Board of Trustees
2021 – 2022

Life Trustees

Linda Custard
Lyda Hill ’60 
James M. Hoak, Jr.
Natalie “Schatzie” Henderson Lee ’55 
Janie Strauss McGarr ’72 
Margot Perot 
Ellen Higginbotham Rogers ’59 
Richard S. Rogoff 
Barney T. Young

Officers

Officers

Chair of the Board
Nicole Ginsburg Small ’91    

Vice Chair of the Board
Dr. Neelesh Mehendale

Executive Committee Chair
John Donovan

Treasurer
Kathy Crow

Secretary
Elizabeth Cullum Helfrich ’98

Immediate Past Chair
Kathryn Walker Francis ’94

Chair Elect
Shonn Brown

Trustees

Wasan Alfalahi
Mary Anne Alhadeff
Dr. Elizabeth Bennett
Dr. Nancy Lira Bernardino ’97
Carla Bolden
Lucy Billingsley Burns ’98
Taj Clayton
Tricia Drum Davidson ’91
Landy Elliott Fox ’92
Helen Harris-Allen
Ellen Haynes ’81
Heather Hays
Ariana Viroslav Held ’87
Isabell Novakov Higginbotham ’98
Andrew Hill
Arnold Holtberg
Fallyn Gray Jones ’01
Jun Il Kwun
Angelica Marin-Hill ’93
Monty Montgomery
Guadalupe Mora-Duarte
Marisia Parra-Gaona
Kelsey Swingle Robertson ’05 
David A. Roosevelt
Jennifer Sampson 
Betty Schultz
Miguel Solis
Dr. Michael Sorrell
Candace Campbell Swango ’84
Dawne Tribolet
Jenna Brasch Woodberry ’82

Life Trustees

Linda Custard
Lyda Hill ’60 
James M. Hoak, Jr.
Natalie “Schatzie” Henderson Lee ’55 
Janie Strauss McGarr ’72 
Margot Perot 
Ellen Higginbotham Rogers ’59 
Richard S. Rogoff 
Barney T. Young

Hockaday Welcomes New Trustees

The Hockaday Board of Trustees elected four new Trustees and three Ex-Officio Trustees who joined the Board on July 1, 2021. The new Trustees are Nancy Bernardino, Lucy Burns, Marisia Parra-Gaona, Fallyn Jones, and Miguel Solis. The Ex-Officio Trustees are Tricia Drum Davidson ’91 and Kelsey Swingle Robertson ’05. These newly-elected Trustees are dedicated to the mission of the School and will serve Hockaday well during their tenure on the Board.

General Trustees

Nancy Lira Bernardino ’97, Ed.D.

Dr. Nancy Bernardino is the founder of Solar Preparatory School for Girls, served as the founding principal from 2016-2020, and is now Executive Director for Single Gender Schools in Dallas ISD. Nancy’s experience in a single-gender environment at The Hockaday School influenced her decision to start Solar Preparatory School for Girls and help open Solar Preparatory School for Boys, the first all-boys public elementary school in Texas. She serves as a Trustee for the National Coalition of Girls Schools, is president of the Association of Hispanic School Administrators, and serves on the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Board of Directors. Born in Mexico and raised in Dallas, Nancy attended elementary and middle school in Dallas ISD before attending and graduating from The Hockaday School. She holds a Master of Education from Texas A&M Commerce as well as the following degrees from Southern Methodist University: Doctorate in Education Leadership, Master of Liberal Arts, Advanced Graduate Studies in Dispute Resolution, Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, and a Bachelor of Arts in Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. Nancy and her husband, Agustin, are the proud parents of four teenage boys: Benjamin, Daniel, Samuel, and David.

Lucy Billingsley Burns ’98

Lucy Burns is a Partner at Billingsley Company in Dallas. She is responsible for the company’s five million square foot office portfolio; her responsibilities include portfolio strategy, building construction, leasing & marketing, property management, and financing. Lucy has focused on creating communities of all sizes. Since 2014, she has overseen the construction of 21 office buildings. During this time, she leased and built headquarters for 7-Eleven, Brinker International, and Smoothie King amongst others. Lucy began her career in New York at Lehman Brothers and then Groupe Arnault followed by an office repositioning role for the Ratkovich Company in Los Angeles. Lucy received her undergraduate degree from Davidson College and her graduate degree from Columbia University. She serves on the Dallas Advisory Boards of Amegy Bank and the Trust for Public Land and the Board of the Dallas Regional Chamber. Lucy lives in Dallas with her husband and four children. Daughter, Caroline, is a member of Hockaday Class of 2032.

Marisia Parra-Gaona

Marisia Parra-Gaona is Assistant Vice President, Senior Legal Counsel for AT&T. Marisia has worked for AT&T and its predecessors for more than 16 years, serving in various legal roles including litigation, compliance, product marketing, and network outsourcing. An enthusiastic volunteer, Marisia has led departmental initiatives aimed at building the pipeline of diverse attorneys in the corporate world and has served as a member of the Board of community organizations including the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, the Dallas Hispanic Law Foundation, and the Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico. A graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of Notre Dame, Ms. Parra-Gaona also served as a judicial law clerk for then-Chief United States District Court Judge George P. Kazen. She is a native of New Braunfels, Texas and resides in Dallas with her husband Fred Gaona III and their three children:  Gabriela, Hockaday Class of 2025, Fred IV, St. Monica Class of 2023, and Cecilia, Hockaday Class of 2029.      

Fallyn Gray Jones ’01

Fallyn Jones is Senior Vice President, Senior Compliance Officer at Citigroup Inc. In this role, she develops and implements operational testing and controls for the company’s Global Ethics Office. She also serves on Citi’s Diversity Council and is the Co-Chair of the Black Heritage Employee Network-Dallas. Fallyn is a dedicated alumna of The Hockaday School, Class of 2001. She is currently on the Hockaday Alumnae Board of Visitors after serving seven years on the Alumnae Association Board. Her previous Alumnae Board appointments include Special Projects Chair, VP of Development and Recording Secretary on the Executive Committee, Alumnae Day Chair, Intercultural Council Representative, and member of the Long Range Planning Committee. She also co-founded Hockaday’s first affinity and special interest group, the Hockaday African American Alumnae Affinity Group. Fallyn also served on the Board of Directors for the University of Southern California Alumni Club of North Texas as President, President-Elect, and Social Chair. Her work in the community has included the Texas Women’s Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Rebuilding Together Greater Dallas, Habitat for Humanity, and North Texas Food Bank. Fallyn holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy, Planning, and Development from the University of Southern California. She resides in Dallas with her husband and son.

Miguel Solis

Since 2009, Miguel Solis has served the residents of Dallas in the areas of education, housing, and transportation. Miguel began his professional career as a member of President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign and soon after, was selected as a Teach For America corps member in Dallas. Miguel co-founded the non-profit Latino Center for Leadership Development, ran the Coalition for a New Dallas, and was elected to the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees. During his decade of service to the district, Dallas ISD underwent a monumental transformation, which saw the number of its improvement-required schools reduced from 43 to three and two multi-billion-dollar school bonds passed, including the largest in the history of Texas. Miguel serves on the Children’s Medical Center Foundation Board, the University of Texas Southwestern Presidential Advisory Board, and the Teach For America National Board of Directors. He has helped advance bilateral relations by serving on international advisory boards and councils representing Mexico, Germany, Israel, and Croatia and is an alumnus of the Aspen Institute’s Rodel Fellowship. Miguel graduated from Lamar University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Harvard University with a Master of Education in Policy and Management. He and his wife Dr. Jacqueline Nortman are also proud parents of Olivia Solis.

Ex-Officio Trustees

Tricia Drum Davidson ’91

Tricia Davidson currently serves as the Vice President-Elect for The Hockaday Parents’ Association. After graduating from Hockaday, Tricia received a BBA from The University of Texas at Austin. She has served many roles on the Alumnae Board, including Alumnae Day Chair, Decade Chair, Reunion Gift Chair, Founders Day Tea Chair, Hockaday Medal Chair, and Treasurer of the Alumnae Association. She is also active in the Hockaday Parents’ Association, serving on the Executive Committee as Recording Secretary and Co-Chair of the HPA Special Occasions Committee. Tricia’s late mother, Gail Drum, taught at Hockaday for more than 20 years, and her sister, Lynn Drum Lanyon ’93, is an alumna. Tricia began her career in marketing and advertising as Promotions Director at an Austin radio station before moving back to Dallas to work at TM Advertising. Later Tricia transitioned to residential real estate, working for Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate. She has been involved as a volunteer with the Junior League of Dallas, Scottish Rite Hospital, Heroes for Children, and the National Charity League of Dallas. She is married to Ken Davidson. They have one daughter, Kate, Hockaday Class of 2025. 

Kelsey Swingle Robertson ’05

Kelsey Swingle Robertson is an agency shareholder at Swingle Collins & Associates, a Texas-based independent insurance agency. She focuses on property and casualty insurance for closely-held and middle-market businesses, specializing in risk management for entrepreneurial owners. Before joining Swingle Collins, Kelsey spent six years with J.P. Morgan in their Private Bank. She graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University with a degree in finance and a concentration in risk management. Kelsey’s lifelong travel bug was fueled by three years as a German resident while her husband served in the Army. She and her husband still enjoy traveling, though it looks a little different with their two young sons. She has served on the Board of Visitors and is currently a member of the Alumnae Board for the Hockaday School. She also currently serves as Treasurer for the Independent Insurance Agents of Dallas (IIAD) and teaches the foundations of insurance to local high school students.