directors + advisors

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Elizabeth (Betsy) A. Healy
President

Ms. Healy was instrumental in founding Human Rights Initiative in 1999, and served as Executive Director for the organization until November 2005.  Betsy remains firmly committed to the agency's mission and now leads the Board of Directors.  Prior to her years with HRI, she was an associate with Cowles & Thompson, PC.  She also completed a judicial clerkship at the Dallas Court of Appeals.  

Betsy is currently a Program Officer with the Harold Simmons Foundation, Dallas, TX. 

Mr. Vogelson is a Dallas lawyer with Stutzman, Bromberg, Esserman & Plifka, P.C.  He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a former board member of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, and has represented the American Bar Association at the United Nations and serves on the United States Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on International Law.  He formerly was chairman of the ABA's Standing Committee on World Order Law and its International Law Section.  He is on the adjunct faculty of SMU's Dedman School of Law, teaching public international law.  He has served in other federal and state government positions.   

Mr. Batts is a public school administrator for the Dallas Independent School District and an adjunct professor for the Dallas County Community College.  Prior to becoming a school administrator Mr. Batts has volunteered for a number of Dallas area nonprofit agencies including Proyecto Adelante and the Dallas School Administrator Association.   

Ms. Connelly is one of the co-founders of Human Rights Initiative.  She is the Director of the Harold Simmons Foundation, and currently serves on the boards of the Foundation for the Education of Young Women and the Dallas Zoological Society.  She was named Social Worker of the year by the Dallas Chapter of National Association of Social Workers in 2001.  She is a member of the League of Women Voters, Amnesty International, Women's Funding Network, and Harvard's Women Waging Peace Program.  

Ms. Gash is the Director of Worldwide Receivables and Credit with Texas Instruments (TI).  She has had extensive finance and audit experience internationally in places such as Australia, Korea, Singapore, and domestically in Alaska, and Texas.  While in Singapore, Gwen was the TI Asia Regional Manager for TI's Corporate Audits Organization.  She is also the former co-chair of the American Chamber of Commerce Professional Women's Committee - Korea, and member of the Chambers Executive Oversight Committee.     

Mr. Graham is a Vice President of Contran Corporation. In his current position, Mr. Graham has responsibility for legal and other matters for certain companies within the Contran organization, including serving as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Kronos Worldwide, Inc. and Vice President and General Counsel of NL Industries, Inc. Mr. Graham previously was a member of the Board of Directors, Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Software Spectrum, Inc., a global business software and technical services provider. Prior thereto, Mr Graham was a partner with Locke Purnell Rain Harrell in Dallas concentrating on corporate and securities law. Mr. Graham is the recipient of the 2008 Robert H. Dedman Award For Ethics and Law from the Texas General Counsel Forum.  

Cindy Patrick
Director and Secretary to the Board

Ms. Patrick is a Senior Program Officer with the Meadows Foundation in Dallas.  She is a member of the National Peace Corps Association and serves on the community grants review committee for the March of Dimes, North Texas Division.  Ms. Patrick is also a member of the program committee for the Conference of Southwest Foundations and serves on the Community Advisory committee for the Texas Association for Mental Health and the Advisory Council of Transition Resource Action Center, which is a service collaborative for youth aging out of foster care.  

Ms. Lowenberg has served as president of the League of Women Voters of Dallas, the League of Women Voters of Texas (LWV-TX), National Council of Jewish Women Greater Dallas Section (NCJW), and Women's Council of Dallas County.  Currently, she co-chairs NCJW's Services to Immigrant Families initiative, serves on an NCJW national task force on violence against women, teaches ESL civics at Vickery Meadow Learning Center and is Program Chair for Women's Health for LWV-TX.  Ms. Lowenberg holds an LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School.  She is the recipient of several awards, including the "Women Helping Women" (Maura) Award.  

Ms. Wassenich is Vice President, Public Relations, League of Women Voters of Texas.  She is Vice President of the Board for Community Council of Greater Dallas and past President of the Women's Council of Dallas County, Inc.  Ms. Wassenich is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement in Social Work award, 2002, by the National Association of Social Workers, Dallas.  

Cannon Flowers
Ex-Officio Director Chief Executive Officer

The Following are Lifetime Members of the HRI Board of Directors

Mr. Glendenning is an experienced corporate and securities lawyer and a Partner at the Dallas office of Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell L.L.P.  He serves a number of nonprofit organizations as a director or trustee, including the Dallas Zoological Society and the Thanks-Giving Foundation.

Patricia Cook MD, FACP
Director

Dr. Cook has been one of the longest serving member of the HRI Board of Trustees.  In February 2006 she completed her service as an active member and also retired from UT Southwestern Medical School.  Dr. Cook has faithfully guided the organization during her tenure and provided much of her time and financial support to making HRI successful.  

ADVISORY BOARD

Kenneth Z. Altshuler, M.D

Steve & Barbara Durham
Honorable Lisa Hembry
Ambassador Swanee Hunt
Honorable Ann Margolin
Michael Meadows
Caren H. Prothro
Lekha Singh
Harold & Annette Simmons
Jimmy Westcott
Carolyn Williams