board and is committed to its mission to develop future business leaders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brad Ball

Brad co-founded Ardent Creative, Inc., a design, development, marketing, and AI firm that helps grow businesses through creative strategies. He is also the co-founder of Verity Software, a well-site management software for the oil & gas industry, and a partner in the Committed Mastermind. Aside from being a successful entrepreneur, he is also a sought-after artist who creates painted masterpieces from the stage. He has performed across the world, and his work has graced the halls of homes, businesses, and has even been purchased by elected officials. In his spare time, he loves to golf, CrossFit, watch movies, and spend time with his family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa Hammonds

Dr. Lisa Hammonds, founder Dove Training & Innovations, is a passionate and results-oriented Training & Development Consultant with a proven track record of inspiring and empowering individuals to achieve their full potential. Dr. Hammonds designs and delivers customized training that fosters self-awareness, strategic thinking, and action. With a passion for empowerment and engaging learning experiences, Dr. Hammonds believes that everyone has the tools to realize growth and development to the fullest degree! Dr. Hammonds has presented at numerous national conferences and has partnered with organizations across various industries to offer training and development workshops, curriculum design, and much more!

 

 

 

 

 

Roland Johnson

I graduated from Texas Wesleyan in 1977 with a BBA and believe it prepared me for the success I have had in sales, marketing, and management. I retired from Paxton/Patterson LLC after a successful 42 ½ year career on 12/31/22. During my career I held the following positions.

• Marketing Manager (March 1980 to July 1981)
• Vice President & Regional Sales Manager (July 1981 to July 1994) covering 15 east coast states from Maine to Florida. Supervised a team of Educational Sales Consultants (field sales) in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
  Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. I also managed two sales office in New Jersey and Virginia staffed by inside sales representatives and administrative staff.
• President & General Manager (July 1994 to February 2004) Working from our Chicago headquarters with satellite offices in NJ, VA, TX, CA. During my tenure we transitioned the company from a business selling tools to public schools to offering comprehensive learning systems for Career & Technical Education (CTE) in the areas of STEM, Health
  Science, Construction, and College & Career ready labs. Our sales force grew to 19 field sales and 16 inside sales during my tenure.
• In February 2004 new ownership took over and I returned to my preferred position as Vice President, Sales & Marketing (February 2004 to December 2022) reporting directly to the CEO/Owner. In 2009 I began working remotely from my home in downtown Fort Worth, Texas and traveled by air nearly every week domestically and internationally. I expanded our business to all 50 states and 9 foreign countries. I presented at educational conferences in 20 states, and 12 foreign countries primarily speaking on transforming education to a more student-centric model which inspired students in secondary education to have robust, hands-on experiences so they could discover their passions and aptitudes. Doing so allowed students to make more informed decisions on their post-secondary education. During my last five years, I led the sales team to a 435% increase in sales revenues.
• I retired on December 31, 2022, and am enjoying this new chapter of my life by golfing, traveling with my wife, and spending more time with our grandchildren.

 

 

Chris Andrews

Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Texas Wesleyan University as well as a Master’s in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas Arlington. Chris is currently the CIO for Unleashed Brands. Chris has held similar roles at Smoothie King, Pei Wei Asian Diner and On The Border. Chris has built out high performing IT organizations, implemented best-in-class digital platforms and utilized an all cloud-based approach for the supporting infrastructure and systems.

Chris started his career with his family’s Dallas based IT outsourcing company before transitioning to consulting at KPMG and Grant Thornton. Chris approaches tough technical and operational situations with a strong analytical and pragmatic approach anchored in his servant leadership style. His approach encompasses a leveraged blend of outsourcers/contractors, cloud services, in-house infrastructure and SaaS.

In Chris’ spare time he is an avid Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner\competitor and can be found watching his 15-year-old twins play soccer around the Great State of Texas.

 

 

 

 

 

Yolanda Sifuentes currently serves as the Sr. Research Coordinator II at Johns Hopkins University. Coordinates the AIM-AHEAD Fellowship Program in Leadership. Previously, she worked as a Coordinator for Special Projects in the Student Development Department at Tarrant County College South Campus. Yolanda also worked at Catholic Charities as a Financial Educator helping individuals and families get back on track financially. Yolanda is the current President of the Mexican American College Education (MACE) Fund and served as operations chair of the 2022 Conference of Texas Association of Chicanos in Higher Education. Yolanda was born and raised in South Fort Worth where she and her husband Luis have raised their three children. Yolanda earned a Bachelor of Business Administration at Texas Wesleyan University and her Master's in Higher Education from Iowa State University on May 12, 2022.