Tracy A. Baskin
Tracy Baskin is the President and CEO of Houston READ Commission. Mr. Baskin is responsible for identifying the literacy needs of the Greater Houston community and ensuring the development and implementation of literacy training and development plans and programs. Prior to joining the Commission, Baskin was Assistant Vice President and Regional Corporate Giving Fund Manager for Washington Mutual. He was responsible for oversight of foundation and corporate giving programs and assisting in administering the company’s $114 million foundation and charitable giving budget for the Central Region, including Texas, Colorado, and Illinois. Baskin was recently recognized by US Secretary of Education, Rod Paige for his role in developing an innovative program that meets the growing needs of the Houston Independent School District. Baskin holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and journalism, and minors in business administration and African-American studies from Seton Hall University in New Jersey.

Reverend Tonya Y. Burton
Reverend Tonya Y. Burton is the Director of the Perkins Youth School of Theology, a theological program for high school students at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. Reverend Burton is a Pastoral Care Specialist having received certificate training at the Pastoral Counseling and Education Center in Dallas, TX. Formerly, Tonya served as Volunteer Coordinator for the D.C. Baptist Convention where she gave leadership to the volunteer coordination program, which connects persons within and outside the 150 affiliated Baptist churches in the District of Columbia to local mission opportunities. She also served as the Minister of Discipleship at the Metropolitan Baptist Church, of Washington, D.C. under the pastoral leadership of Dr. H. Beecher Hicks, Jr., Senior Pastor. A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Tonya is a 1994 cum laude graduate of Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, earning a Bachelors of Science degree in Mass Communications with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Journalism Studies. In May 1998, she earned a Master’s of Divinity degree with a concentration in Christian Education from Vanderbilt Divinity School.

Mike McCoy
Mike McCoy began his career in public service with the City of Mesquite and Dallas. During this time, he sought outside funding for police departments; managed the research function of the juvenile diversion project; managed the planning unit of the human development office of the city manager; and led performance audit teams. For the past eighteen years, he has worked for the Meadows Foundation as a program officer. Mike received his MBA degree in Marketing from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is married with three adult children and serves his Presbyterian Church as an Elder. Mike has taught adult and senior high school spiritual development classes. He presently teaches an adult class in the Beatitudes and he presents monthly topics to the youth group. He has designed and implemented spiritual retreats for the governing body of his church. Weekly, Mike teaches spiritual discernment at a homeless shelter.

Kimberly R. Richardson
Kimberly R. Richardson is a marketing professional with over 14 years experience in corporate sales and marketing-holding positions at industry-leading consumer goods corporations, including Anheuser-Busch, Hallmark Cards, and The Coca-Cola Company. She is currently employed with Brach’s Confections, Inc., where she heads the multimillion dollar Seasonal Candy Business Unit. Kim provides strong leadership in full-cycle marketing execution-from idea inception and strategy development to implementation and evaluation. With experience in brand, product and customer marketing, she has a successful record of idea selling at all organizational levels and across different constituencies, determining consumer demand and developing programs to best capture the sales opportunity, and analyzing consumer trends and customer needs to produce the best solution. Ms. Richardson earned an M.B.A in Marketing from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio and was a Magna Cum Laude graduate in Business Management and Information Technology at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina. Personally, Kim enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband of 10 years, their son, Rakeem and dog, BJ. A devout Christian, she is also active in church activities and sharing her faith.

Marcene Royster
Marcene Royster holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social Work and Criminal Justice from the University of South Dakota, and a Masters of Social Work with emphasis in Planning and Management in Health Care from Indiana University. She began her career with Parkland Health and Hospital System (PHHS) 20 years ago serving as the in-patient social worker for the Geriatric Assessment Program. Marcene is originally from Yankton, South Dakota. She has been married for 31 years to Kyle Royster, a Sgt. with the Dallas Police Department. Marcene is the proud mother of two adult children; Kyle W. Royster II, graduate of the University of Alabama and Kendra S. Royster, graduate of the University of Texas-Arlington; and a daughter-in-law, DeOndra Royster.