Gregg Ballew, CFA, CIMA®

Vice President

Senior Vice President with Westwood Trust; member of the CFA Institute and the Investment Management Consultants Association; graduate of The University of Texas at Austin (MBA) and Baylor University (BBA); in addition to The Writer's Garret, also currently serves on boards for the Dallas Symphony Association, The Dallas Symphony Foundation, The Senior Source, Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Dallas, The Resource Clearinghouse, Inc., and the Alliance for Higher Education/North Texas Regional Center for Innovation and Commercialization; member of Preston Center Rotary Club; past board member and President of Need Him National Media Outreach, Inc., Friends of WRR, Theatre Three, The 500, Inc., Dallas Classic Guitar Society, and The Housing Crisis Center; and former board member of the Volunteer Center of Greater Dallas, Dallas Children's Theater, and Plano Repertory Theatre. (2nd Term 7/09-06/13)

Elaine Cho

Faculty member for English Department at Eastfield College; Coordinator for Asian-American/Middle Eastern-American Studies program; Committee Service: Literary and Fine Arts Festival, Retention Coordinators, District Retention Awards, Hiring, International Education District; past faculty advisor for Sigma Kappa Delta English Honor Society, Psi Beta Chapter; Co-Chaired EFC Core Curriculum Committee; former Secretary for Eastfield's Faculty Association (DCCFA); volunteer for Big Brothers Big Sisters, Asian-American Committee for the Dallas Women's Museum, Catholic Charities, Dallas Korean Language Group, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, VNA, Meals on Wheels in Arlington; Volunteer Tutor for elementary and college students; Fulbright Scholar (1st Term 9/10-8/13)

Alejandrina Drew

President

Author, arts administrator, educator; currently teaches at Richland College; recently retired as Manager for the Latino Cultural Center; former Director of the City of El Paso Arts and Culture Department; Founder and Director of the Centro de Lenguas of the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, México; Chancellor of Cultural Affairs for the Mexican Consulate in El Paso, Texas; Coordinator for Community Relations at El Paso Community College; Spanish and Italian language instructor in Mexico City, El Paso, Texas, Columbus Georgia and South Korea; Extensive experience in cultural management presenting film, performing, visual, literary and community arts; selected as one of the Ten Outstanding Women of America in 1980; inducted El Paso Women's Hall of Fame (Arts)in 2004; Women of Influence Award by El Paso Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women in 1999; BA in Italian Language and Literature from UNAM; Graduate work in Italian Art at the Universitá degli Study in Florence, Italy; MA in Spanish Language and Literature from UTEP; MFA in Creative Writing (Spanish) from UTEP; published Cuadernos de Ixtapa, book of poetry, and Abracadabra, patas de cabra, a children's story. (1st Term, 08/09-07/12)

Carol Johnson-Gerendas, Ph.D.

Secretary

Assistant Professor Communication and Coordinator of Liberal Studies Program, Texas Wesleyan University; Learning Communities Advisory, Center for Teaching Excellence and Learning Advisory, and North Central Texas Service Learning Intercollegiate Councils; faculty advisor for TW's Student Government Association; past Western Regional Representative / President of Sigma Tau Delta Honor Society local chapter; Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society; served on boards of SER Child Development Center, Dallas, and Literacy Representative to North Central Texas Workforce Development Board; non-profit experience as Vice-President of Education and Community Programs, La Causa, Inc., Director of National Programs, and SER Jobs for Progress National, Inc., Dallas; member, Texas Wall Street Women; volunteer work with Senior Adult Services and SER Child Development Center (1st Term 10/10-09/14)

Michelle Lewis

Treasurer

Business Systems Analyst Manager for Capital One; graduate of Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business and Dartmouth College; Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers/Big Sisters of New Hampshire and Fort Worth, Share the Magic campaign floor leader, Fellowship Church Mix 6 Student Ministry and Angel Tree Prison Ministry. (2nd Term, 08/08-07/12)

Todd S.  Smith

Vice President, Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, J.P. Morgan Chase N.A.; L.L.M. graduate from New York University School of Law; former auditor, Director of Armor Holdings, Inc.; former President and co-founder, Netowrk Audit Systems; served on board of Teen Challenge, a drug rehabilitation nonprofit in the Syracuse area. (1st Term 10/11-09/14)

Stephen Souris, Ph.D.

Vice President

Professor of English at Texas Woman's University since 1992, specializing in modern and contemporary American literature and literary theory; founder of book club, "Professor's Corner: A Discussion Group Devoted to Literary Texts," at the Denton Public Library in 1999, recently expanding to Frisco and Lakewood. (2nd Term, 04/11-03/15)

Thea Temple

Executive Director, The Writer's Garret; writer; editor; former Creative Writing faculty member Indiana University, University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, and Southern Methodist University (visiting); current faculty Western Connecticut State University; past Director of Resource Development, South Dallas-Fair Park Innercity Community Development Corporation; former Special Assistant to the Director of the Literature Program at the National Endowment for the Arts; served on local, state, and national literary arts panels; task force facilitator for the Southern Arts Federation; co-founder, Texas Partnership for Literature; 2008 "Woman of Distinction" Award from Dallas Chapter, American Association of University Women; breakout leader for Kennedy Center's "Texas Imagination Conversation" 2010, AT&T Performing Arts Center. (Ex-Officio, voting, since 1995)