Texas Cultural Trust Announces New Members for 2023 - 2024 Board of Directors

Tisa Hibbs of Tyler, Cabrina Owsley of Houston, Marielle Lamy Quaid of Austin, Corinna Holt Richter of San Antonio, Karen Johnson Rove of Austin, and The Honorable Joe Straus III of San Antonio Join the Nonprofit’s Board Leadership

AUSTIN, TX [September 27, 2023] – Texas Cultural Trust (TXCT), a nonprofit organization that supports the arts in education, advocacy, and economic impact in Texas, has announced the appointment of six new members to its Board of Directors: Tisa Hibbs, Cabrina Owsley, Marielle Lamy Quaid, Corinna Holt Richter, Karen Johnson Rove, and The Honorable Joe Straus III.

The Texas Cultural Trust board members are industry and business leaders, arts patrons, and artists passionate about the value of the arts in Texas. In addition to overseeing the organization’s long-term financial stability, they increase support and access to the arts by generously serving as ambassadors for the arts and culture across Texas and beyond. 

“The Trust continues to attract some of the most remarkable patrons of the arts, we proudly welcome six new board members. I am confident their contributions will elevate our work across Texas.” said Guillermo Nicolas, Board Chair of Texas Cultural Trust.

Tisa Weiss Hibbs is a lifelong advocate for the arts. An actress, she grew up in Tyler, graduated with honors and a BFA from SMU, and began dancing and singing as one of Disney World’s “Kids of the Kingdom” while still in college. Her most visible roles have been in “Hope Floats,” Jerry Seinfeld’s Thanksgiving Special, “Friday Night Lights,” “Walker, Texas Ranger,” “Dallas,” “The Young & The Restless,” and various television commercials.  More recently Tisa’s work as a director/writer/producer has been recognized with numerous TELLY and ADDY awards. Tisa’s passion for volunteering includes serving as President of the Children’s Advocacy Center, Vice-President of both the Hibbs Family Foundation and Young Audiences of NE Texas, and Co-Chair for Bethesda Clinic’s Runway for Hope.  She has worked for years on the boards of the Tyler Civic Theatre, East Texas Youth Orchestra, and East Texas Crisis Center, and as a Keynote member of the ETSO Women’s Symphony League, Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, and charter member of The Women’s Fund. Tisa holds lifetime memberships in The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary and Girl Scouts, and serves on The Dallas Opera Guild, Texas Shakespeare Festival Guild, and Tyler Junior College Center for the Performing Arts Steering Committee.  She received the Distinguished Citizen Good Turn Award from the Boy Scouts of America, the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Champions of Youth Award, and was named an Honorary Board Member by Junior Achievement. Tisa has been married to Billy Hibbs, Chairman of Heartland Security Insurance Group, for 37 years, and they have two grown children, Stratton (former Oxford Choral Scholar & double bassist) and London (UCLA Cheerleader & vocal performance major). 

Cabrina Owsley is excited to join the Texas Cultural Trust Board and help further their mission to support the arts and creative industries in our great state of Texas. She worked in entertainment law before moving to Texas over 20 years ago. She devotes much of her time and energy being actively involved in the arts and has served on several arts organizations Boards and chaired numerous events since moving to Houston.  She holds a B.S. in Economics & Finance and a J.D. and Masters in Alternative Dispute Resolution from Pepperdine University.  She lives in Houston with her husband and they have three children.

Marielle Lamy Quaid, a native Austinite, is deeply committed to the cultural preservation and evolution of her hometown.  After graduating from Rice University with a BA in Sociology and playing on Rice’s Varsity Women’s Soccer Team, Marielle explored a career in entertainment with The Weinstein Company’s Music Coordination department before moving back to Austin, Texas. Having deep roots in Austin real estate Marielle’s family was significantly involved in the development of Downtown Austin, establishing a foundation for her passion for development and music. As co-founder of The Quaid Group Real Estate office, Marielle is extremely respected in the luxury real estate market, representing Founders of Fortune 500 Companies, Celebrities and Professional Athletes. To support the artist community, Marielle and her husband Buddy Quaid created The Quaid Group House Concert Series. The concert series supports musicians by providing access to unique and remarkable spaces that go beyond standard music venues, introducing artists to new listeners, and ensuring that artists are compensated for their performance all in the intimacy of a home. The House Concert Series has hosted musicians, David Ramirez, Tanya Tucker, Brandy Clark and more.  Through The Lamy Group, Marielle has a variety of private equity, real estate, and film investments, ranging from downtown towers to Executive Producer credits for the film “Castro’s Daughter” starring James Franco and directed by Miguel Bardem and written by Pulitzer Prize winning Nilo Cruz and academy nominated screenwriter Jose Rivera of “Motorcycle Diaries”.  In 2022 they began a collaboration with New Waterloo to found Trick Hat Collective, a downtown workspace that incorporates regular artistic programming to elevate art and culture while educating Collective members. Marielle provides design, brand, and creative direction on behalf of The Lamy Group. In addition, as a Member of the Arts & Environs Committee at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Westlake for more than 10 years, Marielle was part of a team that traveled to Italy numerous times to work with Italian artisans to complete the largest mosaic dome in Texas, and among the top 10 largest in the country. Marielle recently joined the Texas Women for the Arts and attended her first trip to Napa, CA this summer.

Corinna Holt Richter is the President and Chief Administrative Officer for HOLT CAT, a heavy equipment dealership headquartered in San Antonio. Corinna is the great-great-granddaughter of Benjamin Holt, who introduced the first practical track-type tractor in 1904, which he named the Caterpillar®. She represents the fifth generation of the Holt family business and is proud to carry the distinguished Holt legacy of service and innovation into the 21st century. Corinna earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Vanderbilt University. She is an active leader in the San Antonio community, serving on the Board of Managers for Spurs Sports and Entertainment, San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Texas Biomedical Research Institute Board of Directors, and the Christus Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital Foundation Board, along with the boards for Girls Inc. and the McNay Art Museum. She has collaborated in building thoughtful art collections for HOLT CAT; the Spurs new practice facility, The Rock; and her own personal collection of contemporary art. Corinna and her husband, J.B., live in San Antonio with their two young children, anticipating the arrival of their third soon. Corinna is excited to join the Texas Cultural Trust Board of Directors as an advocate for the arts and arts education in Texas.

Karen Johnson Rove Karen Rove is President and Founder of Infrastructure Solutions Inc. (ISI), a full-service government affairs firm in Austin, Texas. ISI has represented clients before the Texas Legislature, the Texas Department of Transportation, state agencies, the Federal government and the U.S. Congress. As a lifetime Austinite, Karen has always been a supporter of the Arts and has served on numerous committees, both at the local, state and national level. She served on the Laura Bush Texas Book festival board where she participated in putting on the now famous Texas Book Festival. The festival brings authors from across the United States to Austin for a multi-day event to encourage reading and showcase authors. Rove was appointed to serve on the National Park Foundation. Her role consisted of raising monies for our National Parks. She was instrumental in creating the 9/11 park commemorating Flight 93 in Shanksville, PA. She also served on Senator John Cornyn’s finance committee, the Texas A&M University Political Science Advisory Board, the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Board of Visitors, the Keep Texas Beautiful Board and also the Board of Directors of the American Automobile Association (AAA) Texas Advisory Board. She now serves on the McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors, the Development Committee for the Zach Theatre in Austin, the Texas A&M PAC Board and the Board of Directors of the Bank of Austin. She is currently working on the Advisory Board to the soon to be established School for Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts at her alma mater Texas A&M University. Johnson-Rove is a 1987 graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and studies in Government, Business Administration and Speech.

The Honorable Joe Straus III served as the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019. As the presiding officer of the Texas House, he prioritized an inclusive, bipartisan approach to major issues, from public education to mental health to protecting the Texas business climate. He is also a longtime supporter of investing in the arts and arts education across Texas. Speaker Straus’ family has long been known for its arts advocacy across Texas. His mother, Joci Straus, was one of San Antonio’s most active and respected champions for the arts. She was the Chair of the Texas Cultural Trust, Founding Chairman of the Foundation for Cultural Arts in San Antonio (also known as the Las Casas Foundation), the Founding President of the San Antonio Performing Arts Association, a member of the National Endowment for the Arts, and is Chair Emeritus of the Texas Medal of Arts Awards. Joci was also the driving force behind the restoration and preservation of San Antonio’s historic Majestic and Charline McCombs Empire Theatres.

The 2023-2024 TXCT Board of Directors is as follows: 

• Guillermo Nicolas, Board Chair – San Antonio
• Leslie Ward, Immediate Past Chair – Austin
• Lauren Anderson – Houston
• Brendon Anthony – Austin
• John Beckworth – Austin
• Ray Benson – Austin
• Kelli Blanton – Houston
• Leslie Blanton – Houston
• Marvin Blum – Fort Worth
• Bruce Bugg, Jr.- San Antonio
• Dr. Ernest Butler – Austin
• Ito Deutsch – McAllen
• Mindy Ellmer – Austin
• Pat Frost – San Antonio
• Gay Gaddis – Austin
• Winell Herron – Houston
• Tisa Hibbs – Tyler
• Alexis Hunter – Corpus Christi
• Dan W. Jackson, III – Austin
• Renard Johnson – El Paso
• Gene Jones – Dallas
• Kathleen Keating – Victoria
• Kathleen R. Kennedy – San Antonio
• Michael L. Klein – Austin
• Linda LaMantia – Laredo
• Charles Matthews – Dallas
• Whitney Hyder More – Fort Worth
• Nancy Murray – Longview
• Cabrina Owsley – Houston
• Jay Propes – Austin
• Marielle Lamy Quaid – Austin
• Corinna Holt Richter – San Antonio
• Judy Robison – El Paso
• Karen Johnson Rove – Austin
• Tania Schwartz – El Paso
• Nancy Seliger – Amarillo
• The Honorable Joe Straus III – San Antonio
• Mark Watson – San Antonio
• Pamela Willeford – Austin
• Darrell Windham – Austin
• Trisha Wilson – Dallas

ABOUT TEXAS CULTURAL TRUST

The Texas Cultural Trust, established in 1995, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and increasing access and awareness for the arts across the state. Programs of the organization include the Texas Medal of Arts Awards, Arts Access, Art Can, Texas Young Masters, Texas Women for the Arts, and Partners in the Arts. Texas Cultural Trust efforts are amplified by supporters who are instrumental in the success of leading a cohesive voice for the arts in education, advocacy, and economic impact in Texas, spotlighting the artistic excellence of the state. For more information, visit txculturaltrust.org.

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