Leadership Speaker Series
Our Leadership Speaker Series provides ILTexas High School students the opportunity to engage with and learn from some of the greatest leaders the international community has seen.
Past Speakers
2025
Dan Mitrovich - Daniel S. Mitrovich is the founder of the New York City Marathon Tribute Committee and creator of the Fred Lebow statue, honoring the legendary founder of the New York City Marathon. He is also the co-founder of Preservation Ranch, LLC and Solution Strategies consulting firm. With a distinguished record of service, Mr. Mitrovich has contributed his expertise to more than 25 boards and commissions. He holds an “Honorary Lifetime Membership” with the New York Road Runners Club and is a lifetime member of the San Diego Track Club. He also serves on the board of directors of the Staten Island Running Association. Mr. Mitrovich is the published author of Forever at the Finish Line. A passionate distance runner, Mr. Mitrovich has completed 13 marathons, including five New York City, six Boston, one San Francisco, and one San Diego. He achieved a personal best of 3:28:37 in the 26.2-mile distance. Mr. Mitrovich resides in our nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.
Dr. Karen Nyberg - Dr. Karen Nyberg is an engineer, astronaut, and artist with nearly thirty years of experience in human spaceflight. Her career has fostered a deep appreciation for the importance of collaboration across diverse political ideologies, cultural values, and worldviews in advancing critical missions. Selected as a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps in 2000, Karen embarked on her first spaceflight in 2008 aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, during the height of International Space Station (ISS) construction, where she played a key role in delivering and installing the Japanese Laboratory. On her second mission in 2013, Karen launched aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, spending 166 days living and working aboard the ISS. Before joining NASA's astronaut corps, Karen served as an Environmental Control Systems Engineer at the Johnson Space Center. In this role, she led multiple design and analysis projects focused on space vehicle and spacesuit thermal and environmental control systems. Since retirement from NASA, Karen is now focusing on her passions for conservation, sustainability, and textile art. She also advises several companies across the aerospace and biotechnology sectors. Karen earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of North Dakota and her Master's in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She has been honored with the highest alumni awards from both institutions.
2024
Captain Chris Cassidy - A decorated veteran of the sea, air, land, and outer space, Captain Chris Cassidy is among the leaders of an exclusive and distinguished group of accomplished military astronauts who have made an impact on and beyond this world. Recognized for his leadership and achievements as a United States Navy SEAL and a NASA astronaut, CAPT Cassidy’s various military deployments and spaceflight missions provided the catalysts for an action-packed career where he made the most of every opportunity presented to him, even in challenging and high-stakes environments.
The Honorable Eva Guzman - Justice Eva Guzman has served at three levels of the Texas judiciary. She began her judicial service on the 309th District Court in Harris County, following an appointment by former Governor George W. Bush. After ascending to the Houston-based Fourteenth Court of Appeals, Justice Guzman ruled on thousands of complex civil and criminal cases and authored hundreds of opinions in nearly a decade of service as an intermediate appellate court judge. In 2009, former Governor Rick Perry appointed Justice Guzman to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Texas. When she was elected to a full term in November 2010, she became the first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in Texas. Six years later, she made history twice more: she received the most votes ever in a Texas Republican Party primary with 1.27 million votes and won re-election that November with a record-setting 4.88 million votes—the highest vote total for any office in Texas election history.
2022
Ambassador Liliana Ayalde - Ambassador Ayalde is a former US Ambassador to Brazil, 'previously the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for the United States State Department with responsibility for the Offices of Caribbean Affairs, Central American Affairs and Cuban Affairs. From January 2017 to September 2019 she served as the Civilian Deputy to the Commander and Foreign Policy Advisor for the United States Southern Command.[2]'. She recently retired from a "distinguished 38-year career". [WATCH THE RECORDING HERE]
2021
Ross Perot Jr. - A real estate developer and American businessman who is best known for his development of Alliance, Texas, an inland port near Dallas–Fort Worth, and making the first circumnavigation of the world in a helicopter at the age of 23.
Ambassador Kristie Kenney - Career Ambassador for the US State Department and first female US Ambassador to the Philippines and Thailand
General Jim Mattis - Marine Corps four-star General and 26th US Secretary of Defense
Euhwa Tran - Chief Program Officer and Chief of Staff for the George HW Bush Foundation for US-China Relations