Meet the Board Members

Victor Perez, President
Position 1
Term Began 2022
Term Expires 2025

Victor graduated with an MBA in Finance from the University of Texas at Arlington, and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Virginia Tech, where he attended on a football scholarship. Victor is retired from a career as a CFO in the Energy industry. Victor’s career includes over 20 years’ experience as chief financial officer for publicly-listed oilfield service companies, two of which were initial public offerings. Previously, Victor was a commercial banker, for 12 years, at a large Texas bank, engaged in the International and Energy markets.

Victor and his wife Karen Perez have been married for 47 years and have three children, all products of Katy ISD. They have eight grandchildren, of which four are in Katy. Victor and Karen are members of St. Faustina Catholic Church and were previously active in various volunteer roles at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church. Victor and Karen are founding and current board members of the Houston Coalition for Life. Victor is also a former board member of the Pregnancy Help Center of West Houston, the Boys and Girls Club and is a member of the Knights of Columbus. He is a member of the Keiko Davidson Elementary School PTA.

Victor was born in Havana, Cuba and fled that country to the U.S. with his parents and brother when he was seven years old. Victor loves the U.S. and the opportunities and life it has provided him and his family. He believes the future of our country lies with our children. Victor is bilingual (Spanish).

Conflict Disclosure Statement - Victor Perez

Amy Alsheikh Thieme, Vice President
Position 3
Term Began 2023
Term Expires 2026

Community organizations: National Charity League – Azalea Chapter; Cinco Ranch Library; Meals on Wheels; Krause Center; Grace Fellowship – student leadership director, junior and senior high breakout leader, PPRC board member, church plant subcommittee, adult small group leader, group leader with bible study fellowship.

Involvement in Katy ISD: Katy ISD graduate; former Katy ISD math junior high and high school teacher; former Katy ISD long-term substitute; former Katy ISD substitute; Katy ISD FFA Chili Cookoff, Katy ISD FFA Parade; financial donations to numerous Katy ISD high schools’ athletic booster clubs, band booster clubs, choir booster clubs, and FFA.

Education: Houston Baptist University – B.S. (magna cum laude) in mathematics and history; Teaching Certificate from the State of Texas

Conflict Disclosure Statement - Amy Thieme

Dawn Champagne, Secretary
Position 7
Term Began 2021
Term Expires 2024

Dawn Champagne has lived in Katy since March 2001. She has been an active volunteer in the Katy Community since that summer, beginning with her church, St. Peter’s UMC. She began volunteering at Katy ISD in August 2002, when her oldest child started Kindergarten. She has held many positions on the boards of the three schools that her children have attended. Most recently, she was the president of the TPA (PTO) at Taylor High School (2016-2018) and the VP of Project Grad 2018 at Taylor High School. She has also been on CAT teams, Bond advisory teams, the 2017 Bond Committee, Katy Leadership (twice), Katy Council of PTA’s, and is a KEYS Mentor (2015 to present). Dawn has been a Boy Scout Leader, is currently a Girl Scout Leader (2007 to present), serves on the National Charity League, Azalea Chapter Board and has held many leadership positions at her church, St. Peter’s UMC. She was named Volunteer of the Year at McMeans Jr. High for the 2015-2016 school year and Volunteer of the year at Taylor High School for the 2017-2018 school year.

Champagne holds two degrees from the University of Houston: a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer Science and Marketing, Magna Cum Laude, and a Master's of Administration. Most recently, she worked as a GT Test Proctor for Katy ISD in the 2017-2018 school year. Prior to moving to Katy, she worked as a Claims Representative for the Social Security Administration from 1988 to 2001. As a claims representative, she processed claims for retirement, survivors, and disability; counseled clients regarding retirement plans; wrote legal determinations involving common law marriages, illegitimate child relationships, equitable adoptions, disability reviews, overpayments and fraud. With this experience she learned how to communicate with members of the public from every socioeconomic level, and has a keen sense of understanding that people sometimes just want to be heard.

She has been married to Brett for 25 years and has three children: Connor, aged 21, who graduated from Taylor HS in 2015 and is a senior at Texas State University; Alexis, aged 18, who is a 2018 graduate from Taylor HS and will be attending Texas A&M in the fall of 2018; and Brenna, aged 16, who will graduate from Taylor HS in 2020.

Her hobbies include working out, reading, scrapbooking, traveling and spending time with her family.

Conflict Disclosure Statement - Dawn Champagne

TASB Continuing Education Credit Report - Dawn Champagne

Lance Redmon, Member
Position 2
Term Began 2022
Term Expires 2025

Lance Redmon was elected to Position 2 on the Katy ISD Board of Trustees in May 2019. Redmon has been a volunteer for the Katy ISD Education Foundation Board, Katy Improvement Council, and the PTA. He is also a graduate of Katy ISD's Leadership Katy. Redmon has also served his local church and Katy Youth Basketball as a coach. As the president of Specialized Building Systems, Redmon graduated from Rice University and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Redmon and his wife, Bradi, have lived in Katy for 37 years and have three children currently enrolled in Katy ISD schools.

Conflict Disclosure Statement - Lance Redmon

TASB Continuing Education Credit Report - Lance Redmon

Rebecca Fox, Member
Position 6
Term Began 2021
Term Expires 2024

Rebecca Fox moved to Katy when the district had 32,000 students and has watched it grow during her 23 years here. She served as a member of the Katy ISD Board of Trustees from 2004-2019 and was elected again in 2021. She has held every officer position, including three times as president of the Board. Fox is a graduate of the class of 2007 Leadership TASB (Texas Association of School Boards) and has earned the distinction of Master Trustee. She is also a member of the TASB Legislative Advocacy Network. During her time as a Trustee, Mrs. Fox helped establish the vision for the Katy ISD Education Foundation and is a groundbreaking investor.

Fox holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Consumer and Family Science from Southeastern Louisiana University and works part-time as a motivational speaker and parent educator. Previous to moving to Katy, Rebecca and her husband of 37 years lived in six countries with his job in the oil business. Once they moved here, they realized the exceptional quality and opportunities Katy offered and chose to make it their home. She and her husband have two children, graduates of Cinco Ranch and Seven Lakes high schools, and both graduated from Texas A&M University.

A parent and long-time volunteer, Fox has served on PTA boards at Hayes Elementary, Creech Elementary, Beck Junior High and Cinco Ranch High School, where she was named Volunteer of the Year. She has served on district committees such as the Campus Advisory Team, bond committees and rezoning committees. She also served three years as an executive board member of Katy ISD Volunteers in Public Schools. Fox continues to volunteer in schools across the district through KEYS mentoring, teaching Junior Achievement, participating in Promise-to-Read and a variety of other programs. Fox has also volunteered throughout the community in the National Charity League -Star Chapter, Pregnancy Help Center, Youth groups, Second Baptist Church, and Raise-Up Families.

Because of her commitment to service, Fox has been recognized with numerous awards, such as, Volunteer of the Year, Texas PTA Lifetime Memberships and Extended Service Award, Citizen of the Year by Katy Area Chamber of Commerce, Top 100 Women of Katy by Katy Magazine and the Backbone of Katy Award by the Noyes Foundation.

Conflict Disclosure Statement - Rebecca Fox

TASB Continuing Education Credit Report - Rebecca Fox

Morgan Calhoun, Member
Position 4
Term Began 2023
Term Expires 2026

Community organizations: Served at her home church, The Waters, for the last 10 years in different roles; organized and led an anti-sex trafficking ministry where she worked alongside Rescue Houston and Elijah Rising in different capacities for several years; worked as director of outreach for a few years, coordinating with Katy Christian Ministries, Hope Impacts, Feed The Hunger, as well as other community outreach organizations in and around the Katy area.

Involvement in Katy ISD: Serving at her children’s school on the PTO Board as an assistant volunteer coordinator, as well as being able to work alongside her children’s teachers as their room mom for the past couple of years; serving teachers in any way to help create and foster the best learning environment that they can provide.

Conflict Disclosure Statement - Morgan Calhoun

Mary Ellen Cuzela, Member
Position 5
Term Began 2023
Term Expires 2026

Mary Ellen Cuzela is a 6th generation Texan, native Houstonian, and long-time resident of Katy. She and her husband bought their first home in Katy and raised 3 children in Katy ISD schools.
Upon graduating from the University of Houston with a BBA in Finance and a BA in Spanish (both magna cum laude), Mary Ellen worked as a software technology consultant implementing enterprise-wide software solutions, managing teams, and building client relationships. She also managed a small jewelry business for 7 years. She speaks fluent Spanish.

Mary Ellen served as an active Katy ISD Substitute Teacher for 3 years in all different quadrants of the district. She has also been a parent volunteer in the school district for over 14 years. She was a guest reader in kindergarten classes, helped run kindergarten stations, facilitated Junior Achievement economics lessons (financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship), helped with Field Days and 5th grade Sock Hops, cared for school grounds as the Beautification Chair, hosted a table at multiple Junior High International Festivals (for the country of Croatia) and supported numerous social, athletic, and fine arts events in Katy ISD. Most recently Mary Ellen participated in Katy ISD’s Board Listening Circles in preparation for the 88th Texas Legislative Session.

Mary Ellen cares about her community and stays active in organizations focused on local governance. She is a member of St. John Vianney Catholic Church where she has taught Youth Religious Education, facilitated a Women’s Bible Study, led a variety of mothers’ ministries, and served in various board positions. For fun, Mary Ellen loves to walk their dog, garden, travel and read.

Mary Ellen is passionate about protecting all children and upholding academic excellence as the focus of Katy ISD. She is honored to serve the Katy community as a Katy ISD School Board Member.

Conflict Disclosure Statement - May Ellen Cuzela