Media Contact: Cherie Yurco;
CMYurco@DallasCollege.edu
For immediate release — Jan. 3, 2023
(DALLAS) — On Jan. 1, Dallas College Foundation welcomed four new board members to its board of directors. Joining the board are: Wendy Lopez, senior vice president of AECOM Texas; Frank Mihalopoulos, owner of Corinth Properties; Regina Montoya, CEO and chair of Regina T. Montoya, PLLC; and Byron Sanders, CEO of Big Thought. These distinguished business and civic leaders will provide valuable insight, helping the foundation advance the economic mobility of Dallas College students through the power of philanthropy.
Dallas College Foundation Executive Director Josh Skolnick said, “We could not be more thrilled to have this distinguished group of community leaders joining our board. Each of our new board members has deep experience addressing a wide variety of regional challenges. I am confident that they will use their many talents to help us serve all students and take Dallas College to new heights.”
Wendy Lopez
Wendy Lopez
Lopez provides leadership and strategy for growth across all business lines for infrastructure consulting firm AECOM of Texas, representing more than $300 million in annual revenue and 1,200 staff. In addition to her work at AECOM, she serves on the boards of Dallas Medical Resource, Dallas Regional Chamber, State Fair of Texas, University of Texas at Dallas Center for Brain Health and University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) Foundation. She also serves on the Civil Engineering Advisory Board and ULL College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council. Lopez has been honored locally and nationally for her commitment to entrepreneurialism, math and science education, and community service, including a 2019 ENR Legacy Award for her long and accomplished career and a Lifetime Achievement Award (2021) from the Texas Regional Hispanic Contractors Association.
Frank Mihalopoulos
Frank Mihalopoulos
Mihalopoulos is founder and owner of commercial real estate development firm Corinth Properties. He has 40 years of experience investing in real estate and in developing retail, office and mixed-use properties in Texas. His expertise in this area has earned him national and local awards and recognition from the commercial real estate industry. Mihalopoulos is a board member of the Dallas Citizens Council, Real Estate Council, Austin Street Center, Genesis Women’s Shelter & Support, State Fair of Texas, Methodist Health System Foundation and EducateDallas. He is a member of the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors and International Council of Shopping Centers.
Regina Montoya
Regina Montoya
Montoya is CEO and chair of Regina T. Montoya, PLLC, and recognized as a top U.S. lawyer. In September, President Biden appointed her to serve on the President’s Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics. Montoya is on the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s Texas Advisory Committee and a national co-chair of the Women’s Leadership Forum of the Democratic National Committee. She serves on the boards of Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society, Dallas Education Foundation, Emerge (secretary), Every Texan, Executive Women of Dallas, Latino Victory, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (first vice chair), National Development Council and Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation (president). In addition, she serves on the advisory boards of the Alumni Society, the Concilio, Foreign Policy for America, Leaders of Color, WiNGS (chair) and HHM Health.
Byron Sanders
Byron Sanders
Sanders is president and CEO of Big Thought, an impact, youth-aligned organization closing the opportunity gap by equipping youth with skills to create. His work across many sectors has centered on the belief that people are born great — our responsibility is to create systems of opportunity for their greatness to shine. Sanders and his team build programs and learning systems empowering youth with the skills to thrive. He was named a 2017 Presidential Leadership Scholar, was recognized as Dallas Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO in 2022 and received the CASEL O’Brien Award for Excellence in Expanding the Evidence-Based Practice of Social and Emotional Learning. He believes with youth as co-designers of the world around us, we become the best version of ourselves.
Clint McDonnough said, “As the new chair of the Dallas College Foundation Board of Directors, I am thrilled that these four esteemed leaders have agreed to join our board. Their insights and creativity will be invaluable to the foundation as we work to serve Dallas College and its students in 2023 and beyond.”
Current Dallas College Foundation board members also include Tonika Cheek Clayton, Tom Corcoran, Manuel Diaz, Chris Durovich, Regen Horchow, Chad Houser, Mary Jalonick, Dr. Alicia Makaye, Ann Margolin, Lynn McBee, Alfreda Norman, Brian Olson and Mark Paul. Board members who assumed new officer positions as of Jan. 1 are: Clint McDonnough (board chair), Lynn McBee (secretary) and Brian Olson (treasurer). You can find out more about these board members and read their biographies on the
Dallas College Foundation board webpage.
The foundation thanked outgoing board members Debbie Taylor and Hunter Hunt, who have both served as chair, and Scott Letier, who served as treasurer, for their service.
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About Dallas College Foundation
Dallas College Foundation is an independent 501(c)3 whose mission is to advance students’ economic mobility and strengthen our community by partnering with donors and philanthropies to help Dallas College rise to new heights of equity, innovation and excellence. Since its creation in 1973, the foundation has raised more than $83 million in private donations and distributed more than $42 million in scholarships and grants to support thousands of students at Dallas College.
About Dallas College
Dallas College, formerly the Dallas County Community College District, was founded in 1965 and consists of seven campuses: Brookhaven, Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View, North Lake and Richland. Dallas College offers online learning and serves more than 125,000 credit and continuing education students during the fall and spring semesters. Dallas College also offers dual credit for students in partner high schools and early college high schools throughout Dallas County. Students benefit from partnerships with local business leaders, school districts and four-year universities, and Dallas College offers associate degree and career/technical certificate programs in more than 100 areas of study, as well as a bachelor’s degree in education. Based on annual enrollment, it is the largest community college in Texas.