Tania Schwartz

With a love of the arts that started as a young child when she was moved by the power of a single painting by Georges Seurat, Tania Schwartz has committed her life of study and praxis toward creating transformative learning environments through the arts.  For over thirty years, on behalf of the Schwartz Foundation and The Mesa Group, an investment firm with holdings in land, real estate and banking, Tania has utilized her professional background as an Instructional Specialist in creating educational programming through civic-capacity building.   Tania holds a Master’s degree in Education and is in candidacy for her Doctorate in Educational Leadership and Foundations at the University of Texas at El Paso. She is currently Chair-Elect, Texas Cultural Trust, Chair- Elect, Tom Lea Institute, Co-Founder, Kids Excel El Paso and Past Chair, Texas Women for the Arts. Tania serves on the Texas Medal of Arts Awards Selection and Planning Committee.  She is a member of the State of the Arts Council and the Texas Arts Education Task Force.  Tania is the Founding President of The Women’s Fund of El Paso, Inc. and Co-Founder of the Power of the Purse.  Tania’s leadership experience in strategic planning and development has contributed to her board and community work with The Hospitals of Providence, Lydia Patterson Institute, creating a Field of Dreams in El Paso’s Segundo Barrio, and Executive Board of the YWCA El Paso del Norte Region, serving as a YWCA Benefactress of the Year. Tania provided many years of service to the El Paso community through projects with the Junior League of El Paso. Through their Los Murales project she coordinated over 26 community murals with professional artists and Title 1 students, authored, Los Murales: An Art of Conscience. Tania chaired the Junior League of El Paso + YWCA El Paso Del Norte Region’s bridge housing project, Independence House. The signature project designed by architects and urbanists, Andres Duany and Stefanos Polyzoides, included 15,000 SF of mixed-use learning and living space for formerly homeless and abused women and their children. Tania served as co-chair for the El Paso Museum of Art and chaired the new EPMA Opening Gala.  She Co-Chaired the City of El Paso Arts & Culture Department, was on the Board of Directors for IMPACT: Programs of Excellence with a special focus on the Art & Sol Project. Tania served on the University of Texas at El Paso Development Board, First Presbyterian Preschool Board, Co-Chaired, Capital Campaign for the Center Against Family Violence, Chaired, Made in El Paso, the first cowboy boot retrospective with the El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso Museum of History and the Tom Lea Institute.  Tania has chaired many events and fundraisers over the years supporting the arts community and educational institutions. The Junior League of El Paso, Inc. nominated Tania to the El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame. She was inducted by the El Paso Commission for Women in 2006. Tania is a member of El Dedon Verde garden club, Pan American Round Table, Texas Women for the Arts, Decorative Arts Society, Newport Beach, the Women of Chapman and a graduate of Leadership El Paso. She is Principal of The Tania Schwartz Collection, LLC. Tania is the proud mother of Sam (20) and Max (15) Schwartz. Tania divides her time between her homes in El Paso, Texas and Newport Beach, California. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Scott M. Schwartz.