<\/p>\n
Kate Rogers, former president and CEO of the Alamo Trust, has been named chief development officer of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n
Courtesy Kate Rogers<\/p>\n
Philanthropist Susan Naylor, from center left, joins Texas Cavaliers members Phil Bakke and Fred Middleton in cutting a ribbon during the dedication of the $36.8 million Texas Cavaliers Education Center at the Alamo on April 30, 2026. Naylor recently stepped down from the board of the Remember the Alamo Foundation.<\/p>\n
Sam Owens\/San Antonio Express-News<\/p>\n
Kate Rogers, the ousted CEO of the Alamo Trust Inc., is accusing the chairman of the Alamo\u2019s fundraising arm of trying to jeopardize her chance to land consulting work with an unrelated nonprofit because of\u00a0her lawsuit against her former employer and Texas officials<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Alamo Trust denied the allegation, calling it \u201ccategorically false.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Rogers\u2019 lawyer, Lawrence Morales II, made the accusation in an Aug. 20 cease-and-desist letter emailed to a lawyer for the trust.<\/p>\n Morales contended that Mark M. Johnson, board chairman\u00a0of the Remember the Alamo Foundation, asked local philanthropist Susan\u00a0Naylor to \u201cend\u201d the Witte Museum\u2019s discussions about possibly hiring Rogers as a consultant.<\/p>\n Naylor chairs the museum\u2019s board of trustees. Until recently, she also served on the board of Remember the Alamo, which is raising private donations for the $700 million remake of the Alamo and its grounds. Johnson, a longtime San Antonio banker, serves on the board of the foundation and the Alamo Trust.<\/p>\n Naylor resigned this month from the foundation\u2019s board after a roughly four-year stint. But she said Rogers’ allegation against Johnson \u201cwas absolutely not the reason\u201d she resigned. She declined to comment on the letter.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Rogers was forced out at the trust in October for academic writings that\u00a0Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham viewed as conflicting with how they believe the history of the Alamo should be told. Buckingham also faulted Rogers for a social media post by the Alamo<\/a> that celebrated Indigenous Peoples. Buckingham\u00a0called it \u201cwoke.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Rogers is suing both officials as well as the foundation and the trust, which oversees day-to-day operations at the historic mission and battlefield. In her lawsuit, filed in federal court, she alleges Patrick, Buckingham and trust leaders violated her First Amendment rights by pushing her to resign and pulling her severance agreement after she gave an interview to the Texas Monthly about her departure.<\/p>\n In the cease-and-desist letter, Morales said Rogers \u201crecently learned\u201d that Johnson tried to interfere with an opportunity for Rogers to work for the Witte. Rogers has served on the museum\u2019s board, and the museum confirmed that it was recently in discussions with her about consulting\u00a0opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cMr. Johnson attempted to persuade Ms. Naylor to end The Witte Museum\u2019s business relationship with Ms. Rogers because of her lawsuit against the Alamo Trust, Inc. (et al), which is unlawful retaliation in violation of the First Amendment\u2019s right to petition the government for redress,\u201d Morales wrote.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Morales demanded that Johnson stop \u201cengaging in any further retaliation\u201d and threatened to add him to Rogers\u2019 suit as a defendant if he didn\u2019t. Morales said he has not received a response to the letter, and he and Rogers declined to comment further.<\/p>\n In a statement, Alamo Trust attorney\u00a0So\u00f1a Ramirez called the allegation \u201ccategorically false\u201d and said the trust and foundation will \u201ctake all legal action available to us against anyone who suggests otherwise.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough Ms. Naylor has resigned from the Remember the Alamo Foundation to focus on other endeavors, she joined its Alamo Leadership Advisory Council,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201cShe has been a generous donor and will continue to support the Alamo and its mission, for which the Alamo is incredibly grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n Johnson did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Naylor said she left the foundation\u2019s board because she wanted to spend more time on her businesses, including a ranch and farms, and the Will Smith Foundation, a nonprofit named after her late son.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of taking time for myself and not being spread so thin,\u201d Naylor said.<\/p>\n She added that she\u2019ll continue contributing to the public-private project to make over the Alamo. She gave $2.5 million in January to build an outdoor classroom named after her late son at the $36.8 million Texas Cavaliers Education Center,\u00a0which opened in May.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Naylor also serves on the board of the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, which hired Rogers in mid-August as its chief development officer<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Alamo Trust hired Roger in 2021. She’s worked in public affairs, fundraising, marketing and communications. Her former employers include the Charles Butt Foundation and the Holdsworth Center, a education leadership nonprofit in Austin.\u00a0<\/p>\n Other board departures\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n