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MEET OUR TEAM

Dedicated to Innovation and Collaboration

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DAPHNE RICKARD

Executive Director

Career and Technical Education

Fort Worth ISD

daphne.rickard@fwisd.org

Grant Lead and Fiscal Agent

NCTX Aerial Robotics Initiative

Daphne Rickard currently serves as Executive Director for Fort Worth ISD. Daphne has been an educator for 18 years, with 14 years of experience at the secondary level and 4 years of experience at the post-secondary level. Throughout her tenure in education, Daphne has worked to build programs that provide real-world learning opportunities for all students.

Daphne serves as the Lead of the NCTX Aerial Robotics Team. She leads the team as a motivated, results-oriented collaborator, who has helped to assure unprecedented growth and success of the initiative.  

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JACOB LUSK

Career and Technical Education Coordinator
Fort Worth ISD
jacob.lusk@fwisd.org

Jacob Lusk is a Career and Technical Education Coordinator at Fort Worth ISD. In this role he supports CTE programs at all FWISD secondary schools of innovation and leads the district’s CTE STEM and automotive programming. He is excited to support partnering school districts and teachers with the development of robust programs that lead to fulfilling careers and postsecondary pathways.


Prior to joining Fort Worth ISD and returning home to the metroplex, Jacob served as Director of Career & Technical Education at Nacogdoches ISD and served as a CTE teacher. This is his 9th year in public education.

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STEPHANIE TENNYSON

Career and Technical Education Coordinator

Fort Worth ISD

stephanie.tennyson@fwisd.org

Stephanie Tennyson currently serves as a Career and Technical Education Coordinator for Fort Worth ISD. Stephanie has been an educator for 14 years, with 12 years of experience at the secondary level and 2 years of experience at the post-secondary level.


Through various roles, Stephanie has found educators to be a constant source of inspiration, building a strong future workforce and adapting to the dynamic, fast-paced changes of today’s world.


Stephanie is an essential member of the team and has been with NCTX Aerial Robotics Initiative since the very beginning. As an expert in STEM Education, she makes sure that industry-standard equipment, curriculum, and training sessions are provided for all participating school districts. She provides support to assure the highest quality of instruction for students.

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CANDY SLOCUM

Executive Director

InterLink

candy@interlink-ntx.org

Intermediary

NCTX Aerial Robotics Initiative

Candy is Executive Director of North Central Texas “InterLink” Inc.,  which identifies North Central Texas,  employer-driven labor market information for Career and Technical high demand career programs of study.  She provides labor market information to align the grant with employer demand. 

Serving as Grant Intermediary, Candy helps connect stakeholders to meet their goals and build regional pathways. Candy brings years of experience in quality workforce planning and building business/industry/education partnerships for the benefit of NCTX Aerial Robotics. 

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DR. LINDA ANDERSON

Educational Consultant

Adjunct Professor

ljkanderson19@gmail.com

Project Manager

NCTX  Aerial Robotics Initiative

Linda's career in education, with both K12 and university experience, has modeled the importance of partnerships between business and education. Since joining NCTX Aerial Robotics Initiative in 2019, Linda has played a role in the ongoing collaboration among K12, Post-Secondary, and Business/Industry/ Workforce Partners. Her passion for the work is evident in the momentum and growth of the initiative over the past three years.  

NCTX AERIAL ROBOTICS ADVISORY COMMITTEE

School Districts, Workforce, Post-Secondary, Business/Industry

SCHOOL DISTRICTS

 

Daphne Rickard

Fort Worth ISD

Executive Director CTE

daphne.rickard@fwisd.org

Lisa Castillo

Fort Worth ISD

Executive Director Choice and Enrichment Programming 

lisa.castillo@fwisd.org

 

David Saenz

Fort Worth ISD

Senior Innovation Officer

david.saenz@fwisd.org

 

Ann Hartlieb

Fort Worth ISD

STEM Partnership Specialist

ann.hartlieb@fwisd.org

 

Jacob Lusk

Fort Worth ISD

Innovation and STEM Coordinator

jacob.lusk@fwisd.org

 

Stephanie Tennyson

Fort Worth ISD

Coordinator CTE

stephanie.tennyson@fwisd.org

Mark Slagle

Fort Worth ISD

Instructional Coach

mark.slagle@fwisd.org

 

Dr. Stacy Burrell

Fort Worth ISD

Director Grants Compliance and Monitoring

stacy.burrell@fwisd.org

 

Stephanie Pollard

Fort Worth ISD

Senior Project Development Specialist Grants and Development

Stephanie.Pollard@fwisd.org

 

Dr. Linda Anderson

Educational Consultant

Project Manager for NCTX Aerial Robotics STEM Initiative

ljkanderson19@gmail.com

Dr. Suzanne Murr

Azle ISD

CTE Director

smurr@azleisd.net

Tyler Harrison

Azle ISD

CTE Teacher

tharrison@azleisd.net

 

Allison Vinson

Birdville ISD

CTE Director

allison.vinson@birdvilleschools.net

Jacob Hildebrand

Birdville ISD

CTE Coordinator

jacob.hildebrand@birdvilleschools.net

Mark McClure

Cleburne ISD

CTE Director

dmcclure@c-isd.com

Tim Grijalva

Cleburne ISD

Director of Instructional Technology

tgrijalva@c-isd.com

 

Kimberly Wrick

Crowley ISD

CTE/PTECH Coordinator

kimberly.wrick@crowley.k12.tx.us

Annette Duvall

Crowley ISD

CTE Director

annette.duvall@crowley.k12.tx.us

Brian Johnson

Era ISD

Secondary Principal/CTE Director

johnsonb@eraisd.net

Dr. Shannon Luis

Era ISD

Superintendent

luiss@eraisd.net

Courtney Carlton

Era ISD

CTE Teacher

carltonc@eraisd.net

Rick Bracy

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD

CTE Director

rick.bracy@gcisd.net

Candace McGowan

Grapevine-Colleyville ISD

CTE Coordinator

candace.mcgowan@gcisd.net

 

Dr. Rob Wright

Keller ISD

CTE Director

Robert.Wright@kellerisd.net

Keith Killebrew

Keller ISD

CTE Coordinator

Keith.Killebrew@kellerisd.net

 

Leslee Shepherd

Keller ISD

CCMR Executive Director

leslee.shepherd@kellerisd.net

 

Deeann Hampton

Mineral Wells ISD

CTE Director

dhampton@mwisd.net

 

Brent Tincher

Mineral Wells ISD

Teacher

btincher@mwisd.net

 

John Kuhn

Mineral Wells ISD

Superintendent

jkuhn@mwisd.net

 

Melanie Cormack

Strawn ISD

CTE Director

mcormack@strawnschool.net

 

John Eli

Strawn ISD

Teacher

jeli@strawnschool.net

Dewaine Lee

Strawn ISD

Superintendent

coachlee@strawnschool.net

Lisa Harrison

ESC Region 11

Administrator Coach

lharrison@esc11.net

Chelsea Reeves

ESC Region 11

CTE Coach

creeves@esc11.net

 

WORKFORCE

 

 Candy Slocum

North Central Texas InterLink

Executive Director, InterLink and NCTX Aerial Robotics Project Intermediary

candy@interlink-ntx.org

Renee Parker

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County

Industry Services Unit Director

renee.parker@workforcesolutions.net

Ernest Huffman

North Central Texas Council of Governments

Program Manager, Aviation Training and Education

Ehuffman@nctcog.org

Nicole Johnson

North Central Texas Council of Governments

Njohnson@nctcog.org

Danielle Davis

Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas

Partnership Development Coordinator

drdavis@dfwjobs.com

 

POST-SECONDARY

 

Isaac Rivera

Tarrant County College

District Director of Curriculum and Educational Planning

isaac.rivera@tccd.edu

Richard Vela

Tarrant County College

Director of Academic Affairs Educational Partnerships

richard.vela@tccd.edu

 

James Grant

Tarrant County College

Dean of Aviation, Business and Logistics

james.grant@tccd.edu

 

Trevor Saylors

Tarrant County College

Coordinator of Division of Aviation, Business and Logistics

trevor.saylors@tccd.edu

Dr. Katsuhiko "Kirk" Oda

Tarrant County College

Associate Professor of Geographic Information Systems and Cartography/GIS Coordinator

katsuhiko.oda@tccd.edu

Dr. Kenneth S. Berry

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Lyle School of Engineering

Southern Methodist University

Research Professor

Associate Director of STEM Programs

ksberry@mail.smu.edu

Dr. Nandika D'Souza

University of North Texas

Regents Professor Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Nandika.Dsouza@unt.edu

 

Dr. Kamesh Namuduri

University of North Texas

Professor Electrical Engineering

Kamesh.Namuduri@unt.edu

BUSINESS/INDUSTRY

 

Tricia Hiros

Bell Textron, Inc.

Project Manager/Focus on Educational Development

thiros@bellflight.com

Rohn Olson

Bell Textron, Inc.

Senior Tech Fellow

rolson@bellflight.com

 

Nathan Wright

Bell Textron, Inc.

Director Product Cyber Security

nwright@bellflight.com

 

Sean Saucier

Bell Textron, Inc.

Military and Autonomous Engineer

ssaucier@bellflight.com

 

Mark Robertson

DPR Construction

Senior Field Engineer

MarkRo@dpr.com

Bill Swope, CP

Halff Associates, Inc.

Survey Business Development Manager

bSwope@Halff.com

NCT9-1-1

   

Texas Instruments, Inc.

 

Jason Madison

V3 Consulting Engineers

Electrical Engineer/Project Manager      

jmadison@v3ce.com

Desiree Hurst

Yazel Peebles & Associates LLC

Land Surveying and Mapping

dhurst@ypassociates.com desilu44d@netscape.net 

Thomas Harris

Hillwood

Executive Vice President

tom.harris@hillwood.com

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