Eric Harslem, Chairman
Through his family foundation, Eric Harslem supports APS and a number of other education non-profits. He is also CEO of APS. He was Senior VP of Product Development and CTO at Dell until 2001. Prior to Dell he was general manager of desktop products at Apple; managed Star workstation development at Xerox; and worked with the ARPA Network team while at the Rand Corporation. He holds a BS in Engineering from Caltech and an MS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin. Currently a private investor, he is the co-founder and a Board member of Motion Computing.
Tom Luce, Former Chairman
Tom Luce is CEO of NMSI and former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Education. An attorney, Luce received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Methodist University and has been honored with the SMU Law School and University Distinguished Alumni Awards. He was a founding partner and managing partner of the law firm of Hughes & Luce, LLP until his retirement from the firm in 1997. In addition to his active law practice, at various times Luce has served on the boards or as guest lecturer at a number of schools of higher education, including the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, and Southern Methodist University.
Robert H.Dedman, Jr., Board Member
Robert (Bob) H. Dedman, Jr. received a B.A. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin in 1979, an M.B.A. with highest honors in 1980 and a Juris Doctor Cum Laude in 1984 from Southern Methodist University. He served as an Associate at Salomon Brothers then returned to ClubCorp as CFO and President then COO and CEO and Board Chair. The Dedman family sold ClubCorp in 2006. Dedman is currently the General Partner of Putterboy, Ltd. (the owner of Pinehurst Resort & Country Club) and is President and CEO of the Dedman family’s office. He serves as a trustee of SMU, UT Southwestern Medical Foundation, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, Dallas Museum of Art, The Hockaday School and Southwest Region of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
Matrice Ellis-Kirk, Board Member
Matrice Ellis-Kirk is Managing Partner at Heidrick & Struggles working to develop an inclusive pipeline of talent. Her passion is working with clients to build a board representative of their constituency. As a member of the management committee, she recently held a North America corporate role leading the client service organization where she streamlined internal processes. Her current search work focuses on the board practice. Ellis-Kirk is active within the business and civic communities, serving on a number of boards, including UT Southwestern Medical Foundation, The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts and the University of Pennsylvania Board of Visitors. Ellis-Kirk holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.
Clay Mulford, Board Member
Clay Mulford is the Chief Operating Officer of the National Math and Science Initiative. He joined NMSI during its initial formation. A corporate securities lawyer prior to joining NMSI, he was a partner with Jones Day and, earlier, with Hughes & Luce, where he was a member of that firm’s executive committee. In his law practice, he served as the lead counsel in numerous high profile mergers and public offerings and on several national ABA Committees. He also serves as a director of several public and private corporations and civic organizations. He is an honors graduate of Amherst College and the law and business schools of the University of Virginia, and served as visiting Fellow at The Kennedy School.
Dr. Ricardo Romo, Board Member
Dr. Ricardo Romo became the fifth president of The University of Texas at San Antonio in May 1999. During Romo's tenure, UTSA's enrollment has grown nearly 50 percent, and the university has added numerous programs and facilities to enhance student life. A native of San Antonio's West Side, Romo graduated from Fox Tech High School and attended the UT Austin on a track scholarship. Romo was the first Texan to run the mile in less than four minutes, and his mile record lasted 41 years. He earned a B.S. degree in education. He holds a master's degree in history from Loyola Marymount University and a Ph.D. in history from UCLA. A nationally respected urban historian, in 1980, Romo returned to UT Austin to teach history before becoming vice provost for undergraduate education. In 2002, President Bush appointed him to the President's Board of Advisers on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. In 2004 he was appointed U.S. representative to UNESCO. He serves on nearly 20 boards, many of them in San Antonio.
Susan Schotz, Board Member
Susan Schotz has been in education as both a teacher and administrator since 1966. Currently, Susan is the Associate Director for Accreditation Services for the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools and Partner, S2 Consultants. Previously, she served as Head of Upper School at St. Andrew’s School in Austin, TX and The Rivers School in Weston, MA. She has been both an English and History teacher in public and independent schools such as Weston HS in Weston, MA, and Shady Side Academy in Pittsburgh. In addition, she was a Co-Director of the Women’s Institute for Secondary School Teachers at Harvard. Schotz was awarded her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. from the University of Alaska. She has won numerous teaching awards, including the William College Olmsted Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Clark University Alumni Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Lawrence A. Warder, Board Member
Nominated by President George W. Bush, Lawrence A. Warder was named the Department of Education’s chief financial officer on April 25, 2006. Secretary Spellings designated Warder as Acting Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid (FSA) on June 1, 2007. Warder resigned from both positions in October of 2008. Warder joined the Department after undertaking two education-related projects since he retired from his 33-year tenure with Deloitte & Touche in 2002. From his home in Spicewood, near Austin, Texas, he worked with the Dallas-based O'Donnell Foundation and the Austin Independent School District to promote increased opportunities for Advanced Placement classes in the Austin schools. He also served for three years as an unpaid consultant to University of Texas System Chancellor Mark G. Yudof and the system's Institutional Audit and Compliance Committee. Warder, who is still a certificated public accountant, also maintained certification throughout his career as both a management accountant and management consultant. Warder holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from the University of Akron and Master of Business Administration degree from Kent State University. While living in New York City, he served on the Lincoln Center's leadership council, and since his first retirement, he has served as the treasurer for the Bee Creek United Methodist Church in Spicewood. Currently, he also serves on the Advisory Council of UTeach and the Board of Greenlights. Warder and his late wife, Dianne, have two children and seven grandchildren. Warder splits his time between their home near Austin, Texas and Dallas.