Teach For America Appoints Three New Members To Its Houston Regional Board of Directors

Philanthropist Alice Burguieres, Janet Clark of Marathon Oil, and Ken Simon of Locke Lord LLP Join Education Nonprofit’s Regional Board

For Immediate Release

HOUSTON, January 30, 2012—Teach For America announced today that three local leaders have joined the national nonprofit’s regional board of directors. Alice Burguieres, a local philanthropist and volunteer; Janet Clark, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Marathon Oil Corporation; and Ken Simon, managing partner of Locke Lord LLP’s Houston office will lend their experience and expertise to Teach For America-Houston’s efforts to recruit, train, and develop highly effective teachers for the city and foster their lifelong impact in the movement for educational equity.

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This year, some 480 corps members are teaching in Houston-area public schools reaching approximately 35,000 students, while more than 700 Teach For America alumni in Houston continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity.

Teach For America’s three new advisory board members are local leaders in business and the Houston community.

Alice Burguieres is a Texas native and graduate of Baylor University. She currently manages a family land operation in Leon County, Texas. She previously served as Funds Incorporated’s Vice President of Marketing and Administration. Since then Alice has taken on key roles with several nonprofit organizations including the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Bid Committee, the University of Houston, the American Cancer Society Cattle Barron’s Ball, and The Gathering Place. She is also a longtime member of the Junior League of Houston and St. Luke’s Methodist Church. Alice and her husband, Philip, have four daughters, one son, four grandsons and one granddaughter. One daughter, Morgan, taught Spanish through Teach For America in Washington, D.C.

Janet Clark serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Marathon Oil Corporation. Janet previously served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for Nuevo Energy, and executive vice president of corporate development and administration for Santa Fe Snyder. She began her career as an investment banker specializing in corporate finance, primarily with The First Boston Corporation, now owned by Credit Suisse. Janet earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Harvard University, and an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She was recently named to the Forbes One Hundred Most Powerful Women In The World, to the Houston Woman Magazine's Houston's 50 Most Influential Women of 2010, and Best CFO of the Year for 2011 for a Large Public Company by the Houston Business Journal.

Ken Simon practices tax and corporate law and is the managing partner of Locke Lord LLP’s Houston office.  He is also serving as Locke Lord’s co-financial partner and has previously served on the firm’s management committee and as the firm’s administrative partner.  Ken earned his Juris Doctor with high honors at the University of Texas at Austin, where he also earned his Bachelors in Accounting with highest honors.  In addition to his leadership position at Locke Lord, he also serves as Chair of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Texas Gulf Coast and Louisiana and on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership, Central Houston, Catch a Dream Foundation, and The Kayser Foundation.

“We’re thrilled to have such exceptional members of the Houston community join our efforts to give every Houston child an excellent education,” said Terry Bruner, executive director of Teach For America in Houston. “Alice, Janet and Ken all bring to the board a firm belief in the potential of all children and a commitment to give every student the educational opportunity they deserve.”

About Teach For America

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity.  This year, more than 9,000 corps members are teaching in 43 regions across the country, while nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity.  For more information, visit http://www.teachforamerica.org.