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David Saenz is the new president and CEO of the Tarrant To & Through Partnership. (Courtesy | Tarrant To & Through Partnership)<\/p>\nThe Tarrant To & Through Partnership\u2019s new CEO wants to ensure Fort Worth students are prepared for the opportunities that come from the city\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n
The board of directors of the organization, also known as the T3 Partnership, on Monday appointed David Saenz as president and CEO. Since November, Saenz has served as the interim leader of the nonprofit aimed at helping students succeed after high school.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving spent 22 years in education in school districts in Irving and in Fort Worth learning how systems worked allowed me to see that there is an opportunity to impact a larger system,\u201d Saenz said.<\/p>\n
David Saenz is the new president and CEO of the Tarrant To & Through Partnership. (Courtesy | Tarrant To & Through Partnership)<\/p>\n
Saenz has worked with the T3 Partnership since 2024 as senior education adviser. He was among the founding board members of the organization, which Mayor Mattie Parker started in 2020<\/a>. He also was a founding member of the Mayor\u2019s Council on Education & Workforce Development.<\/p>\n His work in the Fort Worth and Irving<\/a> school districts focused on helping students be ready for college, a career or the military<\/a>.<\/p>\n Saenz succeeds Natalie Young Williams, who resigned in November after four years of leading the nonprofit. She is now the chief impact officer<\/a> of the Dallas college and career advising organization Education is Freedom.<\/p>\n The T3 Partnership serves more than 40,000 students in the Fort Worth, Crowley, Castleberry and Arlington school districts. Three additional Tarrant County districts will join the partnership next year, according to a news release.<\/p>\n Saenz\u2019s passion for the community and students was a key driver behind why the board picked him, said Sarah Tempel, chair of the partnership\u2019s board of directors. He knows how to bring schools and private industry together to best serve students.<\/p>\n \u201cHe looks at every decision through how it\u2019s going to help kids,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to just move T3. It\u2019s going to move Tarrant County forward and really be impactful for students and families.\u201d<\/p>\n Saenz said he knew he wanted the CEO position as he and the T3 Partnership\u2019s staff started working on the nonprofit\u2019s new strategic plan, which will roll out later in 2026 and guide the organization for the next six years. That plan aligned with where he wanted to take his career.<\/p>\n Viewing things through a wider lens, Saenz said he saw a unique moment in Tarrant County where school districts, employers and higher education institutions are working closely together<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI see improvements and a focus on improvements happening in school districts around our area, and our colleges and employers coming to the table as industry comes to our region,\u201d Saenz said. \u201cIt was a great time to be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n Tempel said hiring Saenz for the permanent leadership position was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n \u201cHe speaks education, workforce, student success and family success. It just makes sense,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @_jacob_sanchez<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Disclosure: FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. FWISD manager Laurie George is a member of the Report\u2019s reader advisory council. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/06\/29\/new-t3-partnership-ceo-eyes-next-step-in-preparing-fort-worth-students-for-citys-growth\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n <img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&post=637026&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/06\/29\/new-t3-partnership-ceo-eyes-next-step-in-preparing-fort-worth-students-for-citys-growth\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js”><\/script>