Your HPISD Board of Trustees

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 

	Leslie L. Melson President Place 2 Leslie Melson joined the HPISD Board of Trustees in 2006 and was elected Board President in 2010. She has served as Board Secretary, Texas Association of School Boards delegate, chairman of the Curriculum and Instruction Committee, member of the HPISD Finance Committee, and as liaison to the C.A.R.E.-Dallas program, the HP Education Foundation, La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas and HP Arts.Melson is a graduate of Richardson High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from SMU. She is President of the SMU Alumni Board, and serves on boards for Friends of the University Park Public Library and C.A.R.E.-Dallas and Caron Texxas. Melson is a former Mad for Plaid chair and a past board president of C.A.R.E.-Dallas, HP Arts, Las Fiesta de las Seis Banderas, and the Highland Belles Booster Club. She and her husband, Jim, have four children and two grandsons. Jed is a 2000 HPHS graduate and a 2004 graduate of Texas A&M, and is married to the former Jennifer Cederberg. Ann is a 2002 HPHS graduate and a 2006 graduate of Texas A&M, and is married to HPHS class of '98 alum Robby Higginbottom. Ellen is a 2006 HPHS graduate and a 2010 graduate of Texas A&M and is married to HPHS class of 2006 alum Clayton Kershaw. John is a 2009 HPHS graduate and a senior at Texas A&M. The Melsons are members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church, where Leslie serves as an elder.
	James L. Hitzelberger Vice President Place 1 Jim Hitzelberger joined the Board of Trustees in 2009. Prior to joining the board, he served as a member of the Finance Committee, the Facilities Committee, and the Superintendent Search Focus Group. Hitzelberger served as president of the Highland Park High School Alumni Association from 2004-06. Hitzelberger is an attorney and mediator. Raised in the Park Cities, he is a 1974 graduate of Highland Park High School. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1979 from the University of San Diego and earned his law degree from the University of Tulsa School of Law in 1992. He was admitted to the Texas bar in 1993 and to the Washington bar in 2002. He is a 2002 graduate of the American Academy of Attorney-Mediators. Hitzelberger served as president of the Garland Bar Association. He is a member of the Dallas Bar Association. Jim is married to Laurie and is the father of three sons, Christian, a sophomore at The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, Michael, a junior at Highland Park High School, and Mark, a freshman at Highland Park High School. The Hitzelbergers are members of Highland Park United Methodist Church.
	Cynthia W. Beecherl Secretary Place 5 Board secretary Cynthia Beecherl is a graduate of Highland Park High School. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in petroleum land management from the University of Texas. She is a licensed real estate broker, petroleum landman and member of the Greater Dallas Association of Realtors and the American Association of Petroleum Landmen. Beecherl has served as chairman of the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. She is a member of the University of Texas Chancellor’s Council Executive Committee. She is a past president of HP Arts and a former board member of La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas and the HP Education Foundation. She has held numerous volunteer positions on HPISD campus PTA boards and other parent groups. She and her husband Louis, have four children – Arthur, a 2002 Highland Park High School graduate and 2006 graduate of the University of Texas; Rebecca, a 2004 Highland Park High School graduate and a 2008 graduate of the University of Texas; Ben, a 2006 Highland Park High School graduate and a 2010 graduate of the University of Texas; and Edward, a 2009 Highland Park High School graduate and majoring in petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. The Beecherls are active members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church where Cynthia serves as a deacon.
	Joseph G. Taylor Finance Officer Place 6 Joe Taylor was elected to the HPISD Board of Trustees in 2008, and currently serves as Board Finance Officer. Prior to his election, he served on the district’s Finance Committee. Born and raised in Canton, Ohio, Taylor received a bachelor’s degree from Duke University in 1981. Following an 18-year career in banking, he joined Brinker International, Inc. as VP-Finance. He currently holds the position of VP-Corporate Affairs for the company. Taylor currently serves on the boards of the National Restaurant Association, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and is a member of the board and a past chairman of the National Council of Chain Restaurants. He also is a past president of the Hyer Dads' Club. He and his wife, Mary (HPHS ’78), have three daughters: Caroline, a 2009 graduate of Highland Park High School and a recent Texas A&M University graduate, Ellen, a 2011 graduate of Highland Park High School and a junior at Texas A&M, and Maggie, a senior at Highland Park High School. The Taylors are all active members of Highland Park Presbyterian Church.
	Paul E. RowseyTrustee Place 4Paul Rowsey joined the Board of Trustees in 2010. He previously served as a member of the Finance Committee, the Facilities Committee and the Superintendent Search Focus Group. Rowsey is a past president of the Highland Park Sports Club. He is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Compatriot Capital, Inc., a real estate investment and operating company, and a subsidiary of Sammons Enterprises, Inc, one of the largest private companies in the United States. Prior to joining Compatriot, he was a founder and the managing partner of E2M Partners, LLC, a sponsor and manager of private real estate equity funds and an affiliate of Compatriot. He continues to serve as the chairman of E2M's Investment Committee. Born and raised in Oklahoma, he is 34-year resident of the Park Cities. He is a 1977 graduate of Duke University with a degree in management science, and a 1980 graduate of Southern Methodist University School of Law. Rowsey has previously served on numerous public and private boards of directors, and currently serves on the board of directors of ENSCO, plc, a publicly traded company based in London, and a number of privately held companies. A former board member of the Park Cities YMCA, Rowsey also served as chairman of the Park Cities YMCA Boys’ Sports Committee. He coached his children’s Park Cities YMCA sports teams for 14 years. He and his wife, Bonnie, have three children; Paul, a 2002 HPHS graduate and a 2006 graduate of Georgetown University, Fred, a 2006 HPHS graduate and a 2010 graduate of Harvard University, and Laura, a 2009 HPHS graduate and 2013 graduate of TCU. The Rowseys are members of University Park United Methodist Church.
	Kelly Walker Trustee Place 3 Kelly Walker joined the Board of Trustees in 2010, and chairs the Facilities Committee. She currently serves on the Advisory Board for the HP Education Foundation, and is a guild member of La Fiesta de las Seis Banderas. She is a former member of the Hyer PTA Gift Committee and the HPISD Strategic Planning Committee. Walker was born in Dallas and has been a University Park resident for the past 25 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in geology from Tarleton State University in 1985, and is a Registered Professional Geologist in the state of Texas. She is the president and founder of Benchmark Environmental Consultants in Dallas. Walker served as a City of University Park councilperson from 2004-10 and the Mayor Pro Tem from 2008-09. She currently serves on the Capital Projects Committee for the city, the YMCA Girls Sports Committee and the C.A.R.E. board. She and her husband, James P. Walker, Jr., have two children, Cameron, an eighth-grader at Highland Park Middle School and Claire, a sixth-grader at McCulloch Intermediate School. The Walkers are members of the Highland Park United Methodist Church.
	Sam Dalton Trustee Place 7 Sam Dalton was elected to the Highland Park Independent School District Board of Trustees in May 2011. He has served as a member of the Calendar Committee, the Finance Committee, the Demographic Study Committee, and is the Board liaison to the Central Dads' Club. Dalton is a native of Springfield, Mo., and a graduate of Washington and Lee University and the University of Texas Law School. He worked for 14 years as a commercial litigation attorney for Locke Purnell and Vinson & Elkins before branching out on his own. In 2006, he began managing a family investment partnership. He is a member of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, and volunteers as a Reading Buddy at the J. Eric Jonsson School. Dalton also served on the board of the Highland Park Presbyterian Day School. Dalton and his wife, Carol, have four children. Sam, Jr. is a freshman at the University of Virginia, daughter Loring is a senior and daughter Katie is sophomore at Highland Park High School. William is a sixth-grader at McCulloch Intermediate School. The Daltons are members of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church.