Board of Directors
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Tracy Whitehead II, MS, Chairman
Tracy serves as the Chairman of Empowering Through Education (ETE) where he managing the daily operations of the organization. Tracy currently is the owner of his own insurance agency – Whitehead Insurance, which provides commercial, personal l and health insurance. Tracy is also the Corporate Real Estate Manager of North Americas for DNV GL. Previously he was the Real Estate Manager for the City of Houston, overseeing its entire commercial real estate portfolio. He also was the Real Estate Project Manager for Weatherford International, where he managed the portfolio for half of the US, South America and Asia. Tracy’s personal works includes former President of ETE. He also proudly served as Treasurer for Gulf Coast Community Service Agency where he oversaw $35 million dollar nonprofit budget, and was the Vice President of Operations for the 100 Black Men of America- Houston Metropolitan Chapter. Tracy also was a former Assistant Commissioner with Sam Houston Council of Boy Scouts, where began as a proud WEBLOS leader for Pack 4500. In addition, Tracy is a graduate of State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Finance/Geography and a Master of Science in Public Administration Finance. Tracy has many professional and personal achievements, but his greatest love is his son – Matthew Jason Whitehead.
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Kevin L. Hodge Sr., Vice Chairman
Kevin is Vice Chairman of ETE and he assist the Chairman with managing the daily operations of the organizations. He is a former President/CEO and Vice President of Finance and Administration of ETE. He is a native of Mullins, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Florence Darlington Technical College with an associate’s degree in marketing. Also, he has earned a bachelor of science in business administration from Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina. He has been an ordained pastor for 15 years and he is currently the pastor of Shiloh AME Church in Galveston, Texas. Kevin is the Director of Financial Aid for Lone Star College-Montgomery. He is married and the father of two children.
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Andre White, MSBA, PMP, Treasurer
Andre is the treasurer for ETE and manage the financial assets and liabilities of the organization. He is an Advisory Manager in the Deloitte & Touche LLP Internal Audit and Transformation Advisory Practice. He has over 13 years of experience in financial services. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Finance and Multinational Business Operations and his minor in Economics from Florida State University. He then went on to gain his MSBA Entrepreneurship in from Warrington School of Business University of Florida.
Erika E. Hayes, Board Member
Erika hold a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Sam Houston State University. She is the owner and operator of ResumeGypsy.com which is a company that developed and managed seasonal marketing campaigns to generate business and build brand awareness for companies. Also, she coaches clients out of unemployment or underemployment by connecting them with the appropriate resources, networks and tools needed for job seeking success. She is the authored of It’s God’s Job: 7 Prayers for Job Seeking Success and No Job. No Joy? : Surviving an Unemployed Christmas. She is an award winning journalist who has been awarded the Star Reporter of the Year by the Texas Associated Press/The Headliners Foundation and Erika won second place in Investigative Reporting by the Texas Associated Press. She is the proud mother of one daughter.
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Lettina E. McCloud, Board Member
Lettina is the managing partner and owner of McCloud Energy Group and Associates (MEGA) LLC alone with her husband. D-Mars.com has name MEGA the best consumer service network marketing in energy. MEGA has received multiple awards throughout it 13 years. Lettina was born in Dayton, Ohio. Her father was a military personnel and her family travel and lived in numerous locations. Lettina graduated from the Community College of Denver – Auraria Campus in Denver, CO where she earned as associate degree in commercial art. Lettina has received an honorary degree. She has homeschool her 7 children and 4 have graduated from college, 2 are in college, and 1 is in high school. Also, she is a proud grandmother and wife.
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George Johnson, III, Board Member
Native Houstonian George E. Johnson III specializes in project management, construction management and community development for George E Johnson Development, Inc., the real estate development company started by his father in 1974. George joined the company in 2001, determined to make his mark as one of Houston’s most promising young businessmen, and he has done just that. Today he currently manages a $26 million contract from the state of Texas, re-developing and rebuilding homes damaged by Hurricane Rita in 2005. In addition to his work with the state, George served as project manager for several Houston-area developments, including a senior living facility in the southeast Houston area. He is a licensed real estate agent, a member of Houston Real Estate Association and a devoted member of Windsor Village United Methodist Church. Intrigued by computers, George focused his education in information technology (IT). He began his career at Texas Instruments, and then joined ExxonMobil as a member of their Data Simplification team, spearheading the merger of the Exxon and Mobil Oil Company’s data and information. His IT background helps to bring fresh ideas and a cutting edge approach to the industry. He lives in Missouri City with his wife, India and his two children.
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Dr. Marla McNeal- Shepherd, PhD, Board Member
Marla is currently the Deputy Superintendent in Kansas City Public Schools. Prior to this, she was an Assistant Superintendent in Fort Bend ISD where she was responsible for 15 schools. After receiving her bachelor's degree in Biomedical Science from Texas A & M University, she began her career in the Houston Independent School District as a math and science teacher at the middle and high school levels. In January 2006, she was appointed as principal at Lamar Fleming Middle School in the 5th Ward. During her tenure there, the school became a TEA Recognized school. She was named Wheatley Feeder Pattern Secondary Principal of the Year twice while being there. She was named the HISD Secondary Principal of the Year in 2011. In June 2011, she was appointed as the first female principal at the historical Jack Yates High School. As a native Houstonian and product of the Houston ISD's Booker T. Washington High School. She is the daughter of two former educators and is the wife of Daniel Sheppard. They have three children: Ashley, Jonathan, and Jeremiah.
Veronica Williams
Executive Assistant to Chairman
info@ete1.org
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