Hon. Louis Q. Reyes, III serves as President of the Texas Latino School Boards Association. Widely known as the “Godfather” within Texas PK-12 education, he served on the Seguin ISD Board of Trustees for nearly 25 years, and as president of that board for 11 years. In the early 1990s, the Godfather helped to rebirth the Mexican American School Boards Association (MASBA), which he supported and led for nearly 30 years. A veteran and graduate of San Antonio College, he cofounded the GI Forum in Seguin, was a member of Clean Seguin and the Seguin Economic Development Corporation, and served on the city’s Building Standards Commission and Parks & Recreation Department Advisory Board. The Godfather served as a regional vice president of AllState Insurance and is especially proud of winning the company’s Platinum Award. A Mason, Shriner, and past president of the Seguin/Guadalupe Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, he was appointed by Governor Ann Richards to the Texas State Commission on National and Community Service. President Reyes currently chairs the education foundation of the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC).
Hon. Louis Q. Reyes, III
Hon. Dr. Jayme Mathias
Hon. Dr. Jayme Mathias serves as Executive Director of the Texas Latino School Boards Association. For eight years, Dr. Mathias served on the Austin ISD Board of Trustees, where he helped oversee a $1.6 billion annual budget for the 86,000 students and 11,000 employees of Austin’s 130 public schools. A member of the Advisory Council of the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin, Dr. Mathias previously served on the Boards of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) and the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) of the National School Boards Association (NSBA). Dr. Mathias has published ten books on education, including the acclaimed Seats at the Table: School Board Members’ Perspectives on Race & Racism, for which he was invited to keynote the 2021 TASA/TASB conference. Ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 2001, Dr. Mathias served as President of San Juan Diego Catholic High School for four years, and has pastored Holy Family Catholic Church, Austin’s only inclusive Catholic community, since 2012. He has earned seven degrees, including four graduate degrees and his Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership Studies.
President Reyes and Dr. Mathias, working together as Ambassador and Executive Director of MASBA, grew the organization to its highest-ever levels of membership, sponsorships and scholarships. In 2021, for instance, MASBA shared over 185 scholarships with the graduates of our Texas public schools!
When it became clear that the MASBA Board of Directors, under the leadership of Jacinto Ramos, Jr. of Fort Worth ISD and Ana Cortez of the Manor ISD, was diverging from the organization’s longtime mission of serving students, President Reyes and Dr. Mathias formed the “new MASBA,” the Texas Latino School Boards Association (TLSBA)—a name more in line with the Arizona Latino School Boards Association (AZLSBA) and California Latino School Boards Association (CLSBA).
MASBA has since rebranded itself as “School Board Members for Latino Equity,” shrunk its scholarship program to a mere six scholarships in 2024, and now focuses on a fellows program for university students, a student art contest, and a district awards program. The TLSBA, in contrast, is focused on providing research and resources for Texas education leaders and is preparing to recognize 225 TLSBA Scholars in 2025!