WOMEN OF INFLUENCE 20232 | The Daily News | Women of Influence | 20232023 | Women of Influence | The Daily News | 3 Supporting the work of Galveston County women to improve the lives of everyone who lives here, The Daily News proudly presents its first class of Women of Influence in hon- or of Women’s History Month. Representing a wide variety of career choices and abundant time spent pursuing their passions, these women share many qualities. Perse- verance, patience and focus char- acterize their journeys to success as does their call to young women to remain true to themselves. A job is more than a job for each of these women who, within their chosen fields, have risen through rank and experience to leadership roles, ownership of their respective roles in the world and a burgeoning sense of purpose. Read their stories and reflect that in another century, another decade, another time, another place, their career trajectories and accomplish- ments might not have been possible. Read about their determination, their gratitude, their love of service and be as inspired by them as we are. About Women of Influence Contents Karen Engle ......................5 Carol Gaylord ...................6 Holly Hopkins ...................7 Sue Johnson .....................8 Anita Jones ....................11 Alena Pyles .....................13 Claire Reiswerg .............14 Therese Rogers .............15 Gina Welsh .....................16 Debbie Williams ............17 Influential women in world history ..............18 Women breaking boundaries in the world today .............19 EASY LIVING, TEXAS GULF STYLE WWW.COASTMONTHLY.COM/SUBSCRIBE Profiles written by KATHRYN EASTBURN | The Daily News Correspondent4 | The Daily News | Women of Influence | 2023 GET TICKETS! TheGrand.com | 409.765.1894 2020 Postoffice Street, Galveston Winner of the 2016 Tony ® Award for her performance in Hamilton, Renée Elise Goldsberry is equally at home in a Broadway theater, a film set, or on a concert hall stage. Audiences of all ages will be on their feet stomping and clapping to the music of this high energy concert and leave feeling like they’ve attended an old-fashioned revival! Sat, Apr 15, 2023 | 8 PM MAY 10 To these women that are a part of the TCLM Chamber! Anita Jones - Linde Inc. Gina Welsh - Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation Carol Gaylord - Coastal Community FCU Debbie Williams - Moody Bank Therese Rogers - Anchored Real Estate Team LLC Be a part of our Women in Business Luncheons! "Engagement through Excellence" Thursdays at 11:30am TCLM Chamber Conference Room MARCH 9 APRIL 13 JUNE 8 JULY 13 AUGUST 10 SEPTEMBER 14 OCTOBER 12 NOVEMBER 9 Women in Leadership Awards at the Doyle Convention Center Wednesday, May 10, 2023 www.TCLMchamber.com2023 | Women of Influence | The Daily News | 5 K aren Engle, the newest superin- tendent of Clear Creek Inde- pendent School District, grew up in Clear Creek schools from elementa- ry through high school before pursuing a career in education. She re- turned to the district and served in multiple roles as assistant principal and principal at all levels of district schools, eventually rising to assistant super- intendent of secondary education and retiring in December 2021. When Superintendent Eric Williams voluntarily left the district in 2022, Engle returned to accept the job of superintendent of the fast-growing and highly ranked Galveston County district following a unanimous vote of the school board. “I was officially retired, doing volunteer work in the community and scheduled to travel to the Philippines on a mission trip,” Engle said. She was scheduled to start teaching as an adjunct at Houston Baptist University but gratefully accepted the challenge of the top district job. “I believe we have to take advantage of oppor- tunities and would advise anyone in the profession: If a door opens, don’t be afraid to walk through it,” Engle said. Working as a principal at Clear Lake High School and supervising a $98 million rebuild helped prepare Engle for over- seeing all district schools’ growth and advance- ment, she said. “Supervising a big high school is similar to overseeing a little city,” she said. “Being district superintendent is akin to being a principal but in a much larger role. Engle treasures the district’s history as a home base for the chil- dren of NASA employees as well as its present incarnation as a much larger district with a diverse student body. “I think excellence and a strong connection to sci- ence and space are in the district’s DNA,” she said. Engle credits her predecessors, including former Superintendent Greg Smith and Sandra Mossman, Clear Creek ISD’s first female super- intendent, as influential mentors along with other superintendents through- out Galveston County with whom she meets regularly. But the district employees she works with now are the ones she credits with helping her most. “Wherever you are, the goal is to build other people up,” she said. “My job is to help people reach their potential, to elevate others.” The Educator Karen Engle Superintendent of Schools, Clear Creek Independent School District, League City “Wherever you are, the goal is to build other people up.” Stuart Villanueva/The Daily News6 | The Daily News | Women of Influence | 2023 The Community Responder Carol Gaylord President/CEO, Coastal Community Federal Credit Union, Galveston “I remember saying at one point, ‘We may never know how many lives we saved but we will know how many we did not.’” C arol Gaylord began her career as the bookkeeper and rose over 40 years to the highest leadership position of Coastal Community Federal Credit Union, a mem- ber-owned financial institution originally chartered by Galves- ton fire fighters. Following a life-changing de- tour of nearly five years after she resigned her job in May 2018, Gaylord returned recently to the institution she loves, leading it again as president. A week after her resigna- tion, Gaylord was personally shocked, devastated and galva- nized by the mass shooting at Santa Fe High School in which 10 were killed and 13 severely injured. Leader of a youth group at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Santa Fe, she began texting kids in the group, only to find that one of them, a boy whose mother was a close friend, was missing. He soon was confirmed to be one of the students killed. “I was with her when she heard those heartbreaking words,” Gaylord said. She accompanied her friend daily to the Family Assistance Center staged at her church, which eventually became the Resiliency Center where she helped her friend and the youth of her church find comfort and counseling. When Gaylord heard the City of Santa Fe was searching for a di- rector of the center, she knew she had to apply. Her husband told her: “You have been working for this your entire life.” Her response to the shooting and her call to action were personal. In 1983, her father had been murdered by a gunman, also in Santa Fe. She got the job and stayed there overseeing counseling, various therapies, health fairs, mental health first-aid training and other services until COVID hit and the center was shuttered and her team dissolved. “It was an emotionally drain- ing job, but so important,” she said. “I remember saying at one point, ‘We may never know how many lives we saved but we will know how many we did not.’” Back at the credit union now, Gaylord takes pride in the many community services it provides, like Volunteer Income Tax Assis- tance (VITA); an annual Back to School Bash that gives away 500 backpacks loaded with school supplies to children; and a Wave Goodbye to Hunger program that gives members a chance to skip a payment on their loans when they bring in a bag of groceries for donation to the Galveston County Food Bank and Our Daily Bread. “I love Coastal, especially the staff, the board, our members and our motto: ‘People Helping People,’” she said. “We treat our members like they own the place, because they do.” Jennifer Reynolds/The Daily News2023 | Women of Influence | The Daily News | 7 The Squad Leader Holly Hopkins Steward, MOD Coffeehouse, Galveston “I hope we’re modeling doing good business, doing small things that can ultimately have a big impact.” V isitors to Galveston and locals alike have probably heard of MOD Coffeehouse, down- town on Postoffice Street, or have visited it personally. “The little coffeehouse that could,” as owner/steward Holly Hopkins likes to call it, MOD has been part of the local scene since 2001; Hopkins took it over in 2009, after Hurricane Ike inundated the building with 8½ feet of water. After rebuilding, a little over a decade later came COVID and a shutdown that Hopkins says was the scariest experience she’s had in a leadership role. “It was the most fearful I’ve ever been,” Hopkins said. “The decision to shut it down (at the height of the pandemic) was terri- fying, but it would have been a gross betrayal of the public trust to stay open given our busy foot traffic every day. I believed it was the right thing to do.” Beyond fear of survival, Hopkins’ main concern was for her team of workers she calls the Mod Squad. With help from federal Payback Protec- tion Program loans, she was able to keep them all on the payroll and make the rent. “No one got laid off. No one quit,” she said. “They all stayed as a part of the team.” That is testament to the team’s deep investment in MOD’s simple mission: to help people have a better day. “I can’t really make good coffee but there are people here who can,” Hopkins said. “I’m really good at washing dishes, and I hope if I have expertise in any- thing that it’s in learning. I can’t be a good steward if I can’t continue to learn.” Hopkins hailed original- ly from Austin, attended a Quaker college, trained in social work, and lived and worked in four other countries before settling in Galveston and at MOD. Leading her team has been the honor and privi- lege of her life, she said. “I hope we’re modeling doing good business, doing small things that can ultimately have a big impact,” she said. “We’re demonstrating how kind- ness and grace improve the world. I love that our employees look forward to coming to work, and that the community con- tinues to find what they’re seeking at MOD.” Jennifer Reynolds/The Daily News8 | The Daily News | Women of Influence | 2023 The Cultural Champion Sue Johnson Founder of Nia Cultural Center, fiscal sponsor of the Juneteenth Legacy Project, Galveston “We want to make sure our history is told despite losing many of our historic monuments and places special to our hearts over the last century.” S ince the June- teenth Legacy Project emerged in Galveston, promoting and celebrating designation of Juneteenth as a national holiday, Sue Johnson’s organization, Nia Cultural Center, has grown from a staff of two to seven. Her busy life continues to serve a central mission: upholding and teaching the rich legacy of African-Ameri- can history while continually enhancing the quality of life for the Black community of Galveston County. “We want to make sure our history is told despite losing many of our historic mon- uments and places special to our hearts over the last century,” Johnson said. The Legacy Project’s head- quarters, 2217 Strand St., is located near the historic site where, in 1865, enslaved African-American people of Galveston and Texas first heard news of the Emancipa- tion Proclamation, prompt- ing celebrations that came to be known as Juneteenth. Its establishment has meant an expansion of art, cultural and social events recognized by national press and of signifi- cant local importance. “We’ve opened the gallery, starting with an exhibit of Ted Ellis’ work, with guided tours throughout the week and on weekends, and we’ve had activities there ranging from workshops to a Juneteenth brown bag luncheon, to a performance by a Brazilian dance troupe,” Johnson said. Network mixers introduc- ing newer Black residents to what’s going on in the com- munity are regular events at the space. The Legacy Project rep- resents an expansion of the work Johnson has carried out since 1992, offering Freedom Schools for area kids each summer and con- tinuing to preserve Galves- ton’s Black heritage while educating its people about that legacy through count- less community events. Coming up for the Legacy Project are a Juneteenth gospel concert featuring Grammy Award-winning artist Smokie Norful at The 1894 Grand Opera House in June; a symposium at Galveston’s convention center on “Monuments, Art and History;” and display of the famed Blank Slate Monument by Ghanaian artist Kwame Akoto-Bamfo at Rosenberg Library from April through early July. For Johnson, it’s a labor of love, celebrating the commu- nity that raised her, recog- nizing its important place in American history and making sure future generations keep that legacy alive. Jennifer Reynolds/The Daily News file photo2023 | Women of Influence | The Daily News | 9 • QBO Set-Up • QBO Training • Payroll Processing • Accounts Payable • Catch-Up/Clean-Up of Historical Data • Monthly or Quarterly Bookkeeping Services Welcome to All About Balance Bookkeeping. We provide accurate and timely virtual bookkeeping services for women-owned small businesses. 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