Texas Cultural Trust Announces New Board Members

by Texas Cultural Trust

“We are thrilled to have such diverse leaders join the Texas Cultural Trust Board to further advance the conversation around the arts and to help promote just how important the arts are to Texas’ economy, as well as our student’s education,” said Linda LaMantia, Board Chair of the Texas Cultural Trust.  “Our new board members are passionate arts supporters who understand that the arts are a ‘need to have,’ not a ‘nice to have,’ when it comes to the future of our state.”

“As the Trust continues its charge to raise awareness of just how vital the arts are in the classroom and to our economy, I am thrilled that these seven extraordinary Texans have joined our board,” said Heidi Marquez Smith, Executive Director of the Texas Cultural Trust.  “These individuals not only represent different regions of our great state, but are strong leaders in their respective fields.  I look forward to working with them as we quantify the tremendous impact of the arts.”

The Texas Cultural Trust new Board members are:

Bruce Bugg, Jr., San Antonio
Bruce Bugg, Jr. is Chair and Trustee of The Tobin Endowment, a private charitable foundation in San Antonio and Co-Founder and Founding Chairman of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation, owner of the new $205 million Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Bugg currently serves as a member of the Board of the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and The Santa Fe Opera, a Trustee of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, and Chairman of the Endowment Investment Committee. Mr. Bugg was appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees statewide activities of the Texas Department of Transportation. 

Kathleen Keating, Victoria
Kathleen Keating grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Engineering with a specialization in Safety Engineering. After graduating, she worked as a manufacturing supervisor for Dell Computer Corporation in Austin.  After Dell, Keating joined the family car business and they now own 17 different dealerships around Texas. Keating has served multiple terms on the Board of Trinity Episcopal School, the Victoria Symphony, and the Victoria Film Festival. In addition, she has also been active with Habitat for Humanity and her church, Trinity Episcopal. Keating founded an organization called Compassion is Contagious to help bring unity to the races and religions of Victoria.    

Sharon Oeschger, Amarillo
Sharon Oeschger’s arts and community service includes present and past memberships on the Boards of the Amarillo Art Alliance, Amarillo College Foundation, Amarillo Symphony, Amarillo Symphony Guild, Don & Sybil Harrington Cancer Center, Texas Tech University School of Health Sciences, Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, Amarillo Area Foundation Women’s Philanthropy Fund, Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo Little Theatre, Art Force, Globe-News Center for the Performing Arts, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School. She also spent 18 years, three terms, in elected office on the Amarillo College Board of Regents. Oeschger contributed $250,000 to help launch the construction of the Medical Center League House, an Amarillo Junior League hospitality house available to families of adult patients who come to Amarillo from out of town for medical services.

Jay Propes, Austin
Jay Propes is a political/strategic consultant and lobbyist with more than a decades’ worth of public-affairs experience at the state and federal levels.  Propes began his career on Capitol Hill working for Congressman Ralph Hall, where he was responsible for issues related to taxation, telecommunications, healthcare, and energy/environmental policy. In Texas, Propes served as a trade association executive, then managed a political action committee that raised and contributed over a million dollars during his tenure.  A graduate of Baylor University, Propes has specific public-affairs expertise in the areas of construction, development, education, healthcare and the restaurant industry.

Kristin Salyer, Austin
Kristin Salyer is a Senior Vice President at Frost Bank and is the Private Banking Group Sales Manager for the Austin, Corpus Christi, and Permian Basin regions. She joined Frost in 1998 and is a designated General Securities Representative with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, a Group 1 Licensed Insurance Agent, and a Certified Wealth Strategist.  Salyer is active in the communities she serves. She was a member of the Board for the Financial Planning Association, serving as the Secretary and Membership Director from 2006 to 2008, and has been very involved with the Center for Child Protection Board since 2013, serving on the Social Media, Marketing, Raffle, Guardian Angel, Finance, and Dancing with the Stars committees.   She currently sits on the Executive Committee as Treasurer.  

Nancy Meredith Seliger, Amarillo
Nancy Seliger earned her BBA from The University of Texas in 1983 with a degree in Petroleum Land Management. She married Senator Kel Seliger on October 24, 1987, and they have two sons, Jonathan and Matthew, who work and live in Houston. She currently serves as President Elect of the Texas Exes, in addition to the University of Texas Development Board, and the Disciplinary Review Committee for the Texas Medical Board. She is also a member of the MD Anderson Board of Visitors. Some of her past volunteer commitments include: The Amarillo Area Foundation Board, Chairman of the Amarillo Symphony Ball, The Texas Tech Community Advisory Board, and The Texas Lyceum. 

Jeanie Wyatt, San Antonio
Jeanie Wyatt, CFA, founded South Texas Money Management (STMM) in December 2000. Barron’s Magazine named Wyatt to the Top Financial Advisors by State list, the Top 100 Women Financial Advisors list, and the Top 100 Independent Advisors list for three years in a row. She was named to WealthManagement.com’s Top 10 Women Owned Registered Investment Advisor’s (RIA) list three times. Financial Times Magazine named her Top 100 Women Advisors and the firm Top 300 RIAs for two years in a row. CNBC named STMM to their list of Top 100 Fee Only Wealth Managers twice and Forbes Magazine named the firm Top 100 Wealth Managers in 2015. STMM has been named on multiple occasions as one of the “Top Guns” by Informa Investment Solutions and was named “Top Guns of the Decade.”

 For more information about the Texas Cultural Trust including the full list of Board members, visit www.txculturaltrust.org.