Leadership Team

Robert Abel
Chief of Human Capital Management

Robert Abel has served in Dallas ISD’s Human Capital Management Department since 2016 as an executive director, assistant superintendent and deputy chief. Prior to coming to Dallas ISD, Abel was division director of High Schools/Support Services at Irving ISD, where he supervised all aspects of the district’s five high schools, newcomer center, alternative education programs, career development center, and other areas. Abel brings more than 20 years of experience in education to his role as deputy chief. He earned a bachelor’s degree in cell and molecular biology from Oklahoma State University and a Master of Education from The University of Texas at Arlington.

Dr. Tamika Alford-Stephens
Chief Financial Officer

Tamika Alford-Stephens joins Dallas ISD as the new chief financial officer, reporting to Deputy Superintendent Dwayne Thompson. Prior to coming to Dallas, Alford-Stephens had been chief business and operations officer for Aldine Independent School District, where she oversaw district resources to drive improvements in processes and practices that promoted organizational efficiency and optimized student-learning experiences and saved the district $5 million through operational efficiencies. She began her 21-year career in education as a third-grade teacher at Aldine ISD. At Aldine ISD, she oversaw federal programs, grant accounting, and finances before being named chief financial officer in 2017 followed by becoming chief business and operations officer. She has a bachelor’s degree from Dillard University, a master’s degree in education administration from Prairie View A&M University, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas and a doctorate in educational leadership from Sam Houston State University.

Brent Alfred
Chief of Construction Services

Brent Alfred is responsible for overseeing the $3.5 billion 2020 Bond Program including monitoring and communicating the status of budget, as well as funding from special revenue, general operating, and other bond related projects, including the 2015 Bond program. Prior to coming to Dallas ISD in 2021 as deputy chief of Construction Services, Alfred was program director for Dikita//Vanir and oversaw several bond related projects in Dallas ISD. Prior to that, he worked with a variety of architectural firms overseeing multi-million public and private construction projects. Alfred has an associate degree from the Art Institute of Dallas and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Southern University.

David Bates
Chief of Operations

After a career in the U.S. Army, David Bates joined Dallas ISD in 1998 as a paraprofessional in charge of data entry. A year later, he became a leadership cadet corps instructor for students in sixth through eighth grade across the district. In that position, he developed leadership programs for schools in the Thomas Jefferson High School feeder pattern and raised more than $1000,000 to support student programs. While a coordinator and supervisor in Student Services, Bates managed districtwide programs for student participation, including JROTC. In 2019, he was named executive director of Maintenance and Facility Services, where he managed 1,590 employees and district schools and facilities. A year later, he was promoted to assistant superintendent of Maintenance and Construction Support. Bates has a bachelor’s degree in applied arts and sciences and a master’s degree in education from the University of North Texas at Dallas.

Sean Brinkman
Chief Technology Officer

Sean Brinkman returns to Dallas ISD after leading the technology efforts and initiatives for the Austin Independent School District as chief technology officer. He first joined Dallas ISD as a teacher in 1999 and occupied several positions managing curriculum, educational technology, and personalized learning in Teaching and Learning and School Leadership before being promoted to director in charge of working with departments to integrate system-wide activities to meet School Leadership targets. In 2017, he became the district’s executive director for enterprise applications in Information Technology, followed by a promotion to assistant superintendent in charge of planning, directing, and monitoring the implementation of new technologies in the district and leading high-impact, districtwide, strategic technology programs and initiatives.

Libby Daniels
Chief of Communications

Libby Daniels has been named Chief of Communications. Daniels has been with Dallas ISD since 2008 and has served in a variety of leadership positions, including deputy chief of Communications, executive director in charge of media relations, digital media, marketing, Dallas Schools Television, special events and customer service. She has worked strategically with departments to ensure brand alignment and consistent messaging and provided strategic leadership during crisis management. She brings to the position more than 30 years of experience in communications both in the private and public sectors. Daniels earned her degree in communications from North Texas State University in Denton.

Jon Dahlander
Chief of Partnerships and Intergovernmental Relations

Jon Dahlander returns to the district after several years as chief of staff and director of communications in the Highland Park Independent School District where he was integral in managing the new school boundaries process and legislative agenda. Following a career in broadcast journalism and as executive director of communications for the Oklahoma Department of Education, Dahlander first came to Dallas ISD in 1995 to manage media relations for the district. He was promoted to executive director and special assistant to the superintendent and managed communication strategies during several school district and school-related crises, including the Ebola outbreak, budget shortfalls, weather-related emergencies, and campus incidents. He interfaced daily with multiple print and broadcast media outlets and managed Dallas Schools Television, which produced the Lone Star Emmy Award winning show School Zone Dallas.

Tiffany Huitt
Chief of School Leadership

Tiffany Huitt has served as deputy chief of Academics in Teaching and Learning and executive director of magnet schools in School Leadership after spending five years as the principal of the School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center, one of the top high schools in the country. She began her career in Dallas in 1999 as a science teacher at the Dallas Environmental Science Academy. Since then, she has worked as lead science teacher and instructional coach while also developing science curriculum assessments and professional development for K-12 science courses. She serves on local and state committees, such as TEA Science Standards TEKS Revisions Committee and the Leadership Council for the Global Learning Network. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Paul Quinn College and a master’s degree in interdisciplinary sciences from The University of Texas at Arlington.

Dr. Pamela Lear
Deputy Superintendent of Staff and Racial Equity

Pamela Lear was appointed Dallas ISD’s Deputy Superintendent of Staff and Racial Equity this year after serving as Chief of Staff and Racial Equity since October 2020 when her role as chief of staff expanded to also formally lead the Racial Equity Department. Lear has served Dallas ISD in various leadership capacities since 2012 and began her career with the district as director of High School Redesign. Her experience in education spans nearly 30 years, beginning as a teacher in southern California. She most recently served as deputy chief of School Leadership and was responsible for leading 109 campuses and administrators.

Before joining Dallas ISD, Lear was an administrator in the Bay Area as a principal, director of Region IV System of District and Support, and an executive director of Educational Services.

Lear graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in psychology. She later earned a master’s degree from St. Mary’s College and her doctorate in educational leadership from Texas Christian University.

Dr. Brian C. Lusk
Chief of Strategic Initiatives

Brian C. Lusk assumed the post of Dallas ISD’s Chief of Strategic Initiatives in December 2018 after serving as the acting chief of that office for several months. Lusk was tapped for the position after serving in a number of district leadership roles, including deputy chief of School Leadership and executive director overseeing the H. Grady Spruce High School, Thomas Jefferson High School, and Woodrow Wilson High School feeder patterns.

In his role, Lusk continues the oversight of the district’s public school choice expansion, early college high school and P-TECH programs, Theory of Action and School Performance Framework.

With more than 20 years in education, Lusk began his career as a teacher before moving to an assistant principalship and later principal at the helm of elementary, middle and high school campuses.

Lusk holds a degree in elementary education from California University of Pennsylvania. He later earned a master’s in educational administration from Texas A & M University, Commerce, and a doctorate in educational leadership and policy from The University of Texas at Austin.

Dwayne Thompson
Deputy Superintendent

Dwayne Thompson brings more than 23 years of financial experience to the position of chief business officer, where he leads a team of experienced professionals in developing the district’s operational budget and overseeing and managing fiscal operations.

Prior to his appointment to Dallas ISD, Thompson served as the chief financial officer for Owasso Public Schools in Owasso, Oklahoma, where he prepared and monitored the operational budget and supervised fiscal operations, including purchasing, treasury and maintenance. Thompson led key initiatives, such as implementing an online requisition payment system and helping to develop the district’s first ever summer food program for economically disadvantaged students. He also served for nearly 14 years as the chief financial officer for Broken Arrow Public Schools.

Thompson holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Oklahoma Baptist University and is one of only eight CFOs in the state of Texas to hold a Certified Administrator of School Finance and Operations certificate.

Shannon Trejo
Chief Academic Officer

Chief Academic Officer Shannon Trejo has 28 years of educational experience in various capacities, and prior to her current position, she served as Dallas ISD assistant superintendent for Language, Literacy and Social Studies. In that role, she led six departments—Dyslexia/504, Reading Language Arts, Social Studies, Dual Language and English Learner Services, World Languages, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support—and focused on the creation and implementation of a districtwide curriculum. Trejo earned a bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas at Austin and a master’s degree in educational administration from The University of Texas in Arlington.