Jonathan J. Sanford, PhD, is President of the University of Dallas as well as a Professor of Philosophy. He graduated summa cum laude from Xavier University in Classical Languages and Philosophy in 1997, received his PhD from University of Buffalo, State University of New York in 2001, and received a post-doctoral fellowship from Fordham University in 2001-2002. Sanford served at Franciscan University of Steubenville for thirteen years before joining the University of Dallas as undergraduate dean and then provost in 2015. He has published widely on philosophical figures and topics, and is especially interested in foundational questions in moral philosophy. In addition to other books, he is the author of Before Virtue: Assessing Contemporary Virtue Ethics (The CUA Press, 2015 (Paperback, 2019)), and co-editor of The Philosophical Legacy of Jorge J. E. Gracia (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022). He is currently writing a book on virtue and education. Sanford is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Hildebrand Project, a member of Legatus, a Fellow of the Dallas Institute for Humanities and Culture, and a member of several other learned societies. He and his wife Rebecca, a registered nurse and founding board member of the Catholic women’s ministry Mighty is Her Call, have nine children and four grandchildren, and live in Irving, Texas. Both he and Rebecca are graduates of Trinity School at Greenlawn, in South Bend, Indiana, one of the first schools in the classical education movement. They have had children at Great Hearts Irving since 2017, and are enthusiastic champions of Great Hearts’ distinctive combination of an excellent classical education curriculum, supportive ethos, outstanding and devoted faculty, and network of families. They are deeply grateful for what Great Hearts provides their own children, and hope to see as many children as possible thriving within Great Hearts, in Texas and across America.
Jackie Moczygemba has served on the Board since November 2022. She is a parent and a volunteer volleyball coach at Great Hearts Monte Vista. Ms. Moczygemba is the Executive Director of The Ewing Halsell Foundation where she has a multifaceted role overseeing the daily operations of this non-profit funder.
Brandon Byrne, Secretary of the Board, is a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP, a global law firm. As a lawyer and native North Texan, he brings a wealth of experience to the Great Hearts Texas Board. As a Great Hearts Texas parent with four children currently attending Great Hearts Irving, Mr. Byrne brings a passion and perspective that will help drive discussion and decisions at the Board level to the benefit of parents, students, and other stakeholders.
Olecia Christie, DSC, is the Associate Vice President of Employee Communications & Chief Diversity Officer at Banner Health. She holds a Doctorate in Strategic Communication from Regent University and has served on the Board since February 2021. Dr. Christie is a highly creative and enthusiastic strategic communications professional with over ten years of experience in various industries. She offers imperative insights to the Board as a parent of two Great Hearts Western Hills students.
Kevin has served as CEO of CSGF since 2009. Before joining CSGF, Kevin was chief operating officer of the Broad Foundation, where he led various aspects of the foundation’s grant investment strategy. Prior to Broad, he cofounded and led business development for Chancellor Beacon Academies, a manager of charter and private schools across the United States. Previously, he also ran a division of infoUSA and worked at McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, and Teach for America. Kevin taught elementary school in central Los Angeles. He earned his MBA from Harvard Business School and BA from Swarthmore College.
Shannon Sedgwick Davis, President of the Board, is an attorney, activist, and advocate. She is the Chief Executive Officer at the Bridgeway Foundation and has also served as Vice President of Geneva Global as well as was the Director of Public Affairs at the International Justice Mission. She has served on the Board since 2014 and continues to serve as elected Board President since 2020.