Andrew F. Brown, retired Executive Director, Public Affairs and Policy Communications, Verizon Communications, is a 38-year veteran of the Company. A native Texan, Brown entered the telecommunications field upon graduation from North Texas State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. Brown began his career in marketing in Irving, Texas, where he served as Marketing Communication Consultant for GTE's Southwest Company. He soon became a prominent leader in GTE's marketing efforts and orchestrated key telecommunications projects such as the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, Texas Stadium, and Las Colinas, home to an array of Fortune 500 corporations, including GTE Corporation.
An entrepreneur, Brown owned, operated and developed small businesses that resulted in successful profit and employment ventures while maintaining his career at GTE. These achievements resulted in him being named one of the most Outstanding Men in America for his contributions to small business, community development and corporate leadership. Brown was named General Sales Manager, Marketing in 1969, a position he held for 16 years. His career then expanded into the governmental affairs arena and on to economic development. Brown became director of economic development for GTE's seventeen state Central Areas and served in that capacity for several years. During that time, he developed and implemented GTE's Region of Choice Economic Development Program, creating 100 regional alliances of communities throughout the Midwest and producing competitive edge video and collateral packages.
Assuming the role as national executive director for Public Affairs and Policy Communications in 1995, Brown has been instrumental in taking the Region of Choice Program into a national format, which includes the production of eighty-seven regional programs. These programs have won forty-three awards from various organizations across the country.  Andy Brown was responsible not only for the conceptualization and development of the Verizon signature literacy program, but also for orchestrating the transformation of the program into one of the nation's most important public charities - Verizon Reads. As president of Verizon Reads, his vision for strategic philanthropy has influenced Verizon's focus on literacy and grown public awareness, funding and volunteerism in support of the cause. The Verizon Reads platform has received numerous prestigious national awards including the Presidential Ron Brown Award for Corporate Leadership and the National Coalition for Literacy's Literacy Leadership Award bestowed upon organizations that significantly impact employee development and enhance quality of life for cities and towns through out America.
The National Coalition for Literacy located in Washington DC, which is a broad-based alliance of national adult and family literacy organizations, agencies, and associations, awarded Brown its 2006 NCL Literacy Leadership Award. NCL's annual Literacy Leadership Awards recognize individuals, organizations, and corporations who have made extraordinary contributions to improving literacy in the United States on the local, state, and national level.
Brown also served as mayor of Coppell, Texas for ten years, during which time the community population grew from less than 1,000 to more than 28,000. As mayor, Brown drafted a successful city master plan, developing infrastructure standards for the community, as well as a comprehensive park system. As testimony to his public service, the City of Coppell named their Texas award-winning major park system, which consists of 182 acres in his name, Andrew F. Brown, Jr. Community Parks.
Brown has served on the board of directors for the Texas Industrial Development Corporation, the Dallas All Sports Association, Circle 10 Boy Scouts of America, the Dallas Summer Musicals, Work Source for Dallas County, and director for Citizen's First Bank and Trust. He is a member of the Council for Urban Economic Development and the American Economic Development Council.

Rolinda Duran is a Field Director at the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services (DARS).  She has over twenty years experience working with persons with disabilities, assisting with advocacy, independent living skills training, and employment services.  Rolinda has coordinated workshops, seminars, and training sessions at the local, regional, and state level for persons with disabilities, school district personnel, and vocational rehabilitation professionals.  Rolinda manages an office of 45 staff with responsibilities for direct supervision including hiring, performance appraisals, and compliance with HR policies, and ensures that the agency’s mission is carried out.

Jay Klingelhoffer

Texas Workforce Commission

Jay has been with the state of Texas since the mid-70’s.  Working for the Texas Workforce Commission and it’s predecessor agency, The Texas Employment Commission, he has made his way from a frontline employer interviewer, into positions of Senior Management both in the Region and across the state.  Jay is currently a manager for the DFW Regional Tele-Center capping a career that included a year as the Deputy Director of the TWC Workforce Division.  He received his Bachelors Degree at Indiana University. 

James Oberwetter

Dallas Regional Chamber

James C. Oberwetter is the President of the Dallas Regional Chamber since February 2009. He directs the chamber staff in economic development activity for the region and leads the organization in setting public policy direction designed to maintain a healthy quality of life and business climate in North Texas.

Prior to service with the Chamber, President George W. Bush, personally selected James C. Oberwetter, in November 2003 to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. While there, until April of 2007, he utilized his public policy, political and business management experience to direct his team in a strategic repositioning of the U.S./Saudi relationship. He interacted frequently with the President, the Vice President, Secretaries Rice and Powell and numerous U.S. Cabinet Secretaries in accomplishing this task as well as the King, Crown Prince, and key Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A Mission under continuous threat and one direct assault from Al Qaeda, he managed under crisis conditions. His insights on Saudi Arabia and the Middle East are in demand for lectures to business groups, professional and non-governmental organizations, colleges and universities including the Scowcroft Institute for International Studies, at the Bush School of Government and Public Service and the Houston Partnership’s “America’s Energy Future Presidential Summit.”

Prior to his Ambassadorial service he was Senior Vice President of Hunt Consolidated, Inc., of Dallas where he advised the Chairman, Ray L. Hunt, and the Hunt family of companies including Hunt Oil Company, on governmental and public affairs strategies domestically and internationally. During this time he gained deep understanding of the political, policy and civic processes at the local, state and national and international levels. He served as chairman, vice or co-chairman, director, senior advisor in numerous bipartisan city and school bond campaigns, campaigns for Mayors, statewide office holders, gubernatorial and Presidential campaigns in Texas.

His past civic service includes: chairman, Texas Commission on Drug and Alcohol Abuse; chairman, City of Dallas Civil Service Commission; chairman, bipartisan City of Dallas Redistricting Committee; chairman of the Volunteer Center; vice chairman, Dallas Fort Worth World Affairs Council; executive committee, Dallas Metropolitan YMCA; board of the Greenhill School; chairman, Dallas Committee for Desegregation Implementation for which he received the honorary Lifetime Achievement Award of the Texas Parent Teacher Association. He was nominated for the U.S. Department of State, Cobb Award, for outstanding Ambassador of the year.

He was educated at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating in 1969 with a BJ degree from the School of Communications.

REPRESENTING THE:

Private Sector

Education and Adult Basic/Continuing Education

Community-Based Organizations/Organized Labor, including Child Care

Economic Development, Employment Services, Literacy, Texas Department of Human Services and Rehabilitation

 

Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.