Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, right, talks with State Board of Education Member Brandon Hall while touring William James Middle School on Aug. 28, 2025, in Fort Worth.
Amanda McCoy
amccoy@star-telegram.com
The names of the 10 new state-appointed leaders of the Fort Worth Independent School District were announced on Tuesday morning, marking the start of a state takeover of the largest school district in Tarrant County.
An early-morning press release from the Texas Education Agency contained the names of a new superintendent and a nine-person board of managers who are replacing current Superintendent Karen Molinar and elected school board members.
Peter B. Licata, who most recently served as superintendent of Broward County Public Schools in Florida, will oversee Fort Worth ISD as superintendent moving forward.
The members of the board of managers and their backgrounds, according to TEA, are:
Bobby Ahdieh: A higher education leader, Bobby Ahdieh arrived in Fort Worth in 2018 to serve as the Dean of the Texas A&M University School of Law, a role that has grown to oversee the training of graduate students across the healthcare, energy, and finance sectors as Chief Operating Officer of Texas A&M University – Fort Worth. Ahdieh holds degrees from Princeton University and Yale Law School.Rosa Marie Berdeja: Rosa Marie Berdeja has called the Fort Worth-area home for more than three decades. The sixth of nine children, she was the first in her family to both graduate high school and pursue higher education. An attorney, Berdeja serves as Chair-Elect of the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Recovery Resource Council. She holds degrees from the University of North Texas and Texas A&M University School of Law.Luis A. Galindo: A practicing attorney for more than 35 years in the construction, business and real estate arenas, Luis A. Galindo has been involved in numerous community advocacy and philanthropic organizations in Fort Worth. In addition to his law practice, Galindo is an adjunct supervising attorney at the Texas A&M School of Law’s Entrepreneurship Law Clinic and teaches Business Law at Texas Wesleyan University. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at El Paso and a Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law.Laurie George: A current Fort Worth ISD parent and former educator with more than a decade of experience working in public education, Laurie George brings significant experience supporting multilingual learners and students with disabilities across K-12 systems. A graduate of Oregon State University, George is a teaching fellow and pursuing her Ph.D. at the University of North Texas.Pete Geren: A Fort Worth native and proud Arlington Heights Yellow Jacket, Pete Geren has worked extensively with education partners, non-profit organizations, and community leaders to build a literacy ecosystem in the broader Fort Worth community. Currently the president and CEO of a Fort Worth-based non-profit, Geren worked more than eight years in the Department of Defense under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Prior to that, Geren represented Fort Worth in Congress for four terms and served as a lawyer and business executive. He earned degrees in history and law from the University of Texas at Austin.Courtney Lewis: A finance and banking professional, Courtney Lewis is actively engaged in the Fort Worth civic and non-profit space. She currently serves on the boards of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and Housing Channel and is an active member of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth, Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) DFW and Women Steering Business.Frost Prioleau: Guided by the philosophy of servant leadership, Frost Prioleau spent more than 35 years building successful, high-growth technology companies. A graduate of Princeton University, he and his wife Martha have called Fort Worth home for nearly 25 years.Jay Stegall: A business operations veteran in the restaurant, retail and consumer packaged goods industries, Jay Stegall leverages his professional experience in strategic planning and leadership toward serving his community. A Fort Worth native and proud husband, father and grandfather, he holds a bachelor’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University and an Executive Master of Business Administration from Texas Christian University.Tennessee Walker: A parent of three children enrolled in Fort Worth ISD schools, Tennessee Walker is an attorney and serves as the board chair for Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) of Greater Tarrant County. He has been actively involved in BBBS for more than 15 years, twice serving as a Big Brother in the program. Walker holds degrees from Texas A&M University and Baylor University School of Law.
The highly anticipated announcement comes almost two months after Fort Worth ISD lost its final appeal challenging the state takeover, which was prompted by a now-closed campus receiving five failed accountability ratings in a row from the state. When this happens, state law requires the Texas education commissioner to either close the failing campus or replace the elected school board with a board of managers.
Fort Worth ISD officials had already closed the campus, the Leadership Academy at Forest Oak Sixth Grade, by the time it was notified of the potential state intervention in May 2025.
The nine board of managers appointees were selected from a pool of 286 applicants. TEA officials declined to share similar demographic or statistical information on superintendent candidates as was shared for board of managers applicants. Until Tuesday, the only public information released regarding the superintendent appointee was that current Superintendent Molinar would not be staying in the position.
Editor’s note: Pete Geren is the president and chief executive officer of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, which is a funder of the Star-Telegram’s Crossroads Lab. The Star-Telegram retains independence in all coverage decisions.
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Lina Ruiz covers early childhood education in Tarrant County and North Texas for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. A University of Florida graduate, she previously wrote about local government in South Florida for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers.