Honorary Chairmen for 2010
Laura & Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert
Mayor Tom Leppert
Tom Leppert was elected Mayor of Dallas in June 2007.
Since taking office, Mayor Leppert and the City Council have pursued policies that have dramatically improved the quality of life in Dallas. The crime rate has been reduced by double digits, major firms like AT&T and Tenet Healthcare have moved to Downtown Dallas and construction is underway on the Omni Dallas Convention Center Hotel, the deck park over the Woodall Rogers Freeway and the Santiago Calatrava-designed Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge over the Trinity River. In addition, the city just celebrated the opening of the AT&T Performing Arts Center, more college football games have found a home at the expanded Cotton Bowl in Fair Park, and new plants in Southern Dallas and at the Inland Port have created hundreds of new jobs. And with his successful initiative to create green commercial and residential building codes, Dallas has moved closer to being one of the top sustainable cities in the country.
Mayor Leppert has also pursued a strong education agenda. The Mayor’s Intern Fellows program is beginning its third year placing high school students from challenged schools in corporate offices for the summer. Operation Front Door has transformed the curb appeal for several campuses. The Ready to Read pre-literacy program has reached thousands of children and the Mayor’s Chesapeake Energy Scholarships continue to provide financial support for students. Mayor Leppert donates all of his mayoral salary to scholarships.
Mayor Leppert is on the Executive Committee for the US Conference of Mayors, recently served on the White House Fellows Commission and in 2008, D CEO Magazine named Mayor Leppert the CEO of the year.
A lifelong community volunteer, he has served numerous community groups and charitable organizations on both the local and national levels. The Mayor served as a White House fellow in both the Treasury Department and in the White House.
He and his wife Laura live in Dallas. Their son Christian and twins, Catherine and Ryan are all in college. They are members of First Baptist Church in Downtown Dallas.
Laura Leppert
A native of Phoenix, Arizona, Laura Leppert was educated in public schools before graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University. She worked for nearly a decade in Washington, D. C., in journalism and public affairs capacities both in the Legislative and the Executive Branches.
Since marrying her husband she has worked professionally outside the home as a realtor and chaired various community service fundraisers. During her husband’s tenure as Mayor, she has helped champion his education initiatives.
Her major initiatives been children’s literacy through Chairmanship of the Dallas Children’s Book Fair and Literary Festival and diabetes awareness and education though The Passport to Health.
